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Old 13 Jan 17, 08:36 PM  
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Ah! Paree - that is the place to be - Day 3

Day 3 – Sunday 8th January 2017 - A pleasant Sunday

We awaken to a finer day. We are in no rush and so lounge around with cups of tea and watching BBC World service on TV. The hotel have left us a little gift – a calendar and some Madeleines (soft vanilla cake). There is also a note from the management.



September on the calendar features the bedroom and bathroom where we are staying.



Around 9a.m. we go down to breakfast. I love the dining room. At its entrance there are wolves (wolves at the door?) and the view out into the courtyard is still filled with Christmas trees.



We have juice and cereal and follow it with bacon, scrambled eggs and sausage.



The weather outside is dry. As I mentioned we are not doing the usual tourist haunts having visited them many times before. (We were at the Eiffel Tower with our American friend Lana back in October.) So, we are off to La Dense. This is the modern business centre of Paris. It is the equivalent of Canary Wharf in London. Once again we take a driverless Metro train to its station.



We find the exit for the Grande Arche. This astonishing structure stands in the centre of the business district and contains offices of many major companies.





It is in perfect line with the Arc de Triomphe which is 4 miles away. Look carefully in the mist:



The Arc de Triomphe is itself in perfect line with the Petit Arc de Triomphe near the Louvre:



Back at the Grande Arche they are dismantling seating which was put in place for Christmas concerts.



They are also taking apart a Christmas market which Darrin says would make a great set for “Waking Dead”. Either side are two shopping malls. The one on the left contains a branch of Monoprix (department store) and is also a Hilton Hotel.

The hotel rooms are behind all those glass panel balconies you see in the photo.



Facing this is Les Quatres Temps (Four seasons) mall .

We decide to head back into Paris and emerge at the Arc de Triomphe.



The construction of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was ordered in 1806 by Napoleon, the French Emperor. Napoleon wanted to honor the Grande Armee, the name of the French army at that time.

It stands in the Etoile ( a star), so called because of the many straight roads that radiate from it. I get an opportunity to take a photo of another misty Eiffel Tower.



We walk down the Champs Elysees looking at the shops.



Being Sunday some don’t open until 11a.m. and many don’t open at all! Sunday is never ever a lively day in Paris.

What I haven’t shown you is the shot that Darrin took of the Champs Elysees last night with all its Christmas lights on:



We pop into the odd few shops that are open but nothing takes our fancy.

It’s time for lunch. We have a reservation at Le Cinq at the (Four Seasons) Georges V on the Avenue Georges V. You would not believe the hoops we had to jump through to get this. First of all you can request a reservation more than 4 weeks in advance. You send an email and request if they have a slot on the day you want. They then get back to you to say if they can accommodate you or not and offer you a time slot. This may not be the one you asked for. They are only open for two hours at lunch time. You then accept their offer. They then confirm it and……. to seal the deal you have to call 48 hours in advance of the reservation to confirm that you will attend. The Le Cinq restaurant has 3 Michelin stars.

Having done all of this over the preceding weeks we arrive with a few minutes to spare.







The Christmas décor and the building itself are stunning:





Established in 1928, the Art Deco landmark closed its doors in October 1997 for exhaustive renovations, and opened as the rebranded Four Seasons Hotel George V.

It had been bought by Saudi Prince Al Waleed for £167 million and subsequently revamped. The Prince is a major shareholder at Disneyland Paris. it has earned a reputation as one of the finest hotels in Paris, and even the world. It also has an interesting history, having notably housed General Eisenhower during the liberation of Paris.

Georges V himself (well - his bust! ):



We are ushered into a waiting area until the restaurant opens at 12:30p.m. on the dot.





Maximes shows us to our table and seats us. The splendour of the décor is just jaw dropping.





So let the meal commence.
We begin with an “amuse bouche”. This consists of a gelatine bubble with a ginger and orange syrup inside. A truffe blanche (white truffle) and an oeuf mimosa. Even the gold leaf is edible! The flavours just explode on the tongue:



This is followed by an appetiser of spinach reduction in a beef bouillon:



Note we haven’t got to the starter yet!

I choose foie gras (again) this is accompanied with a salt water dressing and caviar:



Darrin chooses Dublin Bay prawns with warm mayonnaise and crunchy buckwheat pancakes:



We forego the fish course.

On to mains and I have venison. (I love this meat). It is described as peppery with a tangy Chinon wine sauce and Parmesan Hollandaise:




Darrin has crispy veal sweetbread with spinach and sorrel cooked in their juices:



We are now presented with a mouth refreshment. Poached lemon rind with a gelee of lemon – Darrin find this too sharp. For me it’s heaven. Lemon things should be lemony. The petit fours are a raspberry crisp, chocolate truffle and a tiny brandy snap with passion fruit and crème:



The wine with our meal witha Givry Pinot Noir.

We are now offered a cheese course. The assortment is astonishing. When the case is opened an aroma of “smelly feet” fills the air! We choose not to have any but I do take photos.





The Brie is “custardy” and is served with a spoon – just how I like it had I had it.

Time for desserts.

I have kiwi and pineapple with iodized (iodine salt) syrup. The fruits are wafer thin and along with the ultra - thin meringue pieces, the presentation reminds me of a lion fish. The pieces are inserted into a ball of Japanese basil sorbet. Just stunning.



Darrin has the Crunchy coffee mousse / Blackberries cooked in juice with whisky flavoured caramel.




To finish I order a café simple – the only way to drink coffee in France. I accompany this with a glass of Di Saranno ( amaretto). This comes with little Breton pastries and caramalised almonds.




Darrin takes a café simple too and a Chartreuse liquer but he is offered sweets of all sorts from the trolley. There’s nougat, Absinthe marshmallow, caramels, sugared almonds etc. etc.



We aren’t done yet.

As they bring the bill (think high 3 figures) they present with little boxes of home - made fudge and caramels.




The staff were delightful. Knowledgeable and attentive but not intrusive. Also a great sense of humour. They made our afternoon. This was an enormous, extravagant treat which we thoroughly enjoyed and don’t have a regret about doing it. It fulfilled a desire we have had for such a long time.

I’ve framed the bill. Every time I look at it, it will remind me of the best meal of my life.

Our afternoon is not done yet. As I’ve said we wanted to do some alternate Paris. We head for the Place de la Bastille. The “July” column here commemorates the Trois Glorieuses — the "three glorious" days of 27–29 July 1830 that saw the fall of King Charles X of France and the commencement of the "July Monarchy" of Louis-Philippe, King of the French. It was built between 1835 and 1840.



The Place itself is where the infamous Bastille stood. Today it’s dominated by a hideous (in my humble opinion) modern Opera House.



However, we are headed off down the Daumesnil Boulevard. The reason is a railway viaduct.



It is now disused as a railway and has been transformed into gardens on the top and chique boutiques and cafes in the arches underneath.



It’s a piece of calm above the traffic below. It takes you past apartments which have been created from converted prisons (overflow for the Bastille) with new build on top of the original.

We spend a good half hour just enjoying the greenery and then another half hour gazing in the windows of the shops as we return to the Bastille area.


Time to return to our hotel and collect our luggage. Our train back to London isn’t until 20:13 but we want to get there in good time and enjoy the lounge facilities before we depart from Gare du Nord.
At the station we have to go through French customs but being EU nationals (for how much longer?) we have paid tax on everything we have bought so have no problems. Next are the U.K. border control. Cheery bunch.

Thank Heaven we can use the lounge. The ordinary waiting area at G du N is way too inadequate for the numbers involved.



They are promoting a new gin called Toujours 21 which Darrin is more than happy to sample. I’m content with a whisky and a drop of lemonade. We nibble on some peanuts.

At the right time we are called and we make our way down to the platform. We are right at the rear which will mean a long walk when we reach St. Pancras at London.

We sort our cases and settle in to our seats. The train isn’t full so we changed to a table for 4 so we can spread out.

Once we have left Paris on time and are into the countryside they serve an evening meal. After lunch neither of us are terribly hungry. I choose a goat cheese quiche with salad. Dessert is a small pecan tart. Bottles of Merlot are imbibed.

Darrin just drank his wine.

We both settle down for a nap as there is a couple of hours to go.
On the train they announce that because of a planned strike there is no Underground service I London. They give website details but despite good Wi Fi the site is just bombed and doesn’t respond well or give much in the way of what alternatives might be available.



Our first aim is to get to Marylebone and then catch Chiltern Railways to Harrow.

In the end we get a taxi all the way from Euston Road to our house.

We are in bed by 11:30p.m.

It’s been a brilliant weekend. A great memory.


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Edited at 10:16 AM.
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Old 13 Jan 17, 08:49 PM  
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Again some beautiful buildings and agree the opera house is awful DH would be in heaven with the stinky cheese He just loves a good malt with oatcakes and smelly feet Cheese
If you ever get to Glasgow go have a sniff in Mellis cheese shop Ian gets a box of mixed cheeses from there and it pongs the fridge out
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Old 13 Jan 17, 09:09 PM  
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What a fabulous weekend...some lovely buildings there. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. Xx
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Old 13 Jan 17, 09:58 PM  
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Geoff. Like you and Darrin we love good food. However this was a whole different experience. Stunning is all I can say albeit I would have gone for Darrins choice. The spinach reduction would nail it for me and also the buckwheat pancakes. Awesome!
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Old 13 Jan 17, 10:08 PM  
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Geoff. You two have some of the most fantastic experiences.
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Old 13 Jan 17, 10:42 PM  
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great report and some fabulous meals, very memorable, mo x
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Old 13 Jan 17, 11:03 PM  
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Originally Posted by Gryff View Post
Again some beautiful buildings and agree the opera house is awful DH would be in heaven with the stinky cheese He just loves a good malt with oatcakes and smelly feet Cheese
If you ever get to Glasgow go have a sniff in Mellis cheese shop Ian gets a box of mixed cheeses from there and it pongs the fridge out
I know Mellis Cheesemongers well. I'll have to get together with your husband. A pack of Stockans Orkney oat cakes, good cheese and a wee dram... heaven!
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Old 13 Jan 17, 11:06 PM  
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Well I just might get him to bring the £400 bottle of malt the boys bought him for his retirement and a good box of cheese and home made oatcakes to the grand day out then
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Old 13 Jan 17, 11:43 PM  
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Originally Posted by Gryff View Post
Well I just might get him to bring the £400 bottle of malt the boys bought him for his retirement and a good box of cheese and home made oatcakes to the grand day out then
Mmm. Can I come as well please!
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Old 13 Jan 17, 11:52 PM  
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You know you can Mr Tom anytime but at this rate you will all be (Scottish word here ) sooking it off a q-tip
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