New York Epoch Times Staff take a break from Manhattan to savor the City of Lights. Follow their column as they report back on their journey.
Today we started our day with our second attempt to eat at Fuxia (fresh Italian cuisine) and enjoyed a tasty lunch of meat lasagna and rigatoni with eggplant, mozzarella, and tomatoes. The café crème (coffee with steamed milk) is divine here—possibly the best café au lait I’ve ever had in my life.
On the way to Fuxia, we walked by Paris’ flower and pet store district, which is very much like Manhattan’s flower district. Who knew that one could buy a lavender plant and a Jack Russell puppy along the Seine?
After lunch, we walked on Rue de Rivoli, past the Louvre, to Rue St. Honore, past Place Vendome, where some of the world’s most distinguished names in fashion sell their wares. We went into the Chanel store on Rue Cambon, where the original Chanel apartments were located. It appears that buying a Chanel handbag in Paris is a lot less expensive than purchasing one in the United States (for all those shoppers out there!).
On our way back to our hotel, we walked by the Louvre and then took a stroll through the artsy St. Germain-des-Pres district, which is chock-full of art galleries and antique furniture stores. This is where the young, good-looking Parisian hipsters hang out, casually sipping their wine and smoking their cigarettes without a care in the world. Oh how I would have loved to grow up in Paris! C’est la vie!
We also visited a local Monoprix, which is akin to a Wal-Mart superstore, complete with fresh groceries, an impressive cosmetics assortment, clothes, and an unhealthy selection of deliciously decadent junk food.
All this walking around was making us hungry, so we strolled across the Pont Neuf bridge and dropped in Au Chien Qui Fume (The Smoking Dog), a quaint, cozy and classic Parisian brasserie. We were delighted with the French onion soup, crayfish ravioli, baked salmon, and duck breast with caramelized peach sauce. The paintings decorating the restaurant were all of dogs, humanized, which added to the jovial mood of our dinner, accentuating the fantastic food.
On our way back from dinner, we were stopped by two tourists who asked us in French for directions to the St. Michel train station. It was flattering that someone would mistake us for local Parisians! I am definitely tempted to stay here for good.
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