I spent this past weekend in Paris following a meeting on Friday. After work, I checked into my hotel - the Hotel Luxembourg, across from the Senat and Luxembourg Gardens (the same place Lauren and I stayed during her visit last summer). Around 8pm, I went out and met my friend Rosanne, her friend Jan, and a few others for dinner at a cosy place called Baci in le Marais. (Recap: Rosanne is my good friend from NYC. She has a children’s clothing boutique in Paris that she runs with her sister, Julie, who lives in Paris with her family. Ro lives in NY, but spends lots and lots of time in Paris so we get to see each other a good deal…she has the little doggie Totoro who I took care of last time I was in NY staying at her apartment). I had some red wine, chicken and vegetables, and we called it a night around midnight. I was tired. I walked all the way back to the hotel, which took about a half hour. Though it was cold and damp outside, it was nice to be out walking in the dark chilled air with the whole weekend ahead of me (God I love Friday night, regardless of where I am!). When I passed over the Ile de Cite, in front of Notre Dame, it was shrouded in a quiet darkness and I looked around to find that I was the only person in the square…I had the place all to myself. It was one of those enchanted moments when I had to stop and consider how lucky I am to have this life. I love walking in Paris at night -- the lights along the Seine are always magical. Moments like that simply make me grateful, even if I do get a little tired and lonely sometimes.When I got back to my room, I shut off the alarm on my blackberry (which had been set to 4-5am the three days before) and barely remember falling into bed. I didn’t open my eyes until 1pm the next afternoon (oops). That was nice. It was a miserable rainy day (of course), so I started off easy at a brasserie by Odeon where I had a double espresso and a ham and cheese omelette that was positively drowning in butter (with a salad and fresh baguette on the side). It was delicious. I then made my way to the Metro where I went to Montmartre to wander around. I went up to the Sacre Coeur (the big cathedral that overlooks Paris) and took in the view. But it was ridiculously drizzly, cold and flooded with tourists, so I didn’t spend too long in the madness. I ducked into a few little shops, one from which I purchased a lovely little necklace. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at the incredible Gerard Mulot patisserie in Saint Germain where I picked up a to-die-for dessert for the evening’s dinner party. I don’t know what it was called, but it was a rich, fluffy vanilla custard mixture dotted with fresh, plump raspberries and sandwiched between two layers of crisp, crumbly cake (or was it a meringue?) sprinkled with pistachio slivers and wrapped up in a bow -- perfect bliss in a big pink box!
Saturday evening, Rosanne graciously invited me to her sister (Julie) and brother-in-law’s (Domenique) home in the city’s 11th arrondissement. I stepped through the huge wooden burgundy doors, passed through the inner courtyard, and climbed a flight of black steel stairs up to their flat. Rosanne opened the door and I found myself in a warm, open, lofty space lined with bookcases that I can only describe as if I had stepped into an issue of Dwell magazine -- totally fab.
After graduating from Parsons School of Design in NYC 17 years (ish) ago, Julie moved to Paris. She now owns a super-hip children’s clothing boutique in Saint Germain called “Milk on the Rocks” for which she and Rosanne design their own clothes (www.milkontherocks.net). She has been married to Domenique for 7 years and they have two adorable children: Antoine (5) and Jade (3). Jade greeted me in a sparkly purple Princess Jasmin dress (from Disney’s Aladdin), fashionably layered over a yellow Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) nightgown…she was all smiles and ready to party. Antoine, on the other hand, was very tired and not at all in the mood to entertain…he called it a night around 9:30. They also have three huge, gorgeous kitty cats. Rosanne’s doggie Totoro was there as well, so it was a full house of kids, animals, big people and great food…a perfect evening, really!
While we were busy gabbing and enjoying wine and pate (Ro’s friend Jan was there as well), Domenique was intently focused on making dinner, which I understand is a family recipe. Big, red tomatoes stuffed with a combination of ground beef, mushrooms, onions, tomato, sugar (which off-sets the savory nicely) and some other stuff. After the tomatoes are hollowed out and stuffed with the mixture, the tops are placed back on, a pat of butter is perched on top of each, and they are sent into the oven to bake (see pictures). They come out many minutes later shriveled, warm, ooozy juicy, and perfectly delicious. Domenique plated them like a pro in huddles of three per plate. YUM!
After dinner, we tucked into the dessert I brought from Gerard Mulot. Had it with a side of ice cream (because, um, the pastry alone wasn’t decadent enough). Then (as if we hadn’t already indulged sufficiently), Domenique brought out some little muffins he has been baking and selling to local shops. He makes them in several varieties: lemon, hazelnut, chocolate chip, and a couple others. We sampled, of course.
After dinner, Domenique entertained us with some magic tricks -- he’s really good! He baffled us with tricks using cards, those little spongie balls, and a trick using Jan’s cigarette lighter. Good times. Now, if only he could have made all the calories I consumed that night disappear! Meanwhile, Jade impressed us with her skills blowing out all the candles….I guess that was pretty magical to her and she was not going to be outdone.
I got a taxi home close to midnight. Jade was still up watching movies and smiling when we left – talk about a 3 year old that can totally party!
This morning (Sunday) I woke up around 10:30, checked out, and then went to Café Flore (used to be a massive hangout for the literary greats) on Saint German for a breakfast of broiled eggs with salmon, salad and lots of coffee. Then I went to Le Bon Marche department store where I managed to escape without buying anything. Around 2:30, I met Rosanne in le Marais and we went on a very fast 2-hour shopping tear where I managed to do a little damage in the form of a dress, belt and some bath products. We stopped into a little smoky bar we like called Le Perle, where we had a fast glass of red wine. Then, I took off to get a taxi to the airport, after a mad run through a chocolate shop by Place de Vogues where I snagged a chocolate bar for myself, and an assortment of truffles for a work colleague. The flight home was easy and uneventful. I sat next to a very handsome French man who I couldn’t work up the nerve to speak to, even though I really, really wanted to.
Oh, and speaking of French, mine still sucks. Oh well…third class is tomorrow, so onwards and upwards!
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