L'Arc de Triomphe!!
We wanted to go have L'Entrcote for dinner, but the restaurant was closed. We took the metro to our hotel, Marriott Rive Gauche, and we checked in. It was a fantastic room, very comfortable. We decided to walk up to the Latin Quarter for dinner. We were really rushed because it was getting late, 10pm. We stopped to check out a menu at Luxembourg right by Luxembourg Gardens. I carefully said, 'J'ai un allergie au gluten,' whereupon I was quickly interrupted by the British waiter who said, 'Try it in English, little girl, and it will go much faster!' Geez. Supper was super. We started with salmon tartare, raw salmon with delicious vinaigrette and red peppercorns. Really delicious. Mike had steak and I had l'angoustines (baby lobsters! Not really, but they look like they are and they are DELISH!). After dinner and a bottle of house red, we felt much better!
In the morning, we went to Les Catacombes. Truly amazing and disturbing. (Side note- I just went to wikipedia to link the info about the catacombs for you and they have the same picture that we took! So weird! Check it out: wikipedia...) We were ready to get out of the tunnels pretty quickly, but I think we're both glad we went!
After that, we took the metro up to Pigalle to see Montmartre. We first saw the Moulin Rouge Windmill:
Then we went to eat at Des si et Des Mets, an entirely gluten free restaurant! This is a picture of our dessert. My pastry with strawberry cream and fresh fruit was about the most amazing thing I've had (for dessert) in a long time. Seriously. The cheese plate came with a basket of gluten free bread! ooh la la! I was soooooo happy!
Montmarte was a beautiful area. We found the tourists, for sure, but that's going to happen! We loved Sacre Coeur. We then walked the narrow streets enjoying the buildings and the people. What fun!
Next up, we metroed to Bir Hakeim to see La Tour Eiffel! It was not as exciting as I'd expected, no offense. There are so many other amazingly more beautiful things! It was fun, though. And we found a super duper Seine Cruise right from the base of the tower.
Our cruise explained 22 of the 5 billion Seine bridges (sorry for the exaggeration, but come on.) and we saw all the fantastic buildings along the way. It was a good intro to what we were planning to do the next day!
We walked and walked. For dinner, we ended up in the busy streets of the Latin Quarter again. I got a gluten free salad and chocolate mousse from a grocery store and Mike got a crepe. This was a good idea for me because GF lunch had been HUGE! We walked around and looked at the bustle and chaos, totally fun! We then returned to the hotel for some wine and journaling.Sunday was another fantastic day. We started by touring Notre Dame. Lucky us! We went at 10am just as worship started! You know the saying, 'For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them' (Matthew 18:20)? That is all I could think of. The amazing space and beauty of Notre Dame as a building was extraordinarily exaggerated by the beauty and majesty of the music and traditions of worship. I was truly moved. What a morning. (Mom-See the beauty? That's all I could think of!)
We walked around the islands and then headed to lunch at a great little bistro! Again with 'Je suis allergique au gluten,' and I pulled out my french restaurant card, and I was golden! I don't know how a salad with fresh rotisseried chicken and hard boiled eggs could taste so good, maybe the Dijon dressing was the cherry on top. I know which of you out there are making fun of me, but seriously!! Yum! Mike had a croque madame and was equally thrilled with the culinary accomplishment!
So then onto Musee D'Orsay. Fantastic. Coffee in the Tuilleries Gardens, amazing- sitting amongst the statues and looking upon the Louvre. What a place. There was more, of course, but this has been a review of highlights. I hope to go back someday!
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