I visited Paris recently with my family not realizing itwould turn out to be a culinary experience. When I say culinary experience, Imean pigging out to the maximum. We landed in Paris, which I think, is the mostbeautiful city I have seen, in terms of architecture, preservation andconservation. Now the people, that’s a different story. If you don’t speakFrench, the experience is a little less enjoyable. But nothing a map of Paris anda spirit of adventure can’t fix.
The day we arrived, we were greeted with cold weather andthe reality that our room was on the 3rd floor and there was no lift. Our firstmeal was Chinese take away as the hotel only had the number for Pizza Hut, andfor me Chinese beats pizza. The next morning, breakfast was croissants withbutter and cream cheese and good coffee. The French really, and I mean really,can make croissants and bread and pastries. We headed for the Torre Eiffel,normally a fifteen minute walk from where we were staying, but with the kids,fifteen minutes turned to half an hour. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Narrowstreets, colourful flower shops, street cafes, Boulangeries (pastry and breadshops), Charcuteries (butchers) and ornate heritage buildings form part of thesight on the way. Then we reached the banks of the river Seine, lined withboats and floating restaurants, sculptured statues and beautiful bridges. Wehad already burnt our breakfast so it was time for a snack. Crepes filled withNutella, sugar crepes, Jamon (smoked ham) and cheese crepes and chicken Panniniwas what we had. It was nice, not thrilling, but nice.
The Torre Eiffel wasworth the walk and it definitely is an amazing construction. It is much biggerthan I expected. Later we met a friend we had made in Goa, at the Notre Dame, abeautiful cathedral with eerie looking ghouls looking down, on the outside andamazing stained glass and intricately carved statues adorning the inside. Fromthere we went to the Sacré-Cœur, a majestic church on top of a hill with themost amazing view of the city. They had musicians and dancers entertainingpeople. Then we walked down the charming narrow cobbled streets of Montmarte, avery charming area. The next day, after breakfast, we met our friend again.
This time she took us to Champs-Élysées, where the Arc detriomphe stood, a triumph of architecture, the huge structure in the center ofPlace Charles De Gaulle, was Built in honour of those who fought for France,particularly in the Napolionic. Then as expected, when women get together,shopping malls and boutiques become part of the sightseeing and Champs-Élyséesamply provides for this indulgence. Paris is a beautiful city and the Frenchknow how to maintain it. We met some other friends who we were introduced to uson facebook. They took us around and gave us a local feel of the city. It’salways nice to have someone known in a new place. More crepes and sandwichesfollowed. Then one night I had to have the Cote de boeuf, notwithstanding it isridiculous price. What I got, was four hundred grams of perfectly marbledgoodness, grilled medium rare. I think that was the highlight of my Frenchculinary experience. Eating in restaurants was prohibitively expensive. I thinkonly the Escargots Bourguignon (snails cooked in garlic, parsley, anise liqueurand loads of butter, served with goat cheese and garlic bread) and PommesDauphine (sliced potato baked in cream, egg yolks, cheese and garlic) are theonly two French dishes that impressed me. The croissants of course areunparalleled. They also have great cheese and great bread, but then most ofEurope does.
