New Year

Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2012!

How did you celebrate?

We headed up to Point Reyes and had a wonderful weekend.  More photos to follow.

The Empire City

It had been two years and two months since I was last in New York, but who's counting?

I was back for a short three-day stint to attend a work training course, and it was amazing how many things were different and how many things were exactly the same.

Union Square Cafe is still as good as I remember, but I was happy to realize that we have found restaurants just as good (if not better) out in California now.

The cookbook selection at The Strand has expanded immensely, but their prices still can't beat Amazon, so I took a pass.

I visited Momofuku Noodle Bar to see how the ramen compared to California ramen.  The pork buns were melt-in-your-mouth perfect, but the broth of the ramen couldn't compare to Ramen Dojo in San Mateo.

I made my first trip to one of the Momofuku Milk Bars to see what all the fuss was about.

I literally bought one of almost everything they sold.  The compost cookies were amazing, and more addictive with every bite.

The "crack pie" (their words, not mine) was the most incredible dessert I've had in ages.

After I snapped the first photo, I thought I'd just take one bite.  One bite turned into several and pretty soon I polished the whole thing off.  Luckily, I bought the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook (signed) when I was there, so I can make crack pie anytime I want (and have several hours to spare).

Since I was in the neighborhood, I also stopped by Dylan's Candy Bar.  I knew they would have red Swedish fish to take home to John (since they have every candy ever made), so I picked up half a pound as a sorry-you-couldn't-be-here gift.

While it was fun to walk around and be in "The City" again, it made me realize how much I love my life in California.

As convenient as the subway can be, driving to the grocery store is a heck of a lot easier.  As beautiful as the skyline can be, it's not as beautiful as a West Coast beach.  And as much as I loved New York, California is my home.

Plus I had this gal waiting for me when I returned, which wasn't half bad.  We napped the afternoon away, as I attempted to get rid of my jet lag.  It's back to the grind, but it's my grind, so I don't mind.

Five Things from Paris

I promise this is the last post about Paris, guys.  Since I went into detail about the stores and shopping areas, I figured it would make sense to share what I picked up in all these wonderful places.  I can't, unfortunately, tell you everything I bought in Paris, since most of the items are being handed out as gifts at some point.  I mostly just bought things at random the whole trip - not knowing if we would keep them or if I would give them away.  Then when we got home and unpacked all the goodies I started sorting everything on the top of the dresser.  It seemed like an insane amount of stuff when we were in Paris, but when we got home I wished I had bought more.  More jam.  More tea towels.  More whisks.  You name it.  I guess this loot will have to do until next time.

Above - some fragrant floral green tea from a killer tea shop that I highly recommend.  Tea is huge in Paris (which surprised us both), and Mariage Freres is the tea shop to end all tea shops.  This wonderful loose-leaf tea even comes with some tea bags to fill yourself.  A nice touch.

Orangettes were everywhere in Paris, and this version with milk chocolate was calling to me (as my mom would say).

There was one thing I went to Paris with the intention of buying:  Madeliene pans.  Preferably from E. Dehilleron.  I picked up two, in fact, and I can't wait to try them.  I also bought a big whisk for good measure.

At Shakespeare and Company I was eager to pick up a book as a souvenir.  What better kind of book to buy than a book on French cooking?  I've been dying to get an Elizabeth David cookbook after learning she is one of Alice Waters' favorites.

I fell in love with this modern tea towel that we bought when walking around Marais.  Tea towels are sold all over Paris, but this was the only one I saw with a modern twist.

Recommendations for Paris

I'm not an expert on Paris, but while the trip is fresh in my brain, I thought it might make sense to distill the trip for everyone and provide recommendations from our experience.

1.  Try to find a hotel in a fairly central location.  If you do this, most things in Paris are walkable, which allows you to explore even more of the city.

2.  While I loved walking around Paris, our feet would usually start protesting 3/4 through the day.  As a result, I definitely recommend walking away from your hotel all day and then just taking the Metro back.  The Paris Metro is phenomenal and easy to use.  There are stops virtually everywhere.

3.  Everyone is obsessed with buying the Museum Pass, but we skipped it.  We were there for a week and unless we wanted to do all our museum-pass heavy things in a short period, it just didn't make sense for us.  We didn't necessarily want to see every museum in Paris, and planned our trip around more casual events.  Try to figure out how you want to spend your vacation before you necessarily buy the Museum Pass.

4.  Speaking of museums, the Louvre is the most famous, and also the most heinous.  You might need to go because you are in Paris, but it will likely be overcrowded and very hot in some rooms (it was hotter in the Louvre than outside for us).  Maybe go in, see the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory and call it a day unless you are very interested in more ancient art.

5.  The Musee d'Orsay is a much more manageable museum than the Louvre, and can be strolled in a couple of hours.  It houses a lot more popular artists to modern crowds - Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, etc. - so it can be a lot more enjoyable.  It was crowded but nothing like the Louvre.

6.  Go to the Rodin Garden on a nice day.  The line at this museum is little to nonexistent, and seeing the garden only costs 1 euro.  The garden has a lot of Rodin's highlights and it is a beautiful setting to relax on a bench in between other activities.

7.  The Arc de Triomphe is an underrated place.  Of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, this is the easiest place to get a view because the line is very short.  Notre Dame and the Arc both require hundreds of stairs, however, so make sure you consider whether you are up for that.  (We were panting by the end but didn't need to take any breaks.)

8.  Definitely do the Eiffel Tower, but make sure when you go you purchase tickets in advance for a particular entry time.  The line will otherwise be one or two hours, which is fairly unbearable.  You should go to the second platform at least, since that is where the best views are.  If you are up for it, there is almost no line to walk to the second platform instead of taking the elevator.

9.  The Champ de Mars park in front of the Eifffel Tower is the perfect place for a picnic.  Pick up your picnic supplies on the nearby Rue Cler (in between Rue de Grenelle and Av. de la Motte Piquet) and stroll over to the park.  Make sure you find a bench facing the Tower.

10.  If you are of the food-obsessed persuasion, like me, I definitely recommend visiting E. Dehilleron (old-fashioned cookware store shopped at by Julia Child and Ina Garten) and Hediard (fine ingredient store selling teas, spices, chocolates, and more).  Patrick Roger was our favorite chocolate shop.

11.  Try to walk around as many neighborhoods as possible - ideally on the less touristy streets.  We especially loved Marais and the Left Bank.  (Be sure to visit Place de Vosges if you go to Marais.)

12.  The books we used and relied upon heavily were Rick Steves' Guide to Paris and Hungry for Paris.  Rick Steves' book has walking tours of many museums and sites, and also has walking tours of some of the exceptional neighborhoods in Paris.  I highly recommend this book and carried it with us everywhere.  All the restaurants we visited from Hungry for Paris were exceptional - much better than the random lunch spots we popped into.  If you are interested in planning out your meals in Paris and going to restaurants with a purpose, this book is perfect.  (We actually didn't get a reservation until we got there, and once we did we relied upon our concierge to make them for us at the restaurants I picked out.  We couldn't get into some of my choices, but we got into most.)

13.  Last but not least, here is my map of Paris, with a detailed key of all the color-coding up top.  I will try to update it sometime to put my personal notes in there now that we've visited everything.  (HFP = Hungry for Paris and DL = David Lebovitz.)

I hope you have the opportunity to go to Paris soon.  And if you have any recommendations for how I can manage to move there, I'm all ears.

My Favorite Photos from Paris

Reality has set in.  We are back in the States, for better or for worse.  

There are emails to be answered, voicemails to be listened to, and lots of laundry to be done.

While I long to still be on vacation, and in particular long to be in Paris, I figured it might be fun to pull some of my favorite photos from the trip into one post.  

I like the photos with me and John in them, but for this list I will keep it to the photos that represent Paris itself, not our tour of it.

Everyone at work keeps asking how my trip was, and it's hard to know where to begin.  I usually start with "Amazing!"

Paris is a city packed full of tourists, but also a city where families and friends gather in the park right outside Victor Hugo's house to lounge, laugh, and share some wine.  I hope they do not take Paris for granted.

Taking my camera with me everywhere was worth it.  Sometimes the ordinary things created the most beautiful images of our visit.  

Hopefully someday I will be back and will take even better photographs of this amazing city.  From this trip, though, these are the highlights.

Our Last Day - Rue Cler, Champ de Mars, and Rodin Garden

Today was bittersweet.  We had a great day in Paris, but it was our last.  I don’t know when we will be back, but I hope we won’t be away too long, since it is my favorite city in the world.

There are two things I’m looking forward to about getting back to California – seeing Harper and hopefully leaning how to sleep again.  Every night since we’ve been here at least one of us has slept terribly and been up for 3-4 hours straight in the middle of the night.  We just never really got on the right schedule here, and it seems like we never will.  I can’t imagine what it will be like going to work on Monday morning.  Oy.

Based on the strong recommendation of my guidebook, we headed to tiny Rue Cler to see a genuine Parisian market street in action.  Rue Cler has been closed to traffic (though you see an occasional car there making a delivery) since 1984, making it ideal for a stroll.

We went to Rue Cler not only for the eye candy, but to pick up a picnic for lunch.  At Top Halles Fruits and Vegetables we picked up a package of raspberries and a Clementine, since we basically haven’t had fruit in a week. 

Rue Cler offers shopping the traditional way – where every store has a specialty and you stop in at all the shops to get what you need.  We picked up a hunk of Swiss (for John) and thin Parmesan slices (for me) at the Fromagerie.

We had to stop at the bakery to pick up a few beignets and a baguette. 

My favorite shop was, of course, La Mere de Famille Gourmand Chocolats Confiseries – a chocolate shop that has been in the neighborhood for 30 years.  I may or may not have walked out with more chocolate than anyone could ever finish in a single picnic (even me).

We took our picnic to the nearby Champs de Mars, a huge park that runs from the Eiffel Tower to the Ecole Militaire (Military Museum – no thanks!).  Not a bad view during a picnic, right?

We were standing too close to the Eiffel Tower when we made the ascent, so we had to get a few pictures in front this time. 

In one of the fountains out in front of the Ecole Militaire, two dogs had a great time playing and swimming.  You probably couldn’t get away with that in the U.S.

When I told John this was Napoleon’s Tomb he basically blurted out “NOT INTERESTED!”  Did he think I wanted to go in and take a look?  In the words of Cher from Clueless, “As if!”  [I’m not a history buff, if you couldn’t tell.]

We walked over to the Musee Rodin and instead of doing the whole museum, we paid one euro a piece to just see the garden.  This ended up being a great decision since the garden is huge, beautiful, and full of many of Rodin’s best works.  (Above: Burghers of Calais, Gates of Hell, The Shades, and Victor Hugo)

The museum is housed in a historic mansion where Rodin once lived and worked.  Even when he was alive, his sculptures found a home in this garden.  I can’t think of a better way to appreciate them.

Since it was our last afternoon, we headed back to the Left Bank to do some more shopping in the lively area.  I didn’t snap many pictures, but believe me when I say it was packed with locals and tourists doing their best to support the economy.  We picked up a large carry-on bag from a boutique to help haul home all our goodies. 

Our favorite restaurant of the trip was one we visited a couple nights ago and booked again for our farewell dinner.  L’Entredgeu was within walking distance (barely) of our current hotel – which means it is probably nowhere near anyone else’s hotels.  It is definitely worth the trek, though, as this place was perfect in every way.  The tiny restaurant looks like it has for probably the last 50 years, but nothing feels dated.  The waitress was kind enough to help translate the chalkboard menu for us, which changes frequently.  I got a “vegetable soup” (perhaps celery root) and the best roast pork imaginable.  John got scallops St. Jacque, served atop their shells, which he proclaimed to be the best scallops he had ever eaten, and an amazing piece of lamb.  John got two triangles of chocolate mousse for dessert and I had a thinly-sliced caramelized apple (put back together to look like an apple – stem and all), atop a cookie and served with burnt caramel ice cream.  They were as good as they sound.  (83 rue Laugier, 17^th, 01.40.54.97.24.)