Again in Paris
Recently we went back to Paris for a special occasion: my father’s 80th birthday! It has been his dream to make it back to Paris, after seeing it for the first time (and for just one day) in 1990. Even though November is probably not the best time of the year to go around, given the unpredictable weather, we were lucky enough to have a very beautiful day exactly on his birthday and had to go around in a bit of rain during the other 2 days. Through OpenTable I made a reservation for a restaurant around Eiffel Tower, La Villa Corse, that proved to be a great choice, both as food and as service. The main course was excellent: Dirk and I had the scallops with ham risotto while my parents had guinea fowl stuffed with herbs and mashed potatoes. The desserts were amazing: I had warm chestnut cake with chestnut ice cream, Dirk had lemon cheesecake and my parents had tarte tatin. Absolutely delicious! The waiter was very nice and brought me some chestnut ice cream to taste before I made up my mind. Even though it sounds weird, it was amazing: a combination of chestnuts, lemon and honey. As the weather was so good, we also went up Eiffel Tower, to the 2nd floor. Beautiful views of Paris in autumn from there, so we managed to take very nice pictures.
Next day we went to Sacre Coeur, but did not get to really enjoy it as it was raining. We then went to Galleries Lafayette, which was not a very smart move as it was Saturday and a sale day so we mainly tried to go in, get to see the beautiful ceiling, tried to do a bit of shopping (and failed, mainly due to how warm it was inside) and then rushed out as fast as possible. We also had a late lunch in a cafe on Haussman (Cordial Cafe) that had the same rude and annoying service that I experienced during our previous trips to Paris. Pizza seemed to be good there but that place is on my black list now anyway. Next day we went to Notre Dame. My parents very much enjoyed it as there was a service going on and they could stay and listen. We had a tour of the cathedral and then went nearby to get a coffee. We hit another one of those cafes with crap service. This one is right next to ND and is called Aux Tours de Notre Dame. The service was rude, probably because we had ‘just’ two coffees. Another entry on my black list. There is however a place around there that consistently has good service and good food: Le Depart de St. Michel. I really enjoyed that place the last time we were there and it did not disappoint. However, the weather got colder and colder, so after a walk on the Seine we got to Place de la Concorde, got the bus back and that was it!
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