Day 4 Our Neighborhood and Montmartre

Today was a day to enjoy and explore our neighborhood. We started the day going to the Jewish bakeries in the Marais and getting some yummy snacks and a nice breakfast of our usual croissants and coffee. Although this morning I had a fantastic Kouign Amman with it. Best one I’ve had in France!  After that we paired up and went exploring/shopping. It really is a cool neighborhood!  After that we all got back together and went to the Picasso museum around the corner from our apartments. It’s a great museum. Not too big but full of great stuff. Picasso wasn’t the nicest guy and a lot of his work may not be my taste, but seeing so much of his art makes you realize and understand why we all know his name. He was supremely talented!  I think we all walked out with a greater appreciation for the man as an artist. Next we went for lunch. Many of us went to get falafel at THE place for falafel in The Marais. I decided to go to a kosher deli and get a pastrami sandwich. I think we were all very happy with our choice. I know I was!  Then, for “dessert” Emily, LuAnn and I went to The Dessert Shop by Jacques Genin, the king of chocolate in France right now. It was recommended by a customer and we HAD to try it. Part because of his reputation, and part because we make a few of his recipes and wanted to see if our version even comes close!  What an amazing place!  It looked like a perfume store with only 8 tables for you to sit at. We waited a while but finally got one. While we were waiting we had one of the greatest thrills we could hope for!  Jacques Genin himself walked in!!!  He walked right by us and he and Emily locked eyes and she kinda freaked out because she KNEW it had to be him just by the way he walked around the place. He was going up the stairs to the kitchen where all the magic happens and he stopped on the stairs to pose and smile for a picture for Emily. You can see he is looking right at her. Nobody else in the place seemed to even know who he was. But we did!!  What a moment!!  We were giddy after that!  We sat down and ordered his hot chocolate, a lemon tart and a sampler plate of chocolates and another one of caramels. I had to go with my waiter to pick out the ones we wanted. First of all, we severely over-ordered!!  We didn’t feel great after we left! LOL. But WOW was everything amazing!  We have never had chocolate or caramel like that before. I may say it was the best!  The flavor was SO pronounced in the flavored chocolates and caramels. There was no doubt what flavor it was after biting it. They weren’t subtle at all!  And the hot chocolate was smooth, rich, Creamy decadence like you just can’t imagine!  I hope the video does it justice!  After that whole eating frenzy it was time to got to Montmartre!  We made it up in time to walk through Sacre Cour before our dinner reservation which is one of the best churches a tourist will ever go to. Because it’s May have a lot of tourists in it, but it’s not touristy. It’s a real working church, with mass happening all the time. It just has a different feel to it because of that. They say no pictures inside, and I listen!!!  After that we went to a restaurant we went to last year also and just thought was fabulous!  In English it’s called The Letter Box and it’s a tiny little place that is filled with locals enjoying great French food in a beautiful atmosphere!  We had a great meal as you’ll see by the pictures, but the real highlight was the dessert. Yes, I know it sounds like a lot of food and a ton of sugar and I won’t lie, it was!! LOL But I’ll also tell you, I think I speak for the whole group when I say, WORTH EVERY BITE!  The Pain Perdu or as we call it French Toast, even though it’s nothing like what we eat in America, was one of the best things I’ve eaten this whole trip!!  So, today was a day for food! Tomorrow will be a day for sightseeing!  HARDCORE!  We are going to Versailles!!!  We have a guided tour and then a walk through the gardens to see the fountains. It’s gonna be intense and crazy. We gotta get up really early and walk a ton!  But we all can’t wait. Stay tuned for a lot of great pictures tomorrow!! And enjoy today’s!  We love you and we sure love being in France and showing others why this is such a fantastic place to visit and how lucky we are to make this food for a living!!!