Falling in love with France ... again

Ahh, France.  What makes a country that's smaller than California the most visited place on earth?  The food, the wine, Paris, the pristine countryside, the Alps, the gorgeous coastline, the chateaux, the smell of fresh baked bread every where you go ... the list goes on and on.  I took Lindsay to Paris a couple years ago, after which Lindsay proudly proclaimed that it was her favorite place on earth.  I'm happy to report after seeing more of the country and spending another 5 days in Paris, it hasn't lost that distinction.  Lindsay is only more confident in her desire to spend more time there.

Lucky for Lindsay she married a Frenchman!  Lindsay's enthusiasm for France has been contagious, and it's helped me get more connected to my own roots there.  On this trip, we were able to spend time with my lovely Aunt Michelle and her boyfriend Jean-Louis in Lyon.  It was the highlight of our trip so far to spend time with two such wonderful people and enjoy the hospitality of family.  We also had the opportunity to spend time with old family friends - the Legrand family in Beaune and the Laveix/Dietrich family in Versailles - who graciously opened their homes to us.  

Our trip to France began in Marseille and continued to the French Riviera, where we stayed in Cannes and visited Antibes, Monaco, and Nice.  We then drove north, stopping in Lyon and Burgundy along the way.  We spent our final 5 days in Versailles and Paris, enjoying the sights and tastes of the city.

Marseille

From Croatia, we flew to Marseille on the coast of Provence.  Marseille (counting just the city proper) is the second largest city in France and sits in the middle of France's Mediterranean coast.  Marseille has a great culinary tradition (bouillabaise - a seafood stew - is from there) and a stunning coastline characterized by the Calanques, a number of secluded inlets created by massive rock formations that offer great recreational opportunities (hiking, climbing, kayaking, beaches).  

Arriving late from Croatia on Sep 12th, we spent a couple nights in Marseille.  The first day was spent exploring the city and enjoying a couple of fantastic meals.  Marseille is centered around the Vieux Port (old port), which is the touristic hub of the city and offers a view up to the Basilica de Notre Dame de la Garde.  The city was named (along with it's neighboring city Aix-en-Provence) as the European capital of culture for 2013.  This has led to an influx of money in the city and several new/renovated buildings and museums in the city center.

Cathedrale de la Major

View of the Basilica of Notre Dame from the Vieux Port

After walking around the center of town, we made our way up the hill to the Basilica shown in the picture above.  On the way, we found a beautiful outdoor terrace at a restaurant called La Passarelle where we enjoyed our first meal in France, and it definitely didn't disappoint!  The restaurant served some of the best salads we've ever had.  All the produce they serve is either grown in the restaurant's garden (shown below), or on local farms.

The terrace at La Passarelle

Burrata salad with arugula, haricot vert, nasturiums, tomato, zucchini from the garden.  Just as delicious as it is beautiful.  

Garden salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, French country ham, figs, melon, strawberries, and croutons.  Those little strawberries were unbelievably sweet and flavorful.

Encornets Farci - squids stuffed with minced veal, bread crumbs and spices, served with eggplant, zucchini, rice and fresh salad from the garden.

Braised beef with polenta cake topped with shaved parmesan cheese

That there is a tasty piece of beef.  You know you want a bite...

Lindsay enjoying the sun and her meal on the terrace

After lunch, we worked off the meal by hiking up to the Basilica de Notre Dame, which sits at the highest point in the city.  The Basilica itself is small but charming, and the views from the top are spectacular.

View of the Basilica from the walk up the hill

View from the Basilica of Marseille, the Mediterranean and nearby islands.  The small island in the middle is the setting for Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" and can be visited on a tour.

Enjoying the view of Marseille from the Basilica.  The Vieux Port is just off Lindsay's right shoulder, and just a bit above the Port you can see the Cathedrale de La Major. 

After a long day of walking, we worked up a good appetite.  With a bit of research we found a great place called Le Café des Épices in downtown Marseille.  The chef Arnaud Carton de Grammont was one of the pioneers of the modern Marseille bistro culture, opening this restaurant in 2004 after spending time in Lyon, the US and South America.  The menu changes daily based on what's fresh and is written on a chalkboard, which you can see in the picture below.

The lovely terrace and daily menu at Le Café des Épices

The concept for the menu is a choice of appetizer, main, and dessert - pretty standard for French restaurants.  When surveying the menu, we almost decided to steer clear of the foie gras appetizer as Lindsay and I typically find it too heavy, but a neighboring English-speaking couple fortunately convinced us to give it a try.  Oh man, this dish was incredible.  It was a piece of seared foie gras on a flaky tartlet with onion confit, honey and roasted figs.  We both agreed this was the best foie gras we had ever tasted.

Seared foie gras on a flaky tartlet with onion confit, honey and roasted figs

The rest of the dishes followed suit.  Below are the highlights.

Our other appetizer:  Squash blossom stuffed with ricotta and herbs, grilled squid, in a red pepper cream sauce

Lindsay's main was delicate and delicious: filet of fish (not sure the name in english) in a vegetable minestrone with cherry tomatoes, olives and an herb pesto 

My main course: young roasted lamb over a chickpea puree 

For our dessert course, I chose the cheese plate which was made up of some wonderful regional cheeses.  The goat cheese (in front) was particularly outstanding.  And look at those figs ... just beautiful.

Lindsay had the blackberry tart with a berry reduction - it was pure bliss

Reflecting on our time in France, the two meals we had in Marseille - at Le Café des Épices and La Passarelle - were among our favorite dining experiences and we would wholeheartedly recommend both places if you are visiting the city.

After spending a couple nights in Marseille, we headed up the coast of Provence towards the Cote d'Azur, the French Riviera.  On the way out of Marseille, we visited a charming neighboring town called Cassis and took a boat tour of the Calanques, which are inlets created by large rock formations along the coast.  If you visit Provence and have time, I would strongly suggest doing some recreational activities in the Calanques National Park.  During our boat tour we saw a number of hikers, boaters and kayakers.  If we had another day there, we would have love to rent kayaks.  Cassis is also worth a visit to eat a nice lunch, visit the beach, and explore the many shops that line the town's small streets and squares.

Town of Cassis

View of the coastline during our Calanques boat tour

One of the Calanques near Cassis

Enjoying the beautiful scenery from the boat

Cote d'Azur (Cannes, Antibes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Monaco, Nice)  

Lindsay and I set up camp for three nights in Cannes to explore the Côte d'Azur.  We stayed at a really charming bed and breakfast right in the heart of old Cannes called Chambres d'Hôte Bisou (which means "Kiss Bed & Breakfast").  The location was fantastic right around the corner from dozens of restaurants, but in a quiet little plaza adorned with ivy.  The owner of the bed and breakfast proudly showed us some photos that Paris Hilton had recently taken in front of the ivy in the plaza.  The interior of the B&B was decorated in an old French style that Lindsay absolutely loved - some of you may remember her post on Facebook after we arrived.

Our charming bed and breakfast in Cannes - Chambres D'Hôtes Bisou

Our room at the Chambres D'Hôtes Bisou - so French!

View from our room

The highlights in Cannes are the old town where we stayed and the Promenade de La Croisette, a long tree-lined promenade bordering Cannes' sandy beaches.  In fact, most of the Cote d'Azur has a sidewalk that borders the ocean, making it possible to walk (or, in our case, run) all along the coast quite comfortably.  La Croisette is probably the largest and nicest of the promenades you'll encounter along this part of the Mediterranean.  One thing we noted about Cannes is that there isn't much in the way of a local vibe, since it's primarily a tourist destination.  For this trip, however, it worked great for us, as we loved our bed and breakfast and Cannes offered easy access to the surrounding coastal villages and cities.

We spent our days exploring the surrounding coastal cities and towns, including Monaco, Nice, Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Antibes.  Among these, our favorite was Antibes, which feels like a small village with a wonderful (but pricey!) open air market.  We also had our best shwarma of the trip at a Lebanese place next to the market called Falafel.  By the way, one strategy for finding good restaurants in heavily touristed areas like this part of the French Riviera is find restaurants where people are speaking french.  It tended to work out well wherever we tried this.

Open air market in Antibes

Lindsay in the port of Antibes with the fort in the background

My aunt helped a ton with our itinerary (thanks, Michelle!) and told us that we should visit Saint-Paul-de-Vence while we are in the area.  Saint-Paul-de-Vence is one of the oldest Medieval villages in the French Riviera, with a spectacular setting in the mountains just a short 20 min drive from Antibes.  It's a great place to stroll through its narrow cobblestone streets, browse the art galleries/shops that occupy most of the town's storefronts, and admire the beautiful views of the coastline below.

The Medieval town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence

One of the old courtyards in town

The famous fountain in the center of town

One of the charming little streets in town

Enjoying the view to the coastline below

We also spent a day driving along the coast out to Monaco and Nice.  The Principality of Monaco is a sovereign city-state on the French Riviera.  There are no noticeable borders as you pass from France into Monaco, which uses French as its national language and relies on France for its defense.  Monaco has a population of over 36,000 within an area of just 0.8 square miles, making it the most densely populated country in the world (though you wouldn't know it when visiting - it often feels more crowded with tourists than locals).  Many of you may be familiar with Monte Carlo from a past Vegas visit - that's the neighborhood within Monaco where their famous casino resides.  With gambling, a great climate, good connections to Paris and a beautiful coastline, Monaco has become a playground for the rich and famous.  Predictably, you'll find its harbor littered with enormous yachts.

Monte Carlo Casino

Admiring the view from behind the Casino

The Port of Monaco

Nice is the largest city on the French Riviera.  Unlike many of the resort towns along the coast, Nice is a large and vibrant city.  Our experience in Nice was unfortunately limited to running a few errands,  taking a sunset stroll along the beach, and eating a quick dinner as we we only had an afternoon there.  The city warrants a longer visit.

Nice

Enjoying a stroll along the boardwalk in Nice

Sunset over Nice

Lyon

Before planning our trip to France, I reached out to my Aunt Michelle to let her know that we would visiting.  She generously offered to let us stay with her for a couple days in Lyon.

I noted earlier that Marseille is the second largest city in France.  That assessment is based on just the city proper.  If you include the surrounding areas, Lyon is actually the second largest city in France.  Home to a large pharmaceutical, biotech and banking industry, it is certainly the second most economically important city in France.

Lyon's history dates back to the Roman Empire, when it was the capital of Gaul.  Much of the original Roman settlement remains and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Modern-day Lyon is a beautiful, clean and very liveable city.  At a fraction of what it costs to live in Paris, the city offers a great public transportation infrastructure, a charming and historic city center, great cultural activities like the Opera and the annual festival of lights (Fête des Lumières) in December, a fantastic location near the Alps and a just a few hours from the Mediterranean coast, and wonderful food.  In fact, Lyon is often considered the culinary capital of France.  The city is crossed by two rivers - the Saône and the Rhône, which meet to the south of the city center.  The city recently built a great walking/biking path which extends for over 30 km along the Rhône, where Lindsay and I were able to do some marathon training.  It's also nice that you won't find many tourists in Lyon, as its off the radar for most (though being named a UNESCO world heritage site is changing that).       

Below are some photos of our day exploring the city with Michelle and her boyfriend Jean-Louis.

My Aunt Michelle and her charming boyfriend Jean-Louis in front of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall)

Lindsay, Michelle and Jean-Louis in front of the Cathédrale de Lyon

Looking up to the Basilica de Notre Dame de Fourvière

Entrance to the Basilica

The beautiful interior of the Basilica

Visiting the Roman Amphitheater.  Last time I was here was 1998 when Michelle and I saw the Cure play here.  Coolest Aunt ever.

View of Lyon while descending the from the Basilica

View of Lyon from the Rhône River

Sunset against the Lyon skyline

As I mentioned, Lyon has a very strong culinary tradition, and thanks to our wonderful hosts, we were able to sample a lot of delicious local flavors during our stay.

On the first night, Michelle and JL took us out to a wonderful French restaurant called Maison Villemanzy.  In particular, we loved the Salade Tiede de Ravioles - it was a local ravioli dish in a creamed mushroom and spinach sauce. The French "ravioles" are much more delicate than the Italian ravioli, with thinner skin.

Ravioli with creamed mushroom and spinach

We also tried a couple of traditional meat dishes.  Lindsay had veal and I had the steak tartare.  Both were well prepared and tasty.  One thing I noticed in France is that steak tartare is typically prepared in the kitchen and brought out to you already made.  I feel like it's more common in the States to make it tableside or give you the ingredients to make it yourself.

Veal in bean sauce topped with a marinade of tomatoes and served with pasta

Steak tartare with fresh herbs and greens

For our second evening in Lyon, Jean-Louis invited us over to his house for a delicious home cooked meal.  The food and wine were fantastic, and JL was very thoughtful in opening up one of his treasured bottles of Burgundy Pinot (a Pommard) to get us warmed up for our trip to Burgundy.  We also had fun stopping by a local epicerie on our way home to buy a saucisson en croute, with is a large Lyonnaise sausage surrounded by a buttery brioche crust.  This is a very traditional Lyonnaise dish, and after Lindsay saw a picture of it in a local cookbook, she was sold.  As we saw in Croatia at the Bosnian restaurant, she loves her some meat cooked in dough.  We had the saucisson as an appetizer along with some wine - it was so good that Michelle and Jean Louis ate it for lunch the next day!

Saucisson en croute

The meal consisted of a wonderfully fresh Caprese salad piled high with mozzarella and basil.  The produce is France is beautiful and these heirloom tomatoes were no exception.  The main course was a delicious steak alongside Potatoes Dauphinoise, which are potatoes cooked in cream, garlic and cheese.  The dish originated in the Dauphiné region of southeast France, a former province that extended to modern-day Lyon.  Cream, garlic, cheese?  Tough to go wrong with that.   And of course, we had to complete the meal with a wonderful selection of local cheeses.

Jean-Louis' delicious Caprese Salad

The Chef delivering the goods

Potatoes Dauphinoise

Steak, perfectly tenderized and seasoned by our host Jean Louis

After exhaustive research, we decided the St Felicien and the Comté Fruité were our favorites

After a fantastic stay in Lyon, it was time to say goodbye and make our way to our next destination, Burgundy.

Saying goodbye to our wonderful hosts

Burgundy

Lindsay and I have always enjoyed French wine, but are relative novices in terms of our knowledge of various wine-making regions in France.  We chose to stop in Burgundy for a couple nights to enjoy a bit of the French countryside and begin improving our knowledge of the wines in the region.  We also took the opportunity while in the area to see Sophie Legrand and her family, who live in Dijon.  Sophie was an Au Pair that looked after me for two summers in 1980 and 81 and has remained a close family friend.

To get the full Burgundy experience, I booked our stay at Chateau Saint-Sabine in the small town of Saint-Sabine about 30 minutes from both Beaune and Dijon.  The hotel was charming and very reasonably priced.  The same group that owns the Chatellerie Levernois in Beaune (a Relais and Chateaux property) also own the Chateau Saint-Sabine.  The rooms were a bit small, but the service and food were excellent, and I suspect that it's only a matter of time before this joins Relais & Chateaux and the price doubles or triples.

Entrance to the Chateau Saint-Sabine

In the courtyard of the Chateau Saint-Sabine

Chateau Saint-Sabine

View of the Château de Châteauneuf from the window of our room

Here are some highlights from our dinner in the hotel.

Another french raviole, this time with snails, shaved parmesan and potato crisps.  This was fantastic.

Magret de canard over steamed carrots

The restaurant's take on boeuf bourguignon alongside fried potatoes  

Egg white soufflé with pan d'epice (ginger bread) ice cream

We spent our first evening after arriving in Saint-Sabine in Dijon with the Legrand family.  Sophie cooked us a delicious dinner of Poulet a la Dijonnaise (chicken in cream and Dijon mustard) followed by another wonderful selection of local cheeses.  At this point, Lindsay and I had been eating cheese every day since we arrived.  I chalked this up to our eating out a lot and being guests at people's homes (where our hosts were eager to introduce us to the local delicacies).  I asked Sophie, "you guys don't eat cheese every day, do you?"  Her response was perfectly French ... "Yes, of course!  But only once a day."

We really enjoyed meeting Sophie's family, which included her husband Andre, a retired train conductor, and her sons Nicolas and Francois.  Nicolas had to go to bed early, so we didn't get to spend much time with him. Francois is a fantastic kid who served as our French/English translator for the evening.  Conversation with Francois spanned photography, politics, remote controlled helicopters, Daft Punk, his studies, and a demonstration of different voices that he likes to practice.  Lindsay and I both agreed he was one of our favorite people we met in France - it's just a shame that we don't have any pictures with him.  Here's a pic of us with Sophie and her husband Andre.  

Visting the lovely Legrand family

We arranged a day-long tour of the Grand Cru Vineyards in the Côte-d'Or, one of France's most prestigious wine growing provinces.  The Côte-d'Or produces primarily pinot noir and chardonnay, and is home to the most expensive wines in the world.  We toured two wine regions within the Côtes-d'Or - the Côtes-de-Beaune, famous for both its red and white wines, and the Côtes-de-Nuit, famous for its red wines.  We arranged the tour through Authentica Tours, which is a company started a few years ago by a couple of young locals, who have built a now thriving company.  Their success is owed in large part to having the best guides in the area.  Our guide Jean-Pierre spoke perfect english (he used to live in Canada), is a teacher for wine appreciation and tasting at the University of Burgundy, is a board member for the Burgundy Wine Association, the wine editor for Bourgogne Magazine, and the list goes on ... the man knows his stuff.  Aside from being a very knowledgeable guide, he is a pleasure to spend time with, and never made us feel bad for being novices with the wine.  Here's a picture of Jean-Pierre explaining the topography of the area to us.  

Our guide Jean-Pierre dropping some knowledge

What makes the Côte-d'Or such a special region for wines is (1) a unique climate that is ideally suited to growing both pinot noir and chardonnay, and (2) an abundance of limestone beneath the soil - that's what gives the wines their unique taste and minerality.  Because the grapes requires a very particular temperature to grow, the area within the Côtes-d'Or that is devoted to making wine is actually quite small - the area is about a mile wide and only 25 miles long.   The best vines grow where the soil is just deep enough, which is on the slope of the hills.  At the top of the hills, the soil is too rocky, and at the bottom of the hills in the valleys, there is too much soil.  The Côtes-d'Or has 24 Grand Cru vineyards - all of which are on the slopes.   

In France, there are 4 classifications of wine you'll find.  Interestingly, these have nothing to do with the skill of winemaker, rather the classification corresponds to the location of the vines.  The top level is the Grand Cru, which comprises less than 2% of the wines, then the Premier Cru, which is less than 10% of the wines.  The next classification is the Village classification.  You'll see the name of the village - e.g., Aloxe-Corton, Pommard, Mersault, etc - on all three classifications, but the Premier Cru or Grand Cru will have that noted beneath the Village name.  The final classification is regional wine, which will be called simply Vin Rouge (red wine) from the region, e.g. Bourgogne.  One big realization for us was this: buying a "Grand Cru" does NOT mean you're buying the best wine.  The "Grand Cru" designation means that the grapes are from the choicest land.  There are a total of 24 Grand Cru vineyards in the Côtes-d'Or.  These wines tend to be much more complex and require more aging than some of the lesser wines, but the taste will also depend on the skills of the wine maker.    Jean-Pierre was full of stories where people, insisted on buying the most expensive Grand Cru bottles of wine because they thought they were buying the "best" wines.  These wines are generally made to be aged - at least 5-10 years for the Grand Crus.  Many people buy these wines and open them up right away, which would be a shame as the wine is not yet ready to be consumed.  While the wine will still be good, it will feel quite tight in the mouth.  But with a few years of aging, those rougher edges mellow out while the body and complexity of the wine remain.  The aging of wine is something that most French people do and is a big part of the wine culture there.  We loved the idea of the wine being a living thing and changing with each passing year of aging.  Going into your cellar a few years after you first purchased the wine is like discovering a little treasure that you can then share with friends and family.   

We started the morning at a couple Grand Cru vineyards in the Côtes-de-Beaune.  The Côtes-de-Beaune is known for both great reds (Pinot Noir) and whites (Chardonnay).  The most famous of the whites are from Mersault, but there are many great whites in the region from vineyards like Corton, Corton Charlemagne and Montrachet.  We love the Chardonnays here - not oaky like California chardonnays, with lots of minerality and a complexity of flavor.  

The first of the Grand Cru vineyards we visited was Pierre André in Aloxe-Corton.  The tasting took place in the Chateau de Corton André, one of the famous Bourgogne chateaus characterized by the tiles on the roof that are so typical of the region. 

Our first stop for wine tasting - Pierre André in Aloxe-Cortone

Chateau de Corton André

Enjoying a Grand Cru from Corton-Charlemagne

Following the morning tasting, we had lunch at another domaine Comté Senard.  The lunch consisted of several typical Burgundy dishes, like Gougères (bread rolls made with cheese) and Coq au Vin, paired with their Grand Cru wines.

At the entrance to Comté Senard

Gougères - these little guys are made with Gruyere or Comté cheese are ridiculously tasty

Coq au Vin - braised chicken cooke with wine, mushrooms and carrots.  Hearty and delicious!

Local cheese selection

Jean-Pierre took us on a tour of the area between tastings.  Most of the people living in these little towns are employed in the wine industry.

View of Burgundy vineyards with Beaune in the distance

The quality of the Burgundy wine is influenced heavily by the limestone beneath the soil.  You can see some exposed limestone in the picture below.

The limestone beneath the ground gives the Burgundy wines their unique minerality and taste

In the afternoon we drove up to the Côtes-de-Nuits, which is the premier region in France for pinot noir.  Some of the most expensive wines in the world are produced in Côtes-de-Nuits.  We visited the "Champs Elysees" of France's wine region, with the highest concentration of Grand Crus in France.  The most of expensive of these vineyards is Romanée Conti, a vineyard that dates back 1500 years.

Standing in Front of Romanée Conti Vineyards, producer of the most expensive wines in Burgundy 

The famous cross in front of the Romanée Conti Vineyards

Some of the most expensive grapes in the world, ready for harvest in another week

We did an afternoon tasting at Domaine Quivy in Givery-Chambertin.  The building was beautiful, and the pinots were fantastic.

Domaine Quivy

Tasting Room at Domaine Quivy

Before driving up to Paris, we spent a fun day in Beaune, which is a charming town and the center of the wine business in Burgundy.  Our day included a morning in the open air market, a tour of Moutarderie Edmond Fallot, and a tour of the Hospices of Beaune, a former charitable hospital that is one of the most beautiful buildings in town.  

The open air market was in the center of Beaune and included fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and local specialties like Pan d'Epices, which is a tasty ginger bread that is typical of Burgundy.  You'll not only find loaves of Pan d'Epices, but they also use it to flavor other foods like ice cream.  We first tried it with Sophie and ended up buying a loaf of it at the market.   

Several varieties of pate and saucisson at the open air market

Selection of local cheeses at the open air market

The Hospices of Beaune is a former charitable hospital founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, the chancellor of Burgundy, for the poor and needy.  The original building, which has been restored and is now a museum, is a wonderful example of 15th century French architecture.  The tiled roof is particularly impressive.

Courtyard at the Hospices of Beaune

View from the courtyard of the entrance to the Hospices

I love Dijon mustard.  The Dijon mustard that we all know from the States, like Grey Poupon, has a good flavor but lacks the spice of the real Dijon mustard, which has the nose clearing power of horseradish (but doesn't include any horseradish - it's a characteristic of fresh mustard seeds).  While we were in Burgundy, Lindsay and I wanted to visit one of the famous producers of traditional Dijon mustard - Moutarderie Edmond Fallot.  We learned that all but a handful of Dijon mustard producers have gone out of business as Dijon mustard is produced now in other parts of the world by larger producers with scale.  Edmond Fallot is actually the only remaining mustard producer that makes a Dijon mustard that is grown 100% in Burgundy.  They call it their Moutarde Bourgogne, and it's fantastic.  The Moutarderie is located in Beaune and welcomes visitors throughout the day for tours of their facilities and a tasting of their mustard.  The tour also included an opportunity to make our own mustard by hand.  The whole experience is really interesting and highly recommended.

Moutarderie Edmond Fallot (the Fallot mustard factory)

Our tour guide showing us the mills used to grind the mustard seeds

Mustard seeds

Combine mustards seeds with salt and verjuice (or white wine and vinegar) to make mustard

Mustard made by hand!

A great visit at Moutarderie Fallot

Versailles and Paris

The final destinations on our France itinerary were Paris and the suburb of Versailles (about 20km southwest of the city).  

On our way to Paris, we stopped in Versailles for a night to see some family friends.  My mother met Claude Dietrich on the Bateaux Mouches in Paris 40 years ago, and they have they have remained close friends since.  Claude made the trip up to Versailles from his home in Troyes (in Champagne) to see us.  His daughter Veronique, her husband Michel and their daughters Marine and Margaux graciously hosted us for the evening and took us out for a wonderful traditional meal at a local French bistro.  It was a fantastic evening - we want to send a big thank you to the Laveixs for dinner, Claude for making the trip, and Margaux for giving up her room for us.

A couple of funny observations from the dinner.  Claude walked into the restaurant with a loaf of bread under his arm that he had brought from Troyes.  It turns out that he's a diabetic and the bread was a special bread that he is allowed to eat.  It's classic that a frenchman would rather bring his own loaf of bread on a two hour journey than go without bread at dinner.  We also got a kick out of Michel's dessert, which was Baba au Rhum.  The waiter literally poured four shots of rum into the cake.  You gotta love France ...

Toasting to our friend Claude Dietrich

Wonderful evening with the Laveix family

Baba au Rhum with a healthy pour of rum

We also dedicated an afternoon to seeing the famous Chateau in Versailles.  In the late 17th Century, the Chateau was transformed by Louis XIV from a hunting lodge into a palace and his primary residence.  It served as the seat of the French government until the French Revolution in 1789.  Today the palace is a museum and is undergoing a $400 million Euro renovation that is scheduled to be completed in 2020.  The palace and gardens are spectacularly beautiful and are a must-see when in the area.  The Chateau has an entrance fee of 15 Euros (free for EU citizens), and the gardens are free to visit.  We didn't manage to explore much of the gardens because they are enormous, but would love to return to do some running or biking there.  You can reach the palace on the regional train from Paris in about 35 minutes.

Approaching the Chateau from the town of Versailles

Chateau of Versailles

By the front gates

Entrance to the Chateau.  They are are in the midst of a 400m Euro renovation, scheduled to be completed in 2020.

Chapel inside the Chateau

View of the Versailles Gardens from inside the Chateau

In the Versailles Gardens

In the Versailles Gardens

In the Versailles Gardens

Sun setting over Versailles

On our last trip to Paris, we stayed in Saint Germain des Pres.  We loved that area, but for this trip, I wanted to introduce Lindsay to the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter), which is just east of Saint Germain des Pres.  We decided to stay at the Hotel du Pantheon, which offers fantastic views of the Pantheon and sits in the heart of the Quartier Latin, near the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Sorbonne, and a 10 minute walk from Notre Dame.  

Our hotel - the Hotel Du Pantheon

View of the Pantheon from our hotel room

Front of the Pantheon.  Our hotel was directly to the right.

Interior of the Pantheon

We spent a total of 5 days in Paris.  We didn't do a ton of sight-seeing, as we've been to Paris before, so we really just wanted to enjoy the city, do some marathon training and eat some delicious food.  Enjoying the city included taking long walks, attending Sunday Mass at Notre Dame, stopping for an impromptu concert at a local bookshop, having drinks at an outdoor cafe in Saint Germain des Pres, doing some shopping, and visiting with friends.  We had the good fortune of spending our first afternoon in Paris with a couple of Lindsay's friends (and former patients), Gig and Kathleen, who were also in Paris on vacation.  We explored the Quartier Latin together, visiting the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Pantheon, and enjoyed a couple of nice meals.  We also made a stop at Paris' finest ice cream shop, Berthillon.

Enjoying a delicious lunch with Gig and Kathleen at Au Port Du Salut, a charming little restaurant near our hotel

Lindsay, Gig and Kathleen in La Place du Pantheon

Prior to our trip I anticipated that Paris would be a great place to run, as there are miles of uninterrupted paths along the Seine.  What I hadn't thought about is that most of the paths along the Seine are cobblestone, which is very difficult to run on.  With just about a month before the Marathon in Venice, we needed to do a long (16 mile) run around the city, which ended up being more complicated than we thought.  To avoid the cobblestones along the Seine, we did several laps around the Champ de Mars and along a small section of the Seine that was paved with concrete/asphalt (near the Eiffel Tower).  Despite the challenges with the terrain, it was a beautiful day and a great way to see the city.  Below are a few highlights from the run.

Stopping for a photo op during our run

We did the 1.5 mile loop around the Champs de Mars a few times

This was the good portion of the Seine to run along where the streets were asphalt/concrete and not cobblestones. Notice the Bateaux Mouches in the background - we came back here for an evening boat ride along the Seine.

After we finished our run, I stopped to do some artwork on the public chalkboard along the Seine.  Yes, that's my rendering of the Eiffel Tower. 

For our shorter runs, we did a few laps around the Jardin du Luxembourg near our hotel.  We actually found that we enjoyed runs in the Jardin du Luxembourg better, as it was closer to our hotel, full of other runners, and the mile-long loop around the park offered beautiful scenery.  Here's a picture of us in the park on our first day in Paris.

In the Jardin du Luxembourg

Paris is one of the best places in the world to just walk around and admire its beauty.  This gave us lots of opportunities to take photos.

Lindsay in the Place du Pantheon - that's the University of Paris Law School in the background

Hôtel de Ville

Hotel de Soubise in Le Marais

Tour Saint-Jacques

We spent a lot of time in and around La Basilica de Notre Dame, as we attended sunday service there and it was a frequent stop for us on our walks around the city.  I've included a few of the best shots below.  A couple of the pics were taken on the bridge behind Notre Dame, the Pont de l'Archevêché, where people have established a tradition of hanging locks.  When we first came to Paris, this was the only bridge with locks on it, and there were only a few of them.  Today, it's gotten out of control, with this bridge and now other bridges completely covered in locks, and the tourist shops along the Seine selling new locks.  We heard anecdotally that they may need to remove the locks because they are weighing down the bridge.  While it would have been romantic to put our own lock on the bridge, we didn't want to contribute to what looks to be a emerging problem.

View of Notre Dame from across the River Seine

On the Pont l'Archevêché

The locks on the Pont de L'Archevêché

Lindsay looking cute in the gardens of Notre Dame

As you would expect, we did our fair share of eating and drinking in Paris.  I'll describe some of the highlights.

We discovered a fantastic Italian restaurant around the corner from the Pantheon that we loved so much, we went back 3 times!  It was called Terra Nova and did simple, delicious pastas and pizza (though we focused on pasta).

Our favorite Italian restaurant - Ristorante Terra Nova - around the corner from our hotel

Bucatini with Saffron and Mussels

Ravioli stuffed with ricotta in a black truffle cream sauce

Penne alla Matriciana

During our last visit to Paris, Lindsay discovered her favorite patisserie, Gerard Mulot, in Saint Germain des Pres.  We made a few return visits during our week in Paris.

Lindsay's favorite patisserie - Gérard Mulot

The wonderland that is Gérard Mulot

This is how we started every morning in France

As a first step down the path of opening her own patisserie, Lindsay took a croissant making course at La Cuisine cooking school.  In addition to classic butter croissants, she made almond croissants, pan de chocolate, and cinnamon rolls.  She saved some of the goods for me to sample after the class and I can confirm that they were delicious.  They involved a lot of work, but if we apply a bit of pressure, I'm sure she'll make some for us when she gets home.

Lindsay and her croissant making instructor 

The fruits of Lindsay's labor

One of the culinary highlights of any trip to Paris is eating ice cream at Le Berthillon, which is an ice cream shop on Ile-de-France, a small island in the Seine.  Somehow we missed a visit to this iconic little shop the last time we were in Paris, so this time, we made it a priority.  We went with Gig and Kathleen on our first day in Paris (and a couple more times during our stay).  After her first bite of ice cream, Lindsay enthusiastically proclaimed, "this is the best ice cream I've ever tasted."  Enough said - you need to go there if you're in Paris.  Note that there are several shops on Ile-de-France that advertise Berthillon ice cream.  Most are restaurants that sell ice cream (second-hand) from Berthillon, but they are not Berthillon.  The freshest ice cream is from the source, so make sure you go to the original, which looks like the picture below.

You can't fake a smile this big ...

To satisfy Lindsay's escargot craving, we stopped at a small bistro near our hotel one evening.  These didn't compare with the escargot we had last time at L'Ami Louis (which were twice the size) but were still delicious.  If you lather anything in butter and garlic, it's going to taste great!

Look at those tasty little suckers

Out of respect for my good friend James Elly, we have to mention that our best pour of Guinness so far in Europe was at Le Mazet, an Irish Pub in Saint Germain des Pres.

Taking a break from all that wine ... these are some quality pours of Guinness

Our last day in Paris, we did some exploring and found a great little restaurant called L'Ebouillanté which served a very unique type of food which we thought was worth mentioning.  In addition to fresh soups and salads, they created what they called a "brick" which consisted of eggs, cheese, and vegetables wrapped in crispy Tunisian bread.  We thought we had finally found a healthy option for lunch in Paris, but the quantity of cheese probably negated any healthy aspects of the brick.  Guess we should have known that something called a "brick" might not be so light.  The soup was outstanding, however, and the salads looked good and fresh, so we would recommend it for a nice lunch outside.

The terrace at L'Ebouillanté

Delicious carrot soup and a fresh baguette

Our last meal in a Paris - a "Brick" - egg, ham, curry, tomato, and gruyere cheese wrapped in toasted Tunisian bread

For us, no trip to Paris is complete without doing a night-time trip on the Bateaux Mouches.  The Bateaux make several trips throughout the day up and down the Seine River, which affords you a unique view of many of Paris' most beautiful buildings.  The basic trip is 12.50 Euros per adult and lasts a bit more than an hour.  We particularly enjoy the trip at night, as all of Paris' monuments are lit up in the evening.   One thing many people don't realize is that you can bring your own wine on the boat.  It's a much better deal than the dinner cruise which costs well over 100 euros per person.

Lindsay enjoying her wine on the Bateaux Mouches

Musée d'Orsay from the Bateaux Mouches

Lindsay enjoying the sites from the boat

Our favorite background for a picture

View of the Eiffel Tower from the boat

The Eiffel Tower glitters for 5 min on the hour every hour after sunset (until 1 or 2am)

After two-and-a-half weeks of outstanding food and wine, beautiful sights, and great company, our trip to France is sadly over.  It's a magical place and I'm sure we'll be back soon enough.  We'll definitely miss our daily doses of morning croissants and after-dinner cheeses.

Next stop, the small town of Nyborg in Denmark, for a weekend with my sister and her family.