Welcome to 2010, Lovelies!

Well hello my beautiful readers! Here I am, back from Paris, and just slightly jet-lagged. Paris was a whirlwind, an internetless one, you may have noticed. It was an amazing trip, we made it to Versailles, the Lourvre, Le Centre Pompidou and the d'Orsay. Not to mention Les Puces, the Flea Market in Paris, with it's rambling alleys of tiny shops and the beautiful bracelets I bought there for 2 euro each! Not to mention Disneyland Paris, no longer Euro Disney. Not to mention nutella crepes, and pain Suisse, and croissant and fromageries.

Then there were the meals. There was the corner bistro, Aux Trois Passages with its perfect pate served with carmalized apple. And 1728, which was like eating tuna tartare and lamb in Versailles, or how I imagined it! Low marble tables, lush velvet couches and chairs. The service was flawless, everything was delicious. Then there was the three course lunch at The Veranda at the Trianon Palace (where the treaty of Versailles was signed!) where I had duck which everyone agreed was amazing. There was the ten course tasting menu at L'Astrance, I took pictures of every amazing course, if you're interested. And New Year's brought us to the Cristal Room at the Baccarat, with beautiful crystal, a beautiful seven course tasting menu and a clanging in of the new year with the chef and many tipsy Russians and French. Friday night was a relaxed meal Bofinger, one of the oldest brassaries in Paris, their french onion soup was the highlight of my very cold day! We spent Saturday night on the Seine, a dinner boat tour, a hunk of foie gras and the French Statue of Liberty were the highlights of the evening. Our going away meal was spent in the appropriately named Les Ombres, the Shadows. As in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower, as in the restaurant was very dark. The restaurant looks out over the city sitting atop the new Musee du quai Branly, controversial for it's promotion of art from Ocenia, Asia and Africa as "primitive." I can tell you there is no controversy over the food, or the view-- a perfect view of the glittering Eiffel Tower. We could see the crowds in Jules Verne (which we did not have reservations for, sadly)! All these amazing restaurants should not let me forget the amazing baguette from the boulangerie around the corner, the Algerian honey and nut pastries from down the street, the cheese which stunk up the fridge, the french fries at the cafe across from the Pompidou, or the deliciously thick, bread coating Chocolate Chaud at the bistro just beyond the walls of the flea market.

What I'm trying to say, lovelies, is I did not bring back many things, a few pairs of tights from Monoprix and bracelets, but I ate my way through Paris. When I climbed into the car at the airport, Luis commented that I looked different, somehow. "Duck fat" I laughed, "I've probably gained weight, but that's a nice way to say it, so thanks." He shook his head and said no, it wasn't weight. I somehow looked different. Rosy and sober at once, almost "French-ier". Maybe there's something to white wine, and champagne, foie gras with every meal and delicious bread between every course. I mean, I think I could manage to live like that all the time.