Europe Christmas 2009: New Year’s Eve in Paris!
January 4, 2010
Today was one of my favorite days so far, and it wasn’t because of amazing art and views. No, it was because of the food and company!
Last night when Chris and I made our way back to Paris after a day of rain and train stations, we decided we needed to do a bit more food research to make sure we had the most delicious breakfast possible on our last full day in Europe. And, thanks to chowhound, I think we succeeded!
We woke up bright and early and made our way to the famed bakery of Eric Kayser in the Latin Quarter. And oh my god was it worth it! When we stepped inside the magical location all I could smell was bread and sugar and butter and yeast. And my eyes, well they were just in bit of a frenzy — I wanted to freeze time, grow to the size of a giant, and just grab everything all for myself (well, I’d share with Chris of course… a little…)
But, since I couldn’t freeze time, nor turn into a giant, we settled on pain au fromage (cheese bread) and a pain brioche avec chocolat blanc (basically a sweet, light, yet still happily dense brioche bread with white chocolate swirls throughout).
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I only wish I took pictures of the food but, alas, I was too excited! The cheese bread was friggin phenomenal. This isn’t like cheese bread back home - the cheese by itself was amazing, with a light covering and swirls and chunks throughout. Oh god I want more. The cheese here is SO much better!
And the white chocolate concoction was the perfect blend of white chocolate swirls in a bread that was denser than brioche I’m used to but still light enough to scarf down in no time at all (for better or worse.)
Eating good food puts me in an amazingly good mood, so I was pretty much skipping all the way to the Sainte Chapelle chapel (second time’s the charm!)
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And the line to get in was totally worth it - the chapel was absolutely gorgeous. The stained glass windows on the second level were out of this world beautiful and that, in combination with all the pretty fleur-de-lis symbols everywhere, made it feel like I really was in some sort of fairytale place.
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After that, Chris and I made our way back to Sennelier to see if it’d be open this time around. (As a reminder - Sennelier is who makes the oil pastels I use).
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The weirdest thing happened while we were walking back over there - out of nowhere I thought I was going to throw up! Like, we were just walking along, everything hunky-dorey and then, out of the blue, I ran to the side of the road and was convinced I was about to puke into the river Seine! But, as quickly as it came on, it was gone… and I was ok. My guess: I ate just a little too much cheese bread! Well worth the pain, though! (get it… the “pain”?? Anybody, anybody??!)
Soon we made our way back to Sennelier and were it luck - it was open! We spent the next 45 minutes or so walking around the rather tiny store looking at lots of artsy things. In the end I bought a few oil pastels and can’t wait to use them in my next painting! The coolest thing we saw, though, were these absurdly expensive Henri Roche soft pastels — I believe I read they were almost 20 euros each!
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Piece of history for you… did you know that oil pastels were in fact invented by Sennelier in 1949. Picasso wanted colors he could use on any surface, without all the hassle of oil paints, etc. and so, Henri Sennelier came up with oil pastels! Viola!
After our artsy outing Chris and I decided to try our second chowhound recommendation - La Charlotte de l’isle on Ile Saint-Louis for some (we were told) out of this world hot chocolate.
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Dear chowhound, how I love thee! The place was a small, whimsically cluttered abode filled with the most beautiful little foods and trinkets! And, upon entering, Chris told the lady behind the counter we would like some chocolat chaud — at which point we were led to the adjoining tiny room to sit down and order.
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I got the hot chocolate and a piece of carrot curry cake and Chris got hot chocolate and a lemon/citrus tart. Oh sweet lord that carrot curry cake has invaded my very being since that fateful first bite! An interesting spicy cake that, to much delight, had a very thin layer of rich chocolate on the bottom of it. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I am trying desperately to find a recipe so I can recreate at home!!
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All in all you absolutely must stop here if you’re in Paris. The hot chocolate is nuts (almost too rich, which is why I recommend getting something spicy or tart to go along with it… no need for much more chocolate!) and the place is adorable. Even the menus, with their barely legible cursive descriptions are to die for!
After all that I was once again floating as we made our way to Notre Dame to meet up with my friend Will and his brother, Chris. Will and I were co-editors of Aleph (UCLA’s undergraduate research journal) and he’s now studying medieval history at Oxford. And his brother, Chris II (we’ll call him), is following in his big brother’s footsteps, studying at King’s College in England.
After we got together (which was after some very interesting people watching at Notre Dame and fun twirl on this little sit and spin thing in a nearby park), we thought it high time for lunch. I was hoping Will, due to his globe-trotting ways, would be full of recommendations for back-alley bistros in Paris. But, alas, turns out he doesn’t know a spot of French and was up for whatever. In the end we settled on a whatever place, but it was nice to get out of the freezing cold, have some food, and chat.
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After a protracted lunch we split ways so we could go to our respective hotels to get extra layers of clothes before making our way to Montmartre for New Year’s Eve celebrating!
We decided on Montmartre because I heard that the crowds at the Eiffel Tower and the like were totally insane - like you can’t sit, you just stand all squished together for a zillion hours waiting for midnight. I’d much rather have some space to sit down, have some food and wine, and cheer in the new year with 1/2 a cup of excitement and 1/2 a cup of relaxation. And, having not yet been to that area of Paris, it was an opportunity for more exploring.
Having decided that I would eat absolutely whatever I wanted during my last day in Paris, I told Chris we had to detour (once again) to my dear Kayser’s for more treats on our way to the hotel! This time we got a pain au chocolat (normal), another cheese bread, and at the last minute I saw the word “mazipan” attached to this very dense looking bread thingie called a “stollen”, so we got that too.
We were supposed to save some of it for breakfast the next morning (since we were leaving before the crack of dawn for the airport) but, and I’m sure this doesn’t particularly surprise you, only the stollen made it. And that’s because the stollen is gross! I was imagining some bready thing filled with mazipan (which would be friggin phenomenal) but it turns out “stollen” is just this raisin filled (and I dislike raisins) fruitcake thing. Ick. But, thankfully, Chris liked it enough!
Being totally stuffed, I fell asleep a little too long at the hotel and was thus about 10 minutes late to meeting Will and Chris II in Pigalle. Well let’s just say at that point we were all even 
Walking around a bit, I quickly realized that we were in something like the sex district of Paris. We even saw the Moulin Rouge (which is surprisingly cheapy looking when you’re there). I really wanted to go to a cabaret show on New Year’s Eve (like at the Moulin Rouge or Crazy Horse) but, alas, it was (I kid you not) about 570 euros EACH to attend!!!!
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So, coming in a close second, we spent much of the frigid night in a cafe drinking coffee and chatting and then, hiked our way up to the top of Montmartre, at which point we all ordered crepes and paninis (some of us more easily than others!) and sat for a very long time in the cold.
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It’s hard for me to explain in words how cold it was up there. Let’s just say, I was wearing pretty much half the contents of my suitcase and I still could not feel my feet. And my fingers weren’t just cold, they hurt. But (thankfully) it eventually became funny and we all rallied until midnight! (I’m sure the wine didn’t hurt most people’s disposition either…)
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Right after midnight (and the less than stellar display of fireworks) we all made a run for the metro! But, sadly, I think the entire bottle of wine sitting in Chris II’s stomach did not appreciate the run… because after being on the metro for approximately two minutes, I turned to discover that Chris II had decided to generously help clear our metro car of any crowd by puking all over himself. I felt so bad for him!! Luckily, though, Chris II was in good spirits and we had fun joking as to who would get to shower first — Chris II or Will. 
I’m not quite sure who ended up winning.
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Eventually we had to part ways, so I hugged Will goodbye and waved in Chris II’s general direction and then Chris and I made our way back to our hotel and packed up our stuff.
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Tomorrow the journey is over and we make our way back to California!
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I just watched the New Year’s Eve video clip — that view of Paris is much more enjoyable when you’re not actually on top of the windy mountain.
Oh, and it was thought best to let Chris II have the shower first. =P