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.

PARIS Cocorico

We made reservations at Cocorico based on Philippe's recommendations, as its location was very close to the Musée d'Orsay, and today was our museums day.

It turned out that we had a large gap between our last museum visit and our dinner reservations, so it was not as well planned as we thought. 

When we finally returned to the area after wandering off, we were ready for a good meal. Cocorico did not disappoint. We ordered their famous roasted chicken, whole to share, duck breast with honey and spices, a Caesar salad, and a side of fries. Everything was delicious.

Cocorico

RECOMMENDATIONS: Solid pick for a restaurant near the Louvre and the museums. 

PARIS La Pâtisserie du Meurice par Cedric Grolet

Robert wanted to try the famous pastry by Cedric Golet, who specializes in "Trompe-l'œil Fruits," or fruit look-alike's. The pastry shop is part of the high-end hotel Le Meurice, on Rue de Rivoli, near the Tuileries garden and the museums.

The first time we went, there was a very long line for a table. We decided instead to online order for pick up the next day when we would be back in the area visiting the museums.

We ordered the Collection of all five fruits, for 90 euros.

The next day, after visiting the Louvre, L'Orangerie and Musée d'Orsay, we walked over to pick up our pastry collection and came back to the Tuileries garden to eat on a park bench. The fruit look-alike pastries were amazing looking, and even better tasting. These were Michelin-star worthy desserts.

Collection by Cedric Golet

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. The Collection was definitely not cheap, but this was one of those lifetime experiences that a foodie would not want to miss.

We had a pear look-alike at the Little Inn of Washington, a three-Michelin star restaurant in Virginia. This is quite an experience to share a whole collection of these desserts.

PARIS Le Soufflé

Today was a museum day. We made reservations ahead of time, for 9am at the Louvre, 2pm at L'Orangerie, and 3pm at Musée d'Orsay.

Lunch was reserved at 12:45pm at Le Soufflé, conveniently at walking distance from all the museums. We had been here before, on our previous trip, and enjoyed the soufflé very much. So we brought Robert and Tiffany here to taste the well-known French specialty.

Thanh and Tiff ordered the white asparagus soufflé, as they were in season. The Louis IV soufflé with chicken and mushroom sauce was another popular one that Phil and Robert ordered. They all came with a side gravy. We shared a dessert soufflé. 

Le Soufflé

RECOMMENDATIONS: This restaurant's main specialty is soufflé, and they serve both savory and sweet variants of soufflé. Their soufflé are very light and fluffy. If you want a good soufflé, this is the place to go. They do have other items on their menu, if you have other people in your party who do not want soufflé. Make reservations, as they do book up.

PARIS Au Pied de Cochon

Au Pied de Cochon was on the same block as our apartment, La Maison de Paris. The proximity to our rental was a plus today, after a long day visiting Versailles.

The restaurant can accommodate a large group, and is open very late through the night. The menu is also very extensive, ranging from seafood (including fresh oysters) to their specialty, various pork cuts (including pork trotters, aka pork feet.) There are also many classic French dishes, such as onion soups, escargots, frog legs, and French desserts like crêpes Suzette flambée, crème brûlée, café Liégeois.

Au Pied de Cochon

RECOMMENDATIONS: Solid for classic French fares and the ease of getting a table and the convenience of a late night meal. We came here on our last trip to Paris a few years ago, and came back on this trip with Tiff and Rob. We tried the pork trotters on our last trip, and did not like the texture. We enjoyed everything else.