I love Paris in the springtime: the amuse bouche

For those of you who have never used a "Pictobrowser," click the big photo to advance to the next photo. Or click the little photos below. To find out the title of the picture, hover your cursor over the corresponding thumbnail under the big picture.

Yes. The whispers and sightings are true. N and I sneaked off to Paris last week.

Our goal was to keep our trip low key and unplanned and spontaneous. Back in January when we realized the restaurant opening was going to be delayed even further (we're looking at autumn now, folks), we cashed in some frequent flyer miles for plane tickets, rented an apartment in the Marais (the first listing we saw, without any second guessing or further research), and that was it.

Sounds easy, no? For you, maybe. But not for little ole me. Let me give you a glimpse of last summer's OCD trip to Spain. I booked, confirmed, and reconfirmed every excruciating detail of our trip — from the hotels to the car rental to every single lunch and dinner — as far in advance as 10 months. Then I laid it all out on an Excel spreadsheet that listed addresses, phone numbers, and websites. I stopped just short of scheduling the piss stops.

Last week was the mirror opposite. We let our hearts guide us. Occasionally our stomachs took the lead. Our carefree attitude yielded equal and in many ways better results than those trips where we've spent countless hours researching and planning and fretting (OK, so I did break down at the last minute and send a frantic email to Rosa of Edible Paris to make half a dozen reservations for us. But we ended up canceling or changing most of them once we arrived. *Sigh* Old habits die hard).

We didn't go to one 3-star restaurant. Or even a museum. Or *gasp* a single chocolatier. The one tourist site we saw (repeatedly) was Notre Dame, but only because it was a 5-minute stroll from our apartment. Though, now that I think about it, we did find ourselves acting silly under the Tour Eiffel on our way to lunch one day.

Instead, N and I idled for hours at little chef-owned bistros and cafés, took long walks, did a little shopping, enjoyed each other's company and, on a couple of nights, the company of friends. I even foraged at the farmers' markets one morning and threw together a simple dinner.

I've learned my lesson. Pick a city or village, rent an apartment, and stay there. And if it can be avoided, no rental cars. I doubt we'll ever travel any other way again (although a teensy little phone call to L'Astrance or Le Comptoir back in January couldn't have hurt). I suppose I've truly entered middle age.

I'll save my angst-ridden planning and obsessive compulsive attention to detail for where it belongs: opening and running my restaurant.

Warning: As you may have noticed, I'm a self-diagnosed binge blogger. No posts for weeks, then *bam!* 4 posts in 4 days. It would be safe to expect several stories and photo collections from our trip over the next few days. Consider this an amuse bouche.

Food|and Drink|Paris

Comments

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

I admit that when I read David L's mention of your visit, I felt a tinge of self-pity - feeling bad that I didn't get to have my Paris trip in January - but I quickly got over it and started feeling happy for you two.

Paris in April - Hurray!

So glad you had a wonderful time. The pictures are great! Binge away...

[barbara]

I'm usually an obsessive planner too but on our last trip to Paris we did that and I quite enjoyed taking each day as it comes.

[Catherine]

I love the last shot...you have a glass of wine AND a chocolat chaud in front of you. Why choose if you don't hafta?

[georgiegirl]

Hi, Just found your blog a couple of days ago via David and C&Z blogs. Both mentioned seeing you while you were in Paris. I love reading food blogs and am looking for more of yours. Thanks.

[Elise]

I'm vert with envy! What a lovely time to be in Paris. Big hellos to David and to Clotilde if you see her too.
:-)

[Brett]

Jennifer, you'll get your Paris trip soon enough. I'm positive. Maybe this time you can bring along your pooch too. :-) Parisians love dogs.

Barbara, nice to hear from you! You can't go wrong in Paris, so maybe that's why we planner types are able to relax.

Catherine, yes, why choose? Although, to be honest, the rose was for Namita. I joined the grannies and opted for the chocolat chaud. How often am I gonna be in Paris?

Georgiegirl, welcome to IPOS. Check out my extensive archives to get a taste of my site.

Elise, I'm actually back in SF. But your name came up with both of those folks (you're quite popular in Paris it would appear) and they both send their hellos.

[i d]

I'd love to know where you stayed and what little bistros you visited as I'm going to be in Paris in May!

[kudzu]

You drank HORSE'S MILK?????

[Lisa D. Walker]

You guys sure know how to live! And you both look gorgeous!

[georgiegirl]

What I meant to say when I first commented was that sometimes the trip came out as good unplanned as a planned one. I am gald that you had a good time. Yes, I checked out your archives a little bit at a time. I will be in NYC in June and your post about missing the plane because of the pizza caught my eyes. BTW, being a Thai person (and a francophile), I want to tell you that the only authentic Thai restaurant is in Queens, Sri Praphai. If you have a chance, go there. It is not a white linen place though.

[Emilie]

The pictures are beautiful. I hope you had a wonderful time.

[shuna fish lydon]

I am so very happy for you & N! good for you for letting go. Go Whim! Go Raomance! yeah Paris!
glad to hear you're back to any blogging at all. your voice is necessary!

[Tea]

I love it! Amuse away--please. The photos are gorgeous, and I love hearing about your new, laid back approach to travel. It's nice when you get to the point where you don't need to "do" a city and can just settle in and enjoy being there, local style.

Can't wait for the next installment!

[David]

Kudzo: Not only did they both drink the horse milk, but I practically had to rip the glasses out of their hands. I mean...really. They tried to drink me out of house & home. The way they were chugging the stuff down, you'd think that that was the last glass of horse milk they'd ever get their hands on in their lives.

[Brett]

i d, the apartment we stayed in is booked for May, but a good resource for finding similar places is Kudeta Home. I'll post about bistros in a few days.

Kudzu, neigh, say it isn't so.

LDW, ah shucks.

georgiegirl, thanks for the dining tip. Queens is where it's at. I tend to end up in Jackson Heights whenever I venture into Queens, but I'm always on the look out for authentic Thai.

Emilie, thanks. We had a great time.

Shuna, yes! Whim good!

Tea, ideally, if money were not part of the equation, I'd like to be able to settle in for even longer. A week seemed too short.

David, we're still waiting for the shipment of horse milk that you promised us.

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