Summary
Ughhhh… woke to dark gray skies and rain, forecasted to last all day (accurate as it turned out). Skipped breakfast in support of being really hungry at lunch. It worked and we enjoyed a big meal at one of Paris’ Bouillon restaurants where mostly classic French dishes are served. During a break in the downpour we were able to get a walk in but headed back to our room when the rain restarted. We weren’t terribly hungry around dinnertime but onion soup gratinée sounded really good so we picked a place and walked there in a light drizzle. By the time we got a table and ate it was pouring again so we puddle-jumped our way home, hoping our clothes would be dry by tomorrow!
Details
Alert the press, we’re not having breakfast today! We have a lunch reservation at 11:30 at Bouillon Pigalle and that’s always a lot of food, so we’re being smart. We awake to solid clouds and rain. By the time we’re headed out, a good while later, it’s sunny with blue skies. Based on the meteorological prognosticators, today’s weather is not to be trusted.
We don’t have many plans for the day, mostly just centered around eating, and that can be indoors, so maybe it’s OK that it’ll be rainy. Our first big meal/event is up in the Pigalle area, at the foot of Montmartre (where the big white Sacré Cœur Basilica is). It’s too far to walk on a day such as today so we metro over.
As we get on the train, a middle aged lady looks at me an immediately gets up and offers me her seat. I guess I must look ancient, like I may keel over at any moment. I don’t like that, but I do take the seat (and one for Karen).
The Pigalle area has deep subway stations so we take the escalators up. One leads to the next leads to the next. In daylight again we’re right across the busy street from our lunch spot: Bouillon Pigalle.
The restaurant takes up pretty much the entire short block and has a long string of cordons to control the crowds that eventually show up to eat. They have lots of room inside, downstairs and up, and so the line usually moves quickly. For now there’s only one family in the cordoned line (which is for people without reservations) so we stand at the door, in front of them. It’s 11:25 and our reservation (and the restaurant opening) is still five minutes away.
At 11:30 sharp the door opens and we’re ushered in. Do we have a reservation? For what time? What’s the name? I have my phone out with the reply from the restaurant confirming our reservation. Our young hostess checks that everything’s in order and leads us to our table. As she does the same to the next patrons (and the next and the next) she seats us all in a line, elbows almost touching. This is the way.
When the waiter shows up, he’s ready to be efficient. We order our water and wine and suggest we’re not quite ready to order our food. Nope, not acceptable. Not efficient enough. We order our food and pause for a minute to figure out what dessert we’ll want. Nope, not acceptable, this is enough ordering for now. On to the next table. He’s not being rude, just efficient. They have a system. He has enough to go on, for now.
Quickly our water, wine (2/3rds of a bottle of Côte du Rhone), and two starters arrive. We’re enjoying Oeuf Parfait and Bloc de Foie Gras. The egg is a one poached egg floating in melted cheese, very much like fondue. Assuming you are OK with eggs (not all are) it is divine. One might say “perfect” (parfait).
For our main dishes (our plats) we enjoy Bœuf bourguignon and Squash gratin. Everything is very tasty and as it should be for inexpensive, traditional French fare.
After coffee and Mousse Au Chocolat (when in Rome, and all that) we pay (via a QR code on our phone at our table, no waiter involvement). On the street it’s cloudy but not rainy so we take a long walk to settle the big meal. We’re in the Sex Clubs part of Paris so there’s plenty to see.
The rainy afternoon is spent in our hotel room, sitting on the bed (there’s really no where else to sit). We curse the rain, surf the web and find a likely looking place for dinner: La Jacobine. We’re not able to make a reservation so we head over there early (by French standards) and get our name on the waiting list. On the way Karen suspects we’ve been there before and she is right.
The restaurant is on a narrow, historic pedestrian passageway. It’s lined mostly with restaurants including Procope, famous for being where the rebels planned out the French Revolution. The name of that political group? The Jacobine (which is the name of where we’re eating).
Where our restaurant is there is a glass roof over the passageway, so we sit and await our turn on the waiting list. The tiny restaurant is fairly famous and so there are people constantly arriving and asking if they have a table. The answer is always the same: maybe at nine, check back.
After an hour or so we’re seated and quickly order our water, wine, and single course dinner. The waiter (the only one in the restaurant) is happy with our efficiency at ordering and that we’ll likely be gone in time to again turn our table. Around us we can see other diners having a cocktail, then wine, a starter, a main course and then a dessert. How do they do it. The portions are big.
Karen just has French Onion soup gratinée and I have Salmon en Papillote (salmon in parchment), though this salmon decided to be in heavy aluminum foil. That actually was good as my fish was absolutely swimming in a deep pool of delicious sauce.
We skipped dessert and soon are walking back home. The metro would have saved us a bit of time but we walk to settle dinner. By now the spitting rain has switched to a torrential downpour.
We have raincoats and umbrellas but our shoes and pants are getting drenched. We see other poor souls with no umbrella or raincoat. We pass a food delivery person on a bicycle, we see people bundled up against the cold (in a big puffy jacket) but it does little for the rain, we see a homeless woman hunkering down in a doorway. The word that comes to mind is Les Miserables.
In our room we hang our soggy stuff in the shower and around the bathroom. Hopefully it’ll be dry by morning. Online we read that Paris has had 3/4” of rain in the past 24 hours and we believe it. Hopefully tomorrow in Annecy will be less rainy. Bad weather, bad!
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