A Moveable Feast

For those unaware, Ernest Hemingway wrote a book called A Moveable Feast about his time living in Paris in the 1920's.  We have been reading the book and enjoying it tremendously and we recommend it.  It is fascinating to jump into his life and hear little vignettes about how he viewed life and the interesting characters in his life.  It is also a wonderful introduction to and preparation for enjoying Paris.

Ah, Paris, what a wonderful weekend it was.  The drive down was again, very nice, until we hit Paris proper.  I believe the phrase D used was "bone crushing traffic."  We moved maybe 2-3 blocks in 30 minutes.  Interestingly, we both felt as if we were in NYC several times: the traffic, the insane drivers, the pedestrians walking out in front of you at any moment, the eccentric people (unicycle rider) etc.  The big difference would be that the buildings were so much prettier and smaller - no skyscrapers.

So, after a long day's work and a nice if not longish drive (it seemed shorter this time, until we hit Paris that is) we were ready for a good dinner.  We stayed at the Hotel de La Place du Louvre, which as the name suggests, was across the street from the Louvre.  It was not only a perfect location, but the front desk staff was tremendously helpful in finalizing dinner plans.  They suggested L'Espadon Bleu (which translates to The Blue Swordfish) which was walking distance from the hotel, just across the Pont Neuf.  It specialized in fish.  [Interestingly enough, upon looking them up on our return to Belgium, this restaurant was closed from July 26-August 27, which means we went in its first week of reopening.  I know that most Europeans, and especially Parisians, take the month of August off, but I was surprised to see that even a restaurant would do that.  Again, something different than from the States.]

We ate in true Parisian style, meaning our reservation was at 9pm.  We were both favorably impressed by the meal and atmosphere.  There weren't many people in the restaurant, which was perfect for us.  We chose a nice smoked salmon and mussels for appetizers.  The salmon was light and buttery with just a hint of smoke.  D thoroughly enjoyed his mussels, thanks to some good advise from a friend before we left (thanks Todd), who told him that the best way to eat mussels (popular in this region) was to use the shells from the first one you eat as tongs to eat the rest.  The butter soup that they were served in provided for a rich yummy appetizer.

The entrées were equally lovely.  I went with a grilled sea bass and D had the special, Swordfish with Ratatouille - he just couldn't resist! (Pixar has educated us all on the joy of Ratatouille.) CORRECTION: {I was reminded that not ALL Americans have experienced the lovely movie that is Ratatouille.  There was a couple behind us that was clearly American (we felt mildly superior in that we were trying to use our limited French when they clearly had none) and a little loud.  The leopard print dress with gold chain straps was too much for me - it IS Paris.  Anyway, they asked about the Ratatouille, what it was, asking multiple times how to pronounce it, and we were just mortified. But back to our story...}  It was delicious and we had just enough room for a dessert to split before we headed home for a good night sleep.  The waiter recommended the chocolate cake that had a liquid chocolate filling, and we both agreed that it was the best chocolate cake we had ever had.  

Grateful for the walk home to help digest before we hit the hay (it was 11:30), we savored the view of the Eiffel Tower lighting up the sky with thousands if not millions of lights. Quite a sight, and the pictures do not do it justice.  We went home and fell into bed, eager to take advantage of our limited time and what promised to be beautiful weather.