Paris

So, as I teased before, we went to Paris last weekend. We were honored that our friends Justin and Sara came to stay with us for a week as part of their European tour. A few days in Paris was the perfect way to spend the weekend before they had to head back to the US (we miss you already!!).

Let me start by saying how much I love Caleb. He is the most amazing child ever. We dragged that poor kid all over Paris without allowing any down time for naps. We took him out for rather late dinners and he really did great. There were, of course, a few moments of fussiness, but he really was a champ through it all. Now, enough about Caleb. Time to talk food.

On Friday we caught the train to Paris and arrived in time for a great dinner at Au Vieux Comptoir. I had an absolutely delicious steak and truffled mashed potatoes. And I'm not talking about a little truffle oil. I mean a huge portion of shaved truffles right on top of the fluffy mashed potatoes. The owner was absolutely lovely and made great recommendations for us. If you are ever in Paris you have to go there.

The next day we did all the usual sightseeing stops- Notre Dame, the Louvre, etc. But what I was really excited about was the food (shocking, I know...). The one thing I insisted on doing while in Paris was to go to the newly opened restaurant Spring, recommended by one of my Conde Nast friends. It's run by the amazing Daniel Rose who is originally from the US. His lobster rolls have something of a cult following so we stopped by for a late lunch (he also has a pretty phenomenal wine boutique where Lee bought a few bottles to bring home with us).

The rolls were perfect. The bread was crispy but not so hard that it's difficult to bite. The lobster came in massive, perfectly tender pieces. You could actually tell you were eating lobster unlike the over-chopped rolls you see at most places. And the rolls came with the most amazing crispy fries, topped with a bit of orange zest (I'm definitely stealing this idea...). Daniel was even kind enough to hold Caleb for most of our meal so Lee and I could actually eat at the same time. I love this guy! Next time we're in Paris we're going to check out his dinner tasting menu.

Saturday night our gastro journey continued with a visit to Roger la Grenouille where we had a very traditional meal of escargots and frog legs. I've never had frog legs before and they were absolutely delicious. We weren't quite sure how to eat them, so we started with fork/knife and then used our fingers to clean the bones (like chicken wings). I'm sure everyone found this incredibly offensive but there were wet-naps on the table. This was surely an invitation to get a little messy, right?

The sightseeing continued Sunday with the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and a walk around the Marais district (my favorite neighborhood in Paris). We ended our food tour with delicious macarons from Laduree (get the salted caramel ones).

We had an amazing weekend and were so happy to get to spend so much time with Justin and Sara. We really miss all our US friends so please, please, please come to visit us soon!

Now for the pictures...



Complete silliness in London. We went out to dinner with Justin and Sara and Sara's sister, who also lives in London. This is the first time we left Caleb with a "real" babysitter and he did great! I think it was harder on me than it was on him...



What better way to start the trip? Wine, cheese and a sleeping baby on the train!



Two men and a baby (and a big ass cathedral)



Snuggling with daddy


















Cutest. Boy. EVER. (amazing hat courtesy of aunt Lane and uncle John)



Sightseeing at Notre Dame


Sara was very adamant about teaching Caleb to wave bye-bye. This picture captures his best effort.


No better time to learn about the mighty Gator!


At the Louvre (BTW- we also changed his diaper in the middle of the square there. So classy. Wish we had taken pictures...)



Dinner at Au Vieux Comptoir


Farmer Caleb



Justin got the best smiles and cuddles out of Caleb


Lee makes the exact same expression. Adorable!



Look- we found Spring! Can you see my excitement??






















The chef babysitting Caleb for us. Caleb is famous. The chef had read my blog and was quite impressed with Caleb's ability to eat carrots.



Lobster roll. Like I said- perfection!



Frog kisses at Roger la Grenouille


Caleb asleep at Roger's. If you look closely, you can see a sketch of a nekkid woman. There was this really great/bizarre pornographic theme to the restaurant. Some of them included frogs. Like I said- bizarre.



Frog legs. Delicious.



Eiffel Tower. Caleb also had his diaper changed on a bench at the foot of the tower. So much classiness. Hope I make you proud, mom and dad!












Sara and I thought it would be hilarious to draw a mustache on Caleb. We also wanted to get him a striped shirt and a beret. The class act continues.



Caleb wasn't quite as cooperative as we'd hoped...



No permanent damage. It all wiped right off.



Laduree