“Warm croissants and cold bubbles”
Palpable senses like smell, touch, taste and sight resemble song and verse; all clues to a locality.
The sunrise brings the sweet buttery fragrance of warm freshly baked croissants, early bird risers meandering through cobble stoned labyrinths and the rush of the first caffeine in one of the numerous sidewalk cafes. The tease of gossamer morning mist rising from the serpentine river and the unmistakeable sight of an elegant haute couture woman walking her poodle, each hummed location.
Country France and it’s the weekend. Paris and the Champagne region of Eperney are the selected destinations. Paris is fabled for Lovers; romance fills the air with cologne. The streets are paved with golden leafed mystical warlords. Museums whose sole purpose is to honour and worship art abound. Fine food and fine wines are staples. Partaking of all the sensory delights in equal measure was a hedonist experience.
An espresso on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, reflecting on the Arc de Triomphe, watching a Gendarme orchestrating the traffic with all the skill of a maestro. Speculating on travellers and nationals drifting and converging in transit was a voyeuristic paradise, comfortable in the ordered seats of the Parisian cafes.
Entrance to the Louvre Museum is through a wide-open paved expanse of courtyard, with a glass triangle floating on the hard blocks. Looking down, the perspective and scale mirror life in a fish tank. The Louvre’s countless galleries were hushed after the honking of street life. Mona Lisa’s eyes and expression follow you around the room demanding your attention, “look at Me”, she seems to be booming. For having such a big reputation she is surprisingly small in size. Room after room of priceless masterpieces are accessible but not touchable; what a visual extravagance.
The theatrical leering gargoyles of Notre Dame were ever watchful; inside vaulted ceiling and dominating altars cautioned worshippers to silence. The Cathedral is a gothic tour de force constructed between 1163 and 1345 and renovated in the 19th century.
The evocative Eiffel Tower commands the horizon. Familiar from TV, magazines and films, it is Paris. It also offers food and wine. As a birthday celebration, it was decided to lunch there. The Michelin star rating of the “Jules Verne” restaurant confirmed the culinary excellence. Would you enjoy the chosen menu?
∑ Heavenly pastry filled with crab and prawns surrounded by a frothy sauce of delicate spices, accompanied by a silky mix of salmon and caviar, cool and smooth. Tastes and textures meet our expectations; luxurious comes to mind
∑ The signature dish was sea scallops with pork, an unexpected union. I aspire to cook like this
∑ A hushed movement signalled the arrival of the cheese cart. With expert advice the choices were made: creamy, strong and gentle, cow and goat. Where to start, the French are very good at this.
It was cheese on toast for dinner that night. I didn’t try to emulate our lunch, but it was French cheese. Oh and did I forget a little bottle of French bubbles, with chocolates for desert.
Next door to the hotel was the oldest chocolate shop in Paris, “Debauve and Gallais” founded in 1800, merchant to the King of France. As you walked into the shop, tastebuds quivered; all the eye and nose could detect was chocolate; luxurious velvety shapes and colours flaunted to perfection. Price is on weight at EUR 100, 000 per tonne (approx USD 150, 000).
The works of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh to name a few of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists were represented at the Musee D’Orsay. Beautiful, iconic in colour and style, superlatives cannot describe such fantastic works. The Musee is housed in a restored railway station; it was a work of art in itself. The combination of art and history was irresistible.
Following Louis X1V’s example we journey by train rather than coach to Versailles for an afternoon stroll through the celebrated gardens crammed with imperial marble statues, lakes festooned with rowboats and boulevards back-dropped by the stunning summer residence. The serenity of the gardens provided a welcome relaxation.
Parts of Paris offer a living history. Tour D’Argent, which began life in 1582, is the oldest restaurant in Paris. Duels were fought there to obtain a table. Dinner is still impossible unless you book months in advance; fortunately we did not have to duel for a lunch reservation. During the Third Republic (before 1914), the ritual of the “Canard au Sang” was created, it was decreed that each duck would bear a number, which continues to this day. Duck number 1,035,438 had our name on it. The owner Claude Terrail is quoted: “Nothing is more serious than pleasure”. I think we are devotees, or at least foodies. We were in heaven with more bubbles to celebrate our participation in this living history.
Being of the firm belief that French Champagne is one of Life’s pleasure; we sought more pleasure and headed to Eperney for our last night in France to offer our services for quality control in the Champagne region.
Maintaining the weekend’s theme of leisure and pleasure, overnight was in a former coach house “Le Royal Champagne” part of the Relais and Chateaux group. The vales and lees ended in valley floors of green grape vines and rusty brown village dwellings, the light played among the vines, giving them sparkle and fizz.
In the village of Epernay the various Champagne houses have carved their cellars from the limestone where they turn nature into liquid gold. The 17 miles of caves at Moet and Chandon are 250 years old. Mysterious dark mazes filled with bubbles at various stages of effervescences and aromas. Would Madam care to taste the final product? With a suitable pause, then “Yes Please!!” Not sure, we may need a second; oh but “that is your third”, oh dear!!
Streets bustle, the language lilts, the urban scape stuns, the art is like sunshine and rain, the food heavenly and the wine sings. Confidence and proud, France dazzles the senses.
The sunrise brings the sweet buttery fragrance of warm freshly baked croissants, early bird risers meandering through cobble stoned labyrinths and the rush of the first caffeine in one of the numerous sidewalk cafes. The tease of gossamer morning mist rising from the serpentine river and the unmistakeable sight of an elegant haute couture woman walking her poodle, each hummed location.
Country France and it’s the weekend. Paris and the Champagne region of Eperney are the selected destinations. Paris is fabled for Lovers; romance fills the air with cologne. The streets are paved with golden leafed mystical warlords. Museums whose sole purpose is to honour and worship art abound. Fine food and fine wines are staples. Partaking of all the sensory delights in equal measure was a hedonist experience.
An espresso on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, reflecting on the Arc de Triomphe, watching a Gendarme orchestrating the traffic with all the skill of a maestro. Speculating on travellers and nationals drifting and converging in transit was a voyeuristic paradise, comfortable in the ordered seats of the Parisian cafes.
Entrance to the Louvre Museum is through a wide-open paved expanse of courtyard, with a glass triangle floating on the hard blocks. Looking down, the perspective and scale mirror life in a fish tank. The Louvre’s countless galleries were hushed after the honking of street life. Mona Lisa’s eyes and expression follow you around the room demanding your attention, “look at Me”, she seems to be booming. For having such a big reputation she is surprisingly small in size. Room after room of priceless masterpieces are accessible but not touchable; what a visual extravagance.
The theatrical leering gargoyles of Notre Dame were ever watchful; inside vaulted ceiling and dominating altars cautioned worshippers to silence. The Cathedral is a gothic tour de force constructed between 1163 and 1345 and renovated in the 19th century.
The evocative Eiffel Tower commands the horizon. Familiar from TV, magazines and films, it is Paris. It also offers food and wine. As a birthday celebration, it was decided to lunch there. The Michelin star rating of the “Jules Verne” restaurant confirmed the culinary excellence. Would you enjoy the chosen menu?
∑ Heavenly pastry filled with crab and prawns surrounded by a frothy sauce of delicate spices, accompanied by a silky mix of salmon and caviar, cool and smooth. Tastes and textures meet our expectations; luxurious comes to mind
∑ The signature dish was sea scallops with pork, an unexpected union. I aspire to cook like this
∑ A hushed movement signalled the arrival of the cheese cart. With expert advice the choices were made: creamy, strong and gentle, cow and goat. Where to start, the French are very good at this.
It was cheese on toast for dinner that night. I didn’t try to emulate our lunch, but it was French cheese. Oh and did I forget a little bottle of French bubbles, with chocolates for desert.
Next door to the hotel was the oldest chocolate shop in Paris, “Debauve and Gallais” founded in 1800, merchant to the King of France. As you walked into the shop, tastebuds quivered; all the eye and nose could detect was chocolate; luxurious velvety shapes and colours flaunted to perfection. Price is on weight at EUR 100, 000 per tonne (approx USD 150, 000).
The works of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh to name a few of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists were represented at the Musee D’Orsay. Beautiful, iconic in colour and style, superlatives cannot describe such fantastic works. The Musee is housed in a restored railway station; it was a work of art in itself. The combination of art and history was irresistible.
Following Louis X1V’s example we journey by train rather than coach to Versailles for an afternoon stroll through the celebrated gardens crammed with imperial marble statues, lakes festooned with rowboats and boulevards back-dropped by the stunning summer residence. The serenity of the gardens provided a welcome relaxation.
Parts of Paris offer a living history. Tour D’Argent, which began life in 1582, is the oldest restaurant in Paris. Duels were fought there to obtain a table. Dinner is still impossible unless you book months in advance; fortunately we did not have to duel for a lunch reservation. During the Third Republic (before 1914), the ritual of the “Canard au Sang” was created, it was decreed that each duck would bear a number, which continues to this day. Duck number 1,035,438 had our name on it. The owner Claude Terrail is quoted: “Nothing is more serious than pleasure”. I think we are devotees, or at least foodies. We were in heaven with more bubbles to celebrate our participation in this living history.
Being of the firm belief that French Champagne is one of Life’s pleasure; we sought more pleasure and headed to Eperney for our last night in France to offer our services for quality control in the Champagne region.
Maintaining the weekend’s theme of leisure and pleasure, overnight was in a former coach house “Le Royal Champagne” part of the Relais and Chateaux group. The vales and lees ended in valley floors of green grape vines and rusty brown village dwellings, the light played among the vines, giving them sparkle and fizz.
In the village of Epernay the various Champagne houses have carved their cellars from the limestone where they turn nature into liquid gold. The 17 miles of caves at Moet and Chandon are 250 years old. Mysterious dark mazes filled with bubbles at various stages of effervescences and aromas. Would Madam care to taste the final product? With a suitable pause, then “Yes Please!!” Not sure, we may need a second; oh but “that is your third”, oh dear!!
Streets bustle, the language lilts, the urban scape stuns, the art is like sunshine and rain, the food heavenly and the wine sings. Confidence and proud, France dazzles the senses.
posted by PC and JT at 12:03 pm
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