Back From Paris, Full And Fuller

Coming up this week: photos from our fantastically fabulous French vacation. Did I mention it was fabulous? It was just last weekend, I know, but, OH!, I'm missing it already. Our hotel was unbelievably grand. The sites--especially the Versailles gardens--were breath-taking. The wine, well, it was pretty good ;) with food to match.

Our first night we hit La Cloche des Halles, a wine bar in the 1st arrondissement, followed by a brasserie we passed during a walk in the 2nd. We went ultra-traditional--a ginormous Nicoise salad for me and croque monsieur for the hubby. Nothing life-altering but still tasty. Rose wine abounded.

On our anniversary day, after a buffet breakfast fit for a king or queen (at the hotel), we set off to explore. Ile de la Cite, Left Bank, Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, Sorbonne. Pre-lunch drinks on a cafe boat docked in the Seine then lunch at a cafe on the Boulevard Saint-Germain close to the original Shakespeare and Company bookstore. Goat cheese rounds on toast with a side salad and, of course, more vin, topped off with ethereal Berthillon ice cream (coconut and vanilla bean scoops). Nap then what else? Food. We decided to go classic. A La Petite Chaise is about as classic as it gets, being founded in 1680. First things first: aperitifs of a pernod for me and martini for the hubby. Bordeaux for two. Escargot and crab terrine. Filet mignon in green peppercorn sauce and rack of lamb with roasted potatoes. Creme brulee and white chocolate mousse. Whoa. We walked it off down the Champs-Elysees, nearly to the Arc de Triomphe before the sky opened.

The next day we conquered the Louvre. Well, not really. I bet we saw like 5 percent, but it was overwhelming just the same. Overwhelming and amazing. The other highlight of the day was Au Trappiste, the Belgian beer joint we stumbled on. Come to think of it, this day had a lot of highlights. Before dinner we checked out the oldest covered market in Paris, Les Marche des Enfants Rouges. Nearly all the vendors were closing up shop, but we caught a glimpse of greatness. Then a walk around Place des Voges and the Bastille. Then the best dinner of the trip: Les Philosophes in the Marais. For me: tomato tart, red snapper over sauteed vegetables with tomato confit, and chocolate mousse. For him: cheese and tomato salad, boeuf bourguignon, and creme brulee. All with a scrumptious 2005 Cotes du Rhone.

On our last day we started early, making it to the outdoor market on Rue Montorgueil--perhaps one of the best I've seen. Apparently it's the last vestige of the great Les Halles market. We saw a paella cooking away, rotisserie chickens to go, oysters a plenty, white asparagus for giants, just-skinned, glistening rabbits, torpedo-shaped, ruby-slipper-red strawberries, mounds of pre-cut raw fish of all kinds pre-mixed for bouillabaisse. Wow. I could have stayed and stared all day, but Versailles was calling, and it was definitely my favorite site of our vacation. I honored its enormity with a sizable sandwich for lunch. Really I don't think I've ever consumed that much bread in one sitting. It was an entire baguette split lengthwise and filled with butter, cured ham, and cornichons.

Full and fuller indeed.