Déjà Vu

 

A month later, we returned to France for our mensiversary. We went for supper. We arrived at 9 AM at Orly, checked into the Grand Hôtel St Michel and made reservations for dinner at La Tour d’Argent.

The restaurant was not far from the hotel, but it was drizzling rain so we hailed a taxi. The driver dropped us at the restaurant minutes after picking us up. I asked him, What’s the fare?” He said, “Rien, monsieur, c’est un cadeau;" nothing m'sieur, it's a gift. Who says, "Parisiens are rude?" We were in the city of love. La tour d’argent has been one of the premier restaurants in Paris for many years. It sports a magnificent view of Notre Dame Cathedral. In fact, the restaurant paid for the lights that illuminate the jewel of Gothic architecture at night. 

Naturally, we ordered the specialty of the house, “Caneton Tour d’Argent”, pressed duck. A viselike press is used to press the blood from a duck carcass. The blood is then combined with duck consommé, Madeira and cognac to make a sublime sauce. We shared a bottle of Mumm’s Cordon Rouge and enjoyed a delicious soufflé à l'orange for dessert. The next morning, we hopped a plane back to Chicago. Thanks to the incredible discount we enjoyed on Air France, our $75 meal cost more than our airfare.

A month after our mensiversary dinner, Air France sent me to a training class in Paris. Rather than stay at a hotel at the airport where the class took place, I opted to go into the city. I found the Bijou, a tiny, no-star hotel in the rue Daguerre. The view from the window was not especially inspiring.

The hotel was just around the corner from Place Denfert-Rochereau, the terminus for the bus from the airport.

Claudia joined me for the weekend. We enjoyed the street market in the rue Daguerre and spent time in sidewalk cafés watching the world go by.

We did go to Versailles and had lunch where Claudia ordered Julia Child’s first and most favorite meal in France, sole meunière. Claudia was a bit intimidated because the fish wasn’t fileted. The waiter showed her how to filet the fish with a spoon. Our Métro ride out to Versailles took us past Pont Alexandre bridge. This bridge connects the Champs-Élysées section of Paris to the Invalides, Eiffel Tower district. It is considered the most ornate bridge in Paris and connects the Champs-Élysées section of Paris to the Invalides-Eiffel Tower district.