Ghosts and Ghouls

Happy Halloween!
Ghosts and ghouls were everywhere today.  In part because of La Toussaint, All Saints Day, a catholic holiday of Holy obligation and a public holiday in France and Halloween! 
We kind of escaped all the madness and induldged in a 2 1/2 hour lunch at Benoit.  A Parisian Bistrot that opened in 1912 and is now run by the famous Chef Alain Ducasse.   We enjoyed champagne, escargot, pumpkin veloute, pork belly (well, Michael enjoyed it), malecote and armagnac saverin.  Can't forget the esspresso and hot out of the oven madelines.  Gotta love these French lunches.
On into the evening we made our way down the street to listen to some Gypsy Jazz.  A distinct hip beat originating in France.

chocolate ghouls

chocolate critters

Benoit Bistrot

pretty china

The dinning room, with our snooty French waiter.

Michael's pork belly dish

after lunch stroll by the Seine

art stalls along the river

Walked down the street to listen to a little Gypsy Jazz.

Ghouls and Gobblins

Cuisine Francais

Our last week in Paris we have been doing a bit of food sampling.  A little of this and a little of that. 
I walked by a French Cooking Class sign and popped in for a quick run down on French Tarts.  A great way to spend an afternoon for me and not bad for Michael, he got to sample all of the finished product!
One of the "Hot" new chef's in Paris at the moment is Gregory Marchand at Frenchie.  We tried our best to get a reservation but "booked until Christmas" was not looking good.  Luckily he has opened a tiny hip wine bar directly across the street that takes no reservations!  It took a couple of tries but we finally got in.  Big wait line outside, a tiny little spot but very cool. We had several tapas of charcuterie, cheeses, lapin pate and great wine.  We were feeling pretty hip and called it a night!
Michael has been craving Moules et Frites so we indulged in that as well. The mussels tasted fresh off the boat and nothing better than a "French" french fry.
We have also made our way to this quaint little  creperie just around the corner for a nice dinner.  Everyone is served hard cidar in old pottery cups.  A very local's spot.  We kind of stood out but it was delicious.
Can't wait for tomarrow!

my tart station

a little taste

tiny little kitchen at the Frenchie Wine Bar

Frenchie

Pate Lapin

Paris at night and doing some window shopping at Galleries Lafayette

Moules et Frites

Date night at the Creperie

French Bubbles

Just a few hours drive from the Loire Valley we landed in Epernay.  Yeah! Champagne country.  Avenue de Champagne, the most famous street in Epernay is where we leisurely spent the afternoon sipping bubbles. Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery and the list goes on. 
After all the bubbles we stayed the night at a the beautiful Le Chateau d'Etoges.  What a treat. 
We stopped in Reims on our way back to Paris to tour the amazing Notre -Dame de Reims.  A 12th century cathedral where the coronation of 25 French Kings took place. 
We had a really  nice road trip in our funny little car.

Moet & Chandon House

Cave tour in Moet

Vineyards in Epernay

Veuve Clicquot

Pommery Champagne House

Le Chateau d'Etoges

Chateau and our funny blue car

Michael being French

Going down to dinner.  Beautiful dinning room.

My favorite, the Cheese cart.  A morning swan.

Reims Cathedral

Chateau gazing in the Loire Valley

Michael and I rented a funny little car and headed to the Loire Valley.  For a couple days we roamed the countryside gazing at chateaus, vineyards and idealic French Villages. 
Our first find was the  grand royal Chateau de Chambord and is the largest in the Loire Valley. It is also the most recognized over the world because of its distinct French Renaiassance architecture.   Constructed by King Francois I in the 16th century to be his hunting lodge and partly to be (close to his mistress) Comtesse de Thoury.  Wow!
Our next stop, though  not as grand but full of history was Clos Luce in Amboise.  The chateau was built in the 1400's on a 12th century foundation and was the final home of the great painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci.  He arrived in Amboise in 1510 by mule and was carring in his saddlebags the paintings of the Mona Lisa and Saint John the Baptist, which are now a permanant collection in the Lourve, Paris.  He died in 1519.
After a little more roaming around, we found ourselves a 12th century Abbaye to spend the night.  Pretty fitting for a day filled with history. 

Chateau de Chambord

House of Chambord Liqour and a little village.

another little castle

Clos Luce, Leonardo da Vinci home.

Town of Amboise, royal residence of King Francois I.

Le Grand Hotel de l'Abbaye

"Queen size chair" and exterior view of Abbaye.

Terrace view.