The Last Nights in Paris and Onward to Fontainebleau

Last week, before we left Paris, Nick and I had the pleasure of dining at a lovely French restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. The restaurant, D’Chez Eux, was a place that Nick and his Mom used to go to when they lived in Paris back in the early 90’s. We were greeted by all of the staff and shown to a table in a room filled with light colors, dark wood, cozy and warm. The bright yellow walls were covered with quotes written in curly cursive French, quaint little sayings about life, love and food. The waiter immediately sliced two hunks of salami and slapped them on our plates. I snuck mine onto Nick’s plate so that he could enjoy both pieces. Two glasses of kir were served and I decided that this cherry lusciousness is one of my many new favorite delights.

Nick suggested that the salad cart was the way to go, as he had such fond memories choosing from the array of cold dishes. I decided to choose only three dishes so that I might have some room for the following courses. Nick had at least five or six tastes, heavily indulging and loving it! The white wine Nick chose was delicious and perfect with our salads.

Relaxing between courses, I could hear a dog barking from the table behind me. The couple sitting behind me was elderly and totally adorable with their little dog, Marie, a shitsu who was sitting between them as they ate and demanding bites of food from their plates. I turned around to witness this site and the man and woman were smiling, so proud of their little girl. When she had had her fill, Marie was then allowed to roam around a bit and she came over to our table for a visit. I took some photos of her and then of the three of them when she hopped back up between them. They were telling us how much they adore her and how she is their treasure.

Our main course arrived after awhile and I was very pleased to make the acquaintance of the most amazing chicken I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. It was an almost mystical experience, the most incredible sauce of cream and morels (tasty mushrooms, another best friend). Nick had the duck leg and I tasted a little, trying to be more adventurous with dark meat. We lingered over our food and enjoyed our wine as we talked and savored each bite.
As we ate, the couple behind Nick had entered and ordered champagne. He was an older French man, handsome and wearing a suit and tie. She was young with long dark hair and very tall and slender. As the night progressed, she began to speak loudly in French to her companion. He was trying to shush her as she continued her tirade. Nick was translating to me that she was saying she was tired of it and wasn’t going to take it anymore. It was very entertaining and I felt as if I had entered the world of true French clichés. And all of this before dessert arrived!

And dessert was another cart, which made my eyes glaze over. There were cookies, chocolate mousse, cherries, mango, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, ice cream, and mille feuille which is a kind of cream filled pastry from heaven. We had some dessert that night, let me tell you! It was perfect and I will never forget it.

Our trip to Fontainebleau last Wednesday was pretty uneventful. The apartment is nice with hard wood floors, high ceilings, large tall windows with blue shutters and some funky quirks that we are working out. We love the marble fireplace hearths (no longer functioning) in three rooms. We are in a very central part of town. It's about a 3 minute walk to the main drag, and about 10 minutes to the chateau. Nick's school is about 10 minutes by bike,a 20 minute walk, or 5 minutes by bus. The cats like it here and they are enjoying the space that we didn't have at the place in Paris. They are loving the windows and the light, watching the happenings of life outside. Our view of the chateau vegatable gardens is special. We can be on the grounds in about 2 minutes and there is plenty of room to roam. The walk to the chateau through the grounds is gorgeous. We spent Christmas day exploring the grounds and walking around the outside of the chateau. The cold set in so we headed to a little brasserie for some crepes and hot chocolate. It was a very relaxing holiday.

You may see all of the photos we have taken in France here: (there are more since the last post)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nharlow/sets/72157611375430039/

You can check out just the highlights of our trip so far here: (less to weed through!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nharlow/sets/72157611793419981/

You can see the photos of our apartment here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nharlow/sets/72157611793607001/

I'll let you know what we've been up to in Fonti and we'll post pics of the inside of the chateau in the next post. Until then, Happy New Year to you all!! We miss you and love hearing from you.

Avec Amour,
Helyn & Nick

Paris, December 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008.

This will be a short entry as it is late here and I'm a little tired from walking miles (or should I say kilometers) today through the Pere Lachaise cemetery. Complete with large, screaming black crows, this gloomy day was perfect for visiting Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Edith Piaf. One could spend days wandering the lanes, trying to find everyone. It's a maze and quite creepy. We loved it!!

Some of the highlights thus far include the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, the Pantheon, Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, Le Jardins de Luxembourg, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Champs Elysee. We have had some fun in the markets and cafes as well as just exploring the city in a random fashion. You may peruse our photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nharlow/sets/72157611375430039/

These include all photos from Wednesday, December 11th through Friday, December 19th. Nick was in a class all of last week so you won't see a lot of him. We'll make up for that this week!
We wish you all a very happy holiday season and send you our best wishes for good health, peace, joy and love in the New Year!!!