On our second day in Paris, we didn’t get as early a start as we would have liked, but we were so exhausted and jet-lagged the extra hour of sleep must have been absolutely necessary. We bundled up and headed straight for the Musee d’orsay, in the grand former railway station, the Gare d'Orsay. The building is stunning inside and out, with it's beautiful long glass ceiling and several large clocks from its days as a the railway station.
It is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, and Van Gogh. I am so glad we were able to spend some time in this museum, admiring the impressionist artwork and the beautiful structure, and my favorite, the huge clock over the main entrance.
Unfortunately for us, all of the Monet’s had been removed for a special exhibit elsewhere in Paris, though we did get to see many Manets and Van Goghs. We arrived right at opening time so we only had to wait a few minutes in line, while we nibbled on our obligatory croissants and sipped on espressos.
We left the museum after a few hours and walked down the left bank of the river towards the 6th arondissment and the latin quarter. We walked down Boulevard Saint Michel, a kind of touristy main street in the area and weaved in and out of the side streets window shopping in little French book stores, shops and cafes until we reached the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg. We wanted to be able to sit outside enjoying some wine and cheese and people watching, but it was a bit drizzly and cold, so we opted for eating in somewhere, careful to pick a bistro on a side street as to avoid the tourist traps of the main street. We window/menu shopped a few restaurants and finally popped into a little place on the corner whose atmosphere appealed to us called Au Pere Louis.
It was small and quant with stone walls, low timbered ceilings, wine barrels for bar tables, iron spiral staircases up and down to two tiny dining rooms, and menus written on chalkboards. It turned out to be a great decision and we had a fabulous meal. We sat at a cozy table for two and the low exposed ceiling beams were just the perfect warm touch.
The menu was written on little chalkboards that they brought to us, and set in a little chair next to our table. The food was traditional french bistro faire with cassoulet, duck, steak, and snails. I ordered the cassoluet (a meat and bean casserole) which was outstanding and was served in the perfect little french pottery dish, and Drew ordered the special, a cabillaud filet (cod). We started with a Soupe à l'oignon' and a shrimp, avocado and blood orange ceviche, which were both delicious, and we each had un verre de vin rouge de maison (house red wine).
The waitress spoke no English, but was patient with our broken French and appreciated our attempt. We felt like locals enjoying our mid day meal together in our warm little spot, and this just may have been my favorite meal in Paris. This cute elderly lady next to us ordered bread pudding, and it looked amazing but we passed because we were heading out for ile st. louis and the famous gelato at Berthillon. We walked back through latin quarter and down Boulevard St. Germain to see some of the high end designer shopping area.
We then crossed over Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, to Île de la Cité, one of two natural islands in the middle of the Seine, the other being Île Saint-Louis. Unfortunately we were unable to visit St. Chappelle, a beautiful gothic chapel in the center of the island, famous for its stained glass windows. The line was extremely long and it was outside and raining, and we were pressed for time because of our dinner cruise reservations, so we went ahead to Notre Dame with hopes to return to Saint Chappelle the next day. Notre Dame and the gargoyles are magnificent.
My favorite view in Notre Dame was definitely the rose window, and even on a dreary day, all of the colors were bright and glorious. I can’t imagine how wonderful it must be on a sunny day.
After leaving Notre Dame, we crossed a bridge to Ile Saint-Louis, a more residential island, and home of Berthillon gelato. We obviously had to stop in for a cone, 30 degrees or not, as it is a Paris institution and we got the most popular flavor, caramel & beurre sale (salty butter).
The Ile is so narrow, you can stand on one of the banks and peer through the streets to the other bank.
This was one of my favorite spots in Paris…it’s like a small French village on a little oasis in the center of Paris, as the streets are lined with markets, bakeries, fromageries, cafés and adorable boutiques, all decorated for the holidays like in a small little town.
We walked the river bank to the end of the island, crossed back onto the right bank and walked to the Bastille and back to our hotel to unwind and prepare for our evening. We were worried about our dinner cruise because with all of the recent snow fall in Paris, the river was very high and most of the boats were not running because they couldn’t fit under the bridges.
We called and were informed that the boat cruise would not be running but our reservation for dinner was still on. We weren’t really excited about the food, and were extremely disappointed that we weren’t going to be able to cruse the Seine at night to see the City of Lights all lit up. We decided to cancel and make reservations elsewhere. Our wonderful receptionist at our hotel recommended Le Train Bleu, and she called to see if we would be able to get a reservation last minute.
SOOOO fortunately they were able to book us, and I was grinning ear to ear. This is one of the most beautiful venues I have ever had the pleasure of dining in.
It was a romantic setting in the Gare de Lyon, the gold décor and amazing artwork on the ceilings and walls were striking, and the food was decadent.
We started with a Salchichón con pistachos a la Lyonesa en brioche con salsa de perigueux (pistachio sausage in brioche with perigeaux sauce) and a mushroom and chestnut soup with smoked milk served in a cappuccino glass. Then for dinner I had the spicy baked fillet of sea bass with leccino olive mashed potatoes, which I surprisingly liked despite the olives! And Drew had the nantua farmhouse chicken fricassee with tagliatelle and winter root vegetables. Dessert was delicious and dangerous. My dessert was the pastry chef’s special of the day, a chocolate concotion with pistachio ice cream. It was melt in your mouth, to die for divine.
Drew went with the Le Train Blue special Rum Baba. We didn’t know what to expect, but when the server showed up at our table with a plate of sponge cake and a handle of rum, which he proceeded to pour all over the sponge cake, we knew we were in for it. It was essentially rum soup, and though we’re glad we tried the specialty, one bite was plenty and there was no way we would have made it home if we finished it.
Despite our disappointment in the cancelled cruise along the Seine, this dinner more than made up for it, and was a perfect romantic honeymoon evening.
We took the metro back to the hotel for some much needed sleep before our last day in Paris and our much anticipated bright and early trip out to Versailles!
