For our last dinner in France, we ate at l’alchimiste restaurant, a terrific recommendation from the owners of Chateau de Verrieres. It was quite affordable and only a couple of blocks away from our chateau. We had excellent foie grois, really tender pork, sea bass, and an apple tart with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

A sincere thanks to all of you who have been reading our blog, especially everyone who has sent us emails and comments along the way. It was wonderful to hear from home while we were so far away. We had a great trip overall and look forward to hearing about one of your future vacations, next!

So far, we’ve visited the largest chateau in the region, Chateau Royal de Chambord, as well as two others: Chateau de Cheverny and Chateau Royal de Blois. In the town of Blois, we also visited a 13^th century church, Eglise St. Nicolas. We’ve been staying in the town of Amboise, where Chateau Royal d’Amboise is located.

In the evening, the town of Amboise shuts down fairly early – which is in stark contrast to what we had become accustomed to in Paris. Driving around Loire Valley has reminded us of Canada in some spots, Napa Valley in others, and of course, a medieval countryside everywhere else.

Here we are in front of Chateau de Cheverny:

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon visiting a couple of more chocolatiers and then picnicing in the Luxembourg Gardens. Then, we attended mass one last time at Notre Dame, strolled along the Siene River, and ate our last dinner in Paris at La Rotisserie d’En Face on Christine’s street — Rue Christine. We came back somewhat early to pack and to clean the apartment.

Next up: Loire Valley. We’re heading to the airport within the hour to pick up and rental car and then to head south. We should have internet access at the hotel and will attempt to continue blogging for a few more days as we visit the majestic castles and the countryside.

After picnicing, we decided to track down Jean-Paul Hevin, the #1 dessert place and chocolatier in Paris — according to Zagats.  I’d been waiting for this moment all vacation and was questioning if it could live up to a sweet tooth’s expectations.  We ordered 4 pieces of chocolate (almond, lychee, raspberry, and nut crunch) and 3 mini-macaroons (green apple, chocolate, and strawberry-chocolate).  Oh my… they were fabulous!  I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate in my lifetime and this is definitely one of the best.  And the green apple macaroon is hands down the best we’ve had so far!  I will miss this place dearly when we leave Paris. 

Since we had only a few dinners left in Paris, we wanted to eat somewhere distinctly French.  We found the perfect spot when we stumbled upon Le Souffle.  Naturally, we ordered souffles.  Lots of them.  Although souffles have a light and puffy consistency, by the time we hit the raspberry dessert souffle our stomachs felt like they had become inflated with air.  We could barely eat anymore!

 

The crowds were out in full force but we were still able to maneuver through them and visit all 3 levels of the tower. We spent the most time at the top where we got to watch the sunset over the city. The night was exceptionally clear and not too windy, so it was fun to look out and spot the different buildings and streets we’ve visited over the past couple weeks.

About a few times a week, various chamber groups give intimate performances in La Sainte-Chappelle. We made it out to a 7 pm show and had a wonderful time gazing at the intricate interior of the chapel while listening to such familiar Baroque tunes as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (1723) and Pachelbel’s Canon in D (1680) performed by Les Solistes Francais. Other than the hairstyles and fashions of the musicians, the same performance very well could have taken place 300 years ago in the same location. The timeless quality of the entertainment was intriguing to me, as well as the acoustics of the chapel that were not as spacious as a cathedral, but more lively than a small concert hall.

We topped the evening off with our most enjoyable meal yet in Paris, at Fish La Boissonnerie. Recommended by a friendly American couple we met from Chicago (Kevin and Catherine) and well-regarded by Zagat’s, this restaurant, featuring cuisine from southern France, was well worth our 40-minute wait. From the warm, soft focaccia bread — a nice change of pace from cool, hard-crusted French bread — to the best risotto we’ve had in a long time, to my salmon plate with a fine tomato sauce and Christine’s pike cooked in white wine, to the lemon and orange brulee for dessert, the meal was so well-balanced and exquisite that we both agreed that this was our best dinner here so far. Another refreshing change of pace:  no smoking in the restaurant!

The original Berthillon shop and an Amorino shop are found within a block of each other on Ile St. Louis, which has been convenient since we can eat ice cream at one place and then scurry over to the other while the taste is still fresh in our mouths… After 2 weeks of this gluttony and much debate, judges Christine-san and Chairman Lawrence (plus guest judge Katie-san for one tasting) declare that Berthillon is the Iron Chef of ice cream in Paris. My personal favorites are pear and strawberry — you can really taste the freshness, complexity, and natural ingredients. It was like biting into a real pear, juice and all!

At Berthillon we’ve tasted the following flavors: strawberry, pear, vanilla, and blackberry. At Amorino we’ve tasted crema, strawberry, mint, amorino, hazlenut, chocolate, yogurt, and banana. The portions at Berthillon are annoyingly teeny tiny. For the same price, you can get significantly more at Amorino and unlimited choice of flavors. Here are pictures of ice cream from Berthillon (left) and a half eaten one from Amorino (right).

A lot of cafes advertise they sell Berthillon to draw in business. This is a line of people waiting for Berthillon ice cream outside a cafe.

By then all eyes were turned on us and I felt like I had just gotten called to the principal’s office. The security guard turned away, expecting us to follow her. Zut! I cut left and blended into a pack of tourists and looked for the quickest exit. When I looked back, I saw the crazy security guard again. She had returned to the room, plucked the poor Brit out of line and was speaking into a walkie-talkie for backups. Good lord — she should work for our homeland security.

We darted out of this part of the museum and completed the rest of Versailles, shaken from our brush with the scary French museum security. We discovered later during our audio tour that visitors are not allowed to touch anything in the museum. 

We were reluctant to return to that section, but had to because that’s where all the cool stuff, like the Hall of Mirrors is located. During our second trip back, I threw my white sweatshirt on top of my cute new Parisian dress to throw off the security guard and it worked — although I was paranoid that she would pop out from Louis’s bed and scream, “End visite for you!”

It took us about two hours to cover Versailles. By the time we were done, we were tired of looking at gold-gilded curtains, walls, beds, lamps. Louis overdid it with the gold. Marie Antoinette’s estate, on the otherhand, is fabulous. Ladies, take note. She is my new role model. Marie apparently got sick of Versailles and the royalty and built her own crash pad far away from Louis XVI. Her estate was lovely, compared to Louis’ home. She decorated her main estate in pink and yellow and had little lounge areas for her friends. She also had a lovely garden in the front and a sprawling estate. I would’ve killed to be part of Marie’s entourage. 

Marie Antionette’s sprawling estate (she even created her own village to provide country amusements for herself and her children)

Versaille Palace and gardens

We started our trip at a department store, Lafayette, which had nice clothes but were way too pricey. I left the department store (Christine and Lawrence headed to lunch and to Musee D’Orssey) and I wandered through the streets of Paris in search of that perfect look. The shopping gods must’ve been looking out for me, because what did I find? A Parisian sample sale! oooh-la-la!!! Parisian sample sales, it turns out are about as competitive, intense and crazy as New York ones. Elbows are flying, bodies are being checked, sweat was trickling down my face — all in the name of a great deal and a fabulous dress. I played the role of stupide American and ambled my way through the racks, pulling at dresses like a hungry child. I walked out with three Sinequanone dresses at 10 Euros apiece. Quel bargain! (Sinequanone is similar to Diane Von Furstenberg and has colorful, bold patterns). I will be looking Parisian in spring, that’s for sure.

My next stop was at Promod, which is similar to Banana Republic, only much more stylish. By then I had shopping goggles — a syndrome that is similar to beer goggles — where euphoria has set in and everything looks fabulous! I won’t say how much I spent but I will say I have my fall wardrobe set as well and will look Parisian in the big apple.

Lugging my bags out, I treked over to the Notre Dame cathedral to meet up with Christine and Lawrence for a 6:30 p.m. mass. Instead of watching Notre Dame, I was AT the Notre Dame. I bowed my head, prayed for world peace, thanked God for my new purchases and prayed for Michigan to beat Notre Dame. Allez Bleu! I also accidentally dozed off and nearly landed on Christine’s shoulder. That happens when you pray so deeply.

For dinner we went to what I thought would be an all you can eat steak-frites dinner. I was so excited — I hadn’t eaten anything all day because of my shopping expedition. I tore through two portions of steak and then waited like a dog for more. When the waitress passed by, I pointed to my plate and grunted, “More.” She looked at me and said, “No more. Only two servings.” I was heartbroken. I thought it was all you can eat. I was tempted to just grab some slices of beef off of someone else’s plate, but didn’t want to embarrass my great hosts. Zut alors!

I ordered the croque-monsieur at one of the cafes.  A little different from the the ones in the US.