Last Days in the city of Lights

Alas, all trips must come to an end. 
We ended our fabulous trip visiting the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée de l’Orangerie, and the Musée de Rodin.  This day was a day of beautiful art.  We started the day with Monet’s water lilies.  Who knew there could be so much to see in a few paintings.  There was even more to see at Musée d’Orsay.  We walked into the museum that looked like a train station, and was greeted by Lady Liberty’s little sister.  Slowly we made our way through the exhibits and then onto the museum restaurant for lunch.  The restaurant itself was a piece of art.  

We couldn't walk by it and not eat here.  We stopped in and ordered a slice of quiche and a Croque -Monsieur.  

The food was standard but the atmosphere was something else.  The restaurant was in a walkway in between museum exhibits.  You had to walk through it to get to the next level.  I know it’s a tourist trap but it was a nice way to take a break and still enjoy museum without leaving.

For dinner we stopped in at Christian Constant’s Les Cocottes.  A cocotte is literally a casserole.  It seemed like most of the dishes were served piping hot in these little casseroles.  For starters, we ordered the fois gras.  It wasn’t as tasty as some of the others we had early in our trip, but it was still worth trying.

For my main dish, I ordered the sea bass.  It was lightly fried in butter and served on top of a chantrelle mushroom risotto.  The fish was very rich and melted in your mouth.  The risotto was just as rich and creamy. 

Petchi ordered the pigeon.  It was cooked in wine and served over vegetables.  The meat was tender and juicy.  The flavor was so saturated and rich.  It tasted like it had been slow cooked for hours.

For dessert, we ordered the Fabulous Christian Constant Chocolate Tart.  The dark chocolate was semisweet which was a good thing considering how rich this tart was.  The scoop of vanilla ice cream was light enough to cut through the richness of the tart.  Mmmm mmm was this meal rich.  Out of all the meals we had, this was definitely the most decadent. 

On our last day in Paris, we wandered into the Musée de Rodin and its beautiful gardens.  Paris’s gardens are something that I wish I could take home with me.  There are infinite routes and so much history and beauty that you could never get bored with in one lifetime. 

For lunch, we made it the Crêperie Suzette.  Seeing as we already had quiches, cheese, and wine, we started wondering why we hadn’t had any crepes.  Better take care of that problem before we leave! 

I ordered the Vosges crepe.  It had goat cheese, tomatoes, and basil with a dollop of sour cream and marinara sauce on top.  This was such a heavy meal even if there wasn’t a lot of protein in it.  The serving size was rather large and could fill even the hungriest of stomachs.

Petchi ordered the Barbette.  It had potatoes, bacon, cheese, and cream served with pesto on top.  This was the ultimate breakfast in my opinion.  I think I may have to try making this at home on my next CIY adventure. 

For dinner, Petchi and I were a little too pooped to that we decided to stay close to the hotel.  We wandered down the street and found a sizable restaurant called Café Du Marche on Rue Cler.  This was a busy place, even in the earlier and late dinner hours. 

We kept things simple with an order of duck served with pasta and fried duck served with potatoes.  Nothing special but a nice quick easy meal that was nearby. 

The duck with pasta was baked and was a little dry.  The pasta was just drizzled in olive oil so it didn't have much taste besides with little amount of olives that was served with it. 

The fried duck was more tasty and definitely juicier.  The potatoes must have been fried with the duck because it had a very rich flavor to it. 

And of course, the last dessert we had to order was definitely one that we could not have gone without: crème brûlée.  Crème brûlée is of my favorite desserts at home, so naturally we had to see what it would be like in its home town.  It’s really not that different.  The texture was nice and creamy and had a crispy caramelized sugar top.  Nothing wrong with this dessert but there was nothing special about it either. 

Well fellow foodies…this is the end of our Paris adventure.  Petchi and I had a great time together.  This was an epic trip and I can’t wait to be able to travel the globe again for another grand adventure.  Until next time fellow foodies!  Au revoir!

Here are my favorite things about Paris:

 

• The city is very walkable.  The mass transit was dependable and very easy to use.  No need for a car here!
• Paris is very relaxed.  People took their time at meal times and savored every moment with friends and families.  We should learn to slow down a bit instead of always rushing to our next destinations.
• Paris is just a pretty place.  There are gardens everywhere you turn and statues and monuments just about on every street corner.  There is always something to see or something to learn.