Living the Parisian Life

Living like a Parisian means several things, 

It means that everyday after work I stop at the Boulangerie and buy some bread.

It means that I'm learning to love macarons (especially ginger/chocolate flavored macarons from Pierre Herme). 

It means that almost on a daily basis I get caught in a rainstorm. 

It means that I eat the end off of my baguette before making it up the stairs to my apartment. 

It means that I get to see fresh flowers for sale on almost every corner of every street. 

It means that I get to live amongst other dreamers and artists, and I even get to see them in action. 

It means I get to take breaks in the Place des Vosges 

And the Luxembourg gardens. 

But the best part is that it also means that when someone stops me on the street and asks for directions I know what to tell them...*brushes shoulders off* what can I say I think I'm getting the hang of it. 

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Lunch at Merci

Lunch at Merci is basically a Paris must. In the Merci "compound" let's call it, there's 3 restaurants and various shopping spaces. My favorite of the 3 restaurants is the Used Book Cafe. Books line the walls floor to ceiling and huge window let in natural light. The menu is small and portions are just enough to satisfy, I got the soup du jour which happened to be a fabulous coconut milk, lentil and tomato creation. All in all a wonderful quiet corner for a simple lunch in Paris. 

Merci

111 Boulevard Beaumarchais

75003 Paris

France

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Recipe: Ragoût de Palourdes

Tonight ragoût de palourdes was on the menu, otherwise known as Clam Chowder. At the bastille yesterday a man was selling the most delicious looking little clams. I was inspired. We bought a kilo and have been coming up with various meals we could make with them since yesterday. Clam chowder felt right for today, as it's been raining on and off since early this morning - we needed something cozy. We got some fresh herbs and other ingredients at the market and I whipped them up into a steamy pot full of creamy clam chowder. Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Ragoût de Palourdes
6 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, diced finely

1 onion, peeled and diced finely

1/2 cup white wine (I used a buttery chardonnay)   

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup water

1 cup clam drippings (add water to make 1 cup if needed)

4 small Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
2 dried bay leaves (or one fresh)
5 large sprigs fresh thyme
2 pounds fresh quahog clams,
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a large frying pan heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add clams to the pan and cook for a minute until they begin to open up. This happens very quickly so don't let the pan stay on the heat for long, all you're doing here is opening up the shells so that you can pull the meat out. 

When all the clams have opened up use your fingers to pull the fleshy meat out from the shell putting it in a bowl and setting aside. Save the pan drippings in a separate bowl. 

In a large pot cook bacon till crisp and fat has rendered over medium high heat. Remove bacon to a plate and set aside, leaving grease in hot pot. Add onion and celery and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes stirring. Deglaze the pot with wine scraping up the browned bits of fond stuck to the bottom of the pot. Turn heat down to medium and add 1 tablespoon of butter, melt, sprinkle flour over the onion and celery, allowing the butter to absorb it, creating a roux. Cook stirring 1 - 2 minutes. Add clam drippings and water to pot stirring, turn heat back up to medium high, bring mixture to a boil. Add bay leafs, thyme, and potatoes, cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Add milk and allow mixture to thicken. Add clams, butter and bacon, finish soup with plenty of seasoning. Enjoy with crusty french bread. 

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Little Paris Apartment Tour

I am so excited to give you a little tour of our apartment. I am still in awe at how perfectly everything worked out with it. We found this cute place on the handy website homeexchange.com. We contacted our host and he worked with us on dates and apartment availability last November. Because we needed something for such a long time booking far in advance was really important. We were pretty particular about our location and having adequate space for both of us. We wanted to be in a safe area but also somewhere centrally located and close enough to walk to all the things we'd need.  This apartment ended up being just perfect. Ten minutes to Notre Dame and the river, ten to the Luxembourg gardens, and across the street from the metro to get us anywhere else our hearts desire. For Parisian standards our apartment is quite spacious, with one bedroom a living room kitchen and bathroom we're living large. So come on in and check out our 3rd floor walk up on Rue Du Cardinal Lemonie:

My Bedroom with a view of the street 

Our tiny kitchen

Our window into our building courtyard

Out crazy steep staircase

The Foyer into our building

Our cute street, our building is the one above the orange and white store fronts

And that's it, our cute place is Paris Perfection! 

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Along the Seine

The River makes for the most lovely backdrop for afternoon walks:  

Especially when there's a view like that ^. 

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Frenchie To Go

If you've done any reading about the Paris restaurant scene you'll know that Frenchie is the place. The restaurant is incredibly difficult to get a reservation at and usually needs to be done months in advanced. However, if you're not much of a planner or want to experience the expertise of Frenchie in a more casual environment try Frenchie to Go. It's fantastic. And even better is just off Rue Montorgueil a charming street in the Les Halles area.  We visited the restaurant today for lunch, and tried the fish and chips and the pulled pork sandwich. Both were fabulous - and now we're dying to go back. 

Frenchie to Go

9 rue du Nil

75002 Paris

France

Open from 8am - 6pm Tuesday - Saturday 

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One week

I am not so good at sleeping in a new time zone. 

Some days have been a little dramatic lack of sleep has intensified said drama. 

Some days I miss Adam more than others.

Some days I feel really far away from home. 

This week I got lost on the metro 2 times. 

However...

 Of the two bakeries across the street from me I know which one has the better pain et chocolat. 

And that fixes almost everything. 

Oh Paris, I have so much to learn. 

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