Saturday in Paris - Wandering about

We spent Saturday leisurely wandering about the city. We left our apartment (we are on the third French floor - or fourth American floor) and walked down as per usual.

You can see that this was an expensive building from the beginning:

From Paris - St Sulpice and a llitte more

The stairs are wide and the hallways have windows. Very luxurious. We have enjoyed staying in this location (St Germain de Pres) and the apartment is quite nice.

We took the Metro up to Les Halles to stop in at one of the world's most famous kitchen good stores. This is where Julia Child shopped for her "Batterie de cuisine" while in Paris:

From Paris - St Eustace and a llitte more

We didn't buy anything, but we love going in there to see all the amazing things you "need" while cooking. They have some amazing copper pots, heavy steel skillets, tiny little porcelain ramekins and bowls, and so much more. You need a duck press? You can get one here.

From Paris - St Eustace and a llitte more

St Eustace was built in the mid 16th century. As you can see by the columns and arches, it is just on the verge between medieval and Renaissance. I think it is the patron church of deaf people.

From Paris - St Eustace and a llitte more

We spotted the Police (le Flics) dragging the river. We figure that this detective agency:

From Paris - St Eustace and a litte more

had something to do with it.

Later we walked down to Le Comptoir du Relais, a well know Bistro not too far from our apartment. Like almost everything in the food world, it is controversial. They have taken standard bistro food, made it better, and much more expensive. We had Oeuf Cocotte (those famous eggs in buckets) with Truffle cream, a plate of ham, cochon de lait (suckling pig) and a Russian Cake for dessert. It was all delicious. We did not have to wait in line, as Doreen got there right at the nick of time to snag the last table, a tall one on the sidewalk. It was perfect for us as we were able to sit side by side.

But we did see people waiting over an hour to eat there. It was certainly worth the money. I am not sure if it would be worth the wait.

Then later that day (!) we had dinner at L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. Probably our favorite restaurant in the world.

Sadly, our favorite waiter in the world (Vincent Chaudoreille) was not working that night (vacation! skiing in Switzerland!). It made it a little less special. But the food was good, as always. If I have time later today, I will post some descriptions.