09 May: A Traveler Runs on His Stomach (Part 3 of an Open-Ended Series
We returned to Paris for just one full day before heading back to Seattle, and we had made reservations for lunch at a very special location: the Jules Verne restaurant at the midpoint of the Tour Eiffel (that'd be the Eiffel Tower). While an evening meal would be much more dramatic with all the lights of Paris coming on, it's also much more expensive (with pre fixe meals at 55 euros for lunch and somewhere over 120 euros for dinner). Being of pennypinching (cheap) Norwegian/Scottish heritage and growing up with grandparents who lived through the depression (thus feeling that I, too, am a child of the Depression), we opted for lunch. Overall, the meal was pretty good, but not overly memorable. I did try foie grais full-on for the first time (it had been a main component in a sauce at the traditionally French La Petite Chaise, the oldest restaurant in Paris, which was recommended by our pals Brian and Lowell) in a terrine with some beef. It's a little soft for my liking. I think I'll skip bringing home any cans of the stuff for gifts. The best part was definitely sitting atop Paris on one of the sunniest days of our trip with the love of my life. After the meal, we went up to the very top, which was amazing, but I recommend the mid-stop where the Jules Verne is--you'll get a much better view of individual Parisian sites (we had trouble even locating Sacre Couer from the top--the church on the hill in Amelie--whereas we could see it plain as day from the mid-level).

Our hunt for a truly spectacular vegetarian restaurant in Paris continues, though we found a good one on Sunday night in the Marais. This place (whose name eludes me at this moment) specialised in gratins, and they had an interesting pallette to choose from. But never fear, you can still get a macro-biotic-style assiette (plate) of thinly sliced vegetables and grains if you feel the need to be punishhed for having too much cheese.

Speaking of cheese, Mrs. F and I loves the cheese, and we never had a bad cheese when we were in Paris--even from the generic grocery store brand (a ball of chevre with a bit of rind--it was delightfully pungent and creamy). The one downside to getting the pre fixe selection at the Jules Verne was missing out on the cheese course. If you have the chance, don't miss it. They wheel a large, clear plexiglass cart to your table and cut several large pieces of the most dreamily cheesey smelling cheese you've ever smelled.