A weekend in Paris

A few weeks back, I spent a much needed girlie weekend in Paris with A and C. Our plan was to relax and take a break from our hectic lives, enjoy the simple pleasures of food and wine, and get inspired by the stylish and classy beauty of the French capital.

On Friday afternoon, after work, I joined A in the check in lounge of Terminal 4, and we walked together to the security checks. Here we had the pleasure to meet the Alexander McQueen of Heathrow Fashion Security, with whom I ended up having a very Carrie Bradshaw’s moment.

He was convinced that my jumper wasn’t part of my outfit. Yes, you read it right! I was obviously arguing otherwise, trying to explain the difference between a coat and a jumper, rather unsuccessfully, because he felt entitled to ask me to take it off in the middle of the security area, when I was wearing a very see through white t-shirt.

After this shameful experience, I mumbled something like that they should be trained in fashion common sense as well as in security measures, and as a result of that, he also decided to inspect my hand luggage. Maybe I should just learn to bite my tongue from time to time. McQueen removed every single item from my trolley in front of 5 other passengers, furious for the delay, who are now fully briefed on the colour, the brand, and the style of all my underwear. Privacy breach anyone?

25 minutes later, we finally made it to the departure lounge, and had to rush to our gate to board our Air France flight to Paris Charles De Gaulle. After a very soft landing – is it just me to think that Easyjet and Ryanair are the worst at landing? They come down so fast that they almost bounce on the runaway.. – we headed to the apartment that was our home for the weekend.

We spent the following morning walking around the city, without a specific destination, just following our instincts. In the afternoon we did a bit of shopping, and ended up having a chilled glass of pink champagne in the Champagne bar of the Galeries Lafayette, comfortably seated at the balcony, overlooking the department store, in full Christmas swing. Feeling a bit tired, we then headed back to our apartment to take a shower and get ready for the night.

Café des Musées, the restaurant I had booked for dinner, was in the North Marais, a quirky area with plenty of bars, restaurants, small hotels, boutiques, trendy shops, hip designers, wine and bread shops, art studios, galleries and museums.

We reached the restaurant by taxi, and once in, we were swiftly showed to our table, unfortunately in the lower level, not my preference, since the atmosphere of the bistro upstairs is so much more lively and vibrant.

Our waiter spoke perfect English, and was really helpful and full of really good suggestions for our dinner.

We ordered two starters to share, paired by Champagne (yes.. again!): a velvety and creamy watercress soup with a splash of creme fraiche, and my favourite, the delicious foie gras mi-cuit accompanied by an onion chutney. Deliciously balanced flavours, possibly the best foie gras I have ever tasted.

For our mains, our waiter suggested a bottle of red Côtes d‘Auvergne.

I ordered the hand-cut beef tartare, served with deliciously crispy french fries. When in Paris… The meat was so tender, and juicy.

A’s main was the loin of Bigorre black pig with a rich potato dauphinoise, which I forgot to taste (shame on me!). C’s main was a delicious special of the day, the roasted pheasant (sorry I can’t find the photo).

For dessert, we only ordered two, because we were feeling a little full: the crème caramel financier with almond sponge cake, and my favourite, the chocolate terrine with two sauces, a caramel and a custard one. Truly delicious, perhaps a little rich.

If you are in Paris, and looking for good food, at a good price, in a really lovely location, I strongly recommend you pay a visit to the Café des Musées.

Café des Musées
49, rue de Turenne
75003 Paris
+33 1 42 72 96 17

Dinner for 3 including drinks: €130.