During my last trip to Paris, I learned a valuable lesson – never start your visit by eating a hot dog at 3:00am from a street vendor. If you do, you will likely experience momentary pleasure, followed by shooting stomach pains in the morning, followed by spending New Year’s Eve on a couch while your friends party at a hotel overlooking the city. Thus, this time I was committed to starting the day off right and treating myself to some of my favorite French foods right-off-the-bat. Day two started with a baguette, croissant and various jellies kindly provided by my hotel. After a short walk around the neighborhood, I stumbled upon a market near the Tour de Montparnasse. Everything here is fresh and the air smells of fruit, meat and cheeses. I always love visiting these markets when I can, and often the vendors are happy to let you try an olive or a berry.
After spending about half an hour at the market, I walked into the heart of Montparnasse towards the busier streets lined with retail shops such as H&M, Zara and several movie theaters. I decided to continue my gastronomic journey by taking a break at a small cafe for a cafe creme and a tart “tartin.” This was truly delicious, although it takes a true dessert lover to replace a nutritious lunch with a pear tart a la mode. Needless to say, it was delicious.
Exploring the city allowed me to test my new camera and look like a typical tourist. I usually dislike doing things that make me appear to be an easy target from either from the US or Japan, but I couldn’t resist playing with my new toy. I spent about an hour testing my new camera in a courtyard complete with cathedral and fountain. You just never know what landmark you are going to stumble upon in Paris.
foie de canard
After walking around town all day, my dessert lunch was burned off and I was definitely in the mood for something more substantial for dinner. I decided that my first full day in Paris would deserve a full menu 26 euro at a restaurant down the street called Le Moulin Vert (the Green Windmill.) A seafood restaurant, the menu 26 Euro came with an appetizer (entree), main course (plat) and dessert. I chose the duck foie gras to start, followed by the roasted “Dorree” which is a fish I had never heard of, and ended with a flottante, or large dollop of merangue floating on a cold soup of vanilla custard. All three courses were excellent and left me almost unable to walk back to the hotel.
Crispy on the outside and perfectly delicious on the inside. That was one tasty fish!
A flottante is the perfect end to a perfect French meal.
Barely making my way back to the hotel, I received news that a new club was opening and that I had been graciously included on the list. I was also relieved to hear that I would have at least two hours to digest my food before meeting friends at Metro Grand Boulevards. At around 11:40 pm I rendezvoused with Clement, Jessica, and their friends Aurelion and Caroline. According the Aurelion, this club was once a very famous theatre that had been shut down. It had reopened as a club and tonight was the first night of being operational. The inside still looked like a theater, but downstairs, was a modern and rather geometric looking space with a booming soundsystem and Djs spinning electronic music. It was nice to talk with my friends and listen to the electro that I rarely get to listen to in clubs in the states. We stayed for around an hour or so, watched people come and go and parted ways since everyone was tired. Day 2 did not disappoint, and frankly I am a bit surprised that jetlag has yet to get the best of me.
The entry way to the club
Inside the club. Note: I see a lot of guys in the this photo and only one girl. No wonder we didn't stay long.
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