last full day in paris before heading home

Today was a rainy day.  The weather has not been really cooperating with us this week and today was not pretty.  It has been sunny and then raining but today was mostly rain.

Eclair
We got up late, as always, and it was my idea to walk over to Gerard Mulot which is supposedly the best boulangerie/patisserie in the 1st.  There was a line so that it always a good sign.  The bad sign is that the walk was a bit longer than I had anticipated and you couldn't sit down for a cup of coffee.  Emily and I got in line and bought a baguette, croissant, chocolate eclair and napoleon.  Certainly not breakfast fare but who's counting. 

Palais royal
Fred and Josh had forged onward to get a cup of coffee and we met them there.  We had to make our way back to Acne to I could get the V.A.T. tax.  Keep in mind, the rules have changed on getting the tax back.  Many stores require that you have your passport in hand when they give you the paperwork.  Some of them let me email them my passport number but Acne refused so I had to return.  I do love the Palais Royal  These black/white cylinders remind me of when I came to Paris with Fred for the first time together.  I have a picture of Fred standing on top of one. 

Update on Gerard Mulot.  The baguette was nothing to write home about.  The croissant was buttery and good.  The eclair and napoleon was top notch. 

Walking around wasn't in the cards today.  After two weeks on vacation, we were all spent.  The kids wanted to have lunch at Cuisine de Bar.  Fred and I had gone yesterday but were happy to return.  After lunch there were two options.  Bon Marche or the Louvre.  We went for Bon Marche, what can I say? After some shopping at the food section and clothing areas we went back to get ready for dinner.

Last dinner in Paris was at Itineraires which is in the 5th.  Our second time there.  A women run restaurant, simple in decor and price fix.  The food is quite good.  I like the atmosphere there too.

Cheese:proscuitto
We began with some cheese and prosciutto.  They give you a nice basket of bread both brown and white.  Good start.

Salmon lentil
Three of us started with the salmon.  A piece of raw salmon with thin seaweed over the top.  On the other side of the plate were pureed lentils that had been cooked with bacon and whole lentils over the top with just a hint of citrus.  Very good and light.

Foiegrasraspberry
Fred went with the foie gras.  The plate is beautiful.  Raspberry sauce, roasted foie gras with some chopped nuts over pear chutney.  Hard to go wrong here.

Duck
For the main course, Emily and I had the duck.  Two slices of duck alongside caramelized carrots roasted with a touch of sugar and thyme. 

Pork
Josh had the pork which was almost sweet with some buttery mashed potatoes on the side. 

Fish
Fred went with the roasted fish and vegetables.  What I like is nothing is too heavy but everything is quite tasty.

Pear
Dessert is an option if you want four courses.  We went with two desserts so two of us had the three course and the other two had the four course.  We were stuffed.  Roasted pear tart.  I love how the whole pear was set in the middle with the dense tart wrapped around it. 

Chocolate:coffee
The other was chocolate.  Chocolate cake filled with a coffee chocolate marscarpone and some decor on top.  Didn't love this but certainly beautiful.

Back to the hotel to pack up the goods.  After breakfast, we leave.  We stayed at the Park Hyatt Vendome which I highly recommend.  The rooms are a nice size, the service is great, the beds are comfy, the showers are strong and the location is good.  Will definitely stay here again.  Also, the Vendome Plaza is one of my favorite plazas in all of Paris. 

Next post, NYC. 

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Comments (Archived):

  1. William Mougayar

    You’ve hit another favorite of ours, Gerard Mulot. I’ve been to both locations. They aren’t well known for their Viennoiseries, but are better with cakes. G-M makes an amazing cheese cake (yes, cheese cake in Paris), which is made from unpasteurized white cheese (not Philadelphia cream cheese), therefore it tasted amazing. Laduree has a great selection of multi-flavored Macaroons that are second to none.

  2. skysurfer172

    Thanks for all your vacation blogging. I now have a full list of must visit places when I hit Paris this summer. While I’m here. . . do you have any day-excursion suggestions for Turino, Italy? I’ll be there for almost a week before heading to France and I don’t think there is a week’s worth of things to do in that city in August. Safe trip home.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Have not yet been to Turino…but one day!