The time I liked Paris

Rich and I spent some Quiet Time in London for a couple weeks in January. We had just moved our children back to Illinois to be with family while we took care of logistical items for our international move.

On a Saturday morning we were eating brunch at Dishoom, which is one of the best places to do such a thing.

Dishoom happens to be right near St.Pancras, the international train station in London.

It’s beautiful all on it’s own.

After brunch we were walking through St. Pancras, and Rich said “What if we just took the train to Paris right now?”

And that was it.

WELL… first we had a short debate.

“We hate Paris” I said.

“I know” he said.

I have talked about my Paris feelings before. But we just couldn’t help feeling like maybe we just weren’t doing it right. We should just give it one more try, while we had the chance.

“How much is it gonna be?” I said

“Not that bad” he said.

Standing in the train station, from his phone, Rich booked a flight, then promptly found a hotel. We know our Paris neighborhoods just well enough to know where we wanted to be.

Note – we first compared train tickets to plane tickets and ended up going with flights. Often, in Europe, plane tickets are cheaper than train tickets. Just depends. And you have to consider the timing of each and the ground transport options.

Worked out there was a flight leaving soon that we could make. There are often multiple flights per day between major destinations. For example there were five flights from London to Paris this day… I think tickets were $40/person.

We went back to the apartment and grabbed a bag. Then we went to the airport and got on the plane. It’s amazing how fast we can move without the kids.

Like, whoa.

We arrived late afternoon and checked into our hotel.

Changed and went out for some food. Actually I think we took a power nap first, if I remember correctly. Because we know in Paris, you can eat dinner at 11pm if you want.

We knew we wanted some good wine.

I mean…. Hello.

Rich did a little research and found L’Avant Comtpoir – a highly rated wine bar with French style tapas. We found the restaurant, but barely. It was TEENY TINY. Just a long thin bar and a row of stools. And it was jam packed with people. We actually walked by it a couple times trying to find it. Once we realized where it was we weren’t even sure how to approach it. There were people everywhere, but no hostess or anything. There seemed to a be a few other people waiting to be served and they were just standing around and mingling outside, sort of like we were. The menu was just pictures of tapas bites hanging from the ceiling, only in French. And the wines were listed on the wall.

We felt really overwhelmed and thought about leaving. But we decided to wait just a few minutes in the crowd. One stool opened. Rich said “take that one” and he stood at my side as we tried to decide how and what to order. A few minutes went by and the people next to us were finished. Keep in mind, no customers at the bar are in any type of hurry.

This is how big it was.

There are our legs. And that’s how we sat – with my legs basically inside Rich’s, because there was also no real leg room under the bar.

And that tiled wall is the outer wall of the restaurant – with hooks to poke yourself on.

Then is was time to try and order food and wine.

No small task for us.

Luckily for us the bartender was FRIENDLY!

And he spoke English with us, and at least pretended like he didn’t want to vomit while doing so.

And he helped us order. WHAT?

We had the house white and the house red. Here’s a tip when you’re in France. You can order the “house” of anything and it will be absolutely delicious. They ain’t messing around with their wine. And “the house wine” is good.

We ate a few tapas plates, but I don’t even remember what they were because honestly – the star of the show here – was the butter. If you look back at the first picture you can see a slab of yellow on the bar with a knife stuck in it. You might ordinarily over look such a thing. But they keep dishing out simple warm bread, and then dropping head-size slabs of this butter right within arms reach.

Ohrmegard YOU GUYS.

Soft, creamy, a hint of sweet, just the right amount of salt on top.

OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS.

This butter changed my mind about Paris.

Have you heard about the butter?

It wins.

And… I mean… on that hot fresh bread.

Get in my mouth now.

Anyway.

Once we were done there we wandered around, looking for some dessert.

We found an adorable chocolate shop on our walk, but that’s not quite what we wanted.

We moved on and found a little place that had creme brulee and chocoalte mousse.

Yep, that’s the ticket.

I know our dessert was good here, but honestly I was still thinking about that butter from dinner.

In the morning we got up, and headed straight to Ble Sucre. We had read that this pastry shop might possibly have the best croissants in Paris. And…. ah… I haven’t tried all of the croissants in Paris, but I can tell you that these are the best. When the line is long, you’re in the right place.

Once you have your pastries, you sit outside the restaurant and this is your view.

PURE PERFECTION!

We started with croissants, and GOT BACK IN LINE for more: almond and chocolate on the second round.

And all I could think was that they used that butter from L’Avant Comtpoir to make these pastries. THE BUTTER YOU GUYS. It makes these pastries.

I’ve had a lot of pastries, ok. I have a soft spot for – specifically – croissants. I’ve had them in Rome and Amsterdam and London. I’ve had them in Greece and Spain. I’ve had them in Thailand – where they are actually kind of amazing. I’ve had them in America – where they are the most sad, btw.

But nothing compares to these. My mouth is watering as I type this.

These are technically perfect with the magical amount of softness and crunch. Perfect density but also airy. And then the flavors after that…. hint of sweet. Not too much, just enough. Perfect salt. Just perfect.

And I’m now converted.

I can now say I would return to Paris.

If only to have these croissants.

I’m serious.

Then we strolled down the famous French market street “Rue Cler”

Then we went to Notre Dame, because I was in search of some artwork I had seen along the river in previous trips. I regretted not buying the street art, so I was happy to have a chance to go back and get it myself. I got a painting and combination of prints that now hang in Viv’s room.

After that we ventured to a museum that we’d always wanted to visit during trips before; the Musee D’Orsay. It’s beautiful, and honestly preferable to the Louvre – in my opinion.