Bonjour De Paris

After 11 hours aboard our first flight ever with our 10-month old baby, Sicily, we landed in Paris, France. Upon arrival, we quickly headed to the river Seine for a sunset stroll. The weather was perfect and we walked for a few miles until we built a hefty appetite. With a little luck and the help of trusty old Yelp, we stumbled upon Les Antiquaires, where we enjoyed some wine and incredible French cheeses like Cantal, Comté affine,  and Fourme d'Ambert. After looking at the menu I knew I had to try the escargot (snails). They were an experience to say the least. You scoop out the meat with a tiny fork while holding the snail with what looks like a eyelash curler. The meat's texture was similar to the consistency of calamari, which I like. The taste was overpowered by the basil pesto sauce it was prepared with. I think it's one of those meats that only had flavor from the sauce, but this was my first time eating it, so what do I know. 

Over the next few days we enjoyed the sites of Paris such as the Tuileries Garden, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacré-Cœur basilica, Montmarte, Arc De Triomphe, Moulin Rouge, and of course, the Eiffel Tower.

The city was beautiful, the people were incredibly friendly (most of them at least), and we had some unbelievable food. Some of my favorite meals that stood out were the Aile de raie in beurre noisette (stingray in brown butter sauce) at La Petit Cadet, the Croque Madame (sandwich with a fried egg on top) at Madame Messieurs, the macarons (little cake cookies) from Ladurée, and the entire meal at Les Antiquaires. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Paris, despite the stomach bug Sammy got (no, it was not from the escargot), the heavy jet lag Sicily endured and the overwhelmingness of traveling with a baby. I'm definitely fond of the city and food. I would love to experience more of the countryside and wine next time we go. Also, it would be nice to visit some museums, although, we weren't able to pull it off with a baby, I don't think it's going to get easier with toddlers. 

My biggest takeaways were learning about a few new French cheeses I love, adding a vegetarian Croque Madame to list of recipes and a desire to try more escargot.