Bones, Caviar, and Duck...

June 8^th –

I must have been really tired from the previous day, because I slept in until 11, which is highly unusual for me. I must be on vacation! Today we had two activities on our agenda. We successfully figured out the subway system, and went to our first location. We grabbed some lunch first, and I had a Croque Madame (an open faced sandwich with French cheese, ham, and an egg on top). I enjoyed it, although I need to get used to the French cheeses a bit.

Our first attraction was something that even Will and his dad have never done before. We went to the catacombs of Paris, which actually creeped me out more than I anticipated. Once we entered, we climbed down a lot of stairs, until finally we were about 75 feet below the ground, beneath the metro, the sewer, and the river. We walked down really long hallways, using our flashlights to guide us. Finally, we saw a sign:

This translates to “Stop! This is the empire of the dead”. What came next was  the part that sent shivers down my spine. Surrounding us in the corridors, stacked to the ceiling, were bones and skeletons of 400 year old French men.  Are you believing this? Well, it’s true, and I have the pictures to prove it! It was very eerie down there, and the hallways seemed endless. Finally, we ascended the stairs that led back to the world of the living after nearly an hour.

The second activity of the day was a lot less creepy, and was another new experience for me (I seem to be having a lot of those on this trip). We got dressed up in our finest attire, and took a taxi to one of the most elegant restaurants in the world – La Tour d’Argent. Will looked pretty spiffy in his suit and tie. We were greeted by about four different people, one to open the cab door, two to open the restaurant doors, and one to take us to the waiting room. I didn’t know it was a waiting room when I first got in there, though. It looked nice enough to be a restaurant, although it was a bit small. This is where I had my first taste of a white champagne. It was easier to drink than the red wine, but the taste was still strange to me. I wonder how long it will take before I finally get used to it?

Finally, it was time to take the elevator up to the restaurant (with another man whose sole job is to push buttons in the elevator). We were sat in front of a beautiful view of the river, and we could see Notre Dame off to the side. We started off with some “taste-teasers”, and ordered some 1988 (Will’s birth year) rose champagne. Again, it was still strange to drink for me. Will’s dad ordered the wine out of an enormous wine list, and got a 1989 (my birth year) red wine.

For appetizers, we had foie gras du canard (liver of duck) and Iranian caviar (fish eggs). The foie gras contained a couple truffles, which I learned are more expensive by weight than gold. I have had foie gras once before, but the caviar was a new taste for me. Surprisingly, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. The main course consisted of duck. Will and his dad had the house specialty with a spicy sauce, and I had duck in sweet cherry sauce. It was pretty tasty! Although I was really full by the time they brought out the leg of the duck. I managed to find room for some dessert, though, and I had a chocolate pastry with mint sorbet on top, Duo de Chocolat avec Sorbet du Menthe (Will helped me eat the mint part). We were the last people to leave the restaurant at 12:30 am. We wanted to tour their huge wine cellar, but unfortunately it was under construction.

It was definitely the fanciest restaurant I have ever been to in my life. It felt a little weird for me with all the service and high prices, but this is a luxury that Will’s dad enjoys every time he comes to Paris, and wanted to treat us to. I am really grateful to have had the opportunity, and it was definitely a night I will always remember.