Pere Lachaise Cemetery

It was Easter Sunday, and for our last day in Paris, Tony and I got up and went to breakfast at a restaurant called, Breakfast in America.  It was a great way to start our day with a traditional American Diner breakfast of 2 eggs, 2 strips of Bacon, and 2 Pancakes - the 2-2-2 at Denny's.

 It is a cute restaurant loaded with American kitsch.  They served diner style coffee, and refilled the cup automatically when it was about half full. How un-European!  The breakfast was good, and as we planned to return to London that afternoon, I joked that if we played it right, we could have breakfast in America, lunch in France, and dinner in England.

 After breakfast, we wandered through the streets of Paris down to Notre Dame.  The scaffolding if finally gone from the building, and it looks magnificent.  It was nice to be down there for Easter Morning.  It felt appropriate.

We wandered around the banks of the Seine before eventually heading off to our main site for the day.  Pere Lachaise Cemetery.













Originally founded by Napoleon as a cemetery for Paris' elite,  it is an atmospheric old cemetary.

I couldn't help but wonder if a lot of the inspiration for the Haunted Mansion cemetery didn't come 








Here one can find the final resting place of playwright  Oscar Wilde.

The world famous French singer Edith Pilaf.

The famous pianist Chopin.

The famous Parisian Architect Haussmann, who designed the grand boulevards.

The great Italian Composer Rossini. 

 

And of course the world famous rock star Jim Morrison.  











There are quite a few memorials to French victims of the Holocaust and the Concentration Camps.  Somber reminders of a time not that long ago. . .

All and all, I found the cemetary an unusual and fascinating place to visit.

Le Train Blu

We splurged this Paris trip and went to a fabulous restaurant called, Le Train Blu. It is a classic French restaurant housed in the train station, Gare Du Lyon. Gilded in turn of the century luxury it oozes magnificent old world charm.









Absolutely French and absolutely stunning - the dining room is the star of the show.









Our vantage point was good for viewing a lot of the beautiful elegance that was on display.









The menu has many of the classic French culinary classics on display.














While being here in Europe, I have been won over by Fois Gras, and when I saw it on the menu, I had to have it. Why not, I'm in Paris!







For the main course, it was Hand Carved Roast Lamb and Dauphinoise Potatoes. The waiter came tableside and carved it in front of me. It made me think of Lawry's Prime Rib back home.  The potatoes were made with a wonderful stinky Roquefort Blue Cheese - strong flavors, but very good.

 Tony enjoyed it so much that he wants to come back here again for his 60th Birthday.  Perhaps we have a new favorite restaurant in Paris.

When it came time for dessert, I'd eyed these amazing Chocolate Eclairs a couple tables over.  They were obscenely huge, and drizzled with fresh chocolate sauce.  Yes, that was the dessert I chose, and I wasn't dissappointed.  The best Chocolate Eclaire I've ever had in my life!

Le Train Blu was a meal to remember, in a location that would be impossible to forget.  I highly recommend it for your Parisian vacation.

 

Chateau Vincennes

Having hit a lot of the main sites in Paris on our visits, we decided to hit a site not in the Rick Steve's guide - Chateau Vincennes. It is located just outside the original city wall, which is now the circle highway, and is easily reached by the metro. In fact, there is a metro station named for it, so it is really easy to find. Our friend Lisa joined us for what proved to be a fun and interesting place to visit.



The castle was damaged a few years back in a storm, but has recently completed its renovation, and is a stunning site to visit. It's claim to fame is that its "Keep" is the tallest in Europe.







It was built by Charles V in the 14th Century, and has a long history as a palace, a prison, and a military station for both the Nazis and the Americans in WWII. Nowadays, part of the estate is used for the French Military's Administration offices.








It was used by the latter French kings as a hunting lodge, as it sits on a huge park. Until it was abandoned in favor of Versailles.








There isn't a whole lot to see inside the castle, and I hope they eventually add more to it, but it is a neat place to walk and climb around.

They've done a terrific job on the restoration.





Inside, you can visit the cell which held the Marquis de Sade. And the study of Charles V. Both of which are empty. It did make me think that the difference between a palace and a prison is only a few hundred years. As this isn't the first palace I've visited that was later used as a prison.



You can also see the exterior of an addition built for King Louis the 14th in the 17th century. It is a contrast to the earlier more fort-like structure of the Keep.




There is also a second Sainte Chappelle built here. It isn't as elaborate as the original downtown, but it is a pretty structure, which has also undergone a recent beautiful restoration. It is nice to see this version away from other structures, as the original has so much built up around it that it is hard to see what the exterior looks like.






Inside, it is pretty, but again fairly empty. It would be a wonderful venue for weddings or summer concerts.

We enjoyed our visit to Chateau Vincennes, and I'd recommend visiting it after you've seen the other big attractions in Paris.

A quick weekend getaway to Paris - Part 1

We had some guests visiting from back home in Los Angeles, Michael and Hugo. They were doing a quick 2 day stay in London, then a 3 day stay in Paris. A little too short a time to see everything, but they were doing it over Easter break as Hugo is a teacher, and that was the only time they had to do it. They certainly squeezed in a lot however in the short time they were here.




When they were heading off to Paris, we planned to tag along for a long weekend, as it was Good Friday here in London, and that's a day off.

The puppies went to stay with my dear friend, Andy, and his girlfrend, Kent, and their roommate, Ryan, for a weekend of being spoiled rotten. Andy et al would love to have dogs, but having a dog and working full time in London, can be a bit of a challenge. This way, they get to have a fun weekend enjoying the dogs without having the lifetime commitment.

The weather was very cooperative, and we took the train down to St. Pancras International train station, and caught the Eurostar to Paris - a very easy 2.5 hour trip.





























Tony and I stayed at a very cute little hotel in the Marais called, Hotel Jacques de Molay. It is in a very old section of Paris, and though the hotel had all of the modern conveniences, you could still see the old wooden beams exposed in the ceiling.

We hooked up with our friend Lisa, who lives in Paris, for a nice afternoon wandering around simply enjoying the afternoon. The Marais is home to Paris's Jewish quarter, and we stopped in for a piece of some wonderful cheesecake.










Paris is such a wonderful city to stroll around, and it was such a beautiful afternoon, that it was fun simply to just take it all in.











We stopped in at a couple shops looking at the fun and unusual French products. One skincare/bath/room product place had some wonderful hand cream that smelled like oranges. They also had a room deodorizer that we didn't smell. Those French have products for everything.









We eventually met up with Michael and Hugo at Tony's favorite restaurant, Au Petit Tonneau. We were sad that Chef Marie, who is a fixture there is limiting her presence these days, but the food was still terrific, and it was a wonderful evening.





After dinner, we wandered the few blocks over to the Eiffel Tower. We caught the last few seconds of it sparkling. It is always an impressive sight, and a great way to end the first day of our weekend in Paris.