36 Hours of Eating Bliss

Now surely you've had time to read about our trip to Southern France, thanks to Adam & Jessie's generosity. Well well, after Southern France we resumed a long drive in the hot car to get back to Paris for our flights out the next day. But we were crafty enough to plan our flight so that we could have one last night in Paris. And one last night...we had. And it was enough to last a lifetime.

We got into Paris sans probleme (err...without problems!)--the route was easy and we followed Jeffrey's directions to the T. We arrived a bit early, and scampered out of the car eagerly to explore the area near the Jardins Luxembourg. We enjoyed.

Soon enough we met up with Perrine & Jeffrey, the couple of the day...month...YEAR! We met them at Le Mauzac, a lil' neighborhood bistrot that specialized in foie gras (erre....emmm..it was good for other reasons too. I am not a fan of the goose). It ... was .... divine. Surely you've already read Jessie's gushing over it (and I added a very few superlative details). We rushed home at midnight to the hotel...only to be foiled in our attempt to use A-3, the highway. Two hours later, we wound up at home.

An hour and a half later, Ben and I awoke to get to the airport. In the airport shuttle van, we were seriously reprimanded for not knowing what terminal our flight(s) were out of. I jumped out of the van at one stopped and accosted a security guard, and he pointed me in the right direction. Ben and I split up, journeying alone for the end of our honeymoon. Truly tragic, but I am glad Ben didn't have to go through the Lisbon airport with me. I love Lisbon (and Portugal rules!) but their airport...God forbid you ever have to transfer through the airport. Arriving there is quite another matter (which we hope to do again in December!).

Arrival in NYC was a piece of cake. Miyo graciously hosted us (as usual!) and we experienced another few major NYC thunderstorms. Julia, Katherine, Dominique & Miyo took us to one of New York's finest...Elias Corner! Quite easily one of the best seafood places we have ever eaten. I was intrigued that the high palated Julia and Miyo led us to Queens for dinner--when there were so many excellent choices all over Manhattan. But fear not--this place was a secret gem! We ordered the best scallops I've ever eaten, excellent calamari (not fried!), 3 fresh whole grilled fishes (red snapper, and two others we can't remember), 2 fresh greens salads, grilled zucchini, bread, tzatziki, and excellent potatoes. Also not to forget...the fried honey balls for dessert! Absolutely out of this world. The whole experience.

And then...the next morning ,we went to Community Food and Juice. Oh boy, it's hard to know where to start in this awesome farm-to-table restaurant. Everything was superb. Glorious setting. Excellent lighting. Fabulous service. Some of the best restaurant coffee ever. And then...possibly the best blueberry pancakes (actually they were Wild Maine Blueberry) I've ever had. Flavorful and sweet and out of this world. fluffy and delish. As for Ben, he got the Country Breakast. Two eggs...Canadian bacon, carrot hash browns, whole wheat buttermilk biscuits. Overall, this was the best 36 culinary hours of our life in recent history!!!

And now we both embark on 3 week journeys to lead groups of youth to very different places. Katy to Costa Rica and Ben to Montana/Wyoming. Yeehaw!