We had to wait outside in the rain for about thirty minutes before we could get a table, but we wanted a nice meal so we took a chance. When we got a table, we each ordered a glass of red wine (it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?), and then we took a closer look at the menu. Jeremy was set on ordering the beouf bourguinon, which is a French beef stew. We noticed they had escargot, which also seemed very French, so we decided to get both and split them since neither of us wanted a half dozen snails for lunch. They brought us some crispy garlic toast with a creamy chive sauce to try while we waited. The atmosphere seemed very Parisian as we were seated under a canopy on the sidewalk with traffic and people going by. It was, of course, still rainy, but we were dry and warm.
Our entrees were brought out along with a fresh baguette, and it looked delicious. I had never tried escargot before, but it was delicious and incredibly rich. The snails have a texture like mussels or clams, but they took on the flavor of the butter, olive oil, and herb sauce that they were floating in.
The beouf bourguinon was fantastic as well. The chunks of beef were tender, and the thin yet rich gravy was perfect with the potatoes and bacon in the stew. The bread was perfect for sopping up all the delicious beef gravy and escargot sauce.
Since it was raining harder at this point than when we had sat down, we decided to splurge on some dessert. Jeremy has been wanting to try rum cake since he read that it was popular here, so he ordered that. To our surprise, they brought a whole bottle of rum to the table just in case the cake didn't have enough. The waitress told him to try the cake before adding more, and when she caught him adding more later, she giggled. The cake was soaked with plenty, but when you're given a bottle rum, you have to put it to good use right?
We both got some espresso with our desserts, but I couldn't decide what to eat. I chose a chocolate dessert and didn't know exactly what I would get. It was any chocolate lover's dream! A wide, shallow bowl was brought out with two cream puffs. Inside each puff was the most delicious vanilla ice cream I have ever tasted. All of this was swimming in a large chocolate puddle. It was delicious and the perfect end to such an amazing meal.
We had planned on going to the Notre Dame after lunch, but we didn't realize that we had sat at the restaurant for over three hours!! We were too late to get in to the church, so we decided to head to the Pompidou instead. On the way, we stopped at Saint Chapelle, which is another church in the area. When we walked in, we were surprised that the ceilings were so low since the church had seemed so tall from the outside. We walked around the main floor and realized that we had been fooled. There was a staircase that lead to the upstairs where the real church was. It had incredible stained glass, high ceilings, and chandeliers. King Louis IX built it to house a relic that he had bought. The relic is supposedly the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ and they cost more than the church they were displayed in.
We walked back into the rain and headed toward the Pompidou, which is the modern art museum. We saw artwork by famous artists like Andy Warhol, Picasso, Dali, but we both thought that most of it was garbage. Neither of us are impressed by most modern art, and I just didn't get how a rectangular piece of navy blue tag board is art. We made our way through the museum, split a lemon crepe for a light supper, and trudged through the rain back to our apartment.
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