While Mark spent his first of two planned sessions in the Louvre (just six hours for him this session; I will join him for the Da Vincis and Vermeers today) several of us walked the boulevards, lanes, bridges, and stores of central Paris. Mark returned with photos of Mesopotamian sculptures and early Christian paintings, while we brought home some Parisien wares for the kitchen.
The Melands and Deb and I stopped for lunch at a great restaurant in the Les Halles ("lay all") district (former site of the massive central food market of the 19th century) The restaurant recommendation came to us from a clerk in the famous kitchen supply store E. Dehillerin who clearly knows Paris cuisine.
I love it. I want to learn this phrase! We should work it in more often. It looks like a fabulous meal. Did you sit at the table a good 1 1/2-2 hr? Was the waiter a life-long veteran of the restaurant profession who knew all and still bopps you on the head with the menu with a wink? I have wondered about Les Halles. I have seen it on the map and guide books and even tried briefly to find it the first time I was in Paris but I don't think I ever did. Although, I have a vague memory of walking into a huge fancy dimly-lit room with scores of perfume counters which left me feeling out of place and underdressed. I wonder if I did see something of Les Halles. Did you enjoy it?
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