Shoes, Cigars, and Wine!

Monday started off pretty casually and it was still pretty warm outside.  We met outside the hotel at 9 am with the plan to do some shopping or as the French like to say "Window Licking" along the Rue de Honere and a few other streets near the Louvre.

One of the best things about Paris is the ease of the Metro system.  A person can quickly get from one part of Paris to the opposite side just by hopping on the Metro subway system.  We took the Metro from the Ecole Milataire stop by our hotel to the Toulleries stop and hopped off.

Our first stop for shopping was a favorite from our last trip, Obelisk.  Obelisk is a handbag shop that has an eclectic selection of handbag styles at decent prices.  Tari and Kelly both found a handbag in a pretty Tiffany Blue.  Even the boys scored small coin purses.

From there we made our way down the street so Duane and Jamie could do a little shopping at A La Civette, a cigar shop in Paris.  Last trip they tried several times to go, but it was always closed.  This trip it was a success!  The shop was actually open.  Both had rave reviews to say about the shop.  The cigar selection was very good and the tobacconist was very helpful.  He even hand selected each cigar for them to ensure quality rolled cigars. 

While the guys were shopping, Tari and Kelly made their way back to a corner bistro to wait patiently with Bubbles and street entertainment to occupy their time.

Nothing helps past the time like Moet Bubbles!

One of the best forms of entertainment in Paris is sitting at a corner bistro table and watching not only the people walking by (there are always huge crowds of tour groups to make you chuckle, especially in the area by the Louvre) but also the traffic.  The streets of Paris are interesting to say the least.  There are normally many round abouts, no lane markers and many Tour Buses.

Outside the bistro was the perfect storm of Paris Traffic.  There were about 4 different streets all coming together at this round about with traffic trying to merge onto the other lanes and since we were so close to the Louvre that also meant tour buses trying to go through to get to the Louvre.  We could have sat there for hours watching the people and traffic.

Shoes!!!

As much fun as the people and street watching was, it was time to make our way to the mecca of shoe stores, the original Christopher Louboutin shop.  Along with the women's shop they also now have a men's shop and a perfume/makeup shop.

Tari and Kelly were not successful in their hunt, but Duane was!  He found a pair of black dress shoes that he will probably end up going back for later in the week.

Time for Lunch!

Since there were no set plans for the day, that also meant there were no set plans for lunch either.  We wondered the streets for a little bit after our shoe expedition looking for a food place to jump out at us.

While the prices on this place did not grab us, the neon sign of a pig with a wine glass made us stop and take a look.

After looking over a few different menus for various options, we finally settled on a Northern French (Alsace) and German tavern called Taverne Karlsbrau.

Lunch!

 Even though we were at a place where half the menu items were German, we found a wonderful Cremant  Champagne to go with lunch.

Jamie and Tari both got Moules or Mussles for their lunch.  Since it was lunch everyone was expecting a smaller portion size.  That was not the case....their lunch came in cast iron pots filled to overflowing with mussels.

Duane and Kelly both had a tartar.  Duane decided to go with the classic beef version and Kelly went with a salmon version.  Both were pretty good.

After lunch ended, we spent some time in E. Dehillerin, a kitchen supply store that was located right across the street from the restaurant.  It was like a Sur La Tab from the 1800s and it was crowded!  This is the place to go for kitchen supplies in Paris.

After the kitchen shop, we weren’t quite ready to head to the hotel yet, so we gave O Chateau a try.  It is a wine tasting room located down the street from where we had lunch and the kitchen shop.   

Jamie, Kelly, and Tari all choose the La Tour de France en Blanc.  Duane had to be different and go with the La Tour de France en Rouge tasting.

The wine bar was a great way to spend a warm afternoon in Paris, the chairs were very comfy and it was air conditioned!

We quickly realized that the pour sizes were not what we usually had in the States.  These pours were more like full size glasses and there were 6 of them!

 

After a long day of shopping and walking, we made our way back to the hotel and found a simple dinner on the corner of Rue Cler.  

Dinner!

Dinner at Cafe Roussillon consisted of a similar appetizers from the previous days of escargots.

Duane had a cheeseburger with Rutherford cheese.  Jamie did a pork chop, Tari went with a traditional onion soup and Kelly did Beef Burgundy.

The food was all okay.  We all agreed that it was fine for as close to the hotel it was, but Cafe Roussillon is definitely not on the “go back list”.

By the time dinner was completed, Jamie was half asleep at the table.  He went back to the room when dinner ended, but Duane, Tari, and Kelly strolled down Rue Cler and stopped for gelato. 

Go to 5/30/17