for the love of food

Top 10 from Paris & Provence

3 days in paris with emmett & our friends rick & kim. what a treat ! it’s my first visit to paris so i am excited to see the city and practice my french. we drop our luggage at hotel therese ( **recommended ) and hit the road running…..to lunch ….and our first of many many bottles of rose wine.

1. dinner our first night at l’aoc offered classic bistro favorites - foie gras - lyonnaise salad- bone marrow - somehow all tastes better here.  a good intro into our next weeks consumption of french food.

2. un dimanche a paris.  this fairly new restaurant was getting rave reviews. we liked the contemporary notion of pairing chocolate with savory. excellent choice ! we recognized owner pierre cluizel as he entered the restaurant and flagged him to our table to give kudos. the son of a well regarded chocolatiere - he left the family biz to open this dream restaurant ( and adjoining lounge /salon/bar - exhibition kitchen and fine chocolate boutique)- which he proceeded to tell us about. the restaurant was built around this two story tower from the 1200’s - we looked down at our table in the meals aftermath.

3. musee de l’orangerie. monet’s famous water lily ( and willow tree) paintings (8) are showcased  360 degrees in four panels each - in two oval rooms. these paintings are his final 12 years work which he painted for this space. ( you are silenced upon entering these rooms)  it is magical !

downstairs houses the impressionist / post impressionist collection of paul guillaume.  cezanne…renoir…rousseau…soutine….matisse….modigliani…picasso….some of my longtime favorite artists. this museum is such a treat.  rodin’s  ‘kiss’ sculpture stands barely noticeable at the entrance of this museum.

4. sights of the city. ( no i did not climb the tower). the louvre at night was spectacular - a stroll thru tuileries gardens. so much to see - so little time.

5. racines wine bar. (no website ) this restaurant was on our ‘list’ - then confirmed ‘a must ’ by our friend greg - who we were meeting for dinner. ( i love it when friends from the states can meet up in another country for dinner ) ! this place is well known for it’s organic-only french wine list ( or wine wall i should say - as you peruse it with the wine guru to choose your bottles). the food is local organic also. white asparagus was everywhere as it was in season. this dish of cod with leek & spinach i barely shared because it was so delicious. the vegetables were insanely flavorful. the kitchen crew of two worked just above us in this tiny restaurant. we gave kudos to them & our server & wine guru !

6.  eygalieres. we bid adieu to paris and took the TGV to avignon in southern france -where we rented a car. our friend rented this property in the lovely village of eygalieres and invited 10 ( grateful ! ) friends to join him. merci brian !

door & windowscapes in town.

location location location ! this village was a 5 minute walk from our house. butchershop - produce shop - cheese & charcuterie - a handful of great restaurants & bars - wine shops -a patisserie & boulangerie. they knew our group well by day 2 ! market day on friday - though we followed it around to neighboring villages. we day-tripped to avignon - st. remy - les baux  &  aix. the lavender was not in bloom but the landscape was full of olive & vineyards - wild purple iris & red poppy - rosemary & bay - fig trees & fields of artichokes.

some of our best meals were cooked ( and drunk ) ! at home.

9. town of cassis. a drive to the coast for bouillabaisse. we opted for this small town vs the big city of marseille. there is a ‘marseille bouillabaisse chapter’ detailing the traditional bouillabaisse recipe including how to make the soup base - the correct number (7) & specific types of fish and of course the crouton & rouille    (which i could slather on just about everything). also delish was this mackerel over ratatouille & rocket.

9.  roussillon. this cliff town is one of the picturesque villages in the luberon. it boasts 17 shades of orange - pink - red & yellow from the ochre quarry nearby.

10. arles. here are 2 of the 9 locations on the van gogh walk - another of my favorites !  we headed out on this tour - but got side tracked with shopping ( go kim ! ) and of course lunch. here he painted ‘cafe at night’ and here is the hospital he stayed at and also painted. (it was in arles that gauguin visited him for 2 months only to leave quickly after vincent went crazy and cut off his ear.)

11. ok !  one extra !  i  had to picture a few of my favorite desserts. i have never eaten so many desserts - but hey - it’s france !    merci et au revoir !