Last Day in Paris : Deep Thoughts and a Soufflé {No. 20}

Push had come to shove with the wifi situation at our hotel.  My data overages were mounting ($$$) and Dean needed to update some charts online for work so we decided a “working” breakfast was in order.  We decided that a place like The Ritz probably never had wifi issues and we could return there to have a little fancy breakfast and get some laptop time.  This was our last day in Paris and a long, special le petit dejeuner was just the way to start it.  

After that we headed back to the hotel to drop our laptops and turned right around to walk and do a little sightseeing.  It was a beautiful sunny day!  Some folks at the Tour thing had mentioned how much they had enjoyed seeing Napoleon’s Tomb at Hôtel des Invalides and since neither of us had seen it before we thought we’d give it a go.  Truly impressive!  Did the audio tour and walked all around the property and exhibits.  We both really enjoyed this!  After the tour, Dean wanted to stay on and tour the Army Museum there and I wanted to bike over to my old stomping grounds in le Marais to revisit some familiar sights from the 2013 trip.  

We met back at the hotel to get spiffed up for our fancy dinner at Apicius and had a wonderful experience!  It really was lovely and we tried new things we would never have otherwise, even if it was a touch more formal and outside our normal dining comfort zone.

Cannot believe that our time in Paris had come to a close!  This time around, Paris was different for me—not bad, but different.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little more on edge than I normally am when traveling, because of all the recent uptick in terrorist violence, specifically centered on France.  In fact, our last day in Paris the news broke of the tragic Islamic terrorist murder of the Catholic priest in Rouen and it just pained us—again—for France, for the world and the depravity of man, looking on this time in history as a whole.  It’s difficult to fully feel the joy and beauty that Paris had to offer, having to view it through the reality of that veil.  As for feeling safe while we were in Paris, we absolutely did.  We did notice an increase in security in many places around the city and we never felt uneasy walking around.  

We made exceptional memories here and nothing can ever take those away from us!  Having said that, when I left Paris three years ago, I felt like I belonged.  I stayed long enough that I knew my way around, my language had gotten better with every day, I’d made connections and been enraptured by all the beauty and newness of Paris.  This time I felt more like a foreigner and a visitor—not like it was my own anymore.  It was still beautiful, still delicious, still Paris.  There was no change in the glory of the croissants au beurre, absolutely none.  It was more that the steady magic and novelty I felt on my first trip never fully took hold.  

I spoke earlier in the blog of craving solitude which revitalizes me in so many ways—and maybe the lack of that and the inner edge I felt about the recent violence were, in the end, semi-barriers to feeling truly free and summoning my inner French woman!  So many times an experience cannot fully measure up to a set of expectations (even though I was deliberate in trying to temper my own, going in) and there’s nothing you can really do about it.  

And I can’t ignore that the 2013 trip was truly special and won’t ever be repeated—the women who joined me there and the victorious exhilaration we all felt about immersing in Paris together as wives/mothers/women who rarely get to do that—we all bonded with each other and the city.  But I’ll take a semi-barrier-ish visit to Paris over no visit to Paris.  And it only means I’ll just need to plan a return trip!!

Fancy Nancy!  Y’all got some breakfast??  And a good wifi signal?  

All the little dishes, jars, teapots, silverware = all the JOY.

Just your average glorious Paris door that we passed on our walk to Hôtel des Invalides.

Inside the Hôtel des Invalides, which was originally built in 1676 by order of Louis XIV as a hospital and retirement home for war veterans.  It also houses the Artillery Museum and Historical Museum of the Armies and the Veterans’ Chapel/Dome Chapel (the steeple is barely visible in this photo).  Napoleon’s body was moved to the Dome Chapel in 1840.  

The outside of the courtyard is being cleaned and the difference is amazing!

Napoleon’s tomb, recessed under the main floor of the Dome Chapel.  See the little humans above and below for scale.  This thing was massive.

Twelve angel statues surround Napoloen’s tomb.

First stop on my afternoon bike ride:  the door of my old apartment from the 2013 trip!  Special memories there!!  No. 2 Rue Pecquay in le Marais.  I loved riding my bike down the Rue des Archives, Rue Rambuteau and Rue de Francs Bourgeois down to Place des Vosges.

From there I pedaled my little bike wheels over to Méert, home of the chewy little wafer sandwiches with the sandy vanilla sugar.  Mmmmm. 

Ready for our fancy dinner and this here’s my Uber-ing man.  He is often found in just this stance as we await our driver.  

Thank you to Franklin at our hotel for snapping our photo before dinner!  This is outside our little hotel.

Apicius is housed in a gorgeous 19th c. villa in the middle of Paris.  The inside of the hotel is very modern and minimal and doesn’t exactly match the outside.  As we walked up for our 8 o’clock reservation and saw this little scene outside the restaurant, it made me wish we’d gotten there early enough to have a little cocktail on the terrace.  

The only thing I knew I wanted for sure at this place was the chocolate soufflé for dessert.  The nicest guy, our maître d’, Roma, very graciously explained the entire menu and translated everything into English for us.  But we couldn’t really decide and with the language barrier, we decided to just have the chef choose.  I think this was the second thing that came out and all I know about this is that the top is caviar and the bottom was potatoes.  Caviar rookies at our table and we both LOVED this dish.  Who knew??   

The service at Apicius was over-the-top flawless.  From the time we walked in the door, a string of no less than eight employees greeted us with “Bonsoir monsieur et madame.”  Our wine glasses barely sat empty for sixty seconds before someone was there to fill them again.  There were a lot of people with very specific jobs just waiting for the chance to do that job and serve.

This restaurant was way fancier than Dean and I ever really get for dinner, especially in Knoxville.  It was very special and I'll be honest--there was a hushed tones vibe, which never jives well with how loudly I laugh.  But THIS SOUFFLÉ.  The most decadent, perfectly-textured chocolate oblivion fireworks heaven spectacular dessert circus I have EVER known.  I don’t need a dinner that fancy.  But I do need that soufflé.  I’m getting sad now.  Let’s change the subject.

These fancy dinner places always do this, don’t they?  Just when you’ve tried to save room for dessert and you barely do but then can’t even finish your dessert, they bring you out little edible goodbye bites.  How was I supposed to make room for a tiny baby tarte au citron with the most evenly browned meringue dollop?  It was difficult but let’s be honest—I’ve spent years training for this very moment.  I could do this.  I would not let my lemon and meringue-crazed soul regret not taking the bull by the horns.  Down with the dollop!!

And back to the Hotel Duc de Saint Simon—I just never got tired of looking at this little reception area.  Bonsoir, Paris and vive le France!!  Tomorrow we head to Belfast!