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.

Tony's Parisian Birthday Odyssey

For our last morning in Paris we revisited one of Tony's favorite haunts - Montremarte. We dropped our luggage off at Baggage Storage at Gard du Nord - a really great thing if you have half a day in Paris before leaving on the train.



From there, it is an easy walk up to Montremarte. We waded through the annoying street vendors. Thankfully, there were a lot less than there had been the previous summer. We climbed the hill to Sacre Coeur - the highest hill in Paris and looked out over this magnificent city.

We made our way past all the tourist stores into the quiet shady back streets that Tony loves. We followed Rick Steve's tour of Montremarte as Mark hadn't ever been here. It's nice to see this quiet area in the midst of such a huge urban jungle.








It almost feels like one is in the country. The first time I came to Paris, we were told to be sure to visit Montremarte as it summed up Old Paris. And having visited here a couple times now, it is clear why so many of the artists chose to live and paint in this picturesque area.

We stopped at La Maison Rose for lunch, which has become a tradition for us. They make awesome French Onion Soup, and on a cold rainy day like this, it sounded perfect.



Mark loved it.











One of the fun places to visit in Montremarte on Rick's tour is a small park containing a statue of Saint Denis. The Story goes that Saint Denis was beheaded while trying to spread the gospel, but that didn't stop him as he picked up his head and continued preaching for another 2 miles.

We made our way down the road back towards the more urban part of Paris, passing Vincent Van Gogh's apartment, and "The Two Windmills" where they shot "Amelie", a really cute French film that Tony and I love. One of these days, I want to go in there and get an espresso.

We ultimately reached the bottom of the hilm and the world famous Moulin Rouge. Though not the filming location for the film of the same name (which built a replica on a stage in Australia of all places), it always makes me think of that film. I finally got a decent picture of it free of tour buses, which always seem to be parked in front of it when I'm there.





It was time to make our way back to the train station to start the 2.5 hour train ride back to London. It was a fantastic weekend, despite the weather, and if there were a way to celebrate one's 50th birthday in style, this was certainly it!

Tony's 50th Birthday - Day 2

For the second day of Tony's 50th Birthday Celebration (you have to call it that if it is more than 1 day surely), we wandered off into the Latin Quarter in search of Shakespeare's Bookstore. It was a cool, but slightly sunny day, so it looked to be much better than the day before.

We found the bookstore, which has a history of housing starving students on its second floor. It is full of fun books, and we made a point of purchasing a copy of Julia Child's "The Art of French Cooking". We thought it would be fun to have one actually purchased in France.










We then wandered down to Luxembourg Gardens. Marie de Medici longed for her palace in Italy, so she had this private estate built. I wish I could have a private estate built too, but oh well. Today, it is a lovely park.









It was decked out in fall colors, which made it quite picturesque.









We really enjoyed walking around in it.







We even found a statue dedicated to the Marie De Medici. Big Surprise!

















From there, we wandered back up to the Jewish Quarter to get a Falafel from a famous Falafel stand that Lisa had recommended the night before. The place was packed, with a line running down the street just for takeaway sandwiches.

Falafels are essentially deep fried Garbonzo Bean Dough in a pita. Sounds dreadful, but wait it's garbonzo beans - this is practically HEALTH FOOD!

It reminded me of "The Falafel King" in Westwood that was such a staple of my UCLA college days.

Mark's train arrived in Paris about this time, so we made our way back to the hotel to meet him, but on our way, we grabbed a Baklava from a Jewish/Parisian Bakery. It was the largest Baklava we'd ever seen. Very good too and Kosher, so again, it was healthy eating. . .

We arrived at the hotel to find Mark being fussed over by all the Hotel Management. He is Hilton Brass afterall.

We met for cocktails a short time later in the bar before the Hotel Car picked us up to drive us to Versailles. Mark had arranged reservations at the Hilton Tianon Palace for dinner. It was nice to have an opportunity to put on our sport coats for dinner.

We were led to a fine table in a beautiful dining room, where not just sparkling wine, but real French Champagne was served. Tony loved it.










It was an absolute joy spending time with such a dear friend we've know so long in such a special place.


Dinner was a culinary feast of Scallops and Pork. The ongoing moving feast of our travels continues.









We ended the night back at our hotel for a nightcap. It was a magnificent evening in the ongoing Tony's 50th Birthday extravaganza.