My dad's next business trip is to London, and it brings back memories of my summer trip with my sister to London and Paris. London was fabulous, and I promise you I could live there with very little transition.
However, Paris captured my heart. Every time we turned a corner, there was another piece of old beauty or new innovation to draw me in. Of course, food was a huge part of the enjoyment.
Elise and I stayed at a very nice hotel near the airport for several reasons, but mainly because it had a free shuttle to the airport which was also a connection to the train systems into Paris. We also were able to reserve a room in this 5 star hotel for only 49 euros/night. But that's a whole other story.
Every morning, we'd wake up, get ready and catch the shuttle to the airport. There was a bakery stand just inside the terminal where we were dropped off, and we would get a fresh croissant for breakfast. There is nothing like a fresh French croissant. We would then take the train into town while looking at our brochure on the museums and decide which museums to see first, what we were looking for at those museums, etc.
My favorite day was when we went to the Louvre. We started the day as normal, took the tube and walked to the Orangerie Museum, where I was thrilled to take in Monet's water lilies. Breathtaking. Neither Elise nor I had a clue how large these paintings are! We then walked through the park to get to the Louvre. About halfway through the park, we stopped at a cafe for lunch. I can't remember what Elise ate, but I had a fantastic cheese plate. They brought out a basket of fresh baguettes and a plate with cheeses, butter, and a little salad with olive oil. I am drooling as I type this. I couldn't identify which element was the best because each one was beyond description. The butter and cheeses all looked similar, so each bite was a surprise of whether I had put too much butter on the bread (is there such a thing?) or if it was just the right size of cheese. Glad we walked so much while we were there!
Because of our awesome museum hopper pass we bought at the airport (AWESOME deal), we had our own special entrance once we got to the Louvre and were able to skip the line of about 100 people. After we saw the Mona Lisa (a bit disappointing) and some Michelango sculptures, we ended our afternoon with some coffee American at a sidewalk cafe before making our way back to the train station.
All of these memories are so real - I can almost feel the energy from all of the walking, I can almost feel the crusty baguettes in my hands and the butter and cheese melting in my mouth. I wish I had brought back some French olive oil.
I guess I need some help narrowing my next quest. Should I focus on the French olive oil? The baguettes? The cheese? or even the macarons I tasted at the French bakery that were so rich Elise and I split one macaron into 4 and ate one piece each day? Leave your comments and let me know what to try, if you know of any good French bakeries or restaurants in the Atlanta area, or if you have any memories about Paris you'd like to share.
