I still did not get over the jet lag from the first day in Paris but I was feeling a bit better. The good night’s sleep was really helpful. We got off to an early start this morning as we would be traveling all over Paris for one of the student’s walking tour. He really had us in many different sections of the city.
We started the morning in the Maubert Mutualite of the Quarter Latin on the left bank. When we got off the Metro station, we were faced with the ruins of Notre Dame Church, which is still under reconstruction from the fire several years ago. Construction workers were all around the church that morning but we were still able to get a good view of the church.
Notre Dame Church on 6 Parvi Notre Dame Place in Paris
The church stood quiet while it was being repaired but there was still lot activity around the church as the day started and people arrived for work. It was a rather gloomy Tuesday morning and since it was still around 8:30am, no one was really out and about in the neighborhood but us.
We crossed over the bridge to Square Renée Viviani and took pictures in the quiet but beautiful little park. There were a lot of these tiny pocket parks all over Paris and it is fun to just sit and relax when you are tired of walking. These tiny parks have all the classic makings of a French park, tiny benches, colorful plantings and statues.
The Square Rene Viviani at 25 Quai De Montebello
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Ren%C3%A9-Viviani
The Square Rene Viviani near Shakespeare & Company Cafe and Bookstore
We walked through the park to Shakespeare & Company bookstore where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out when he was in Paris. This was not the original spot but one of their store’s in Paris. This is a very well known tourist attraction.
The second Shakespeare & Company bookstore at 37 Rue de la Bucherie
https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/
We took another group shot in front of Shakespeare & Company
We made our way to the end of the block and had breakfast at Cafe Panis Paris, which was a cute little cafe/bistro just off the square and looked like the classic French restaurant that you see in the movies with the banquettes, the wooden brass fixtures and our waiter, who could not have been nicer and spoke English in that beautiful English French accent that Americans find so charming and welcoming. He could not have been nicer and more accommodating to us since we showed up thirty minutes early. He had it all under control and knew how to read the table.
Cafe Panis Paris at 21 Quai de Montebello
My review on TripAdvisor:
The inside of the restaurant
The baked goods that came to the table were excellent! The buttery croissant and the crusty and crunchy baguettes with jam and butter were delicious and we devoured two baskets of these delicious treats. The hot chocolate was amazing in that the cups were filled with melted chocolate and then served with hot frothy milk and a cookie.
The wonderful croissant basket
They melted the chocolate for the Hot Chocolate
With a pitcher of hot frothy milk created heaven in a bowl
It was when the waiter offered to get us omelets that things turned in the food. The omelets were cleverly folded in such a way that you could not see that they were chard on the inside. On the outside they were a little too caramelized but on the inside four of the omelets were burned. I could not believe a chef would serve these to a customer (we did not complain so it was our fault. It tasted good but with a burnt flavor). I was disappointed when we left. I will remember this meal (See review on TripAdvisor).
My breakfast at Cafe Panis Paris
Take a closer look at the burnt edges and the over-caramelized top. Not a good attempt on an omelet.
Our next stop was on the tour was to Cafe Pierre Herme on the Rue de Saint Germain. What a beautiful store. The pastries are treated like jewels. I wish I could say the same about the customers. Our group ordered our pastries and were sitting down while the others finished their orders. This jerk of a salesperson (or he could have been a manager, we did not know) ordered me to stop taking pictures in the store. He then proceeded to tell us to stop sitting down because we did not but our pastries to stay. We just left and this left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. We talked about that for the rest of the trip.
Café Pierre Herme at 26 Boulevard Saint Germain
https://www.pierreherme.com/fr/art-du-cafe
My review on TripAdvisor:
The beautiful pastries at Cafe Pierre Herme
The Raspberry Brioche was delicious (second to the left)
If you see this jerk in the Cafe, go to someone else. You don’t need his attitude problem.
When we left the store, we had about an hour on our own time and I was finally allowed some time to explore the neighborhood. I wanted some me time to visit the stores, explore the streets and visit the open air market that I had passed down the road. That was a lot of fun. The market sold all sorts of items like gourmet foods, clothing, hand carved products and gifts. I ended up buying my mother some jelly spreads from a vendor whose product was just excellent. I ended up buying a few of the smaller jars and had to hike them home through five countries.
The open market on the Rue du Saint Germain on a Tuesday
The open air markets are all over Paris on certain days and I was able to visit two of them on the hour and a half break that we had to walk around the neighborhood. I had been watching so many of those “Les Frenchie’s” videos that I knew where they all were and what time they ran. There really was all sorts of things that you could buy at them. One lady I watched open up asked me to sample these delicious honey/jelly spreads and I have to admit they were delicious. I ended up buying some small jars for my mother as a late Mother’s Day gift.
There was all sorts of delicious things to buy as well such as hot waffles, crepes, ice cream and pastries. I was really beginning to love Paris. Being in a place that took pastry and sweets so seriously was my type of place. I love how food was treated so differently than in the United States.
The market was starting to get busy when we arrived. With the Sorbonne close by I saw a lot of students.
The Candy Stall
Fresh Waffles and Crepes
After I walked around the markets and viewed all the vendors and had my purchase, I started to walk around the side streets looking at all the little stores and restaurants. These little streets had an array of hotels, cafes and shops one nicer than the other in all these older buildings. I wish I had more time to spend here.
Walking around the Latin Quarter
There were lots of little cafes all over the neighborhood
The wonderful little streets to walk around on
One of the tiny hotels in the Latin Quarter Hotel Mont-Blanc
https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/du-mont-blanc.html
Another market by the Fountain Saint Michel at Place de Saint Michel
The Fountain Saint Michel in Place Saint Michel is a beautiful statue
The tiny shops and restaurants around the square in the Latin Quarter
I would have loved to explore the Latin Quarter more and walk its tiny streets to discover its secrets but it was time to leave for lunch. I swear that I had no appetite after the burned omelet. It did not give me much faith. We had to take the bus to the other side of the city because we were going to eat at an extremely famous restaurant, La Grande Cascade that was located in Bois de Boulogne, right near the real cascade waterfall.
Le Grande Cascade in the film “Belle de Jour”
It was an experience because we were running and there was an accident that blocked the route that the bus needed to take to get to the restaurant and Blaine, who was running the tour that day, started to panic and called the restaurant to tell them we would be late. I was not too sure what to expect at that point. We finally arrived at the restaurant and the whole patio area was closed at the time. We walked into this really elegant dining room where everyone was in suits and so beautifully dressed. I felt like one of my students when they would not follow dress code and failed the group project. This was a first class Michelin restaurant and it was the first time in a long time that I felt out of place.
As we walked through the door, I felt like a fish out of water in my polo and khakis. At least I had not worn shorts. Even the staff was completely dressed up in suits. I had not seen a dining room like this since I took my father to “21” for Father’s Day in New York City. Still it would be an experience to eat here. I had not realised what a famous restaurant this was in Paris.
The gardens in front of The Grand Cascade Restaurant
Entering the dining room at The Grande Cascade Restaurant feeling really under-dressed
The Grande Cascade Restaurant
https://www.restaurantsparisiens.com/la-grande-cascade/carte/
My review on TripAdvisor:
It was quite the exchange between our professor and the captain of the restaurant and we never really knew what they said to one another until further in the week. I found out later on he thought we were coming in to try the $200 Euro Tasting Menu (that is everyone one of us). That would have blown the whole budget and somehow they settled in the $70 Euro Tasting menu. I did not ask many questions and just looked at the menu.
Honestly I had no appetite for lunch after the burned omelet but figured that I could handle a little something for lunch and ordered the macaroni. I was not sure what to expect with this meal but it was one of the best we had in Paris. We had one delicious course after another. I had not enjoyed a meal like this in a long time. What I liked was it was served “French” style where all the plates were placed down at once by the servers and they worked as a Team to get the job done. The food was just amazing and our group was extremely impressed by the cuisine, dishes and the service. The staff really came through for us and as a group of students on a Culinary Tour were floored by the experience.
Our first course: The Amuse-Bouche “The Gift from the Chef” concasse in a shell and a tiny Croque Monsieur
The Breads:
The freshly baked Brioche
The freshly baked Baguette
The Entree:
Macaroni with black truffle, foie gras, celery, and a parmesan gratin
This was a special dessert of a Twill Cookie filled with sauteed Pineapple and served with fresh Pineapple/Coconut Ice Cream with a Coconut Sauce
The tiny cream puffs were served to each table as a gift from the Manager of Le Grande Cascade. I thought this was a nice touch.
When we were done, we gave a very welcoming goodbye to the staff there. We really appreciated the hospitality of the restaurant and how they came through for us. I never really knew what the student who arranged this lunch promised but we had one excellent experience in the end. I won’t forget their generosity and gave them an excellent review on TripAdvisor.
Our Class at le Grande Cascade in Paris
After lunch was over, we took a tour of the Right Bank where I swear we must have covered five miles. I had no problem with the trip but I was still fighting jet lag so it was a little tough at times.
Our first part of the tour was walking through the Bois du Boulogne, the former hunting grounds that is now a park. I swear I thought we were getting lost in the woods. For a park that was going wild, it was really beautiful. Even the weeds in the park looked really nice. I was amazed at the colors. Even the French do this correctly.
This picture does not do the weeds justice as they were tiny blue, purple and white flowers on a bed of green.
Our next stop was the Musee Marmottan Monet at 2 Rue du louis Boilly just outside the park. This tiny museum had once been a private home and now housed a collection of Monet paintings that were donationed by the artist’s son upon his death.
While we got to tour the whole house which was decorated in early Victorian decor and early 1800’s furniture, the star of the this museum was the collection of floral and water lily paintings that Daniel Monet donated. I had not seen some of these paintings since the big “Monet” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The elegant furnishings of the Musee Marmottan Monet at 2 Rue Louis Boilly
My review on TripAdvisor:
Most of us toured the whole house and then spent more time in the Monet section of the museum. As usual, they had to drag me out last because I was enjoying seeing the paintings so much. The paintings were so beautiful and talk about vibrant colors. I could not believe that Monet had problems selling these wonderful pieces of art.
The Water Lily painting that I saw at the MoMA
The Monet floral paintings
The Monet Floral Paintings
After we left the museum, we proceeded to walk through the 16th District of the city down the Boulevard Beausejour. Here we explored the neighborhood, walking down small side streets, visiting grocery stores for water and snacks, peeking in shops and looking at the amazing architecture of buildings, windows and doorways. There is much to see when you stop for a moment and look at it. I see this all the time when I walk in Manhattan.
I thought this was the most perfect door
Walking through the neighborhood past the Jardin du Ranelagh and watched little French children running around playing tag and what looked like ‘Stop Light’ while the parents talked amongst themselves. They did not hover over their children like American parents do today. It reminded me of when I was growing up where parents did their thing while we did ours.
The little French cat we saw in the restaurant window
We walked down the Boulevard Delessert and explored some of the side streets as we passed by on our walk to the Eiffel Tower. I loved all these little side streets with their tiny food stores with their equally tiny baskets of strawberries and tomatoes, restaurants with residents sipping coffee and eating crepes and homes with small gardens and arches with faces. It was my kind of neighborhood.
I snapped this as we were walking through the Right Bank
We walked to the foot of the Jardins de Trocadero and saw the Eiffel Tower in full view. That was truly amazing. I had only seen pictures of it but to see it up close. The books and the Internet do not do it justice.
The Eiffel Tower
https://www.toureiffel.paris/en
My review on TripAdvisor:
Another shot of it
The area was loaded with tourists and picture takers and you had to kind of maneuver your way around the site. Still it was a pretty amazing site to see. It is like when I pass the Statue of Liberty on a boat ride. You know it’s there and very touristy but you are still in awe of it. The lines to get in were not as bad as everyone said they would be and we could have gone up to the top. It was not high on priority list but it would have been fun.
I got my ‘tourist’ shot in before we left to take the rest of the tour
I had to get my picture in with the Eiffel Tower so I did my own share of snapping pictures. It still is an impressive monument and it is surprising how jaded Parisians were when it was constructed how much many thought it was a joke. It has become a symbol of the city and of the country. Its funny how the attitude to things change and morph over the years.
After this, everyone had time for themselves before dinner that evening. Blaine and a few of the others ran off to do their thing and I went with the professor and a couple of my classmates to the Four Seasons George V for a tour of the hotel. I have never been floored by a hotel before and I have stayed in five star hotels all over the world. This was another version of true luxury.
On our way to the George V, we walked up the Avenue de New York and I thought this was pretty clever. A little piece of home away from home.
The sign for Avenue de New York
I saw this beautiful doorway just at the beginning of our tour on the Avenue de New York
A little symbol of home by the Avenue de New York by the Seine River
We got to the Four Seasons George V and again I felt a little out of my element being so under-dressed. I thought khakis and topsiders would be a nice outfit as I was not sure what we would be seeing that afternoon but everything we did, visited and ate at were all first class and I looked a college senior out on a tour. If I had known the significance of the places we went to that afternoon, I would have dressed up a bit more.
The Four Seasons George V I had only seen in the movies and heard about from my older brother who had stayed there many times when visiting Paris. Talk about a palace of luxury. The hotel exceeded every expectation that I thought it would be. Talk about security all over the place. There were guys in ear pieces that looked like retired police officers at each entrance and of course the hotel picked the best looking ones.
Everyone working at the hotel was so well groomed and well dressed and many so young. The only people I saw closer to my age were a few of the security guards and waiters and there were not even many of them as well. I got the impression that the entire staff was hired by their look and their age. I felt like the hotel was ‘window dressing’ their staff. This was nothing like the staffs I worked with at Holiday Inn, Prince Hotels or the Hyatt Regency over the years.
Our tour guide in Guest Relations was this beautiful, young Italian woman who did her Internship at the hotel and had moved up the ladder in about three years. I was amazed on how quick they got promoted at the hotels in Paris but then I remembered the stress I dealt with at Hyatt and people moved around a lot in management. She took us on a tour of the lobby, where the hotel must have spent a small fortune on flowers alone to decorate the place.
The lobby of the Four Seasons George V that afternoon
The three restaurants in off the lobby were all Michelin rated with one to three stars. The commitment that the hotel takes to quality and service are what makes it such a special place to stay and dine at for the afternoon and evening. Although we only saw the first floor on this impromptu visit, that was more than enough to satisfy me. I could never take my eyes off her.
Taking a group shot at the Four Seasons George V at 31 Avenue George V
https://www.fourseasons.com/paris/
My review on TripAdvisor:
Our last part of the tour of that day before we left for dinner was walking up the Avenue George V to the Avenue des Champs-Elysees to the L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile at the circle of the Boulevard at Place de Charles LaGualle. Now this was an impressive visit. I remember my father talking about this when he came to Paris several times on business.
He would talk about Christmas in Paris with all the white lights looking down the Champs-Elysees and the pictures of the Nazi tanks rolling down it but to see it up close, was a site to see. It is about ten times bigger than the Arch at Washington Square Park which one of my classmates commented on. Talk about in awe.
L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile at the circle of the Boulevard at Place de Charles LaGualle
https://www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en
My review on TripAdvisor:
The details on the Arc are just beautiful. You really have to walk around and underneath it to appreciate it.
We had just enough time to walk around and underneath the monument. You can see the detail work best this way and I would not wait in line for tickets when you can see it from any angle on your own. I looked down the Champs-Elysees and really thought about those tanks going down it during WWII. Parisians must have been scared out of their minds.
Me in front of the L’Arc de Triomphe before we left for dinner that evening
I was in awe of the surroundings and kept wanting to pinch myself as I could not believe I was actually here. It still never registered with me on my second night in Paris.
Dinner that evening was at Le Fouquet’s, a film industry hangout at 91 Avenue des Champs Elysees. This is the industry equivalent of “21”, “Sardi’s and “The Russian Tea Room” in New York. This was part of the film tour because Blaine wanted to show us what film industry places were like and why they were so important. I think he secretly wanted to go there because he thought there would be someone important he could talk to or meet. I was just impressed that we got the front table by the door as ordinarily this is the table you want to be in so that people could see you when they walked in.
Le Fouquet’s at 91 Avenue des Champs Elysées
https://www.hotelsbarriere.com/en/collection-fouquets/paris/restaurants-and-bars/fouquets.html
My review on TripAdvisor:
At this point of the day, I was not hungry at all. We had a big breakfast, a big lunch and now a big dinner. Since it was after 7:00pm, ordering a simple sandwich was not possible and I do not like onion soup. So I decided on a Cheeseburger and Frites. Now I have to admit that I do not come to places like this for dinner for a burger but I was at dinner and had to eat something.
God, it was one of the best Cheeseburgers I had eaten in a long time. The meat was so flavorful and juicy and the French Fries were cooked perfectly. Now I know why people order the burger at “21” all the time. It was wonderful and the service that night was flawless. I guess they get a lot of tourists ordering these cheeseburgers.
The Cheeseburger with Frites at La Fouquet’s is worth the money
After dinner our group just walked around a bit before heading back to the NYU dorms while a small group stayed behind to wait for the rest of their meals. I was not too sure what to expect from Blaine’s tour for “Food in Film” since so many changes had to be made but in the end I think he did a good job. We ate at some high quality restaurants, got to see a wonderful museum and did a lot of people watching while toured some of the most luxurious locations in Paris.
Not a bad day for a group of college students.
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