It's so terrific to be back in such a wonderful city - a place that I know so very well, yet never ceases to amaze me...
Our saga began yesterday evening at 8:10pm when we left YYZ on AC flight 880 non-stop for Paris. We were amongst some of the first people to board and I was thrilled that my paranoia about having my carry on luggage stored directly over my head was appeased. Unfortunately, the flight was VERY turbulent. I've done a ton of flying and am somewhat used to it, but poor Paul thought we were going to go down at any moment. The meal was definitely NOT up to Air France standards (no champagne offered, and the meal of chicken and pasta was all right (the chicken was quite dry) - but an alarming bloodbath colour red...). The brownie for dessert was quite tasty, though.
After having a muffin thrown at us for breakfast, we had a lovely and smooth landing right on time at CDG. We cleared customs faster than normal (I don't think the guy even looked at my photo on my passport - so much for heightened security due to terrorism). We picked up our luggage and exited to find our driver waiting for us.
Unfortunately, traffic in the city was miserable (despite the glorious weather), and our drive detoured through a less than glamorous part of town - I'm glad this wasn't our first trip! Never the less, he delivered us safely to our apartment on the Isle St Louis.
Our fabulous apartment is a newly renovated unit in a 17th Century building on a quiet side street of the island. It's so wonderfully quiet - yet just a stone's throw from Notre Dame Cathedral.
We were pretty wiped after the flight, but managed to go for a quick walk & bite of lunch (Croque monsieur sandwich and plain flan for dessert) before crashing for a couple of hours. After waking up (thank goodness I brought the travel alarm clock!) we went out in the warm sunshine and gathered together the ingredients for tonight's supper - a melt of comté cheese over fresh tomatoes and avocados on rustique baguette. I have to tell Diane Barber that Paul and I FINALLY found the perfect millefuille at a patisserie just half a block away (It only took 11 trips here to find it), where they actually caramelize the pastry before filling the layers with the pastry cream - DELICIOUS!
Todays photos show you some views of the inside of the apartment, our glimpse of the Seine River from our apartment, and some irresistible pastries from Lenôtre (not where the millefuille comes from).
Don't know what tomorrow will bring adventure wise - but watch this space for more info!
Hope everyone's doing well at home!
Fred
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