Charcuterie
How I love the word which is the title of this blog entry - so much more romantic than "Meat". Like most of the French language to be fair. I can really see the appeal of living in France. My sister has a house there - surprisingly I have never been but there always seemed to be too many other things going on, either work or children related.
Anyway - you've had the hors d'ouevre as to what we got up to on our first day in Paris, so now here is the rest. After a good night's sleep (not actually - my pillows kept sliding down the back of the bed) we headed off out for a days sightseeing, armed with an assortment of maps and guides and such like, looking like typical tourists no doubt. Nice little breakfast up at the square at the end of the street where Edgar Quinet Metro station was located (puerily nicknamed "Edgar Quim" by me on the first day). Got to say all the Croissants and bread we had in France were top notch - the Pain Au Chocolat were to die for. Sorry Tesco, and even M&S, your offerings are rubbish by comparison.
Anyway, first stop Eiffel Tower. Us and several million other people it seemed. Walking from the Metro we had to slalom our way through dozens of street vendors trying to sell us cheap and nasty Eiffel Tower replicas. Eventually we made it to the tower only to discover that only one lift was working and there were about 10,000 people queueing. Having done a recce of the queue we worked out it would be at least six hours to get up there - so really, what was the point? We decided to bin it - and head off elsewhere.
Rather than take the Metro we headed down to the Seine and got day passes for what it known as the "Batobus". Which instantly became nicknamed the "Batty Bus" spoken in Ali G accent. This is a good way of cruising up and down the Seine, which was much nicer than the Metro particularly as the weather was clear blue skies and the temperatures had soared to the high 20's. Most satisfying as it was still raining back home in Britain according to a text from the mother in law.
Did the whole Notre Dame thing - just a big church basically, then got on to the more important business of securing some lunch. Now this is where the French really do excel.
When at home and fancying partaking of a spot of lunch, I like nothing better to fill up a plate with lots of breads, meats, cheeses etc. With perhaps the odd olive or bit of beetroot just so I don't look like a total carnivore. Now it's simply not possible to order such a meal in the UK. Yes - you can order a Ploughman's lunch but this tends to consist of a bit of bread, one (ONE!) type of meat or cheese and then a load of salad padding. Not good.
Now the French have got the right idea. Don't fill it out with all that crap, give us what we want! The various cafes we passed by all were offering this most appetising item on the menu - and I saw it on a few people's plates described as an "Assortment de Fromages et Charcuterie". Now that's more like it. So here is what I had.
During the afternoon we checked out a couple of other museums, a bit more off the beaten track which unlike the main tourist attractions were refreshingly quiet. One thing that Claire in particular found annoying though was that none of the museums had English translations alongside the placards which would have been helpful - I am pretty good at French so could get the jist of most of it but even so - most museums I have been to in London offer French and other language translations so it would have been nice.
Anyway - you've had the hors d'ouevre as to what we got up to on our first day in Paris, so now here is the rest. After a good night's sleep (not actually - my pillows kept sliding down the back of the bed) we headed off out for a days sightseeing, armed with an assortment of maps and guides and such like, looking like typical tourists no doubt. Nice little breakfast up at the square at the end of the street where Edgar Quinet Metro station was located (puerily nicknamed "Edgar Quim" by me on the first day). Got to say all the Croissants and bread we had in France were top notch - the Pain Au Chocolat were to die for. Sorry Tesco, and even M&S, your offerings are rubbish by comparison.
 |
| Just the thing to start the day (there was coffee too, had not arrived yet). |
Anyway, first stop Eiffel Tower. Us and several million other people it seemed. Walking from the Metro we had to slalom our way through dozens of street vendors trying to sell us cheap and nasty Eiffel Tower replicas. Eventually we made it to the tower only to discover that only one lift was working and there were about 10,000 people queueing. Having done a recce of the queue we worked out it would be at least six hours to get up there - so really, what was the point? We decided to bin it - and head off elsewhere.
Rather than take the Metro we headed down to the Seine and got day passes for what it known as the "Batobus". Which instantly became nicknamed the "Batty Bus" spoken in Ali G accent. This is a good way of cruising up and down the Seine, which was much nicer than the Metro particularly as the weather was clear blue skies and the temperatures had soared to the high 20's. Most satisfying as it was still raining back home in Britain according to a text from the mother in law.
Did the whole Notre Dame thing - just a big church basically, then got on to the more important business of securing some lunch. Now this is where the French really do excel.
When at home and fancying partaking of a spot of lunch, I like nothing better to fill up a plate with lots of breads, meats, cheeses etc. With perhaps the odd olive or bit of beetroot just so I don't look like a total carnivore. Now it's simply not possible to order such a meal in the UK. Yes - you can order a Ploughman's lunch but this tends to consist of a bit of bread, one (ONE!) type of meat or cheese and then a load of salad padding. Not good.
 |
| A typical British Ploughman's lunch - very poor. |
Now the French have got the right idea. Don't fill it out with all that crap, give us what we want! The various cafes we passed by all were offering this most appetising item on the menu - and I saw it on a few people's plates described as an "Assortment de Fromages et Charcuterie". Now that's more like it. So here is what I had.
 |
| Now that's more like it! |
During the afternoon we checked out a couple of other museums, a bit more off the beaten track which unlike the main tourist attractions were refreshingly quiet. One thing that Claire in particular found annoying though was that none of the museums had English translations alongside the placards which would have been helpful - I am pretty good at French so could get the jist of most of it but even so - most museums I have been to in London offer French and other language translations so it would have been nice.
In the evening we went back to the area of the Eiffel tower which was still rammed and had another lovely dinner. My previous experience this year of steak in France was not spectacular but this place did it to perfection - seared on the outside - juicy and full of flavour in the middle. Our restaurant was in sight of the Eiffel Tower - well the top of it anyway, so we were able to see the light show as darkness fell around 10pm.
After dinner we went out for a walk in the shadow of the tower, in those lawns you see leading up to it (where the Cybermen were standing in Doctor Who S02E13) and it was amazing to see how many people were there on the lawns, with picnic blankets, bottles of wine, the sounds of laughter and fun at 11pm in the evening, just wonderful.
And then back to the hotel for a well deserved rest - with another action packed day ahead.
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
Jason xx
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