Nathan’s Hotdogs

A few years ago, we went to visit a colleague friend in Nuremberg, Germany.  We hopped on a train at Munich Hauptbahnhof then met her at Nuremberg train station.  We walked around old town, passing a bridge, a market and a church on our way to Schöner Brunnen to turn a ring and wish for a baby (that’s for another blog). 

From there, we walked up on the hill to the castle, then walked down to this lovely bratwurst place to have Nürnberger bratwurst, a small thin sausage grilled over a beechwood fire and eaten with sauerkraut.

Thinking of that meal makes my mouth water, so I drizzled oil on the pan and put some Nathan’s hot dog – yes, from the same place that sponsors the famous hot dog eating contest. 

I fried the hot dogs, constantly turning until they are cooked through and golden brown. A squirt of ketchup, a drip of mustard, some mayo and some sweet relish… yum!

Painting Souvenir

Whenever we travel, my husband and my mother-in-law both love to shop for souvenirs which is not my thing. I would rather spend the time exploring, as souvenirs either end up collecting dust or in boxes stored in the garage.  But hand painting a souvenir is a different story.  I love it because I am bringing home something unique, something for keeps, something that will bring back some beautiful memories of the trip.

Beach

After breakfast, we went back to our suite, put on some sunblock, grabbed our stuff, then walked to the beach to build a sandcastle.  This is what the Little Guy is looking forward to during this trip.

Little Wanderer

… and so I wander with my Pooh Bear.

Le Procope

Founded in 1686, this is the oldest café in Paris and the world’s first literary cafe – where Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo and La Fontaine used to meet.  At the entrance, on a glass case, is Napoleon Bonaparte’s hat.  Legend has it that it was left as a collateral for the bill he could not pay.

On the table: 

• Royal Procope which is a platter of oysters, clams, prawns, crab, langoustines, whelks and shrimps
• Calf’s Head Casserole, 1686-style

Food was great.  Oysters were ultra fresh.  Atmosphere was lovely.  Definitely worth a visit!

Back at the Eiffel Tower

Little Guy was asleep when we went to the Eiffel Tower the day before.  So we tried one more time.  He was awake and excited while we were walking to St. Lazare station, but then halfway to Havre-Caumartin he started to drowse off.  It was a very looong walk so by the time we got  to the  train platform, he was asleep and was totally knocked out when we hopped off at the Trocadero station. Despite that, we still managed to capture some nice shots…

Boating

While at La Flotille, we saw couples, families and a group of teenagers hopping onto the boats. 

Growing up, it was our favorite past time during nap time… sneaking on the boat of our neighbor. So when husband said, “it looks like fun.”  I said, “let’s do it.”

So now we’re in the middle of the lake trying to figure out how to maneuver the boat.  Should we paddle to the left? Should we paddle to the right? Should we paddle together?

Then the rain came pouring down -- goodness gracious! We tried so hard to paddle toward the edge of the lake.  Then I hopped off, ran to the station, told the crew while pointing to my husband, “he needs to be rescued.”  LOL!

La Flottille

What a perfect place to spend a lovely afternoon in Versailles.

Château Versailles

A UNESCO World Heritage site visited by 7 million tourists a year, the opulent estate of King Louis XIV, used to be the envy of other European monarchs, is the greatest and grandest of them all.

We’re not here to visit the palace, we’ve seen it before. What we would like to see this time around is the Queen's Hamlet near the Petit Trianon which unfortunately was closed for lunch break when we got there. So we walked back to the tram and then got  off at The Grand Canal.

Off to Versailles

Little Guy was taking a nap, or most likely asleep and still in Los Angeles time zone, so we carried him to mom’s room and then off we go to St. Lazare station.  Took the metro to Invalides then hop on RER C to Château / Rive-Gauche.

Eiffel Tower

I was leafing through travel tips for Paris when I found out that queue for the elevator to the top could take up to 2 hours or even longer.  Line was way shorter during our first visit… from what I remember.  But the good news is… you could now buy tickets online to skip the line.  So I bought the tickets online right away… although not the time that I planned to be there.  So I had to move things around on our itinerary and had to cancel a dinner reservation.

So here we are walking from Le Suffren to the Eiffel Tower on Champ de Mars when suddenly it rained with snowdrops. It would have been really pretty on the pictures with the Eiffel Tower backdrop had it not been too windy.  Too windy that our umbrellas folded and broke.

With the pre-purchased tickets on hand, we were able to hop on the elevator without having to fall in line.

Up, up, and… voila!  One of the best places to see Paris from above.

Beef Tartare, Duck Confit and Profiteroles at Le Suffren

Here we are at a randomly chosen restaurant on Avenue de Suffren close to the La Motte-Picquet metro station where we got off on the way to the Eiffel Tower.  This was a great random pick – food was surprisingly good and everyone was very friendly and accommodating. Crowd was a mix of locals and tourists – considering its proximity to the Eiffel Tower.

On beef tartare, I would eat half a spoon (max) as the thought of eating raw beef with raw egg still doesn’t appeal to me – slightly horrifies me actually,  but then I saw this little Parisian girl seated next to us, she’s probably 8  - 10 years old, enjoying a plate of beef tartare. Wow!

Latin Quarter

And off we walk again…

Le Panthéon...

... provided the perfect backdrop.

The Little Guy posed and said, “take my picture mommy.”

Le Jardin du Luxembourg

Located in the 6th arrondissement, Le Jardin du Luxembourg is said to be the most beautiful garden in Paris and very kid friendly.  Who says Paris is only for grown-ups?

So here is our little traveler chasing the ducks.

Hot chocolate and Croissant

At Le Renoir on Rue Vaugirard savoring a cup of hot chocolate, croissant and baguette with butter like a Parisien.