Saturday May 3, 2014 - Paris, France - Day 3

Well we slept another 10 hours - I guess we were worn out from all of the walking yesterday.

I updated the blog while Tim used La Fourchette to get a dinner reservation for tonight.  We're excited that we got a reservation at a great restaurant with a 20% discount on both meals.

Beautiful sunny day in Paris.  But the pollen is out big time.  I've been sneezing and coughing.  So back onto an allergy medicine.  Both of us have been affected.

We headed down to the boulangerie (yes, I've now learned how to spell it properly!) and had our café and something to eat. We decided to "eat in" rather than "take away" and that was a huge mistake.  This was a different boulangerie than yesterday and it was packed and service was slow.  We keep reminding each other than we are to "savor" out time in the cafes and restaurants and are not to be rushed.  Tim struggled with that, but we made it through the event without incident!

Then we headed on foot west on rue Saint-Antoine toward The Bastille.  The obelisk there is a beautiful tribute to French independence:

Then we headed to the Marche d'Aligre at Place d'Aligre, based on Emilie's suggestion.  It is also called the Marche Couvert Beauvau and is the market most frequented by Parisians. It was a short walk from the Bastille and we are glad we went.  Tim LOVED all of the fresh produce, cheeses, and meats.  I tried to buy one bunch of the very small bananas that we like and can't get at home - and the man gave me 3 bunches - for only 2 euros!  And they were delicious.  So sweet.

We went to Fromager Hardouin-Langlet in the covered part of the market and Tim was salivating over all of the various cheeses.  A huge selection.  One of our "missions" this afternoon is to find a small cooler to take with us. 

There are beautiful flower booths and also a section of household items and clothes.  A fun experience.

Then we walked a short way to the Coulee Verte or the Promenade Plantee.  This is an old, raised, abandoned railway line that has been converted into a beautiful city garden that is 4.5 km long.  Beautiful roses in bloom, arbors, lots of walkers, runners, and benches.  A beautiful place.  We walked quite a long way and then made our way to the Gare de Lyon to catch the Metro back. 

We stopped at St. Paul and went to the Monoprix and found a small cooler (a glaciere or sac thermatique!).  And we got ice packs which are now in the hotel freezer so we can buy cheese, pate, or other items that need to be kept cool.  Success!  We dropped those items off at our hotel and then took the metro to Anvers and walked to the Funiculaire that took us up to Sacre Coeur.  This is one of our traditions.  Unfortunately, my feet are acting up again and I'm having to ride more than walk as we usually do.

The crowds were incredible since it was such a gorgeous day and a Saturday.  But we got a table at Chez Eugene (our personal favorite) in the artist's plaza and had a great bottle of Beaune Village burgundy wine with our moules frites and bread with moutard!  It was heaven.  We ended with a crepe grand marnier and coffee.  Yum!  My waistline is screaming!  But we are walking a lot.

Tim (and our waiter) at Chez Eugene

Chez Eugene - our "tradition"  -  Delicieux!!!!

We then did part of the walk that Emilie had recommended in reverse.  We walked from the Artist's Square to rue Lepic and then down the hill on rue Lepic to Metro Blanche.  We completed "the loop" by going back to Hotel d'Ville via Nation.  Very crowded trains most of the day.

We went to Monop' and got some wine, moutard, and water - great prices.  Tim is happy as he's all set for his picnics in the country - glaciere and all!

A well deserved break for my feet and naps.  While I was napping Tim was busy finding directions to tonight's hotel - he did great.  While he was napping I updated the blog!

We left the hotel about 7:30 and took the Metro to the 11th to La Cuizine Restaurant.  We had a fabulous meal and received 20% off.  Nice couple running the hotel.  Tim started with "razor clams" - never seen them before - and he loved them.  I had homemade raviolis that were divine.  For main course, Tim had the Cote Cochon with a fabulous morel sauce, and I had a thick Lotte fish - delicious.  We started to skip dessert but I couldn't resist - we had a brioche soaked in crème anglais with caramel sauce drizzled on the top and sides and topped with pistachio ice cream - it was YUMMY.

We had such a big dinner that we decided to walk back to the hotel to walk off the calories.  Good idea.

Arrived at the hotel about 11 pm and packed a bit - we have to get up at 7 to go get our café au lait and a baguette for Tim's picnic!  We have a taxi reserved for 9 am to take us to Gare de Lyon where we'll pick up our rental car for the next 5 weeks. 

The adventure continues.