In love in Paris...and with Paris

The only thing better than being in love with Paris, is being in love in Paris. My husband and I celebrated our four-year anniversary today and had one of the most awesome days we've ever had together. It all started this morning, when we received the good news that our son had been accepted into a great little day-care. After all, as parents we are happy only when our kids are well. On our way home, we stopped at a boulangerie for a few pains au chocolats and croissants. Yum. Good way to start the day.


Off we went to my favorite restaurant in Paris. It's called Au Bon Accueil, and it's wonderful. 100% quality and elegance, 0% pretentious. The fun thing about going there is that we usually don't know what we're ordering. I'm sure that will change after I complete my culinary course, but for now, we choose at random, our french lacking food vocabulary. 

Today we ended up eating sea urchin, two types of fish, and quail - all absolutely amazing. The sea urchin was made into a souffle and was of a smooth texture and full of taste. The presentation, I have no words for. The souffle was served inside the hardened sea urchin on a bed of sea salt (the crunchiest I've ever had). Gorgeous. Next came the quail served in a beet sauce and sauteed mushrooms. Delicious. Finally, we had a chocolate tart and a souffle a la chartreuse. The souffle was like eating a cloud. If you could eat clouds, this is what they would taste like. The tart was decadent and dark. 'Nough said. Oh, and the wine was awesome. I can't remember the name, but it was "fort et rouge", as the sommelier said - just like I like it.

After this degustation made for kings, queens, and everyone in between, we walked to the Musee Rodin, which was as lovely as ever. The gardens are getting ready for spring, its roses about to pop. I melted over The Kiss and was humbled by The Thinker. This was my first time in the museum as a mom, and I was particularly moved by Rodin's mother and child sculptures. If you're a mom, take a look at this, and you'll understand:

We headed back to St Germain and stopped at Restaurant Procope for a capuccino. It was founded in 1686 and was a hang-out of none other than Rousseau and his buddies. The place is beautiful - the walls decorated with framed letters dating back to the 1700s and its ceilings and walls are crooked from having stood for so long. I'm sorry to say, however, that the capuccino was not very good. It was bitter and as I write this, five hours after having drunk it, my stomach still aches.

Finally, we went to the movies to see The Fighter. Excellent. 


The best part of our day, however, was coming home to our son and singing his good night song. He's starting to sing it himself, and it melts my heart, more so than the souffle or Rodin.