Ljubijana and Paris

After leaving Vienna we did a quick jaunt to Ljubijana for business.  We had been to Ljubijana five years ago and the city has changed a bit.  There are actually nice hotels.  There are more restaurants.  The food there was good the last time but now there appears to be a bit more variety.  There isn’t tons to do but it is such a beautiful city.  The river that flows through the city draws everyone in.  It is a walking town.

It is a worthwhile trip if you have never been.  The town is small.  The country it small.  You can be at the beach in less than an hour.  The beaches are beautiful.  You can be skiing in roughly 30 minutes.  The mountains are beautiful too.  The country became independent in 1991 so it is relatively young.  After spending sometime talking with three super smart business women it is obvious they are trying to change their past culture around not being self-promoting particularly when it comes to the start-up community.

Our next stop was Paris.  It is like coming home.  There was a taxi strike when we arrived.  Cabbies are not happy with Uber because it is taking away from their business and pocketbook.  We had a car service take us into the city.  We were pelted with eggs when we left the airport and blocked from getting out.  Supposedly all drivers were supposed to unite that day and not drive anyone.  Our drive explained himself and they let us go.  It wasn’t pretty.

We walked the Luxembourg Gardens in the afternoon.

Stopped in the ever changing art gallery in the garden.

We had dinner at a local place called Wadja.  Really cute place.  Wonderful service.  The chef is excellent.  Creative dishes.  We will definitely return.  The menu is constantly changing.

I started with a celery root carpaccio that was warm and topped with dollops of bone marrow.  Super rich and certainly an interesting combo.

Fred had a fish dish similar to sardines.  They were boned, raw and served in a ponzu type sauce.

For dinner I had a leg of lamb topped with sweet cherry tomatoes and greens.  I didn’t love the greens, a little too bitter for the dish but everything else was really good.

Fred had the roasted veal ribs that were caramelized and served with vegetables.  Excellent.

Dessert was part of the dinner.  39 Euros for three courses.  Strawberries on top of a strawberry sauce and a scoop of gelato.

The best was the lemon tart.  Scoops of lemon cream and soft meringue that had been torched over a crispy flat piece of baked phyllo dough.  Wow.

We walked back to our place.  What is wonderful about Paris in the summer is that at 10pm the sun has yet to set.  It makes for a soothing long dusk at the end of the day.