CDG-IAD Air France Business Class

Robert helped us get the most of our Chase points by booking two non-stop return tickets on Air France business class.

We looked forward to the Air France business class lounge, and arrived a whole three hours ahead of boarding time to maximize our time at the lounge. We ate a few snacks, saving room for our meals on our flight home.

Air France business class lounge

On our flight, we were pampered by the flight attendants, and enjoyed the amazing food and drinks, as well as the amenities. The fully reclined seats were so comfortable, and the six-hour flight home went by too fast.

Air France business class from CDG-IAD

RECOMMENDATIONS: What an amazing experience! The business class treatment started right at the CDG airport, where we were whisked to a special check-in line, to the relaxing lounge, to the top-notch service during the flight. We were able to take advantage of a transfer promotion that gave us 25% extra Fly Blue points, and had to book our tickets one year ahead of time, but it was worth the work.

GIVERNY, FRANCE Claude Monet's House and Gardens

On our way back to Paris, we stopped by Claude Monet's House and Gardens in Giverny. Monet's Gardens were an hour away from CDG airport, so this was a rare opportunity for us to visit since we had a rental car.

Coming from the Loire Valley, we were looking for a quick lunch, and found Mason Bécam, a fast-food French bakery, serving pre-made food like baguettes, pizza, soups, flat breads, salads, and pastries. We shared a personal sized pizza, a salad, an éclair and an apple tart. The food was fast and good.

This gave us enough time to get to Monet's Gardens by 4:30pm, as they closed at 6pm. We were looking forward to visiting Monet's water garden, with a water lily pond and the famous Japanese bridge, that inspired many of his paintings. Sadly, we did not see any of the water lily or the famous nympheas, and the bridge was packed with tourists.

Maison Bécam (left) and Monet's Gardens (right)

RECOMMENDATIONS: Maison Bécam was a great choice for a fast-food style restaurant. We were disappointed with Monet's Gardens; the Japanese-inspired water garden was nothing like the photos shown on the website or brochure, and the Clos Normand, the flower garden in front of his house, was colorful but not exceptional.

AMBOISE, FRANCE Les 4 Saisons Crêperie

We visited a few more châteaux today before returning to Amboise for a late lunch.

In the morning, we visited Le Clos Lucé, which was Leonard de Vinci's last home. We also visited the "3 C's of the Loire Valley," which are the region's most famous and popular châteaux, Chambord, Chenonceau, and Cheverny.

Le Val de Loire

For lunch, we decided to go for crêpes, the French's version of very thin pancakes, since we have not had any on this trip yet. Les 4 Saisons was a crêperie on the main strip of Amboise, and they served both savory and sweet crêpes. We shared a shrimp crêpe, and for dessert, a simple sugared crêpe.

Crêperie Les 4 Saisons

A few doors down from the crêperie, we stopped by a pastry shop, and bought some very delicious looking Chaussons aux pommes, an apple turnover pastry. Warm it up in the oven the next morning, and it made a wonderful breakfast for our last day in Amboise.

Apple turnovers

RECOMMENDATIONS: The simple sugared crêpes are good; the savory crêpes are all right. I would come here for the dessert crêpes after having dinner elsewhere.

AMBOISE, FRANCE Bistrot L'Amboisie

After Mont Saint-Michel, we drove to Amboise where we stayed two nights to visit the châteaux in the Loire Valley. 

Our apartment rental was very cute and comfortable, and its location was in a quiet area yet within walking distance of the main street, with assigned private parking for our rental car.

We chose Le Bistrot l'Amboisie for our first dinner based on the high reviews and their specialty serving couscous and tagine dishes. The restaurant was very close to our rental, on a quiet street. We own a tagine at home, and have cooked a really good Moroccan Chicken Tagine dish with couscous. So we were very interested in a tagine dish professionally made in France.

It was a Sunday evening, and not too many people were out. The restaurant was able to seat us right away, and we asked for an outdoor table to enjoy the weather. We ordered a Couscous Royal for two and a salad to share. The Couscous Royal included chicken, pork, a large meatball, and a sausage. Vegetables and couscous came as a side. The spicy sauce gave it an extra kick that we enjoyed very much.

Bistrot L'Amboisie

After dinner, we walked to see our first chateau, the Chateau Royal d'Amboise, looking over from the opposite side of the Loire river. The sun was setting, and the view was breathtaking.

Chateau Royal d'Amboise

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. A very authentic couscous meal, beautifully presented and delicious tasting. The best meal we had in the Loire Valley.

MONT SAINT-MICHEL Le Relais Saint-Michel

We arrived at Mont Saint-Michel with plenty of time to see the sheep and catch the sunset. Le Relais was the closest hotel, and our room had a view to Mont Saint-Michel. We only stayed here one night, but this allowed us to catch both the sunset and the sunrise view of the iconic Mont Saint-Michel.

Sheep at Mont Saint-Michel

Sunset at Mont Saint-Michel

After settling into our room and catching the sunset just outside our hotel, we had a small dinner at the hotel's restaurant.

Le Relais Saint Michel

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommend this hotel for their proximity to the iconic Mont Saint-Michel. One night is sufficient to see both the sunset and sunrise. There is plenty of time to visit the Abbey the next day. A shuttle can take you there if you don't want to walk.

Book early to get a room with a view. 

MONT SAINT-MICHEL La Mère Poulard

After the fiasco of trying to pick up our reserved car from Alamo at CDG airport, whose agent required us to have a same day boarding pass, we luckily were able to get a car from Hertz without a reservation, at a reasonable price. The agent from Hertz was extra nice to us, we think because Phil was wearing his Paris Saint-Germain soccer jersey in anticipation of them playing Inter-Milan in the UEFA Champions League final that evening. We did bring good luck to PSG, as they defeated Inter-Milan 5-0 to win their first European Club title that night. 

Paris Saint-Germain jersey

After 3.5 hours drive, we took a break at a rest stop in La Colombe area. The store sold butter biscuits, Les Sablés de La Mère Poulard, that appeared to be very popular. Out of curiosity, we picked up a small sample box.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The butter biscuits were AMAZING! We did not realize how good they tasted, and we also did not realize that they are famous for this area of Normandie. If you are in the area, you should definitely pick up a large amount of these biscuits so you can enjoy them and bring them home.

PARIS Phõ Bánh Cuôn 14

This was Robert and Tiffany's last meal in Paris, as they have a flight to catch the next morning. They wanted something simple, as we were not too hungry, and we settled on Phõ Bánh Cuôn 14, a Vietnamese restaurant very close to our apartment.

We all ordered our usual favorites: dad and Robert went for the grilled pork vermicelli bowl, Tiffany went for a bowl of phõ, and Thanh went for bánh cuôn. The bánh cuôn texture was slightly different than what Thanh was used to, but everyone else's meals were as expected.

After the meal, we walked home, and relaxed while they packed. After Robert and Tiffany fly home, we will begin our road trip to Mont Saint Michel and the Loire Valley à nous deux.

Phǒ Bánh Cuôn 14

RECOMMENDATIONS: Average Vietnamese restaurant, serving the usual Vietnamese fares.

PARIS Le Cèdre

After coffee at Dose, we headed over to Le Cèdre, a Lebanese restaurant nearby. We all got the combos of Chawarma sandwiches, and they were simple and delicious.

Le Cèdre

RECOMMENDATIONS: Solid pick. The Chawarma sandwiches were excellent, and we saw the table next to us with many other different dishes that we would love to try another time. If you are looking for a simple, quick, and delicious meal, and you are in the area, stop by.

PARIS Dose Café (permanently closed)

We went to Dose Café on Rue Mouffetard, and it was a cute little place. But this location appears to have closed permanently.

Dose

NO RECOMMENDATIONS

PARIS Kei

We picked Kei, a three-Michelin star restaurant, for our fine dining experience on this trip. Kei serves Japanese-French fusion, and offers three tasting menus at three price points. Its location was conveniently a block away from our apartment, making it a perfect pick.

We prepared to make reservations about 2 months ahead of time, as soon as the reservations opened. The dress code was casual chic, so we packed a nice outfit for the occasion.

Kei Paris

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. The service was top notched, as we have experienced at other three-Michelin star restaurants. The food was excellent, and in Thanh's opinion, was the best of the three-Michelin star restaurants she has been to. The portion was just perfect, not too small, so that the enjoyment lasted more than the initial taste. The lobster tail and wagyu steak were a solid surf and turf anchor to the creative dishes coming before and after them. It was great to be able to compare the preparation of lobster and steak at a fine dining to what we had at other restaurants.

Our other three-Michelin star restaurants:

Little Inn of Washington (Virginia) -- our first three-Michelin star restaurant

Geranium (Copenhagen) -- won Word's 50 Best Restaurants in 2022; Phil's top pick of the three-Michelin star restaurants; very fancy 23-course meal; very delicious but the portion was bite-size, making you miss what you just ate; the fanciest and best presented meal we had, and the non-alcoholic drink pairing elevated the meal, with fancy fruit and vegetable drinks

Eleven Madison Park (NYC) -- serving vegan food at the time we went; excellent non-alcoholic drink pairing that was grape-based and made to taste like wine

Robert/Tiff and Ricci/Amy have been to the French Laundry (San Francisco)

PARIS Lomi Specialty Coffee

Lomi, located in the 18th arrondissement, was a bit out of the way from our rental in the first arrondissement. Today the plan was to walk the Champs-Elysées, so we had plenty of time. We took the metro to and back from Lomi.

Lomi

RECOMMENDATIONS: Excellent, one of the top specialty coffee we had on this trip. Definitely stop by if you are in the area visiting Montmartre.