Off to Lyon!

On the advice of our friends and fellow foodies Betty and Gary, we are taking a long weekend (Thursday through Sunday) in Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France! Even better, the Lyon and Rhone Valley is home to some of the world's most famous, high quality chocolate, Valrhona and Richart. Looks like I'll be running a few extra laps around the Champs de Mars next week.

We will take the SNCF train to Lyon and rent a car to have more freedom to explore the region. Here's where we'll be staying...
La Maison d'Hôtes du Greillon

and ...

La Grand Hotel De La Paix

Three weeks in Paris and we haven't yet explored many of our favorite sites and neighborhoods beyond the ones in our immediate vicinity, the Bastille and the Marais. On Sunday, we took Emmett for his first visit to Montmartre.

Montmartre is a neighborhood that holds special significance for us as we rented our first apartment there for about 10 days in February 2003 with our good friends Helen and Jen. It felt like a village to us and within days, the local shopkeepers, butchers, bakers were familiar faces. We spent a good deal of time in the labyrinth of our neighborhood's streets, soaking up the atmosphere.

Coming to Paris with Emmett has made for a very different, but still very satisfying adventure. It keeps us from being out and about as much as we'd like, and we certainly haven't sampled as many bistros, brasseries, and restaurants as we would have liked at this point either. Our trips out are limited by Emmett's naps and eating schedules, so the longest we've been out is a stretch of 5 hours (he doesn't sleep well in the stroller and fusses to get out after a while). We've had to cut short a couple outings here and there because he was tired, and we spent a few days puttering around the apartment for the most part because he had the sniffles and it was chilly outside. And being the night people that we are, we miss seeing the sites of Paris at night and rarely have a chance to get out much after 8:00pm beyond the occasional walk for ice cream or our dinner out with our friends Emmet and Chris when we had our babysitter come to take care of little Emmett (more on Anabel, preserver of my sanity, later).

That said... traveling to this city with Emmett has allowed us to see a side of Paris we'd never been privy to in the past. Everyone has been nothing but adoring and fawning of Emmett (and of babies in general). So far, we haven't gotten any annoying stares or irritated remarks whenever we take Emmett to a restaurant. In fact, restauranteurs have all gone out of their way to be accommodating. Metro rides, as cumbersome as it can be at times getting a stroller up and down the stairs and through turnstiles, are a pleasure to take with Emmett. The passengers standing or sitting near us invariably smile, play peekaboo, pat his head, and/or speak French with him. And, not once have I *not* been offered a hand in carrying his stroller up or down the stairs (several flights in some cases), a seat in a crowded metro when I'm backpacking Emmett, or a door held open for us by a stranger during rush hour. I love seeing this warm, loving side of strangers and it makes me feel an instant bond with Parisians.

Other little treats that traveling with Emmett has provided us:
1. The discovery of the little pocket-sized parks throughout the city. Each park has its own unique character. Some seem designed for children to run around and frolick in, while others seem more sophisticated (for lack of a better word) with bronze statues, water fountains, and elegant benches surrounding a footpath. These appear more like sanctuaries for couples to escape to after work to catch up about the day as they stroll.
2. Familiarity with our neighborhood merchants and vendors. Or rather, they recognize me because they remember Emmett.
3. The reassuring connection with MESSAGE (the English-speaking mothers group) and other moms in passing. MESSAGE has been a ready resource for my every question and I owe a debt of gratitude to this organization.
4. Allowing us to slow down and live more like locals than tourists. We shop at the local farmers' markets, fromageries, boucheries, patisseries, and boulangeries at least every other day because we prepare most of our meals at home. We take a lot of walks around our surrounding neighborhoods, so we've gotten to know it quite well.


ANYWAY, back in Montmartre, Emmett rode his first carousel at the Place St. Pierre at the base of Sacré Couer. He didn't seem to quite know what to make of it, but fortunately, he doesn't seem to have a phobia of antique carousels.


Next, we took the funiculaire to Sacré Couer. The day was clear, so we got a few shots of the Paris landscape before heading home for dinner.

Dinner at Astier

Faced with a near-empty refrigerator, we decided to find a neighborhood bistro open for dinner on a Monday evening -- not an easy task as it turns out. We consulted Patricia Wells' Food Lover's Guide to Paris and our Zagat guide for Paris (thanks, Vicki and Stew!), and decided on Restaurant Astier, a 8-minute stroll from our apartment. We packed up Emmett's dinner and off we went.


The restaurant opened at 8 p.m. and we were the first customers to arrive, but trendsetters that we are, the restaurant was full within minutes. (I have no idea where all the people emerged from -- I thought we were the only ones in the vicinity!)

Their prix-fixe was a steal at 28€ for 4 courses: entrée, plat, fromage and dessert. For our first course, I ordered a fricasee of mixed wild mushrooms which was garlicky, earthy, and unlike any other mushroom dish I've ever tasted. David ordered mussels, which were not only delicious, but the shells provided Emmett with endless entertainment for the entire evening. For the second course, David ordered a tasty lapin á la moutarde with fresh pasta to soak up the sauce, while I ordered roasted pork with chanterelle mushrooms.

But the most memorable part of the meal was the giant cheese platter that arrived at our table on its own stand. I have never seen a platter as large as this filled with an endless variety of cheese. Oozing brie, a buttery reblochon, salty chevres, aged sheep's milk cheese, paprika-dusted cow's milk cheese, a pungent bleu.... We hardly knew where to begin first, and I'm sure we didn't get to sample every one, but oooooh, were we in heaven!!


Dessert put us over the edge: David had a roasted pear wrapped in filo dough with a scoop of caramel ice cream while I had a chocolate pot de creme with sauce au lait and a tiny perfect madeleine.



Restaurant Astier
44, rue J.P. Timbaud
11th arr.
Open on Mondays!

Saturday Afternoon at the Park

Emmet and Chris' last day with us...appropriately the weather in Paris changed overnight from being sunny and pleasant on Friday to being grey, drizzly, and chilly on Saturday.


After a quick tour through the Musée Rodin, lunch at Au Babylone (amazing ice cream and sorbet -- mon dieu!) and a whirlwind trip through Le Bon Marche's Grande Epicerie, Chris and Emmet departed for London. David, Emmett, and I consoled ourselves later in the afternoon with crepes while Emmett got to enjoy his first baby croissant, a gift from the person who made our crepes.

One of the many things I love about Paris: there are parks sprinkled all over the city, hidden away in little pockets waiting to be stumbled upon. Some are big and well-known (like the Place des Vosges and Luxembourg Gardens) while others occupy just one little pocket of grass or a strip of median along the street. One medium-sized park we came across during our first couple days exploring our neighborhood is located a short walk from our apartment in the Marais. The Square du Temple contains a duck pond, a small playground, several benches along a footpath, and a large stretch of grass -- bonanza for Emmett since we live in a child-unfriendly apartment. He loves to crawl around, stalking birds, chasing after balls, examining dried leaves, and pulling out little handfuls of grass.

Dinner at Cartet

Chris and Emmet treated us to one of the most memorable meals of our lives Friday night at Cartet, a tiny restaurant specializing in Lyonnaise fare on 62, rue de Malte near our apartment in the 11th. Expertly run by a husband and wife, it is not a restaurant for the meek or squeamish, and we will surely return in the future. I'm not sure if words can do justice to the stellar experience and meal we had there, but here are a few choice snippets of conversation and photos....



"Oh my god, this is so good."

"Chris, more nose?"

"You probably had more nose than you had beef."

To the owner/chef/server/busser/dishwasher: "Dessert...how does it work?"
Response: "Oui, I put everything on the table..."

The menu...

4 Terrines: Foie de volailles; Herbes de Provence; Pâté de tête, Jambon persillé
accompanied by homemade cornichons

Museau de boeuf vinaigrette

Salade aux lardons

Escalope de ris de veau

Châteaubriant

Côte de veau aux Morilles

Magret de canard au poivre vert

Pommes lyonnaise

Dessert - L'assortiment
Creme caramel, riz au lait, mousse au chocolat, tarte au citron, oeufs á la neige (floating islands in creme anglaise), bugues (crunchy little puffy dough), and choux (similar to profiteroles, filled with rum-flavored pastry cream and drizzled with caramelized sugar)

Wine: a Côte du Rhône: Saint-Esteve d'Uchaux 2003

Unbelieveable.

Cartet
62, Rue de Malte (11th Arr.)
Paris, 75011

Three Men & a Baby

Emmet and Chris' second day in Paris



After breakfast (during which 4 out of the 5 eggs we cracked open were double yolks!), Chris and Emmet headed for the Eiffel Tower while David went to school and I stayed home to let Emmett nap. Emmett and I met up with them in the early afternoon to have lunch on the Champs-Elysees at Léon de Bruxelles, a chain restaurant in Paris specializing in mussels and frites.



The weather in Paris today was sunny with a touch of humidity. With Emmett in the backpack, the four of us strolled down the Champs-Elysee toward the Arc de Triomphe where we climbed the narrow stairwell to the tip top to see all of Paris and the organized chaos below in the Etoile.


We continued onward to Les Invalides, containing a hospital, monument, museum, the tomb of Napoleon, and one of my favorite cathedrals in Paris where I've run into classical music concert rehearsals on occasion. Emmet had taken over carrying little Emmett in the backpack at this point, which was a relief for me to feel 25 or so pounds lighter. Our energy level started to wane at around 5:00 (Emmett had fallen asleep in the backpack), so we did a quick sweep through Les Invalides and headed home to get ready for dinner.


Stay tuned for dinner....

Our friends Emmet and Chris arrived this morning!! They are our first visitors in Paris, and boy, was it great to see familiar faces. They came with me to the Bastille farmers' market as I shopped for ingredients for tonight's dinner.



Afterward, we had lunch together at a little bistro a short walk from our apartment called C'Amelot. It was c'est fantastique: soupe des legumes out of a gigantic ceramic turrine, marinated sea snails, vegetable beignets, caramelized pork with polenta, filet of dourade, and beef for Chris -- followed by a plum streusel topped with fromage blanc sorbet.

We parted for the afternoon -- Chris and Emmet went off to zip through the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay and the Latin Quarter, while little Emmett and I played in the apartment and picked up some more ingredients for dinner. I felt so triumphant today: with my limited French and my favorite chicken roaster's zero English (along with a lot of hand gestures), I learned that he will roast a duck on request. All I have to do is select my duck and come back at around dinner time to pick up a piping hot, crispy roast duck that's been perfectly seasoned. Guess what we had for dinner:


In addition to the roast duck and roast chicken, I roasted some new potatoes, fennel, and Brussel sprouts. Rounded out with a couple French cheeses, 2 bottles of wine, a basket of strawberries and muscat grapes, and some tasty macaroons and a slice of Opera cake from Dalloyau, we had a memorable first dinner together in Paris!

Happy Birthday...La Poste??

We headed to our local post office around the corner from our apartment yesterday afternoon to mail a package home to Emmett's Uncle Dave. We walked in to see streamers, balloons, a woman singing into a microphone, a gentleman playing the keyboard near by, and a kiosk with another gentleman serving coffee, tea, juice, candy, and cookies. Apparently, September 20 is the birthday of France's la poste, and we were more than happy to celebrate with them! (Does the postal service in the U.S. ever do anything like this?)

Unfortunately, it didn't make the line move any faster. We were there for almost 30 minutes, but at least we had entertainment and refreshments to keep us occupied.



I signed up for another race over the weekend. This one is the 20 km de Paris on Sunday, October 16th. I need something to work off all the pastries, cheese, chocolate, and bread I've been allowing myself. I let myself believe that I was on vacation for a while there....

Emmett's 10-month Birthday!

On the 19th of each month, we have a little party for Emmett's birthday. Sure, he's still a bit young to do much celebrating with us yet, but we try to make a tradition of treating ourselves to a little something fun on that day (as a little reward for all the late night feedings, being spit up upon, and the lack of sleep!). When Emmett was 2 weeks old, the three of us went to Fenton's Creamery for dinner; another time we picked up pizza from the Cheeseboard in Berkeley; on a few occasions, David has brought home a couple decadent desserts for us to share from either Citizen Cake or Masse's Pastries. In July, I took Emmett to Baker Beach for his first beach visit and we had a couple friends over for steak.


This month's birthday was no exception. We browsed Gourmet Lafayette at Les Galeries Lafayette shopping center in the heart of Paris. It contains a vast array of food from various purveyors all over France and beyond. David and I could spend hours in there just browsing, pointing out novel food items, and sampling. It's overwhelming at first -- everything is arranged so beautifully and it all looks so enticing. We told ourselves we'd select one dessert for tonight since we'll be eating richly later on this week when Chris and Emmet arrive.

Our dessert selection for Emmett's 10-month birthday was from Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki in Paris. We chose a piece of chocolate mont d'or: layers of chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, cassis, and white chocolate.

Sorry, Emmett! You can have a little bit of birthday cake in two months when you turn 1!

La Parisienne!!

Today was my first race in Paris -- a 6K run around the foot of Le Tour Eiffel to support breast cancer research. I had so much fun! The weather was sunny and crisp and it was my first time running an all-female race. I noted a few things:

- The race was supposed to start at 10:00 a.m. -- very unusual for me given that most Bay Area races start at around 7 a.m. It felt great to sleep in and not wake up in the dark to get ready.
- All the race information, announcements, pre-race festivities were entirely in French, so I was in the dark quite a bit. It felt a little disconcerting and lonely standing in a crowd of 7900 where everyone seemed to understand what was happening, but it made me really really want to take my French lessons more seriously. I know so little....
- The race actually started at around 10:20 a.m. We were mostly gathered at the starting line at 10:00 a.m., but neither the announcer or any of the runners seemed to be in a rush for the race to start. After several minutes of announcements, cheering, more announcements, and a moment of silence (I wish I knew what or who for!), we were off!
- There were bagpipers playing a short distance from the starting line... I loved that!

- It was very difficult to run for at least the first kilometer and a half. The streets are narrow and the crowd was dense. There were many many people out on the sidewalks, on bridges, on the streets, cheering for the runners! I noticed it was primarily men cheering with their children, "Allez Maman!"
- I didn't pay attention to water stations along the way, but apparently they were handing out *bottles* of water! The Bay-Area-ite in me thought it was wasteful and dangerous...there were almost entirely full bottles of water rolling around along the path. I had visions of me tripping on a water bottle, falling, and skinning my knees on the pavement.
I spotted David and Emmett near the finish line -- my time was 36:32. On our way out, each runner was handed a medal and a rose.

Afterward, the three of us had a light lunch nearby at La Terrasse near the Ecole Militaire. Emmett got to sample some watered down soupe de l'oignon.