Post by rachel on May 20, 2012 7:00:00 GMT -5
A colleague of mine and I have got in the habit of going away for a weekend for each other's birthdays. We figured out early on as friends that we are good travel companions and this will be our last holiday together unless her job search takes her close to Amsterdam. She'd not been to Paris in almost ten years, but trusted me to do all the planning so she could sit back and enjoy!
Thursday
After 5 1/2 hour train ride from Germany, we arrived at Gare du L'Est and found Jean-Pascal waiting for us at the apartment. Yet another gem from Denise, this darling place is just a 10 min walk from the train station and a two minute walk to the Louis Blanc Metro station.
We picked up a few essentials at the local Franprix and then headed out for a picnic on the Pont des Arts bridge. Last year I had seen it swarmed with young people watching the sunset and wanted to be part of the action. However, this year, the rain and cold kept everyone away so we had our picnic under a tree on a park bench. I don't know what people thought of us with our bottle of wine, bread and cheese with proper utensils, nicely dressed sitting on a park bench but it was nice. The sunset was lovely despite the storm.
A gelato from Pozzettos ended the evening and all was well.
Friday
Storms were forecast so we skipped Versailles and decided to stay in town. Christine wanted to go to Viaduc des Arts in the 12th and it sounded like fun. We browsed the shops and fell madly in love with the parasol maker and his gorgeous shop! Lunch was at Viaduc Cafe where we had the fixed menu. The starter of ham and melon we ate so fast there are no pictures, but here is Christine's salmon and my lamb.
We browsed a few more shops, took a nap and headed to La Fayette and Printemps for chocolate shopping at Pierre Herme and to try out Cafe Pouskine!
Christine's shiny dessert
I'm ruined! I'll never have another hot chocolate again and be content!
We took the Metro down to Shakespeare & Co. just in time to watch them kick someone out for being "inappropriate". The American shop assistants were outraged and the phrase "Was it visible?" was used a lot so we were thankful we came when we did!
Found a great book used for 6 euros (regularly 17) and headed home in a sugary book coma.
Saturday
The big day...or night that is! We woke up obscenely late and managed to get to Bon Marche in time to grab lunch to eat in the Luxembourg Gardens. Afterwards we strolled through the 6th and conveniently found ourselves at Un Dimache a Paris (what a coincidence!). Unfortunately, my sandwich was massive and Christine wasn't feeling like anything chocolately and solid but we were there in time to help out the poor shop assistants who were asked the most ridiculous question by a customer.
"Are you a franchise?"
When asked what he meant, the young man literally could not explain what a franchise was. He kept repeating, "You know, a franchise." Um, no. No, they do not. Finally, I was frustrated enough to jump in a say, "Do you have other stores, say in Tokyo or Berlin?" to which the shop assistants easily said, "No only here." The man then asked again, "Oh, so you don't have shops in New York?" "No, only here." "Not New York." "No. Only. Here"
Ugh! Felt so bad for them!
Christine found the nearby Amorino and we people watched while she enjoyed some gelato.
After a power nap to get ready for the evening, we headed to Arts et Metiers for their museum night festivities. What a great museum! We could have spent hours there between the particle accelerator, the old cameras and all the models, videos and demonstrations. But we had a dinner reservations!
So sad it's closing! But here are the memories of our meal:
Christine's snails in delicious sauce!
My tartar of salmon and scallops with avocado cream
Christine's beef with potato gratin
My duck roasted in honey and pepper with potato gratin and roasted pear
Soft chocolate cake
My still flaming dessert!
It was a wonderful meal and unfortunately, it sounds like Le Relais is closing forever. We asked about what they will do next but we couldn't tell if she said they would "work" or "walk". We bid them both "Good luck!" as others hugged and kissed and chatted away in French.
Our last part of the evening was Rodin Museum where they were opening the gardens and house for free and setting up a video installation in the gardens. I always find video installations a bit "naff" as Christine says so I was hoping it would be horribly awesome. I was not disappointed.
The video installation of naked men dancing to "Rite of Spring" in jerky, puppet-like motions was like a train wreck you can't look away from. Still, walking through the gardens with just a little flashlight along with hundreds of other people was so much fun. People jockeyed at each sculpture to illuminate parts of the face, arms and legs without blinding the person next to you. The rain storm had past by the time we got there, which left the air smelling fresh and warm, perfect for a midnight stroll in the garden.
Home by 1AM and exhausted but it was the perfect birthday treat!
Sunday
Just one thing planned for today before our train trip: breakfast. I had found a cafe on David Lebovitz's blog called Kooka Boora that looked interesting. They serve AMAZING coffee with scones, cake, cookies, and muesli along with milkshakes and fresh pressed juices.
I had quiche and Christine had cheesecake
The people working there were lovely, spoke at eye level to every child that came in with a parent and took care with every single order. It was a delight.
Thank you again for all your recommendations and ideas! Until next trip... ;D
Update
Here are some links for places I went and such:
Apartment:
www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p848402?cid=E_hrownerinquiry_DB_O_20120214_propID_link_LPROP_1
Jean-Pascal was absolutely lovely. The pictures are very accurate and don't be scared off by the bathroom! The use of space was perfect.
Places to see:
Viaduc des Arts
www.leviaducdesarts.com/
Parasol maker
www.parasolerieheurtault.com/
Places to eat:
Viaduc Cafe
www.leviaduc-cafe.com/
Kooka Boora
www.davidlebovitz.com/2012/04/kooka-boora-cafe-in-paris/
Thursday
After 5 1/2 hour train ride from Germany, we arrived at Gare du L'Est and found Jean-Pascal waiting for us at the apartment. Yet another gem from Denise, this darling place is just a 10 min walk from the train station and a two minute walk to the Louis Blanc Metro station.
We picked up a few essentials at the local Franprix and then headed out for a picnic on the Pont des Arts bridge. Last year I had seen it swarmed with young people watching the sunset and wanted to be part of the action. However, this year, the rain and cold kept everyone away so we had our picnic under a tree on a park bench. I don't know what people thought of us with our bottle of wine, bread and cheese with proper utensils, nicely dressed sitting on a park bench but it was nice. The sunset was lovely despite the storm.
A gelato from Pozzettos ended the evening and all was well.
Friday
Storms were forecast so we skipped Versailles and decided to stay in town. Christine wanted to go to Viaduc des Arts in the 12th and it sounded like fun. We browsed the shops and fell madly in love with the parasol maker and his gorgeous shop! Lunch was at Viaduc Cafe where we had the fixed menu. The starter of ham and melon we ate so fast there are no pictures, but here is Christine's salmon and my lamb.
We browsed a few more shops, took a nap and headed to La Fayette and Printemps for chocolate shopping at Pierre Herme and to try out Cafe Pouskine!
Christine's shiny dessert
I'm ruined! I'll never have another hot chocolate again and be content!
We took the Metro down to Shakespeare & Co. just in time to watch them kick someone out for being "inappropriate". The American shop assistants were outraged and the phrase "Was it visible?" was used a lot so we were thankful we came when we did!
Found a great book used for 6 euros (regularly 17) and headed home in a sugary book coma. Saturday
The big day...or night that is! We woke up obscenely late and managed to get to Bon Marche in time to grab lunch to eat in the Luxembourg Gardens. Afterwards we strolled through the 6th and conveniently found ourselves at Un Dimache a Paris (what a coincidence!). Unfortunately, my sandwich was massive and Christine wasn't feeling like anything chocolately and solid but we were there in time to help out the poor shop assistants who were asked the most ridiculous question by a customer.
"Are you a franchise?"
When asked what he meant, the young man literally could not explain what a franchise was. He kept repeating, "You know, a franchise." Um, no. No, they do not. Finally, I was frustrated enough to jump in a say, "Do you have other stores, say in Tokyo or Berlin?" to which the shop assistants easily said, "No only here." The man then asked again, "Oh, so you don't have shops in New York?" "No, only here." "Not New York." "No. Only. Here"
Ugh! Felt so bad for them!
Christine found the nearby Amorino and we people watched while she enjoyed some gelato.
After a power nap to get ready for the evening, we headed to Arts et Metiers for their museum night festivities. What a great museum! We could have spent hours there between the particle accelerator, the old cameras and all the models, videos and demonstrations. But we had a dinner reservations!
So sad it's closing! But here are the memories of our meal:
Christine's snails in delicious sauce!
My tartar of salmon and scallops with avocado cream
Christine's beef with potato gratin
My duck roasted in honey and pepper with potato gratin and roasted pear
Soft chocolate cake
My still flaming dessert!
It was a wonderful meal and unfortunately, it sounds like Le Relais is closing forever. We asked about what they will do next but we couldn't tell if she said they would "work" or "walk". We bid them both "Good luck!" as others hugged and kissed and chatted away in French.
Our last part of the evening was Rodin Museum where they were opening the gardens and house for free and setting up a video installation in the gardens. I always find video installations a bit "naff" as Christine says so I was hoping it would be horribly awesome. I was not disappointed.
The video installation of naked men dancing to "Rite of Spring" in jerky, puppet-like motions was like a train wreck you can't look away from. Still, walking through the gardens with just a little flashlight along with hundreds of other people was so much fun. People jockeyed at each sculpture to illuminate parts of the face, arms and legs without blinding the person next to you. The rain storm had past by the time we got there, which left the air smelling fresh and warm, perfect for a midnight stroll in the garden.
Home by 1AM and exhausted but it was the perfect birthday treat!
Sunday
Just one thing planned for today before our train trip: breakfast. I had found a cafe on David Lebovitz's blog called Kooka Boora that looked interesting. They serve AMAZING coffee with scones, cake, cookies, and muesli along with milkshakes and fresh pressed juices.
I had quiche and Christine had cheesecake
The people working there were lovely, spoke at eye level to every child that came in with a parent and took care with every single order. It was a delight.
Thank you again for all your recommendations and ideas! Until next trip... ;D
Update
Here are some links for places I went and such:
Apartment:
www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p848402?cid=E_hrownerinquiry_DB_O_20120214_propID_link_LPROP_1
Jean-Pascal was absolutely lovely. The pictures are very accurate and don't be scared off by the bathroom! The use of space was perfect.
Places to see:
Viaduc des Arts
www.leviaducdesarts.com/
Parasol maker
www.parasolerieheurtault.com/
Places to eat:
Viaduc Cafe
www.leviaduc-cafe.com/
Kooka Boora
www.davidlebovitz.com/2012/04/kooka-boora-cafe-in-paris/
You apparently had an amazing birthday weekend. The pics of your food have got me longing for Paris, though PPD doesn't usually start a few weeks after a trip. I am truly saddened that Relais de L'Isle will not be there for me on my next trip.....I will have to find another favorite restaurant, won't I? 
for the three days we were there - although maybe my enthusiasm didn't allow her the opportunity. 
hahahha