After church, we all piled into the metro and headed to one of our favorite outdoor markets for groceries on Boulevard Raspail. We had a little mix up with the timing of the market - but were still able to snatch up some yummy treasures before they closed. It was so exciting to me personally to order in French some of the vegetables that I had to learn while shopping at the grocery store in Normandy.
We sampled a potato cake w/ shredded potatoes, onions and shredded Gruyere cheese. I highly recommend trying to make them. If I did it at home - I may use an egg to bind it - not sure what he used - but it was delicious. We ate it in parchment paper - hot off the griddle. Delicious!! I almost ordered innards of a pig (yikes) thinking I was ordering pork tenderloin. The butcher thankfully caught me when I called it filet & he said "no, no madam, no filet, and then rattled off something that told me it was not a part of the pig I would care to consume." ;) Let's just say we left with a bag full of veggies & fruit and a few bagettes - but no meat. (We just now got meat purchased today - Tuesday...more on that later). Chris & Katharine purchased some fun tapenades that made for a yummy lunch when we got back. Mom purchased some delicious quiches that we had the next morning. I wish I knew what was in them because the whole crew gobbled them up.
The mom's went out to walk around for awhile, while we had some down time at the house and got a few math things done for school. They came back with some hamburgers & fries and sent Chris & I out on a date. So thankful for them being here & for their graciousness to send us out on a date - it had been 4+ weeks since we had been able to get out on our own. We went out looking for a cafe to hang out prior to our dinner reservation. We took the metro to where we needed to get off for our dinner. Out we came in front of two of our favorite cafes. We sat down & soaked in the culture, the history of this little cafe, and each other. It was wonderful!!!
This is a picture we took in 2009. Still not able to upload my photos, but once I am - I have a fun one of us in front of this cafe at night time.
Afterwards, we went to La Petite Chaise....known as the oldest restaurant in Paris. Chris had a poached egg over pureed carrots (sounds weird but was super yummy), Beef in red wine sauce & creme brulee. I had French onion soup, pork tenderloin w/ cream sauce, and a gingerbread cake with a apricot sauce. Unfortunatley, I have caught a cold & couldn't taste a single thing that night. Chris asked how mine was at the end & I had to say I think it was good - I just have no clue. I can just experience the ambiance & textures of the food. From what I could tell it was delicious! As much as I don't want the ability to not taste to last long in Paris, I really didn't mind that night. I had a wonderful time being out with just Chris & then the people watching!!! Oh wow - did I have fun. Chris kept getting the play by play from my perspective of the dining room - his back was to most of it. There was a lovely group of older women in the corner who spoke French & later found out one was from the Netherlands, they were with two guys - one older & one younger (think father & son - but not sure)... who the older could speak French & the younger could just speak English. I loved the lady in the middle of that group. She enjoyed every course from her apertif to dessert and laughed with joy all the way through. There was no pretense with her. . She was dressed plainly but with a fun striped sweater, and clearly wanted to enjoy every moment with her dining partners as she laughed the night away. I loved them so much that I didn't care if they didn't understand a word I said, I couldn't stand to not tell them in English how much they made my meal alongside getting special time with my husband. They thankfully spoke English and were able to exchange pleasantries as we left. There was the young couple who spoke English but were from Moscow. I watched them eat snails for the first time (so I heard them tell the waiter). I'm still not there to try them with them. ;) Cute pan, though, that the escargot were served in. There was the young lady with her parents from England, all fancy for a night in Paris, with a bottle of champagne and dressed in a pretty black dress & diamonds. A lady reading her kindle in the corner by herself, & the man who looked straight off a ranch in his fair aisle button up sweater & long gray hair. I couldn't quite place his story or get any info about he & his wife's travels. Then the single lady who was placed with the Hollywood couple. There was a couple who came in all gussied up & were placed at a table alongside a lady dining by herself. I'm not sure they were from Hollywood, just what popped in my mind upon looking at them. I could just feel her discomfort sitting by herself shoulder to shoulder with them. No thank you - I would not enjoy that either. Not necessarily sitting with that couple, I'm sure they were kind - but when you have zero personal space to carry on a conversation without the person next to you dropping their bagette in your lap. She clearly didn't want to sit there long because at one point she asked if she could take the Moscow couple's table after they left. The waiter said no it was reserved & to check up front for another table. She never returned - so guessing she found somewhere else to eat. Then the funny part came. The Moscow table was still opened and this young couple comes in & starts to sit down. Honeymooners, my guess, but the waiter as they were sitting says - no not for you - for them and points to another couple. So they had to get up & leave the room & the couple from my guess the New England area based on their accent sat down.
Recounting all this makes it clearly sound like I wasn't paying any attention to Chris at all. I tell you I was and we had lots of fun and in depth conversations. :) I gather all of this in the in between moments & LOVED every second of it. Isn't that part of people watching, to try and figure out someone's story or a splinter of it while soaking up your surroundings. I loved watching each & everyone of them around the room - they were characters in a play & the play was my dinner experience. They were well casted & I enjoyed watching them delight in their travels from all over the world. My greatest people watching highlight though - was to enjoy Paris with my husband and best friend!! Thank you Chris, for bringing us here for 7 weeks and spending the night out in Paris with me! I love you & love making memories with you! :)
Loved every minute of it with you - and your appreciation of people and ability to take it all in never cease to amaze me. You have a generous heart that is interested in the stories and lives of people around you!
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