Friday, September 19, 2008

Dinner and Death




Last night, the two of us went out for dinner with Craig and Arch. It was the night to splurge. We went to Benoit. That's probably not how you spell it, but the name isn't important. This restaurant was recommended to us by our dear friend Justin who travels to Paris frequently for business. This was our first dinning experience at a place that has received a Michelin Star. Granted that it only received one out of the possible three stars, some chefs have been known to kill themselves over the pressure to maintain their star status.
This was French food at its' close to best. I loved this restaurant because it reminded me of my mom. If she had a restaurant, this is exactly how it would be. Lace curtains, beautiful floral table settings, warm hospitality. Dinning at a fancy place in a language I don't speak gets me pretty nervous, but the staff was very welcoming and made us all feel readily at home. After a nice glass of champagne and some cheese biscuits, I had an amazing crayfish bisque then a classic French cassole' (again, spelling error) followed by a poached pear with hot chocolate and whipped cream. They pretty much had to roll us out the door. Tres Bon!

Death!!!! So I had the morning and afternoon free today, and after spending so much time with others, I thought that it might be nice to do something alone. So I figured that spending an hour below Paris surrounded by dead bodies would be a lovely thing to do. And it was. I kind of thought that the Catacombs would be corny, but I found it pretty amazing. It was a mile long walk through a maze of tunnels that eventually lead in to a bigger maze of skeletons. It kind of weirded me out at first, you could grab a skull and pick it up if you wanted to. The bones were just there, stacked up in neat piles. This would never exist in America. They would be kept out of reach behind plexiglass or something. I love trust. Faith that we'll all respect these remains. Granted that I did smuggle out a femur, this is the kind of thing that makes me not want to come home. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Adam, Dear - what sweet things you say. I'd love to open a restaurant in Paris, or maybe a tea room. Actually I'd love to just decorate it......I'm not sure about the cooking part. I'm thrilled that you and Rebecca are having such a beautiful time. I've always dreamed of seeing Paris but I'm content to "see" it through your eyes. I love you both!
Love, hugs & kisses, Momma H

Anonymous said...

FANTASTIC!!! The world is an amazing place! You're heads will be swimming for awhile after this trip. Soak everything up and take a zillion pictures so we can live vicariously. Missing you so much, Alex says hi and has been getting a tear in his eye every day because he misses you both so much.

Amour, my darlings

Anonymous said...

Adam! You did not take a femur, did you!? So glad y'all are having fun. Especially glad that you, Adam J. Hendrickson, are enjoying yourself.
Bisous!
-RR