Paris

Our primary goal is Paris was to sight see and eat. I've got lots of eating notes. Sightseeing not so much.

Here's a rundown of our eating experiences:

Angelina - we had been told my many people to check this out and it happened to be right around the corner from our hotel Rue de Rivoli. Tourist trap? yes. But if you know the language, they are quite nice. I did and was able to navigate my way at the front counter completely in French. Although one morning I ended up with some kind of pear pastry that I had not intended to order. But, like the Soup Nazi, it's best to order, pay and move on. Ask no questions.


I had done extensive research on restaurants in Paris. I researched and cross referenced from all sources. CityCrab left this completely in my hands and as we rode the Eurostar to Paris, I thought I was set on where we would eat. But, we ended making some game time decisions that worked in our favor.

First night, we went to Le Severo. It was a last minute decision. We didn't make a reservation, we schlepped over the 14 arrondisement and we found a small slice of heaven waiting for us. It is located on the corner with windows lining both walls. There's maybe 10 tables inside and when we entered (around 9pm) there was one long table filled with what looked like university students, drinking, smoking, eating, laughing - living carefree Parisian life. We were met by a man in a white butcher's coat. I got the sense that he did not speak English (I was right). I pulled out my best high school French (Merci, Monsieur Betts) and proceeded to have a complete conversation with him. His name is Guillaume and he's the owner. At his recommendation, we dined on goat cheese & fresh greens, steak frites (prepared 2 ways), sauteed mushrooms and a carafe of house red wine. Delicious. I didn't even crave ketchup for the frites. Then Guillaume did something that endeared me to him. He sat down at our booth, gave me a locals restaurant book and told us where to eat. He instructed me that when I got back to the hotel, I need to ask the concierge to make a reservation at these restaurants tonight and to tell them that Guillaume sent me. I double cheek kissed him on the way.

The next night didn't start until quite late. Our second day in Paris started early and we didn't end our sightseeing portion until 7pm or so. When we got back to the hotel, we made a reservation at Chez Denise. We were scheduled to eat at Bistro Paul Bert since we had heard great things about it but decided, again last minute, not to. At about 10pm we walked into Chez Denise. It is located in Les Halles section (essentially the meat packing district of Paris). You would have thought it was 8pm. The place was packed, the tables were so close you couldn't tell where one group ended and another began. We immediately felt rejuvenated. I could also tell we were the only Americans in there. I love a good find like this. We started with foie gras. At the waiter's recommendation, I had the beef kebab (a special) and CityCrab ordered the marinated steak. When we asked for frites, he gave us "bien sur" which is French for "of course, what do you think we wouldn't serve you frites!" This was all accompanied by a couple of carafes of house red. We made conversation with the table next to us. At first in French (I love when people think we're locals) then in English when the French got too hard to understand (or I got too drunk.) Our tablemates lived in Paris but originally from Martinique. We tumbled out of there close to 12 then walked all the way home. Another great find.

Uh-oh. I've done it. I've put you to sleep with my slideshow.

Our last night, we ate at L'Absinthe. A recommendation from some friends. Located in a small square not too far from our hotel. Had much more of an American feel to it. All the waitstaff spoke English and we were seated in between Americans. Food was good. Something different from the steak frites we had had the previous 2 nights. With all that Paris has to offer, not sure I would go back. Michel Rostang, is wellknown chef(a Parisian Mario Batali of sorts) and has a couple of restaurants in Paris, each run by one of his daughters. I would likely try another one of his places next time.

London

I don't want this to become the blog equivalent of the dreaded slide show so I only going to include highlights. Same goes for Paris.

We were fortunate to have 2 of the best guides you could have: our friends who are London locals. Both born & bred. The best host is the one who is willing to partake in sightseeing in their own town. I can honestly say that while living in New York I was a bad host. I hardly ever went above 42nd Street and encouraged visitors to see the Statue of Liberty & Empire State Building and to call when they were done. I think my attitude has since changed.

Buckingham Palace - this was one of the highlights of the trip. In August & September, they open the state rooms here while the queen is summering at Balmoral. We had access to the mews (horse stables, garages for cars & carriages) and public rooms inside the palace. Very cool. Audio tour is free (a nice perk since they charge you everywhere for it in the States) and you really feel immersed in the lives of the royals family. They also have an extensive art collection throughout the residence. If you visit in late summer, I highly recommend this.

Tate Modern - We are big art fans and while I think you can get art overload especially when all the artists start to look the same and you can point out works you've seen in New York, Chicago & Florence but the Tate delivered in a very unique way. The collection here are very unique and provocative. In addition, they have a lot of interactive exhibits. They are currently undergoing a renovation a la MOMA and have clear glass panels exposing it. The Tate is housed in an old factory building along The Thames. The building itself is an exhibit. Free admission and a gift shop to rival the new one at MOMA.

Being Locals - Since we were accompanied by our friends we did a lot of local stuff. For example, we took the 11 bus throughout the city since it is one of the best ways to see everything. Why pay for the double decker when your oyster card can get you the same for only a few quid? We partook in watching rugby accompanied by ciders (first time I tried - really enjoyed it, much better than beer.) We went for a curry at Le Taj in Battersea, tea at The Berkley (a wonderful experience), they even hosted dinner at their flat serving a traditional British meal which was absolutely delicious. This really made the trip.

Eating - I would be remiss if I didn't mention at least one meal out. We ate at Eight Over Eight, an asian inspired restaurant located on Kings Road. Food was great. It's an extensive menu of small plates of all kinds of delicious concoctions. Gow Gee (like dumplings), miso cod, wagy beef (Kobe to us Americans), chili salt squid, sweet potato curry...I think we tried just about everything on the menu. Highly recommend it.

Sting

CityCrab has a man crush on Sting. Back when we were dating, he got tickets to see Sting perform at The Beacon. I am a fan of The Police. I owned their Synchronciity album. But I didn't know what I was in for. Halfway through concert, CityCrab turned to me and said, " I am completely secure with my sexuality. Sting is hot." I gulped then agreed.

Fast forward seven years and we're in London, seeing Sting, grooving along to every song. This was CityCrab's favorite moment of the trip.

All Business

About a month ago, CityCrab and I took off for a 10 day holiday to London and Paris. We planned the trip almost a year ago and hoped, at the time, that booking this far in advance would work out travel wise. We figured with 10 months notice, the flight to London would be in expensive and we'd be able to use out gajillion miles we've diligently earned over the years to upgrade to business class. We know we are not 8 hour flight, middle row in coach people. I have no problem saying publicly here that USAirways sucks . There, I said it. We both have USAirways credit cards that we opened just to earn miles thinking we'd be able to use them for all sorts of things: business class, first class on short flights with dreams of whole cans of sodas, free toiletries, ear phones and that little sleep mask. Alas, it was not to be.

CityCrab did extensive research (one of his best qualities) and found us alternate travel resources. We rolled the dice and make arrangements to fly the new all business carriers. Maxjet, Silverjet , EOS , L'avion are just a few that started in the past year or so. Because of our travel dates, we flew Maxjet to London and Silverjet back to the States. Here's the skinny:

Maxjet was a wonderful experience. They are a US-based carrier (out of DC), their seats are similar to those in Delta's first class (it's about a 160 degree decline), they have a high flight attendant to customer ratio, the galleys in the cabin are open all flight for you to help yourself to drinks, snacks and, City Crab loved this, the all night Reuben. (although for the record he never ate it. I think it was the idea that it was available whenever.) Maxjet flies into Stansted which is about 45 minutes form London. Once you land, just jump on the train or hire a car to take you into the city.

Silverjet was also a good experience however, both CityCrab and I decided we would prefer to fly Maxjet. Silverjet is UK based, flies out of Luton (only accessible via car), their seats do decline 180 degrees but the food is outrageous. Not that I fly for the food but I felt the food has this air of pretension. For example, their menu touts their chef as someone who is culinary trained, offers entrees like sea bass wrapped in banana leaf (who wants THAT on a plane) and you can see a guy walking through the cabin in a chef's uniform. I thought it was a little over the top but I just don't appreciate that level of service.

Overall good experiences, especially when stacked against USAirways. The other important detail I left out was that both of these are actually cheaper than flying business class on domestic carriers. And, both of the carriers offer deals to London. For example, upon our return I received a promotional email from both carriers offering roundtrip airfare for about $800. Now, that's a deal.