This is going to be a quick review. I had a heck of a day, which you will read about soon, and I am off to bed! It's been a great week though and I want to take this opportunity to document it so that this time next year I can remember what I did! And I need to document it literally because I'm a goof and forgot my freaking camera on each outing! Nice move, eh? It's Berlin all over again...you'd think I'd learn.
Okay, here we go....
Sunday was a fabulous First Sunday of the Month so most of the museums in the city are free. And since it's January and dead of winter, there are extra special museums/churches that are free: Sainte-Chapelle and The Conciergerie! I even woke up early to check out these guys.
Sainte-Chapelle is INCREDIBLE! The chapel is four walls of stain glass windows and it's one of the most amazing rooms I have ever seen. It is a small chapel so limited space really emphasizes the magic of the windows and really blew me away. You can check out the pictures in the link and appreciate it's beauty!
Then I was off to The Conciergerie, "a prison during the reign of terror"! It was spooky and crazy to think that over 300 prisoners were held in that small space at one time. A truly amazing historical place to see and check out. I loved experiencing the history and exploring the prison, as morbid and freaky as it was.
Monday was a work day and not very exciting...Celia and I went to "school" and then came home.
Tuesday, Sara's TTS part one, was a fun day of shopping for Brian. As a late Christmas present, I went and explored the grand magasin near the Opera for a leather messenger bag. After coming up empty at the first few stores and feeling my stomach rumble, I made my way north for the 2010 Best Baguette in Paris. And the gods told me to get back to shopping because the boulangerie was CLOSED! So, no lunch break for Sara...
However, I was basically knocking on the doors of Sacre Coeur so I decided to take a vertical walk up to the most amazing view in Paris, (might as well, I'm right there....), and check out the artist quarter for some lunch. And wouldn't you know, there were oyster and french onion soup specials at every restaurant just begging me to stop! Ugh this life....Brian's bag will have to wait!
No worries though! I ate up those fabulous oysters, (I love how coming to France has made me appreciate so much more food...not that I need more food, but....tonight we ate beets for dinner and the other day I had brussels sprouts! I used to hate those guys, along with the oysters! Just look at me now!), and got back to my mission. I headed to Le Bon Marche, not expecting to find anything under 8000 euros and hit the jackpot! And I didn't even have to break the bank. Plus I had a glorious time perusing their kitchen store!
Okay, before this turns into a novel, Wednesday was normal lady day: playing with Johna and Ella, lunch, me and Kirsten chatting. It was great!
Thursday was a great Elise and mommy day! And then Friday....
Friday: TTS Part Deux! I had glorious plans for this day and I did not disappoint. Especially since at this very moment Elise is falling asleep and Celia has no partner in crime. Soon they will both be down because Celia tires quickly when she has no one telling her to get out of bed and cause trouble. A glorious ending to this fine day! (I wrote this too soon...I had to walk away from the blog and regulate...and now it's 11:00 PM and the ladies are still up! Why do I jinx myself....)
Anyway...
So, the day! It started with drop offs and a run through the park. Then after a wonderfully slow un-rushed breakfast and coffee, I went to the Paris Catacombes. I'm going to leave the link for you all to investigate, but basically the story is that as the population in Paris grew exponentially near the end of the 18th century, so did it's number of dead bodies and skeletons. They were running out of room for their dead so a decision was made to move all the bodies to the old quarries. What we have now is a series of underground tunnels lined with skulls and bones. It sounds freaky but is very cool!
After the Catacombes I squeezed in a haircut, a delicious Lebanese sandwich, and shopping at my favorite Asian grocery store. I came home and prepared a chicken for dinner before heading off for my ladies! We walked home under beautifully clear skies and warm air. It was wonderful!
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I managed to put together a vegetable stock for my Mung Bean Soup. Yeah, I thought I was buying split peas today at my favorite Asian store but after getting home and further inspection, they are Split Mung Beans! Nice. The stock turned out nicely, (BTW, did I mention I made an AWESOME potato leek soup! Stock from our Christmas Canard Confit! It was a winner!), so I'm hoping the soup is good and flavorful! We'll see...I've never heard of Mung Beans much less know anything about their flavor. But for future reference, there are a ton of recipes online! :)
Tomorrow the week o' Sara continues with a trip to Comme a la Maison with the ladies and Katy for some of the World's Best Hot Chocolate EVER! This lady takes the most wonderful milk chocolate bar and melts it into golden goodness and serves it in these wonderful white mugs sent down for heaven. It is the best treat in the world! And who knows, maybe I'll remember the camera and take pictures!
Good Night!
So - did you know that the Sainte Chapelle was built to be a reliquary for the crown of thorns that Louis IX brought back from the crusades? I love that place, and now have to visit the Conciergerie, thanks to your description. Miss you tons, but am living vicariously through you.
ReplyDeleteA bientot!
J