Day 5: Gare Du Nord, Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, Arc D’Triomphe, and…
Alain Ducasse: Reservations for Two.
Ok, the funny thing is reviewing what we did (just on the headline alone) and realizing that it was my original intention that we take it easy this day. Not because we were bored, not because we couldn’t find anything to do, and not because we were losing the battle against fatigue in this very busy, but supremely enjoyable trip.
Hardly; we were raring to go. It was almost as if we needed the 1st four days to feel “up to speed” like we were now. Jet lag was long gone, and dead legs had, perhaps aided by tonight’s exhilarating prospect, given way to a very refreshing take on life. Simply put: the day started out beautifully.
We didn’t wake up early today, because we technically didn’t have to be anywhere. So, I suspect we probably left the hotel around 9:30 AM. Christina had no idea where we were going this morning, so I opted for an off shoot version of the game ‘let’s go that way’ called “just you wait and see where we’re going today.”
First stop? The Gare Du Nord. This is a BEAUTIFUL train station in the sort of northeast part of town and was the scene in a pivotal sequence in the movie Amelie. Since she was a big fan of Amelie, this was my little surprise for her this morning.
She was excited; this place is so cool looking. We just took in all the travelers and enjoyed the various views of Eurostars and large hanger-like ceilings.
Back on the Metro, we took the #4 to Chateau-Rouge station. There, we began walking west (or so we thought). The buildings were so tall in this neighborhood, it was difficult at this time of day to get a sense of where we were going. I won’t say I got us lost; I feel I “temporarily misplaced” us.
I officially realized we were too far west of where I wanted to take us next when we happened upon this:
Yes, the Moulin Rouge. It was not my intention to have a “movies shot in Paris or with a Paris theme” theme but it certainly started out this way.
So, now we’re too far west; gotta head back east and then a bit north. We had been walking maybe 30-45 minutes up to and just prior to the Moulin Rouge where, at one point, we walked past a large group of young college or high school American girls with a “teacher/professor” type telling them: “Ok, do what you want from now ‘til, say, 11:30. Then we meet back here at for lunch.”
One of the girls, quite obviously stupid, whines, “Where we supposed to meet?”
Exasperated, he repeats, “Right here. What did I just say?!”
Ah, American sarcasm; my home sweet home! I miss you already!
Now, I’m starting to see street signs for our next place of visit, and that’s when we walked into this very touristy, hustle and bustle street that led us to Basilique de Sacre Coeur at Montmartre.
Built in the 1870’s (completed in 1914) this place is known both for having one of the world’s largest mosaics (depicting Christ with outstretched arms) and for the fact it was built on this beautiful hill. The steps are steep.
Many people enjoy the Funiculaire, but we preferred the walk up to the top. While we were there, we witnessed the last 15 minutes of a mass. At one point, this one guy started taking pictures (forbidden in this basilica) which provoked this one French lady to get up out of her penitent position and castigate the clueless camera culprit.
She looked at me, upon returning to her seat, with a New Yorker type “whattya gonna do?” roll of the eyes. Classic.
As we headed back down from Sacre Coeur, we stepped down this one street you may have seen from pictures and paintings. I don’t know what it’s called (it’s really more of a stairway), but it was situated right next to the Funiculaire.
Given this was the day we were supposed to “take it easy” (HAHAHA) we then took our 1st ride on the #2 Metro. West to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile station, we walked up to this:
The Arc’ De Triomphe
Much more impressive than this photograph depicts. There’s just no way of referencing size so attempt, if you will, to note the dots at the top: those are people.
After grabbing a quick sandwich (this area was RITZY, took a little while to find something cheap which was a must considering the last part of this story), we went to enjoy the Arc.
First was the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the eternal flame.
Then we climbed the 283 steps to the top:
The view down Ave Champs-Elysees
A view of a roof top garden (forest, in my opinion!)
Another view
It was now 3 PM. We decided that any more sightseeing would not allow us enough time to be ready & relaxed for what we had hoped and anticipated was to be the highlight of our trip. So, we metro’d back to the Hotel and just relaxed.
Around 6 PM, we got ready.
Alain Ducasse: Reservations for two
Ok, who is Alain Ducasse? I’ll tell you.
One year ago, in the middle of April, I e-mailed and requested these fateful reservations for Friday, April 29th, 2005 at 8 PM. So weird to see a dinner reservation in print for something so far in advance, but sure enough their “reservation concierge” most graciously e-mailed me the confirmation, and asked that I e-mail again at the top of the year in January (I did) and again the week we are in town noting our hotel number (I did) to ensure our reservation.
Reservations for dinner, a year in advance. Crazy?
No.
Alain Ducasse is the only chef in the world to own two 3 star restaurants as rated by the Michelin Red guide. These ratings are so prestigious that only 26 restaurants on the entire planet have 3 stars. And he owns two of them.
And one of them is in Paris.
Now, if you’re a regular visitor to this web site, a fan of my music, or even an acquaintance, you may very well be aware that I am oh, shall we say, a fan of both the cooking of and the eating of…food.
Given that I’ve elevated a life necessity into a personal hobby (and not a bad hobby to have) this perhaps helps you, the reader, understand why we made reservations at a 3 star restaurant one year in advance.
And why we were prepared to spend the kind of money we were prepared to spend.
When I showed Christina the amount of money we should budget for this one dinner (ONE DINNER) she, nervously giggled, “Um, HA, holy…ok!”
But I was not to be swayed, laying the argument out rhetorically: “You know, we can’t predict the future. This is our honeymoon. What if we don’t—for whatever reason—get another shot at this? Let’s eat like Kings.”
So, with that bit of back story, maybe that will ease your sticker shock. Remember: we planned for this for a year.
We got to the restaurant early, at around 7:35 PM. Our reservations weren’t for 8, but our hotel concierge thought our cab ride might be 25 minutes. Well, it was 5. So we had time to kill.
We walked up the street where this little Opera & Symphony House was where Paparrazzi were busy loading their cameras. And seriously? They took our pictures. Not because we were anyone; but just in case. Hilarious.
We were too anxious and excited to get in so we stepped into the bar for a drink. A very nicely laid out place: soothing lights, with lots of wood and impeccably dressed waiters, she ordered a Compari, and I got a water. Price=30€.
We were seated promptly at 8 PM. Walked by the hostess to the table, and immediately greeted by two waiters to pull out our incredibly heavy chairs, and to welcome us. Literally, as they left, the sommelier walked up, introduced himself and began discerning the direction of wine selection he felt we should go.
Alain prepares menus according to season. This being the PRINTEMPS (Spring), the food would potentially include many fish items so he suggested we not drink anything too heavy to overpower the food.
Christina and I both prefer reds, so he initially suggested a Bordeaux that was hilariously out of price range. Maintaining an air of cool, I casually said I was looking for something maybe in the “half of what you just suggested, god damnit” price range.
Ok, he considered, “I would suggest this Bordeaux, a wonderful value for the price.” Fine, so it shall be.
Ready?
Price: 175€.
Now, I should quickly note that fortunately, for all involved, this was the best wine I had ever had. It was scary delicious and so easy to drink that one could easily chug it, thereby hastening the expansion of our bill by having to order another! Now, I don’t chug wine, I’m not even a huge wine fan (I like it, granted; I just prefer Port!). But this wine was beautiful.
Still, we both maintained restraint and were able to devote our entire night to this one bottle.
The uncanny perfection of the waiters at this restaurant is this: They attended to your every need, always there; but you never felt caged or crowded. It was as if they were masters of body language: you so much as moved a bit in your chair and it was adjusted. The wine glasses and the water glasses were always at the same level. You sipped, and they filled. But again, and very importantly: this was never annoying. At times you just couldn’t believe how stealthy, how clandestine they were in attending to your beverages.
At one time, each of us had to leave the table to go to the bathroom. We were escorted to the entrance of the restaurant (which is inside a 4 star hotel called the Plaza Athenée) by one of the waiters, passed off to a hostess who then escorted us to the stairway leading to the bathroom. Then passed off to a gentleman at the stairway who escorted us up the stairs directly to the bathroom. The same way on the way back and again without imposition. They were all so genuinely appreciative of your presence.
A fourth waiter then came out to describe the menus. Admittedly, I asked for the English interpretation. This was too big a deal, too momentous occasion for me to miss out the little subtle details by my limited understanding of French. So, he explained succinctly what tonight’s food would be like.
First of all, for description’s purposes, A.D.’s menu may be approached in two ways:
#1, you simply order off the menu or #2, you order one of the two Prix Fixe Menus.
He first described the 1st Prix Fixe Menu, The “Plaisier de Table” Menu:
3 courses, from the main menu, served in half, plus dessert. Also, you choose your 3 courses from three subdivided areas so that your evening courses have a proper flow to them.
Then he described the “Printemps Collection” Menu:
Here, the Chef selects and bases these pre-determined specialty courses based on the season. For example (and in this case), these courses would have an asparagus theme, given that asparagus, a spring vegetable, was supremely in season.
Well, it seemed to me that the smartest thing to do was for one of us to order the Plaisier de Table (Christina) and for me to order the Printemps Collection. The reason is we could just go family style, thereby ensuring our trying everything on the menu we could.
You’re just not ready for the price are you?
Ok….here goes:
The price for the ….wait, first guess.
Nope. Higher.
Nope. Higher.
Ok, I’ll let you know, but I’m only giving you Euro prices. I’ll tell you the total in dollar amount at the end of the story.
The price for the Plaisir de Table Menu: 200€.
And the price for the Printemps Collection Menu: 300€.
Yes. You read that correctly.
My first course was this spider crab soup in this white creamed froth that would make you believe peace on earth was actually possible. The extent of the asparagus were these four small mandolin sliced slices; so thin and oval, they were arranged to look like flowers pedals. Lightly dropped above the crab were dots of Iranian caviar.
(On at least three nights, I have since dreamed about this soup.)
Then came the lobster. OH. MY. GOD. It was this lobster claw, oh so artfully presented, arranged around small asparagus spears and more caviar. But the kicker with this:
there was this almost “test tube” looking glass with lobster stock that you sipped like a shooter. THIS WAS AMAZING!! And the funny thing is my brain was churning with ideas and possibilities as I felt “hey, I can make this!” I’ve made a lobster stock before, only this was much thinner, like it had been strained through a cheese cloth. Mark my words, I shall try this at home.
Rather than fully describe my final course (which was chicken in this cream sauce and REALLY good), I’ll describe Christina’s final course which was the better of her items and the better of our two final courses.
It was Veal Sweetbread (grab the skin just above your adam’s apple or, ladies, where you would have one if you had balls; that’s the sweetbread of a calf.) This item was so delicious, so unbelievably without parallel, that had she not given me a taste of it (now knowing what it tasted like) I would have divorced her on the spot.
And then: dessert. While this dinner was so appreciated and so slowly savored, Christina ate her dessert so fast it would make your head spin. I got one bite. It was these strawberries about the size of raspberries, in this sort of parfait kind of essence. It was amazing.
But mine, oh man; my dessert:
Here is a pic of the remnants of my dessert!
This caramel thing with burnt caramel in the middle of it. It had the slice through texture of very soft cream cheese, but the look and almost consistency of ice cream that could maintain its shape if it could at room temperature. It was just about the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Next to it was HONEY ICE CREAM! Oh man. Now the third item at the bottom was this cheese which wasn’t all that great, but you will not be raining on my parade today!
Then they brought out slices of cheese. Then they brought out a box of chocolates, macaroons and cookies. Oh yea, and because it was our honeymoon, they brought some yellow sponge cake with a shot of rum to pour over it!
Here are 3 of the 5 waiters who attended to us.
The best thing about this restaurant was how passionate, kind and without pretense the waiters were. You know how when you go into a nice restaurant and if you’re not old money, you just get this 2nd class citizen feeling? Not here. We were treated with respect and honor the minute we got there.
Now, the moment all of you without calculators and Euro to Dollar Internet converters have been waiting for:
Two 4 course meals, one bottle of wine, a glass of port, a vodka tonic (that cost an obscene 35 euro; man the French do NOT do mixed drinks) the total for this dinner was (and remember, although not much of a consolation, in France tip is included):
742€
Final price on my credit card? $985.
And the funny thing was we knew about how much it was going to be. Obscene in almost any circle, we however walked out with one supreme feeling:
ZERO REGRET.
We walked back to the hotel on a beautiful night with beautiful weather. The easiest walk of our lives.
It was a night we will never forget. A dinner, an experience, that it is almost impossible to even think about without either of us exhibiting a country wide smile.
On this night, one year and two weeks after I made the reservation, we never felt rushed. We left at 12:10AM, exactly 4 hours and 10 minutes after we were seated.
This was, simply, the highlight of our trip.
Day 5 complete.
Next up: an unforeseen and unexpected experience that became the 2nd highlight.
