We really enjoyed Pontorson, but today we’ll be moving on to Paris.  Our train leaves at 9:14 am, so we needed to get up early to clean up, check out and walk over to the train station.

While checking out, we met a really nice couple from New Zealand.  They had only come in the day before to visit Mont Saint-Michel.  They were traveling on the same train as us, so we had a nice time chatting with them.  Sue and I chuckled as they had bicycled around Brittany, while I struggled to walk to the train station without huffing and puffing.  Oh well, you can’t win them all.

The train was right on time and we were whisked off to Rennes Station.  It’s a pleasant trip and only takes about 50 minutes.  Once we arrived, we had about an hour before our next train.  We found a comfortable place to sit and listened to a young lady play the same song over and over on a piano.  We enjoyed her playing – really!

Our next train would take us from Rennes to Paris.  It also arrived right on time and since it was a TGV, we cruised along and only took an hour and a half to get to Paris.  We arrived at Gare Montparnesse, which all things considered, was not too busy.  We were able to grab a cab and get to the hotel in about 20 minutes.  All said and done, our travels took about four and a half hours.

We are staying at the Au Manoir Saint-Germaine des Pres.  It is located in the 6th arrondisement of Paris, which is the arts and fashion area.  For those of you who know Sue and I well, we won’t be hanging out with the fashionistas.  In fact, I’m surprised they let us stay in this arrondisement.

Anyway, our hotel is located directly across the street from Cafe Flores and kitty-corner from Les Deux Magots – so maybe the intellectuals will also get a chance to chuckle at us!

We were greeted warmly when we arrived and within 10 minutes were checked in and up in our room.  We have a room on the first floor that overlooks Boulevard St Germain.  Pretty nice room too.  Nice big, comfortable bed, a couple chairs for relaxing, a desk and a decent bathroom area.  The real plus is that we have two large floor-to-ceiling windows that we can open for fresh air and to hear the sounds of the city.

Since it was already after 2:00 pm, we stayed in the room and rested before getting cleaned up for dinner.  Tonight’s reservations are at 6:30 pm, our earliest dinner of the trip, but one of my most anticipated.  I managed to get a reservation at “Restaurant Frenchie” after trying for the last three trips.

We had a cab for 6:00 pm and he was right on time.  Hotel manager said it’s about a ten minute ride.  Of course he wasn’t counting on there being heavy traffic.  Without the drama, we pulled up to the restaurant at 6:28.  We were a little worried about getting there on-time, and I think our driver was a little worried for a while too, but he came through for us.  When we exited the taxi, there were other patrons awaiting the opening of the doors.  Our timing was perfect as we were able to check-in and be first to select our table.

Frenchie’s has no menu.  Each evening there is just one five course meal that they serve.  We chose to go with the wine pairing menu, which the sommelier and chef put together.  How was it?  Awesome!  In all honesty, it is up there with some of the best meals we have ever had (outside of Mom’s beans, wieners and bacon).

Each course was described in loving detail and the paired wine explained as well.  The staff couldn’t have been nicer.  They kept things moving without feeling rushed.  There were two amuse-Bouche, four excellent dishes and then two desserts.  So much for a five course meal, the nice part is that while plentiful, each course was not a mountain of food.

Afterwards, we took a little stroll and then grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.  Since it was still early, we went across the street to Cafe De Flore for a Rosé nightcap before heading up to the room.

It was a nice day and a great way to start out in Paris.