We’ve been trying to spend more time in Paris this week, and with a friend in town from the U.S., we had the opportunity to try to check some restaurants off of our ever-growing list. Two of the restaurants in Paris that we tried this week, we absolutely loved. And one was a sad disappointment. Here are our thoughts.

 

Cuisine de Bar (8 Rue Cherche-Midi)

After a busy morning exploring the Musee Quai Branly, a museum that opened in 2006 which displays African, American, and Asian art and artifacts (very cool!), we made our way on the metro to the 6th arrondisement to check out this lunchtime jem. We waited outside the door for about fifteen minutes (the place was packed!), and then were politely ushered to a shared wooden table. We each ordered the lunchtime menu which came with a small salad and a tartine (open-faced sandwich) of our choice made on toasted Poliane bread. I had the chevre tartine while C. had a truly delectable prosciutto and cheese tartine. Our friend from the U.S. had a wonderful smoked salmon tartine. The lunch menu also included a glass of wine as well as coffee at the end, so we sipped on our drinks while catching up with our friend. Of course, no meal is complete at Cuisine de Bar without visiting their dessert stand with freshly made cakes and tarts. After a long and hard decision, we decided to share the apricot tart…which didn’t disappoint.

At only 12.50 euros per person for the lunch menu, this place was a definite gem. And, the restaurant serves you relatively quickly so, if need be, you could be out of there in a dash. The speediness of service is a great example of everything that Paris is not (whether you think this is good or bad), but the quality of ingredients is definitely everything that Paris is.

 

Breizh Cafe (109 Rue Vielle de Temples)

Today, I met a friend for lunch at Breizh Cafe in the Marais neighborhood. I highly recommend the walk from the St. Paul metro station to this cafe…the stores and cute houses along the way are not to be missed (an example of how cute and charming Paris can be).

I was in the mood for crepes so we stopped at Breizh Cafe. It’s a tiny restaurant with light wood walls and tables. The crowd and waiters are young and yuppie (what you’d expect in the Marais), and the food is fabulous! I had the Bretonne galette (savory crepe) with mushrooms, cheese, and egg, and creme fraiche, and my friend had the Savoyarde galette with cheese , egg, ham, and lettuce. And, we shared two bolees of bubbly cider.

Usually, I can’t finish a whole galette (they’re so filling), but I just couldn’t stop eating my meal today. Each bite got better and better. And, of course, although we didn’t leave room for dessert, we had to try a sweet crepe. We shared a rolled crepe filled with chocolate mousse and drizzled with salted caramel. Delicous! This place is an absolute must-visit.

 

Le Baratin (3 Rue Jouye-Rouve)

C. joined me in Paris tonight for a Friday night dinner at Le Baratin in the 20th. We’d been looking forward to going to this restaurant for weeks after reading great reviews on Chowhound about it. For us, though, the restaurant left a lot to be desired. Perhaps it served a certain style of food that we’re not used to, but we found all of our dishes to be very bland (everyone in the restaurant was heaping on salt and pepper to give some sort of flavor to their dishes), poorly presented (for example, C. had a octopus appetizer that came out on a plain white plate with a heap of unappetizing-looking octopus roughly thrown on the center), the wine quite bad (we had to send back our first pichet of wine–a Bourgogne–because it tasted like spoiled grape juice), and the food too pricey for what you get. 

I’m not sure why this restaurant is so hyped. Perhaps the chef had tonight off, or perhaps we didn’t have the right expectations, but we were definitely disappointed.

With only a few more weeks left here in France, we’re trying to take advantage of la vie francaise.

So, on Saturday morning we visited our local poissonerie, the boulangerie, and the fromagerie (in that order!) to make a dejeuner typiquement francais. 

We invited some friends over and had a long, lovely lunch of grilled cabillaud, cepes in a garlic white wine sauce, a salad with roquefort and local apples, and lots of French wine. Our friends brought an absolutely delectable chocolate mousse cake and some strong French cheese (a type of epoisse from the famous Barthelemy fromagerie)….so, clearly, we ate well, and had a really nice time. 

Afterward, we headed into Paris in the afternoon to visit some friends at a wine bar to try the recently released Beaujolais Nouveau (it arrived last Thursday, and, since then, all of the restaurants, bars, and wine shops around Paris have been having release parties). We shared a few bottles of wine—heck, the French say you must drink the Beaujolais nouveau quickly since if you let it keep for a few months, it immediately depreciates in quality…so… nous faisons comme le font les Francais.

Later in the evening, we went out for dinner at Chez L’Ami Jean, in the 7th. Although we’d been trying to make reservations for days at this tiny place, and the only way we were actually able to get a table was by actually going there the day before to make a reservation (ugh!), all of the hassle was definitely worth it. We loved their selection of cuisine Sud-Ouest—tete de veau, vegetable veloute, and grilled lomo, as well as the strong bottle of Irouleguy wine from the Pays Basque that we shared.  C. thought his plat was the best main course he’s had all year — and we’ve had a few!

After a day of so much feasting, we needed to walk around a bit, so went over to the Place de Concorde to visit the Christmas Markets that line the end of the Champs Elysses. Although the markets were definitely tourist-y, it was fun to be outside sipping vin chaud and walking past the different booths selling jewelry, scarves, and some local foods. 

Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to the U.S. in a few weeks. Life here is just too good.

 

One thing we clearly miss from our summer road trip in Spain is all of the wonderful finger foods in Spain’s tapas bars. But, when we returned to France, we reset our palates and readjusted ourselves to the long and formal three-course menus of eating in France (not that we mind!).  We were not thinking that there could be a French tapas bar worthy of all of the Spanish ones we visited this summer.

But last night….we found it. The restaurant, L’Avant Comptoir, which is perfectly located in the carrefour d’Odeon, was the answer to our tapas rut in France.  Best of all, it’s not trying to be like a bar in Barcelona — it’s a wine/tapas bar with a distinctly French feel.  The items on the menu have a bit of a fancy French flair, and they serve a great variety of French wines for great prices (a rarity in Paris).

We stood for hours (no seating…of course, it’s a tapas bar!) sipping French wine (Beaujolais Nouveau…t’is the season), and sharing our French tapas of grilled cepes, artichokes with fleur de sel and olive oil, salmon croquettes, and olives…all with warm, crusty French bread. I think we were in heaven! And to top things off, we even got a banana-chocolate crepe to go (one of the best I’ve ever had). I never knew that there could be a place that could blend both our love of French food and the great tapas places of Spain…but now there is. You must visit it if you’re in Paris!

It’s Indian national week at INSEAD (or, as they call it, Desi Week). 

So, when C. got to school on Monday the place was filled with Indian decorations and there was a card in his school mailbox with a picture of him as a “Desi”—see what you think in the photo to the left. 

The theme of the week is “Indian Wedding,” so the students selected a couple to “get married” and the events throughout the week are all variations on that theme. For example, there have been bachelor and bachelorette parties, Bollywood dancing lessons (to get the wedding guests ready for the party, I guess), Indian cooking lessons (not sure how that exactly relates to the whole wedding theme), a “Royal Dinner and Dance,” and finally, the wedding (which, don’t worry, was not really an ACTUAL wedding).

 

So yesterday evening, we accompanied the groom into his “wedding. He was riding a stuffed horse and was dressed in traditional wedding garb. Once he entered the amphi, his bride-to-be was there waiting for him. Then they walked around the “fire” (or in our case, a table, since you’re not allowed to have fires at INSEAD…boo!), exchanged garlands, and then they were “married.”

And then, last night, we went to the wedding reception—a.ka. the party. The Desi week committee flew in an Indian pop duo from Canada called JoSH. They take American hip hop songs and put them to an Indian beat—pretty cool! 

The whole week made me want to just jump on a plane and fly to India. Wouldn’t that be nice….

We really love living in France (and can’t believe that our time here is almost over), but every now and then, we have these mind-boggling, maddening things happen to us, that seem like they would only ever happen in France. We’ve never had a name for them….until now.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/02/wtf.html

The other day, after coming back from Instanbul, C. and I decided that we hadn’t yet had our fill of exotic foods so we stopped to have some lunch at the Paris Mosque. I had visited the Mosque for lunch with a friend last week, and loved the food so much that I had to take C. there to try it out as well.

As we entered the building, we were immediately struck by how beautiful the interior is. As you can see in the photo to the left, the restaurant is decorated in light, airy colors with mosiacs on the walls and ceilings. And since the building is so airy, there are tons of little sparrows who fly around the ceiling and try to steal your food when you’re not looking (not so much fun–especially after we saw some birds nibbling at the dessert tray just as we were leaving the restaurant!)

Once you are seated, you are served your meal on big, metal coin-shaped tables—and you need a space that big because the portions are huge. For example, C. and I shared one order of lamb couscous, which came with a huge bowl of vegetables, couscous, and a large piece of lamb—and, although it was wonderful, we couldn’t even finish it. 

But, of course, we did save some room for the dessert, which came out on a huge tray from which you could choose your selection. We shared a baklava and had some warm mint tea with it. 

And the best pat of all, the whole meal only cost  20 euros! In Paris, that’s a definite steal!

We had to run after our lunch so that I could go to class, but I’ve heard from friends that the mosque’s gardens are really lovely to walk around too. Perhaps I’ll check them out the next time I go…or, better yet, I’ll visit the gardens and the hamam.

We began our final day in Instanbul by enjoying the sun while having breakfast on the roof deck of our hotel (ahh…life is good!)

After enjoying the sun for a bit, we walked through the book bazaar (famous for selling used books and old maps) to see the beautiful gates of Istanbul University. Unfortunately, the gates were closed and we weren’t allowed to enter the school (it was Sunday after all and there were no classes in session), but it was nice to just be able to see the famous, ornate gates and then move on.

 

Our bad luck continued when, after striking out at the university, we tried to visit the Suleymanye Mosque …but it was closed because the mosque is under renovation. Shucks! 

Determined not to allow our string of bad luck to continue, we happily walked around the grounds of the mosque and got to see some really interesting Muslim tombstones (see photo to the left). 

Later in the day, we took the above-ground tram across the river to the new(er) section of Istanbul. 

 

 

 We took an elevator to the top of the Galata Tower (photo to the left) in order to see some views of Istanbul from above. The Galata tower was built by the Romans for defense purposes, because from the top of the tower, you can see all of the three different waterways feeding into the center of they city. (Yes, we are aware of the irony that there are 1,500 year old buildings even in the “new” section)

More than any other city we’ve visited this year, we thought that Istanbul is perfectly placed. It’s a great strategic city because it sits on so many waterways and trade routes…it’s not wonder that this city was head of powerful empires for 15 centuries. 

 

Here’s a photo of the two of us on the top of the tower. You can see some views of the Bosphorous and the city in the background.

 

 

 

 

Before moving on to our next tourist destination for the day, we stopped at a fabulous, small fish restaurant a stones throw away from the Galata Tower (photo to the left). As you can see in the photo, the restaurant only has two tables, and a husband and wife team work in the small kitchen to grill up the fish specials of the day. 

We absolutely loved our meals…especially the cod fish wraps. In fact, we even had to order more after our first serving…the food was just that good!

 

 

So, after our lunch, we took a taxi to Dolmabahce Palace. The palace was built in the 1800’s by the Ottoman Sultan at the time, and compared to the Topkapi palace, it really shows how much Ottoman styles were influenced by other European monarchies over time. For example, the Topkapi palace is a series of smaller buildings in a very Middle Eastern style with ornate tilework,and domes and arches that remind one of other Muslim architecture. In contrast, the Dolmabahce palace is one large building with very ornate design and decor in the style of Versailles, or any other grand European palace. 

 

 

Unfortunately, we were not able to take photos inside the palace (we even had to wear booties over our shoes so as to not damage the floors or ornate Turkish rugs), but I can tell you that it is definitely worth the visit. The Sultans had beaucoup bucks! I saw probably the most beautiful chandelier I’ll ever see in the palace with red and white French baccarat crystal…it weighed several tons. That’s all I have to say about that.

The grounds of the palace were beautiful as well. You can see in the photo to the left one of the many gates that leads onto the water. Wouldn’t it be nice to pull up on a boat to that gate?

 

As the palace was closing, we took a taxi up the Bosphorous to a trendy neighborhood near the bridge called Ortakoy.  This area is filled with little restaurants, bars, and cafes, where locals were playing backgammon at all the outdoor tables.  The streets all spill down onto a waterfront plaza featuring a beautiful baroque-style mosque.  The view of the mosque lit up and the bridge up above is gorgeous as you walk along the water.  We dropped into one of the many cafes to have a drink and enjoy a few mezes (small plates, like eating tapas in Turkey).

Later that night, C. and I went to Kadikoy (a neighborhood that was very far from our hotel…we had no idea how large Istanbul really is), for dinner at an excellent buffet-style restaurant called Ciya Sofrasi. If you’re ever in Istanbul, you have to eat at this place. The food was amazing…and so were the prices!

But, really, if you haven’t been to Istanbul, you must go. It is an absolutely amazing city, both in terms of it’s history and its culture…and the food isn’t too bad either

On Thursday, C. and I flew from CDG to Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul. We met some friends there and had an amazing time visiting the city, but since there was so much to see (and so much to write about), I’ve decided to write two separate posts on our trip. So here’s a rundown of what we did on days 1 and 2 in the old part of town:

 

Day 1:  Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace, and Cisterns

 

On Friday morning, we met two of our friends (and a baby) on the roofdeck of our great hotel (Hotel Sebnem www.sebnemhotel.net/) for a nice breakfast overlooking the Bosphorous. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect, so we enjoyed our freshly squeezed pomegranate juice and turkish baked goods for awhile before embarking on our day in Old Istanbul.

 

 

 

 

First, we walked to the Hagia Sofia, the former church, turned mosque, turned museum. As soon as we entered, we were completely dumbstruck—the building was enormous and so beautiful! For almost 1,000 years — from its construction until St Peter’s in the Vatican was built — this was the largest church and the largest dome in the world.  Unfortunately, the dome was partially under restoration, but the rest of the building—with its perfectly symmetrical marble walls, columns taken from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (one of the seven Ancient Wonders of the World), and mosaic ceilings—was truly a sight to behold. 

 

 

 

With our tour guide (a really informative guy that we found at the entrance of the museum), we walked around the main level of the building. Our guide pointed out the distinct Muslim and Christian influences in the building. Just the name of the building itself is an interesting example of the blending of cultures: Hagia Sofia are two Greek words that connote “wisdom,” but the Christians called the place Saint Sofia, and the Muslims had a completely separate name for it. 

 

 

For example, in the photo to the left, you can see a mosaic of Mary and Jesus on the ceiling above the former altar, as well as two huge Muslim coins (in gold writing on camel skin) with the names of two important prophets written in Arabic. Amazing! You can see these clear influences throughout the building—on the mosaic murals on the walls, on the angels and Arabic writing on the ceilings, in the stained glass windows, etc. I’m not sure there’s another place in the world that has such an interesting blend of the two religions. 

 

 

 

From a Christian perspective, the most beautiful elements of the Hagia Sofia were the mosiacs on the second level. These mosiacs from the 6th century were so bright and detailed, and took up entire walls of the second floor. 

Unfortunately, there are only a few remaining mosaics in the building (at one point all of the walls and ceilings were covered with them or with marble). But, being able to see the few mosaics that remain, and then trying to imagine what the building must have looked like 1500 years ago, is completely mind-boggling.

 

 

After our visit to the Hagia Sofia, we walked over to the Topkapi Palace, the former palace of the Sultans. The grounds of the palace are expansive, and we didn’t have the time to visit every building in the palace…but I think we saw most of the highlights.

We saw relics (the palace claims to house Moses’ rod, Abraham’s bowl, and John the Baptist’s hand, to name a few items), beautiful jewels (I don’t think I’ve ever seen bigger diamonds or gemstones!), and sumptuous thrones.

 

 

But, more than seeing all of the Sultan’s former possessions, I most liked walking around the palace and admiring the many views of the Bosphorous below. From walking around the grounds, one could easily understand why the Sultan chose this spot on which to build his palace—the views are amazing!

You can see the three of us ladies on the trip standing on an altar overlooking the Bosphorous in the photo to the left. 

 

 

 

As the sun started to go down and we began to get chilly, we left the palace and walked to the famous underground cisterns from time that the Romans controlled Istanbul (almost 2000 years ago!). 

The emperor Justinian decided to build this underground water storage in order to meet the needs of the nearby palaces (an aqueduct ran into Istanbul from 19km away). Now, the cistern is a tourist attraction and the Turks really play up the eerie, dark, dank appeal of the place. Tourists can walk around the underground maze of columns while getting dripped on by rainwater from above.

 

The builders used old marble columns from all around the area (think of it as the first recycling effort!), so the cistern has no two columns exactly alike. Most are Corinthian columns, but they are all a hodgepodge of different sized and styled columns. Some even have interesting stands. Take the one in the photo to the left for example: Medusa’s head tilted on it’s side holding up a column. 

That night, after resting for a bit at our hotel, we headed out to the trendy neighborhood of Beyoglu for a bite to eat. The restaurant that we had wanted to go to was full for the night, but the friendly waiter (all Turkish people were so friendly and helpful to us) recommended another restaurant down the road that served different types of fish dishes (fish in Turkey is so fresh and yummy!). We shared some raki (a strong Turkish drink that is similar to pastis) while we listened to some lively locals in our restaurant sing along to traditional tunes played by an accordian player.

Day 2: Blue Mosque, Bazaars, and Boat Ride of the Bosphorous

 

We began our second day by visiting the famous Blue Mosque. We had wanted to visit this mosque on our first day, but as we were entering the mosque at the end of the day, the call to prayer began (singing male voices on loudspeakers that call Muslims throughout the city to prayer five times each day) and we couldn’t enter the mosque since it was official prayer time.

One side note about the call to prayer: we were woken up each morning of our trip at 5 a.m. by the first call to prayer. On the first night, C. and I both thought we were dreaming, but then at around noon on our first day, the second call began, and the two of us realized that, in fact, we weren’t dreaming at 5 a.m. at all—the loud singing voices throughout the city were real.

So, instead of visiting the Blue Mosque on our first day, we visited the mosque on our second day. It is huge (with six minarets), and very ornate. The interior is completely decorated in tiles that were all once a beautiful blue, but because of earthquake destruction, the tiles are now no longer the same brilliant blue color. But, there is one section with the original tiles, so if you use your imagination, you can begin to try to see what the interior of this place must have looked like hundreds of years ago.  And even with today’s design it’s still pretty magnificent!

 

 

After our visit to the mosque, we walked down to the water to visit the many indoor (and some outdoor) markets in Istanbul. We started by visiting the Grand Bazaar (filled with painted bowls, Turkish trinkets, and beautiful glass lamps). We loved the lamps (photo to the left) so much that we stopped in a store and bought one to bring back with us the the U.S. 

In addition to the Grand Bazaar, there’s a leather bazaar, a book bazaar, a spice bazaar, and many, many more. The Turks clearly love to shop!

 

So after a quick lunch at a not memorable restaurant in the main bazaar, we walked to the spice bazaar to try to find some exotic spices and to try the famous Turkish Delights. I bought some local saffron, and all of us bought a box of the gummy, sweet Turkish Delights. We chewed our Delights for the rest of the afternoon as we walked around the city.

 

 

 

In the later part of the afternoon, we all boarded a boat to take a tour of the Bosphorous at sunset. Our tour lasted 1.5 hours and afforded us great views of both the Asian and European sides of the city. 

When it got too cold to sit outside on the boat, we went inside and warmed ourselves up with sweet apple tea (a Turkish specialty that reminded me of hot apple cider) as we watched the sunset. 

For dinner on the second night we ventured to another part of town (Istanbul is absolutely huge!) and had dinner along the Bosphorous at a restaurant called Abracadabra. We sat on the top story of a building and ate Turkish food with an eccentric twist. We shared anchovy ceviche (November is anchovy season in Turkey so it is on all the menus), octopus soaked in red wine, hummus and falafel, and a wonderful dessert of baked coconut and honey with bananas on top. The restaurant was very fun and the food was wonderful. It was the best meal of our trip! 

 

This weekend, four friends and I packed into a tiny Citroen for a girls’ roadtrip in Burgundy. Since most of us have been to Beaune and Dijon this year with our husbands, we wanted to experience the other sites in Burgundy that we didn’t get to see on our first times in the region. 

So early on Saturday morning we drove to the town of Chablis…what a lovely, little place! We walked through the town for a bit where I snapped the photo to the left of a cute vegetable store. Then we stopped for a coffee before setting off on our real reason for stopping in Chablis…tasting the wine!  We stopped at a Lonely Planet guidebook recommended “caveau” called La Chablisienne and sampled some lovely Chablis chardonnay.

Just as we left the cave, however, it began to rain…and didn’t stop until late that evening. We tried not to let the weather bother us too much, and just decided that instead of walking through the towns we wanted to visit, we would mostly just drove through them, with a few quick walks while clutching umbrellas. 

 

After spending the morning in Chablis, we stopped for lunch in the town of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, where the film Chocolat was filmed. Unfortunately, there are no chocolate shops in the town and Johnny Depp didn’t even visit the town during the filming (he filmed his riverboat scenes near Beynac in the Dordogne). But we movie-buffs still enjoyed seeing the town church (photo to the left), as well as the grouchy count’s house (which is the town hall), and the hairdresser’s shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the best film-related building in Flavigny was the place that was used as Juliet Binoche’s chocolate shop . As you can see in the photo to the left, it now seems to be an abandoned storefront, but that didn’t stop our mouths from watering as we remembered the chocolate-filled window in the film. 

 

 

 

 

As the rain got a bit heavier, we stopped into a little shop to buy the local claim to fame: anis candy. Instead of selling chocolate in Flavigny, the town is famous for it’s delicious, little anis candies. They look like tic-tacs, come in many flavors, and all subtly taste like anis (which is similar to licorice). I inserted a photo of the candy shop to the left; it was adorble, and being inside was a nice break from the rain for a bit.

 

 

 

Later that afternoon, we drove up to a hilltop in the town of Alise Sainte Reine and found a massive statue of the former chief of the Gauls, Vercingetorix (don’t ask me how to pronounce that…I was barely able to spell it). Apparently, Alise Ste. Reine played host to one of the last uprisings of the Gauls against the Romans (in 52 B.C.). This statue commemorates the months-long battle between the Romans and the Gauls. 

 

 

 

 

Then, on our way to our chambre d’hote, we stopped to take a photo at the top of a hill of the medieval town of Semur-en-Auxois. Unfortunately, it was too rainy and cold to stop in the town. Although the views from outside the town were pretty great, we were ready for some warmth.

So after about another half hour drive, we arrived at our wonderful chambre d’hote, Les Champs de Cordois ( http://www.les-champs-cordois.com/spip.php?rubrique-49.html) on a huge plot of land with horses and gardens in the town of Bessieres. The hotel is run by a lovely French couple who treated us like guests of the family. The place was so clean and spacious—the five of us ladies stayed in a two room wing of the house (photo of the house to the left).

And after freshening up for a bit, we joined the two owners for dinner. They served us an apertif of kir (a Burgundian specialty), and then we walked over to the table to have our dinner of beet, cheese, and endive salad, a white fish with a creamy leek sauce, a cheese course of local cheeses, and an apple tart for dessert. Best of all, we washed our meal down with some wonderful Aligote. 

After dinner, we returned to our rooms and spent the rest of the evening playing cards and games while sipping on some of the wine we bought earlier in the day.

Luckily, the next morning we woke up to a bright, sunny day. And after  a quick breakfast, we hopped back into the car and drove to the Abbey of Fontenay, a Cisternian abbey built in the the 1100s. You can see the five of us road-trippers standing in front of the abbey in the photo to the left. 

 

 

 

 

My favorite part of our visit to the abbey was the cloisters (photo to the left) where the monks would spend most of their days working on manuscripts or their other daily tasks. It was so sunny and peaceful there. I could have walked around the halls for hours. Even better, there were very few tourists at the abbey at all (I guess November is low season for Burgundy), so we really had an undisturbed tour of the grounds.

 

 

 

After our visit, we drove to the town of Vezelay where we stopped for some yummy pizza, and then visited the famous for its Basilica of Ste. Madeline (Mary Magdeline). According to some, the relics of Mary Magdeline rest in the crypt of this cathedral. But on our tour, we were able to see only one bone (which, to us, resembled a rib or some other kind of thin bone).

The basilica was absolutely beautiful inside, and was so different from other cathedrals I’ve seen in France. Since it is in the Romanesque style of architecture, it has wonderful columns and arched ceilings. Also, it has only one stained glass window and the walls are not decorated at all; to me, it made the church seem much more powerful and holy. It was a bright, peaceful place.

 

 

 

 

After visiting inside the basilica, we walked behind the building to see a beautiful view of the Cure River Valley and the small villages that dot the countryside. Also, we were able to have a nice view of the basilica from a different angle, with the beautiful autumn trees (photo to the left).

We walked back down the hill to our car through the winding, narrow streets of the town of Vezelay, and then started our drive back to Fontainebleau.

But before leaving Burgundy, we had one more stop to make….

 

…another wine cave. The owner of our chambre d’hote suggested that we stop at this particular cave on our way home because it is famous for its cremant (or Burgundian champagne). We sampled some cremant as well as some fruit liqueurs in the inside of the cave (with a musty smell and moss growing on the walls–very cool!), and of course bought a few bottles to celebrate future special occasions…or to bring with us on future Girls’ Weekends

 

 

 

A few weeks ago, we decided that want to really take advantage of our proximity to Paris before we have to leave at the end of the year, so C. has decided to spend the day with me in Paris on as many weekdays as he can. I’m going to try to hold him to that promise

So yesterday, after spending most of the morning at home catching up on Mad Men episodes while waiting for the rain to stop, we took the train into Paris.

While I was in class, C. roamed around the Left Bank. He found a great area, north of the Boulevard St Germain in the 6th and 7th, where the streets are lined with tons of little antique shops, art galleries, and old book stores.

Then, he met me after class and he showed me all of the new streets and stores he has found. When the rain started to pick up, we walked over to Willi’s Wine Bar (on Rue de Petit Champs in the 1st arrondisement). We sat at the bar for an hour or so sharing glasses of red wine from the Cote de Rhone, while we watched the rain outside. We decided not to brave the elements again, so we asked for a table and had a really great meal. I had a casoulette of mussels and vegetables, and then cabillaud with risotto and pesto. C. had the restaurant’s Autumn menu of Saint-jaques in a shell, then a wonderful agneau, and finally, figs roasted in their own juices.

The restaurant was filled last night with ex-pats, tourists, and locals. And everyone was eager to buy the restaurant’s posters which are created each year by a different parisian artist. In particular, we liked the poster from 1998 by Xavier Mariscal which I’ve pasted above http://www.williswinebar.com/pages/poster-1998.htm. What do you think?