Le Fromage, Les Escargots et L'Amour à Paris!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but I've been so busy!  Last week was another uneventful few days of classes, but this weekend was full of activities.

On Thursday, Brian arrived from Barcelona to spend a long weekend and to celebrate Valentine's Day.  His plane landed just in time for dinner on Thursday evening.  We wandered into a corner cafe where we decided it was about time I tasted snails.  We ordered six escargot and were given an interesting device that was meant to pick up the shells-- but we had no idea how to get the meat out.  It wasn't until after we played around with them for a while, used the tool we had completely wrong, and eventually got them all out that we realized they had forgotten to give us the little fork that would have made the process much easier.  I'm sure we looked like a pair of American fools, but hey, we probably are just that-- and the snails were actually delicious!

I promised to take Brian to try all of the best onion soup in the city, so the next day, we went to a restaurant in the 4th arrondissement to get some.  It was an absolutely beautiful day, almost 60 degrees and sunny, so after our meal, we decided it was a great time to see the city on foot.  We visited Notre Dame, shared a crepe, and strolled along the Seine.  We visited the Musee d'Orsay, home to one of Brian's favorite paintings, and then we made our way to the Eiffel Tower.  On the way, we popped into another small restaurant for a late afternoon onion soup snack and came out just in time to walk under the Eiffel Tower as the sun went down and the structure lit up.

After returning to my apartment, we went out again for a very late dinner to a crowded place near the Republique metro.  We tasted foie gras, which we agreed was very good, and observed a dramatic scene that was truly French in nature.  At the two tables behind us sat two separate couples eating their dinners.  I suppose one of the women had been drinking for several hours at this point, and when the other made a comment that she perceived to be offensive, she began screaming French obscenities, threw and shattered her glass on the ground, and eventually needed to be escorted out by five or so heavy handed men.  As intense as it was, we couldn't help but be entertained by the show from our seats.

On Saturday we didn't get out until late, but we decided again to start with an onion soup lunch.  We went to a place called Au Pied de Cochon, famously known for-- you guessed it-- pigs foot.  They're also well known for their soup, however, so we opted for this safer choice.  The soup was one of my favorites thus far (and you know just how many I've tried), and we enjoyed another appetizer of escargots.  After lunch, we took another long walk-- from the gardens at le Louvre, past la place de la Concorde, up le Champs-Elysees, and up to l'Arc du Triomphe.  Then we took the metro back, grabbed some dinner, and went out with my roommates to a fun place just down the street from our apartment.

On Sunday we split a French pastry for breakfast and visited le Louvre.  The museum is absolutely enormous, so we just stuck to a few galleries before we left to take a trip to le Quartier latin.  We window shopped and generally wandered around the area.  Because every activity clearly needed to revolve around food somehow, we managed to find some delicious morsels.  Brian bought a gyro to walk around with, I filled up a bag of candy from a street vendor, and we taste-tested some fantastic gelato in a small Italian dessert shop.  We also found an interesting store that sells all sorts of spreads and olive oils made uniquely from small rural towns in France.  We tasted spreads made with everything from basil to lemon to real truffles.  Because the man who worked there was so friendly, we bought a small jar of sun-dried tomato flavored spread to take back with us.

On the way back to my apartment, we picked up a fresh baguette, a bit of brie cheese and camembert to try, tomatoes, mozzarella, and a bottle of red wine.  We prepared ourselves a delicious meal in which we tasted our new sun-dried tomato spread, these cheeses, and fresh mozzarella with tomato and balsamic and oil.  As if this wasn't good enough, we topped it off with a bit of dark chocolate for dessert.  I may have forced more food into my stomach than it should physically allow, but I have no regrets-- I'm pretty sure this was one of the greatest nights of my life.

This morning we awoke to Valentines day, which began in the most romantic fashion, as I had to leave Brian to wander the city alone as I attended class.  In my break for lunch, however, we decided to get something special.  So I'm sure when you think of a lunch date in Paris on the 14th of February, you can guess what we got... pig's feet at Au Pied de Cochon, of course!  Although we had been a few days before, Brian never quite got over the intriguing prospect of this dish, so we simply had to go try it.  I was not brave enough to order the plate myself, but I tasted a bit of his.  Pig meat is not really my thing, but for those who like it, it was very tasty and well-prepared.

After our lunch, I had to return to school for French class.  The plan was to meet Brian back at my apartment when I was finished.  When class ended, however, I was met with a surprise in the metro: my boyfriend waiting for me with a beautiful red rose!

Brian departed for his flight a few hours ago after a wonderful food and activity filled weekend and Valentine's Day.  Now it's only another few days of classes before my roommates and I travel for the weekend to London!  Any food suggestions for us there?  (Just kidding.)

(...Not really.)

A la prochaine fois!

Strolling by the Seine

Notre Dame de Paris

Inside Notre Dame

Pyramid outside Le Louvre

Candy stand on the street in le Quartier latin

Pied de Cochon (note the hoof...)