If you ever want to find out how strong your marriage or relationship is, try renting a car and driving through Paris and France and back to Paris with one person driving and the other navigating. I confess to the key mistake, I arranged to pick up the car in downtown Gare de Lyon, one of the train stations in Paris instead of taking an Uber to an outlying airport to begin and end the journey. Terrible decision, we almost didn’t get out of Paris to begin with and it was no easier returning the damn thing after the trip than it was finding the place. The maze of ramps, exits and the traffic were challenging just to get to the highway to Normandy. I just had no idea of the complications involved. After driving in circles once again, we eventually found the entrance to the underground parking garage with the Avis office. The car became stuck at one of the gates and I found an Avis employee to rescue me one last time. He inspected the car, we paid our bill and headed upstairs to find a taxi to our hotel. The driving nightmare was finally over. C’est la vie, that’s life.
Leaving Blois, we headed back to Paris to spend two days at Marriott’s Moxy Bastille Hotel on the outskirts of the Marais neighborhood. The Moxy is Marriott’s economical chain that caters to young people looking for an affordable hotel in cities with a nice comfortable lobby, bar and sitting area. There were people on laptops and devices in the lobby, cafe and bar. The rooms are very compact with a small bedroom and comparativly large bathroom. Our room had a narrow balcony overlooking the street with a small table and two chairs. Right away I searched for an Apple Store to find an answer to why my new iPhone camera had begun taking dark photos. We walked half a mile to a Mac store only to be told they only work on MacBooks not iPhones.
We left the hotel to find a cafe for drinks. As we walked, I realized that a restaurant that I had booked for the next day was nearby and we sat outside and ordered our usual evening apero. We decided to have dinner inside and were seated at a table open to the street. We ordered a bottle of red wine from the Rhône River area. I selected this place because it was said to have some of the best French Onion Soup in Paris, one of Janet’s goals was to find a good onion soup. It was served in a crock with melted cheese on top. It came with a choice of salad or fries. She got the fries which were the best fries I have ever tasted. My lamb chops were very good but not great and she agreed that the soup was as good as noted. Afterward we headed back to our hotel, showered and had a good nights rest.
Tuesday morning we headed out to find coffee and breakfast. On the way to one I found on Google Maps we saw an interesting boulangerie with outside seating named Land and Monkeys. We had two interesting pastries, chocolate and almond croissants. They were the best yet as were the cafe lattes. I had selected several options for dinner reservations for the this evening without making them in advance. After all it was early in the week. No luck, the top options were booked solid. After breakfast we headed toward the Marais area and we passed by a restaurant on my list, Chez Janou, it was on my list but not a primary option, however, no reservations were available for days and weeks. Fortunately, they served all day unlike most Bistros that close at 2:00 and reopen for dinner. Three couples were in line out front. Their names had been taken for seating and we added ours. How lucky we were that the restaurant was open between lunch and dinner or we would not have enjoyed the experience, unable to make a reservation but able to be seated after a short wait mid afternoon.
Chez Janou turned out to be one of the best restaurants we have ever visited. The indoor dining room is small with seating wedged into every nook and cranny in the indoor area. There is a small bar with a few stools and there was also seating outside which is where we sat when the time came. Tables are close together, often the table must be removed to allow seating. From start to finish everything we had was point on. The bottled lemonade was refreshing. The small welcome dish of marinated olives with pits were good and the setting under the awning on a warm Paris day was unforgettable. Janet had a broiled shrimp in a bubbly casserole of bubbly butter, garlic and Pastis. I ordered the day’s special a roasted lamb shank with lamb jus and mashed sweet potatoes. The meat was cooked perfectly and fell off the bone with ease, it was excellent, one of my favorite dishes. The highlight was Chez Janou’s signature Chocolate Mousse, presented by our young server carrying a large bowl of of the mousse cradled in the crook of her arm with a large serving spoon in her other hand. She dished a healthy dollop on the single plate between us, plenty to share.
We paid up and stepped outside for more pictures then headed towards Rue Montorgueil a narrow market street also in the Marais with Bistros, cafes and all manner of food markets specializing in meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables, pastries and baked goods. Our first stop was at Stohrer a small but ornate patissiere with beautiful designed walls and chandeliers. Established in 1730 it claims to be the oldest patissiere in Paris. We ordered one of their specialities, a Rum Baba with Chantilly Cream and two Eclairs to take with us. The Baba packed in a plastic tray was soaked in rum. After eating the cake you could drink the remaining rum it was so saturated. We had Spritz and a gin and tonic at a cafe across from a fish market and a specialty produce market and enjoyed a very entertaining parade of Paris’ characters and tourists. Locals passed by carrying the daily baguette peeking out of the bag. Usually the tip had been eaten because it is not easy to make it home carrying a baguette without a sample. We finished our drinks, paid up and headed toward the Seine River area where I found a bus to deliver us back near the Moxy.
After a brief rest we made the short walk to the previous nights restaurant, Bistrot des Vosages for dinner. With another bottle of the red wine from the Rhône River Valley, Janet ordered the Onion Soup again, this time with a side salad. I had an entrecôte, ribeye steak cooked medium rare. The steak was cooked to temp but was thin and tough not a prime or choice grade of meat. The fries once again were fantastic. It felt good to be back in Paris.
My objective for visiting Paris was to spend time visiting three of the most interesting neighborhoods. In July we had stayed in the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank of the Seine. When we returned that September we stayed in Montmartre on the outskirts of the city. After driving through France we stayed near the Marais area in the Bastille neighborhood. Using these three areas as a base we were able to visit key sites like the Eiffel Tower, the Galeries Lafayette, the Basilica Sacre Coeur on Montmartre, the Contrescarpe Plac and Mouffetard Avenue and the Rue Montorgueil. We had cruised the Seine twice once during the day and once in the evening where we got to see the Eiffel Tower light show on the hour from our boat.
Our trip was coming to and end as we returned to our room in the Moxy.