Day 6 - Paris

Paris Day 6 - Monday  In Paris

After we Blogged yesterday we were able to Face Time with our family.  All of them are together at Eric and Kara's home for the weekend so we could see everyone including the three grandchildren.  This technology is terrific. 

Last evening we dined at a restaurant called Shang Palace, which specialized in Chinese/Asian cuisine.  The cuisine is Cantonese.  

The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and has two distinct sections keeping the noise level down.  We had reservations for 7:00 PM when the restaurant opened and we were offered a choice of several different tables.  Our table was a table for four with two place settings set.  Each table has a small wooden table to its side whose height is just below chair level for accessories such as a woman's purse.  

One could order a la carte from an extensive menu or select from a choice of two different tasting menus.  We went with one of the tasting menus called Menu Jade which gave us a tasting of eight different items.  Each item had a unique presentation and was extremely tasty and we were very pleased with the entire menu.  We didn't take a photo of each and every item but did photograph several of them.

The service was truly amazing as was the decor of the venue.  Between three of the course warm towels were brought out.  In addition a towel was brought out when the hot soup was served as the waiter said sometimes the soup is so hot people begin to sweat.  When we say hot we mean the temperature of the soup.  It was not spicy but it was very tasty.

We were asked if we prefer chop sticks or fork and knife and Keith went with the chop sticks and Anne Marie went with the fork and knife.  

While waiting for the first course a plate of small cherry tomatoes was placed on the table for us to enjoy.  The tomatoes were very sweet and not bitter.  

Our meal included:

Sashimi Salmon with vegetables.  

Crab Meat Soup with Sweet Corn Cantonese Style.  (The soup was very tasty)

Barbecue Iberian Pork with Honey

Sautéed Prawns with three kinds of pepper, ginger and spring onions.

Wok carol beef with seasonal vegetables and golden garlic.  (Beef was tender and very tasty)

Seasonal Vegetables

Fried Rice with Roasted Duck and Shrimps, abalone sauce (probably the most moist and tasty rice we have eaten)

Rice Balls with seasonal fruits (including dragon fruit) and whipped cream.

We enjoyed the meal with some wine (just by the glass) and sparkling water.

As was the case the night before the by 8:30 PM the restaurant began to fill up.  We dined for closed to two and one half hours.  The pace was excellent.  Many members of the wait staff were involved with the meal and continually checked on us.  The manager and assistant manager frequently came by the table.  

The good news is following our meal we had a very short walk back to our room.  

After all the walking we did it was easy to fall asleep.  The room is very quiet and we don't hear any noise from the hallway or outside.  In fact, thus far we have yet to see any other guests on our hallway.   

We ate breakfast outside as we prepared for another wonderful day in Paris.  The temperature was 50 degrees and delightful.  

We stayed with the cereal with fruit.  The milk comes warm.  Each day we share a pastry and today we tried one with apricots which was delicious.
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These are two different perspectives of the Eiffel Tower.  One looks like the real thing and the other one a miniature tower but they both are the real thing.  

Today's plan includes lots of walking as the weather forecast calls for a high of 75 degrees fahrenheit with no rain.  Tomorrow is a different story with a high chance of rain throughout the day which will likely limit what we do.

We began our walk early in the morning and enjoyed the scenery of the Seine as we made our way to the Louvre.  There is much to see along the way including monuments, lots of river vessels, and even people walking like we were and those jogging.  

We entered the Louvre a few minutes after it opened and spent a few hours there taking in lots of art work.  There is lots to see.  We did see the Mona Lisa but there is so much more to see including works from the Roman and Greek Antiquities, Ancient Egyptian Antiquities, French and other European Sculptures and Paintings from Italy, Spain and France.   

Many people rush right over to see the  Mona Lisa.  We took our time and did not rush over there.  Our approach was analogous to first smell the roses and not rush all around the museum.  The reality is you could spend weeks at the museum taking in all of the details such as the feet that you will see in one of the photos of a sculpture.  It tells a story.

We proceeded to the area that we had lunch at yesterday.  Original plan was to have lunch and then a pastry but we decided to pass on the Pastry.  While having lunch we heard musicians playing close-by and when we finished lunch we saw them performing.  By then lots of people were out and about and we walked the area for awhile.

Our next stop took us to the beginning of Jardin du Tuileries.  We had visited a portion of it the other day but this time we walked it all.  There were lots of people at the park.

We proceeded to the Arc de Triomphe via Avenue Des Champs Elysees.  We couldn't get over how crowded it was with tourists.  Many were sitting outside eating while others were strolling the area many with shopping bags in their hands.

From there we walked to a couple of other areas and them made our way to a local market before returning back to the hotel.  We logged close to 15 miles and had a terrific time.  

Alrighty we got caught up in the moment and took another selfie but we did it on the side of where the Mona Lisa is hung.  
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TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....

It has been close to twenty-five years since Keith first visited Paris on business and almost fourteen years since we visited with our family.  Much is unchanged including the presence of mainly local restaurants with only a sprinkling of world-wide restaurants chains, the beautiful architecture and the historic buildings and landmarks and the characteristics that make this a top tourist destination.

Our observation is that English is spoken by more people and many are quite fluent in the language.  A few people apologized to us for their limited english yet we could easily understand them and they could easily understand us.  

We hope Paris continues to keep its identity.  It is truly a special city.

Keith & Anne Marie