Day 24

On our twenty-fourth day, we started off in the afternoon toward Place de la Madeleine, the gourmet center of the city. On the way, we passed through the Place de la Concorde, with the obelisk and a great view of the Eiffel Tower. At Madeleine, we saw the church that gives the square its name, and also found the two most famous gourmet specialty shops of Paris, just a few doors down from each other: Fauchon and Hediard. Of course we explored both (or rather, I dragged Kyle around) finding all sorts of interesting things, jams, teas, condiments of every kind, honeys, chocolates, et cetera, et cetera. Hediard also has a grocery and bakery, and Fauchon has lots of ready to go dishes at a little café area including salads, sandwiches, pastries, and more substantial fancy things at another counter. Both have a ridiculous selection of wine. I don’t think we’ll be bringing any wine back, partly because of the added weight but mostly because of the one liter limit – how can I pick just one or two bottles? Anyway, we did some modest shopping (both stores are, as one would expect, very expensive, though the quality is there to back it up) and I was mostly happy just to have a bag from each to carry around with me the rest of the day. Status, you know. I’d take the red and black stripes of Hediard over any silly Louis Vuitton pattern ANY DAY!

After, we decided to check out the church of the Madeleine (it’s so tough for me to type Madeleine instead of Madeline – I was thinking of my sis all day there), and it was beautiful. We were lucky enough to see a choir concert going on when we went in, adding to the overall ambience. The lighting was gorgeous, and there were some interesting sculptures in addition to the usual selection of saints, see pictures.

Anyway, after this we realized that it was around 4:30 and although we’d bought food, we hadn’t eaten anything. Since we had dinner plans, however, we didn’t want anything too much. Luckily, we pass the Paul patisserie, one of a chain that we’ve passed (and admired) before. I had an apple tart, Kyle an apple grille, and they were both fabulous. My tart had really thick slices of apple, just soft from baking, and a nice light glaze.

For dinner around 7:00 (early by Parisian standards, but we decided to keep on the safe side since we didn’t have a reservation) we ventured into the Saint Germain area, passing the famous Café Deux Magots, to find a restaurant that my parents had recommended. La Petite Chaise holds the distinction of being the oldest restaurant in Paris, established in 1680, when Louis XIV was king. We both ordered from the three course prix fixe menu, and everything was great. The onion soup was a pretty even ratio of cheese and bread to soup, just the way I like it, bubbling gratin on the top. Kyle started with an appetizer of poached eggs in a camembert cream, it was genius. For main course, I had salmon (let’s face it, my usual) and Kyle had roast duck. Dessert was awesome; I tried the coconut flan with dark chocolate sauce, and Kyle went with the brownie with almond ice cream (a dish that, when we looked at the menu online before going, he declared, “MINE!”) haha

It was all a great night, and the fullest I’ve been yet on this trip, making the walk back to the apartment a little difficult, but we made it!

As always,

Steph