Two Important Anniversaries!

Today is actually the anniversary of TWO very important events. First, I have circled the sun exactly 55 times.  (Yep, I turned 55 today.)  And second, Melanie and I have now lived in Paris for exactly a year. We moved here on September 26, 2015...

To celebrate my birthday, Melanie made me an American style birthday cake, we had lunch at "Saturne" (a Michelin starred restaurant), and she made my favorite meal from when I was a kid: "All Day Spaghetti", so-called because after preparation it simmers all day long.  My Mom used to make this dish when I was a kid, and she passed the recipe on to Melanie after we got married.  It is an absolute favorite!

Fortunately, the restaurant I chose for lunch, "Saturne", is only a few blocks from our apartment. We made reservations for noon and arrived right as they were opening.  We ordered their prix fixe menu, six delectable courses, with wine pairings!

Our lunch was delicious, definitely one of the best meals we've had in Paris!

The bread was obviously baked in-house, and it was served on a bed of hay! It smelled like Wyoming!

Our first course was tomato gazpacho with a black olive ice cream. So good!

Black olive ice cream, floating in a tomato gazpacho. A great way to start the meal!

Fresh trout with a delectable sauce made from corn, oysters, and other ingredients.

Melanie doesn't really like trout (she ate too much of it as a kid), but I thought this course was outstanding. The sauce gave it a little sweetness, and there was a strong citrus note that really brought all the flavors together.

All of the wines were a perfect complement to our courses!

Our third course was red mullet with thinly sliced mushrooms, fennel, and pine nuts. It was awesome!

This four year old Zidarich was delectable.

To be honest, we're not sure what this dish was. Spinach and squid or mussels. We loved the flavor!

We were astounded by this pork dish, with a freshly grilled carrot. The sauce was insanely good.

Panna cotta, raspberries, and candied pecans; with an almond meringue ice cream. Phenomenal.

To be honest, I don't remember what this dessert was. It wasn't overly sweet, but it complemented the wine very well!

All in all, our lunch at Saturne was one of the best meals we've had in Paris. We were a little drunk by the time we got to the last course, but very happy, and we can't wait to go back!

We ate dinner at about 8:00 and Melanie's spaghetti was just like I remembered! It took me back to my childhood.

Melanie cooked the spaghetti on Saturday so the flavors could meld for 24 hours. Yum!!

One difference we've noticed between France and the United States is how they prepare cake. Here in Paris cakes tend to be pretty dense, often sans frosting, and many are not particularly sweet.

When we order chocolate cake it often looks like this. They use a dark chocolate, without a lot of sugar.

Cakes in the United States, particularly birthday cakes, are frequently lighter, and smothered in sweet frosting. This year I wanted something really moist, so Melanie added a package of vanilla pudding to the mix, some extra oil, and an extra egg! (And at my request she doubled up on the frosting.)  It was scrumptious!

I couldn't decide if I wanted Chocolate frosting, or Rainbow Chip. So Melanie went 50/50.

I had a great birthday, but we ate way too much food. Not sure we will need to eat again for a week.

I Just Wanted Some Pizza!

Melanie and I continue to do well on our diets. I've now lost 13 pounds and I think my tri-weekly weight lifting sessions at the Pretty Simple gym have helped me put on a little muscle!

As I mentioned before, one important aspect of this new diet is that we get to eat whatever we want on Saturdays, and we have been trying to take full advantage of this loophole.

You said we could eat WHATEVER we want, and as MUCH as we want! Bwahahaha!

Despite our enthusiasm and hunger, it doesn't take much food to fill us up. We try to keep eating, but pretty soon we feel like this:

I think our stomachs have shrunk from dieting during the week...

For lunch last Saturday we had Spicy Szechwan food from Trois Fois Plus de Piment. It was very good, but we found a place that we like a little bit better: Carnet de Bord, in the 2nd, has homemade DanDan noodles that are to die for... I just wish they had a little more sauce.

For dinner on Saturday Melanie decided that she wanted pizza. After a little research I found two highly recommended restaurants. One of them, Pizza Rossi, was pretty close to our apartment so when we started to get hungry I called for an Uber and, after a short ride, I was there.

Pizza Rossi is on a street called "Rue Blondel", and I had read that it was a little seedy, but I wasn't expecting an outdoor brothel! I was too nervous to take any pictures, but it felt a bit like this painting:

Rue Blondel is the red light district of Paris's 2nd arrondissement.

As we pulled up in front of the pizza place I was thinking, "I'm going to get inside, order my pizza, and then sit near the window so I can get a good look around... from the safety of the restaurant."

The Uber driver let me out and drove off. Head down, I walked to the door and pulled.

It didn't open. My heart skipped a beat.

I pulled harder. The door wouldn't budge. What was going on here? Was I too early? Couldn't they see I was kind of desperate to get inside?

Then I spotted the sign on the door:

That sign basically says that the restaurant was closed for the evening (unexpectedly)

Ah, crap. Closed.

I slowly turned around and immediately felt like a small mouse surrounded by hungry felines. I looked down, trying to figure out what to do next. I texted Melanie to let her know about my predicament, but she didn't seem to have much sympathy for my plight. In fact, I think she found it rather funny.  I thought to myself, "Okay, don't panic. Call an Uber and have him take you to that OTHER pizza place."

I finally got the Uber ordered, but was dismayed to see that it was going to be a ten minute wait. Super! I leaned up against a wall and tried to look as nonchalant as possible, while sneaking occasional peeks up and down the street.

A few minutes later a couple of drunk customers arrived, looking for action. I think they were both Johns, as well. Isn't that weird?

Suddenly, I realized something. These two guys walking down the street were seeing half a dozen prostitutes leaning up against the walls... and me. I undid a couple of buttons on my shirt and gave them a come hither look. (Okay, I didn't really do that. But I did start to laugh out loud when I realized that I was standing there like a hooker.)

You know, to be perfectly honest, the women seemed fine. One always imagines prostitutes as scary drug addled predators, but other than the clothes they were wearing these were just normal looking women, ranging in age from about 20 to 50+. No one approached me and after a few more minutes my car showed up.

I was later to discover that Rue Blondel was once home to a famous Parisian brothel from the 19th century called "Aux Belles Poules". Today, the location can easily be identified by the original red faience tiles on its façade.

You can see the brick entrance to "Aux Belles Poules" on the left. The pizza place is just up the street.

Like all Parisian brothels, Aux Belles Poules was closed in 1946 as part of a conservative-led cleanup of the French sex trade after World War II. The building was converted into student housing, while the ground floor operated as a candy wholesaler for decades, then a Chinese clothing importer, before it closed down a few years ago...

I'm not sure what the Uber driver thought when he picked me up from this den of iniquity, though I suspect it was something like: "Worked up an appetite did ya?" And: "Dude, just don't... touch... anything back there, okay?"  <sigh>

All in all it was a pretty entertaining evening, and I have to say that the pies from Pizza Julia were really tasty! But boy is that place small!

Pizza Julia is tiny! (This is the whole restaurant AND the kitchen.)

Next time we're in the mood for pizza we'll give Pizza Rossi another chance. And who knows, maybe I can pick up a little cash while I'm waiting!

Getting Mellow in St. Malo

Two weeks ago, Friday, Melanie and I hopped out of bed bright and early (5:15 AM), Ubered to Montparnasse station, and then boarded a high speed train heading west.

After a three hour trip through the French countryside, on an absolutely beautiful day, we arrived at our destination, a walled city on the west coast of France called "St. Malo".

Tall granite walls surround St. Malo, which was once a stronghold for privateers (pirates approved by the king).

We encountered a small snag once we reached the train station. There were no taxis in sight! There was a taxi line with about a dozen people in it, but no cabs. Anywhere.

No worries, we'll just get in line and wait. Ten minutes later a cab appeared... dropped someone off... and then LEFT again. Still 12 people in line. Not promising. I tried Uber but there were no little car icons visible on the map.

Okay, time for plan "C". Our hotel was only about a mile away, and it was beautiful out, so we decided to just walk to the hotel. We didn't see a single cab the whole way.

We checked in at the front desk and went straight up to our room.

Our ocean view room had a nice deck, with a table and two chairs. We enjoyed watching the waves! So relaxing.

It was still pretty early in the day and we were in the mood for some oysters! My friend Steve told me about a small town he and Deborah once visited called "Cancale". They are known for their fresh oysters, so we hopped on a bus, which took us to another bus, and about an hour later we were in the heart of Cancale.

We thought Cancale was just a pier and some oceanside restaurants.... but the bus dropped us off in the middle of a decent sized town.  From where we were standing we couldn't see, or even hear, the ocean. And once again, there were no taxis anywhere to be found.

I checked Google Maps on my phone and after a short consultation with the missus we headed down a side street towards the ocean.

Unfortunately, we found ourselves at a dead end, overlooking the turquoise colored water far below us. When we looked to the right we could see exactly where we needed to be, but how in the hell were we going to get down there?

That's the pier off in the distance. It was so close, yet so far away.

Melanie noticed a walking trail heading off to the right. Hmm. Might be worth investigating. I scouted on ahead and it didn't seem too bad.

Due to the taxi shortage we were out of other options, so off we went. The trail went down... then back up again... then it twisted around and went down some more.

This part of the trail wasn't too bad. It got worse.

There was some bickering, which turned into arguing. We nearly got divorced, twice, but we finally made it to the pier. Then a sudden realization hit Melanie, "How are we going to get back UP the hill to catch the bus???" We checked around and found that while there are cabs in Cancale, they never come down to the pier. (They don't want to just ferry people up and down the hill all day.)

Of course, if we wanted to be driven all the way back to our hotel in St. Malo... they would be happy to drive down the hill for that. One of the restaurants agreed to call a cab for us after lunch and we were good to go.

We were pretty tired so we sat at the restaurant and ordered some seafood and two diet sodas. (We desperately wanted some beer, but it was Friday and we don't get to cheat on our diets until Saturday.)

My seafood tower came with fresh oysters, langoustines, crab, whelks, mussels, clams, and more! 

The seafood was very good, but the oysters were sort of salty and not that great. We were a little disappointed, after hearing so many great things.

We were both pretty full but I convinced Melanie to walk over to the pier to buy some oysters from one of the vendors there. They were super cheap! I ordered six fresh oysters and I think the total was less than 5 euros! We took them over by the water and sat down. They were MUCH better than the other oysters. So fresh, sweet, and just a little bit briny. After we finished each one, as is the tradition, we chucked the shells down to the beach below.

The tide was out, exposing some of the oyster beds. (And you can see all the shells covering the beach.)

The cab driver showed up a little early and took us back to St. Malo. The bus would have been a lot cheaper, but the trip home was less than 30 euros so I don't think we did too bad.

Back at the hotel we rested on our deck and enjoyed the sounds of the ocean, seagulls, and people playing on the beach.

This was the view from our deck. It was getting late but there were still people at the beach.

The tide was out so we could see a trail leading out to an old sea fort. Melanie was dead tired, and she had aggravated her knee on our earlier hike, but for some reason she really wanted to see it. So back out we went.

The great military architect Vauban built Fort National in 1689 to protect Saint-Malo's port.

There was apparently a tour of the fort, but it was ending for the day just as we arrived. I knew from some earlier research that this place was once used for public executions. The seigniory of Saint Malo convicted many criminals to death by fire, and later hanging, here.

After the German occupation during WWII, allied aircraft bombed St. Malo and the fort. The Germans filled the fort with local citizens to prevent this, but the bombings continued and much of the fort and city were destroyed. They were later rebuilt using the original plans.

For some reason, Melanie was really affected by the fort. She said the sense of history was palpable and she refused to speak above a whisper.

That night we ordered room service and ate on our deck while we watched the golden sun dip below the horizon.

We shared a vegetable soup, and a fish soup, while watching the sun set. It was a pretty good day!

We had wanted to see the incredible Mont St. Michel on Saturday, but it was overcast and threatening rain. Also, we were pretty stiff and sore from all the walking and hiking we did the day before, and of course it was CHEATURDAY. (Our favorite day of the week.)

After a little debate we decided to see Mont St. Michel another time. We walked over to the walled portion of St. Malo to get some lunch. From the pictures we expected a medieval city with cobblestone roads, crumbling buildings, and a lot of pirate-themed stuff. In reality, St. Malo is a charming little village, full of an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants.

There was so much food everywhere we had a hard time picking a place to eat. After a lot of exploring we settled on a restaurant called La Bisquine.

Melanie and I ordered a French dish we've been hearing about ever since we arrived in the country: "moules-frites". The restaurant offered 3 different preparations, but we chose the traditional one with white wine. The mussels were awesome! So glad we ordered these, and we will certainly be ordering them again.

Moules-Frites (mussels and fries) is a popular French dish that originated in Belgium. Delicious! 

After lunch we wandered around the city a little bit more and picked up a souvenir for our memory niche. Then we went back to the hotel and hung out on our deck, sipping wine and snacking on some French delicacies. (Okay, we actually had Pringles, candy, and some cheap Scotch... but that didn't sound very classy.)

That night the storm was on us so we walked across the street to a seafood place there. We had heard mixed things about this restaurant and the reviews were right. It was only "okay".

Sunday morning the hotel called a cab for us, and we headed back to the train station. It will be fun to return to St. Malo when we visit Mont St. Michel. Hopefully sometime next year!

Dieting and One More Trip

Well, I lost some weight last week, and then on Saturday I ate "crispy veal head" for lunch... and lost even more.  (Just kidding, it was actually very good!)

I was really glad my veal head didn't arrive at the table looking like that scene in "Temple of Doom".

Find out more in this week's blog post.

We Are Losing Weight!

As I mentioned last time, it's REALLY difficult to diet in Paris; there is just way too much delicious food here. Fortunately, we found a plan that seems to be working for us, based on a book called "The Four Hour Body" by Tim Ferris.

Disclaimer: Tim Ferriss is an Internet blogger and author, NOT a medical professional 

Our new "slow-carb diet" limits the amount of carbohydrates that we consume, while giving us a "cheat day" once per week to satisfy our hunger for the rich French food we crave. The rest of the week we stay away from foods that are high in sugar, carbohydrates and the wrong fats, and focus instead on consuming mostly meat and veggies, which have a low glycemic index. The goal is to avoid most “white” carbohydrates, including corn, rice, quinoa, white potatoes, and anything breaded (like fried chicken, or you know, baguettes <sigh>).

We've been trying to exercise more, too. Melanie goes for long walks while I have been visiting the Pretty Simple gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to do some weight training. Melanie doesn't weigh herself, but after two and a half weeks I've already lost ten pounds. So far so good!

As I mentioned, the diet is working for us because of the Saturday cheat days. Two Saturdays ago we had another BBQ day, and last Saturday we had lunch at a bistro in the 1st called "Pirouette".

Chef Tomy Gousset worked under Le Meurice and Daniel Bouloud before opening Pirouette.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and, after a lazy morning, we took an Uber to the restaurant, which is just north of Les Halles. They had a nice table outside in a kind of courtyard that was chock full of plants. It was lovely.

The food was delicious, the plating was gorgeous, and the price was very reasonable for a three course gourmet meal. (We ordered a bottle of wine and I think our bill was just over 100 euros.)

This was my starter: crispy veal head with sauce gribiche.

Melanie's entree was a range of beetroots in a duck broth.

We both ordered the same main course: a delicately breaded lobster with a curry sauce.

This started out as my dessert, but we switched. (Lychee and vanilla cookie with tapioca pearls.)

Lemon tart with fresh strawberries and coffee ice cream. Sounds a little odd, but YUM!

One More Summer Trip

We planned a final summer trip for this year, though based on the weather we've been  having it's possible we waited too long. It has been cool and rainy all week -- and it's supposed to continue through the weekend. Oh, well.

Undaunted, Friday morning we're going to catch a high speed train from Montparnasse Station to a walled port city in Brittany called "Saint Malo". (It's in northwestern France on the English Channel.)

Founded by Gauls in the 1st century, Saint GaloSaint-Malo became notorious as a home for French pirates.

We booked a room at a nice hotel and we should have a great view of the ocean from our balcony. Weather permitting our first stop on Friday will be one of the top tourist destinations in France: Mont-Saint-Michel.

This Normandy island commune has has held strategic fortifications since ancient times.

On Saturday, we'll take a bus to the nearby village of Cancale, which is known for having amazing seafood. History reports that Louis XIV had his oysters brought to Versailles from Cancale. Centuries later, the farming of oysters is still a major activity in the port with about 25,000 tons being harvested each year.

You can buy fresh oysters on the pier, eat them with a little lemon, and toss the shells back into the ocean!

It should be a great weekend, and we're excited to experience Cancale's wonderful seafood as part of our next cheat day!