10/26/2014
Finally, a day we get to wake up late. Yay!!! Because our Paris vacation rental wasn't available until 2pm, we had a morning to kill at our Charles de Gaulle hotel. We stayed a night here, originally to be "of aid" to our parents, as they left this morning back for the US. But as it turned out from last night's fiasco, I'm soooo glad we stayed a night here. Imagine all that nightmarish frustration and then having to travel via shuttle to CDG, then transfer to the RER to get into Paris. We'd have arrived in Paris at 1-2am. *shudder*
We woke up at 9:30am (would've been later, but their breakfast closes at 11am and we didn't want to miss that). The hotel charges 15 euro/person for breakfast, 7 euro/child. Crickey, that's expensive! Mom and Dad had free breakfast included in their travel package, but since breakfast starts at 6am and they had to be at the airport by 6am, the receptionist was kind enough to transfer their breakfast to us.
When we arrived downstairs, I was so excited by this sandwich, as it reminded me of Lufthansa's feta cheese and chicken sandwich:
Alas, it wasn't feta and it wasn't chicken. It was...bland.
The selection was basic, especially given the price! But we managed to cobble together a croissant with all their cheese and meats, and this is the sandwich Angel came up with:
Now that was delicious!
Here's the breakfast buffet:
 |
| Slim pickings |
I tried the caramel rice pudding that came in a cute little glass jar. I see this sold a lot in French supermarkets, so when in Rome, that kinda thing:
The rice was very finely chopped up into tiny granules. I would've preferred it creamy in this case, or have whole kernels of rice. :T It tasted like Chinese egg pudding that they sell in 7-11.
Angel would like to add that Jen has never tried the egg pudding from 7-11.
I tried the hot chocolate, which was too watery for my taste. So, I upped and went to get myself a macchiato, then I went all Starbucks and mixed the hot chocolate with the macchiato.
Let's just say I wouldn't make a very good barista.
The hotel shuttle to the airport arrived 7 minutes after we checked out of the hotel, which is a complete yay! after last night (35 minutes of waiting?! are you kidding me!). We bought our RER B tickets at the ticket machine and went down the escalators to catch the RER into Paris. Lo and behold, right after stepping on the escalator, the train arrives! So we caught that one--wow, we're on a roll!
...then we arrived in Paris. There was a market going on Rue Montmartre and we were intrigued. But, lugging several heavy suitcases, we thought we'd check into the vacation rental first. Finding the apartment was super easy--it's right off Rue Montorgueil, the foodie street. I'm so gonna be at Collet's every day! (it was closed today, as it's Sunday and freakin half the shops are closed...including Monoprix >.<)
We stood in front of the building with our luggage, waiting for the owner to arrive. A woman stopped to ask if we needed help, which was super lovely of her. As I thought the owner was due to arrive soon, I thanked her and said no.
A very "yo-chi" (classy) elderly lady entered the building and we smiled at each other in greeting. I had the security code into the building, so we kept staying outside, patiently waiting for the owner to arrive.
Well, we ended up waiting an hour for the vacation rental owner to show up. Granted, we showed up 15 minutes early, but still...
He was still a no show! We punched in the security code, lugged our luggage into the courtyard, thinking he might be waiting for us there. Nope. The elderly lady that smiled at me earlier opened her window from the 3rd floor and called down to us, asking if we needed help. I explained our situation and she pointed to the staircase (there were 3 different staircases in the courtyard) to her apartment, and told me she'd meet me in the corridor there. So I hike up the corridors and explain the situation. She didn't know who the owner was, but she had an inkling it might be the apartment across from hers, as she sees different people going into it all the time.
She offered to call the owner, and when the owner didn't pick up, she said very righteously that it was very rude of him, not to pick up. I'm already loving this lady! When someone finally shows up to let us into the apartment (not the owner, some representative), the lady gave him a dressing down about how these two jeune filles (young women) had been waiting for a long time and that it was not cool of him to keep us waiting. Did I mention I love her? As she waved us goodbye, she said if we need any help during our stay, that we'd know where to find her.
We're definitely going wine shopping tomorrow to get a gift for her (as there aren't many supermarkets open today--Sunday gaaaaahh).
After settling in, Angel was very anxious to go out and about. Pierre Herme was the first--and really, the only--stop on her list. She's been dreaming about his macarons for 2 years, and she's been keeping up a very excited one-sided conversation about what flavors she'll be buying at his shop. I tend to tune out...
As we were walking to his shop on Avenue de l'Opera, *gasp* What do we see? La Mere Poulard! Of the 30 euro omelette fame in Mont St. Michel! Dude, can they milk every living cent out of her name! This boutique sells everything, from soup to jam to caramels, all under the name La Mere Poulard.
And 5 minutes later, Pierre Herme. Happy now, Angel? Geesh.
I joked that she could buy whatever she wanted, but when it comes to checkout time, I wouldn't be ponying up the credit card. Angel got very stressed over this, poor baby. Muahaha She kept reminding me that Mom told us, before she left, that "You're on vacation, so have fun and buy anything you want."
Anything but Pierre Herme macarons, that is.
The line was obnoxiously long and the lady behind me had no concept of personal space. Finally, it's our turn. We remembered from last time that the price of a box is the same as if you buy it in a bag, so obviously, we went for the box (sturdier and all that). We got a very nasty surprise at checkout. Apparently, the price of a box + the lovely bag you see below is now 3.30 euro extra. Really?! I can punch a few holes out of a paper bag too!
But baby's happy, so I guess that makes up for all the hoity-toity nonsense of PH. There was two Taiwanese women ahead of us in line, and they bought 148 euros worth! 108 euros of macarons + 40 euros of caramels, to be precise. Well, I guess they can afford it...one of them was wearing Gucci loafers and had a big Gucci purse.
As we walked toward the Champs Elysees, I saw this in a boutique:
 |
| OMG. I want! |
We walked in a garden going toward Champs Elysees so that Angel could get a shot of her Pierre Herme Jardin macarons with le jardin:
Get it?
Laduree's line on Champs Elysees was waaaay longer than Pierre Herme's. But baby's all smug cuz she got the macarons she wanted:
...and I don't eat Laduree -- Angel's contribution
 |
| Macarons and Arc de Triomphe. Quintessial French, ne c'est-pas? |
We wanted to go in the Disney store in Champs Elysees to scout out how to buy Disneyland Paris tickets for the next time we visit France. I had read online that the tickets sold in this store would be cheaper than buying at the gate. We weren't prepared for how crammed the store would be--you literally have to wade into the muck. There's so much Frozen merchandise, and it seems everyone's fighting for something. It's really a battle going in there. Wade in at your own risk. There's even a security guard who cuts off people from going in if there's already too many people in there.
So screw that. Seriously, the first time we came to Paris (must've been because it was April and low, loooow tourist season), the Champs Elysees was pleasantly empty. The Disney store had a couple people in it, not like this frenzy we're seeing now. Even walking on the Champs Elysees was hard--soooo many people everywhere.
Oh, and there's a Citroen store. My car! Well, rental...
There were too many people, so we decided to turn around and go back to the apartment. It was nearing 6pm and time for dinner.
 |
| Jen at "What's this place called?" "Duh Place de la Concorde" |
I noticed a lot of people facing the direction opposite us and taking pictures. Curious, I turn around, and see the Eiffel Tower at dusk. It's a gorgeous view, so I stop to snap some photos as well. As I'm snapping them, dancing lights come on:
And as quick as the show came on, it turned off. I think it started at 6pm and lasted for maybe 5 minutes. I couldn't tear my eyes away.
We stopped by a Franprix (the only grocery chain open today, apparently) and saw La Mere Poulard again, hawking different items this time...in the refrigerated aisle. It's really like Chef Gusteau's from Ratatouille.
We bought our dinner at Franprix, which consisted of lentils and sausages, and haricot verts:
 |
| Look, Mom! We're eating veggies! |
And then baby started in on her macarons. She'd wanted to eat one when we were walking, so I told her she should. But she didn't want to, because the "atmosphere" wasn't right.
So now we're comfy in our apartment and the atmosphere is just right. ^.^
 |
| White Truffle macaron |
 |
| Which one? Which one? So many to choose from! |
 |
| Pistachio macaron |
 |
| Rose and Coing macaron |
Jen asked "what kind of moron chose these colors for a pumpkin/corn macaron?" "Duh, corn is yellow and pumpkin is orange...."
In my defense, yellow and orange only go together in fall leaves coloring. Anything else is color blind...like football jerseys. --Jen
 |
| Corn and Pumpkin macaron |
 |
| Olive Oil and Vanilla macaron |
 |
| Jasmine macaron |
Angel: Overall the pistachio macarons were lovely but Jen can probably (and will) make them better in December. She said as much.
Jen: Say what?
Angel: All the macarons were delicious, but the jasmine and rose/coing macarons were exceptionally tasty. The white truffle macaron wasn't as truffle-y as it was last time, although the clerk made a point this time of telling us that it had to be put in a separate bag since the flavor of truffles was so strong. Err....
The pumpkin/corn macaron tasted mostly like corn, and the pumpkin flavor was more of a squash flavor.
There seemed to be less luster dust on the macarons this time. Perhaps we'll have better luck at the Bonaparte boutique.
Jen: Another Pierre Herme? You're banned.
Angel: I'm not banned. Not banned. I got itchies now, you better take it back.
...and all Angel's posting after this:
Crayfish and the oyster girl only wanted raisin croissants.
She was also distraught at the praline fondant noir bar that now has a partition down the middle. Not sure why it matters when she eats them in 1000 tiny bites, but she was so put off, she only had half a bar. Here's the photo of the new packaging, so it can be compared with the old one.
Overall we were sticker shocked at the price of Cote D'Or and Lindt chocolate bars in Paris. They were roughly 1.9 - 2.66 euro at E Leclerc or Carrefour out in the boonies, but here in Paris they have been literally marked up 1 full euro per bar. Sheesh. If we'd known we would've bought more. Guess Mom/Dad got away with one there. Hmph.
Should the title be "Oyster and crayfish" have landed?
ReplyDelete