We slept in till 10:00, ate a grocery-store breakfast and then lazily wandered up the Champs d'Mars for photos of the Eiffel Tower.
We boarded the metro and headed over to Musee d'Orsay.
Viewed many beautiful originals by Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh (unfortunately for us, Orsay Museum had a strict no-photo policy). It warmed my artistic heart greatly just to stand in the presence of these beautiful paintings. After the somewhat lengthy stay at the Louvre yesterday we decided to keep this visit short and sweet--and it certainly was. By sticking to the hall of paintings dedicated to the 3 artists listed above, we allowed ourselves enough time for repeated viewings, which really allowed us to soak in the beauty. I wrote down my absolute favorites.
Headed back to the hotel for a preparatory nap at around 14:00. Woke up at 17:30 and got ready for our big event. Left the hotel at 19:45 for the riverboat quay. Boarded our land-locked riverboat at 20:30. Broke bread and sipped wine at 21:00. To our relief, very few (if any) people had cancelled their reservation on the boat. At just about every table sat smiling guests. Everyone was ready for a good time.
Despite our cruise being cancelled (thanks to an unusually high water level in the Seine river), we had a very enjoyable night. Dinner was served in 6 courses, some good, some not so good. We were served two bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne.
1. Shellfish on a bed of white bean puree (6/10, decent)
2. Foie gras of duck with soaked figs (2/10,
foie gras tastes like stinky cheese crossed with something else really disgusting)
3. cheese and salad (5/10, typical french cheese and a refreshing green salad)
4. sea bass (8/10, a breath of fresh air! tasty sauce)
5. filet mignon (9/10, mmm a nice, meaty finish)
6. ice cream under a chocolate dome and coffee (7/10)
Our friendly neighbors quickly became our 'celebration comrades'. The language barriers between us (Italian speakers to our left, French speakers to our right) enabled us to celebrate with our neighbors innocently, unimpeded by clumsy words; all we needed to share were smiles and toasts of champagne.
Becky wore Jon's shoes on the walk home. Jon walked sock-foot.
What a fun night. As a consolation for our cancelled cruise, we received vouchers for standard sight-seeing river cruise...
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| Tangerines and salami sandwiches for breakfast |
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| Posing in the Trocadéro, amid street vendors attempting to sell us purses and Eiffel Tower figurines |
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| Charting our next course in front of the foggy tower |
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| French cheese burgers. Notice how they were claimed in the name of France. We referred to the fries as "Freedom fries" out of spite. |
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| Ready for New Years! |
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| Course 1: Shell fish over white bean puree |
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| Close up |
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| Swirling his white wine |
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| Foie gras: mission failed |
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| "Mmmm they sure caught a delicious bass" |
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| 3: cheese and salad |
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| Nice smile and some neighbors |
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| Dessert, chocolate dome cracked |
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| Stepped outside to cool off. Illuminated E.T. barely visible in the background. |
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| Prepared to party. |
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| Happy New Year!!! |
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| YEAAAAAAHH |
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| A good celebration |
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| New Years kiss #1 |
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| Taken during our walk back to the hotel. Jon was surprisingly comfortable walking the Parisian streets in his socks. |
Jon, it's cause you have so much soul.
ReplyDeleteThat's why you were so comfortable in your socks! *nod to Dad for that one....
Wow, nice post.
ReplyDeleteFavorite pic #1:"Charting our next course in front of the foggy tower"
Favorite pic #2: "A good celebration"
Favorite quote #1: "By sticking to the hall of paintings dedicated to the 3 artists listed above, we allowed ourselves enough time for repeated viewings, which really allowed us to soak in the beauty."
Favorite quote #2 "The language barriers between us (Italian speakers to our left, French speakers to our right) enabled us to celebrate with our neighbors innocently, unimpeded by clumsy words; all we needed to share were smiles and toasts of champagne"
So awesome.
ReplyDelete