Day 16: And I Would Walk 500 Miles....

500 Miles, maybe I am stretching the truth a little bit, but try telling our feet that! 

Today was our walking tour with Martinn, the owner of the fantastic appartment we are staying in. We started at 9.30am and explored the area we are staying in, Les Halles, which used to be a major food market in the 17th Century and is now still quite foody and with so much character.

Paris has so much history and Martinn is a very passionate Parissiene who obviously loves sharing her knowledge. There are quite a few cooking shops as well that we visited which make General Trader look like a poor cousin( I am still working on Sandy about what I can bring home  but with not a lot of luck). We stopped for a coffee break, and I managed to order coffee with milk, Cafe au Lait, my French is improving no end. We walked for a further 50 miles looking at all the fantastic architecture and then it was lunchtime.

Lunch was at a delightful Restaurant La Comptoir de la Gastronomie, a restaurant renowned for its foie gras. We tried this previously, I thought it was ok but Sandy didn't like it. We had a set menu which was steak and the standout desert Tarte Tartin with Creme Fraiche.. delicious! The Restaurant is also attached to a store selling foie gras, snails and any other French delicacy you could think of.

After lunch we walked another 250 miles, exploring Paris some more and it's inside passages, these are a lot like our arcades only much older and much nicer, containing high end shops like Jean Paul Gaultier and some very exclusive restaurants and charcuteries.

Another 100 miles and more sights and history it was cafe au Lait time again, but this time it was at an exclusive eclair shop, so many choices although we did manage to choose finally and they were as tasty as they looked.

We saw some fantastic sights and I took a whole heap of photos and we learned a lot about Paris, it's history and it's food.

Today the food, tomorrow the champagne!!

Day 13:Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir

Up early this morning to board The Eurostar to Paris, it was sooo busy and I felt like we had rushed and pushed and scrambled our way onto the train, all without coffee. You think I was grumpy, you're right, it took me about 1/2 an hour and a large coffee to become human again (sorry Sandy).

The trip to Paris was so quick, I think the train does about 300 km/hr. We were there before we knew it. Sandy learnt to say no in French very quickly, particularly with the beggar with child who approached her twice. 

We taxied to our appartment, where we were met by Martinn for our very thorough orientation, Sandy feels like Gulliver in her presence. 

After orientation was over she then showed us the fridge, she has cooked us  dinner for tonight and also breakfast for tomorrow.

The Menu:

What a spread, and such a nice gesture for our first night and morning here while we get our bearings( if we get our bearings). We have successfully been for a walk around the neighbourhood, found the supermarket, wine shop, ordered a beer and a coffee, tomorrow I will try to order a coffee with milk in it. I did also discover Paris' oldest Pattisiere but more on that later. 

They do seem to like their electric cars as well.

A Kia Carnival they're not, but I am sure they are kind to the environment.  

Day 1 in Paris and no Eiffel Tower in sight, stay tuned.

Bonsoir mes amis.