Paris in January

January found us back in Paris.  This is a new experience for us as we're more of the fair weather and sunshine types.  I wanted to experience France in the winter, thus finding snow on the ground didn't phase me one bit.  We arrived jet lagged and in need a simple dinner walking distance from our hotel.  We wound up at Le Petit Josselin for crepes.  As you can see from the picture, everyone is crammed in and we are all shoulder to shoulder.  The crepes are made to order and delicious.  Not only that, service is fast and efficient.  We did stand in line outside in the cold for a while before a table opened up for us.  It was worth the wait as I found someone who spoke English that I could chat with.

Dinner at Petit Josselin

My crepe topped with bacon was delicious.

Creperie le Petit Josselin where we had dinner our first evening.

The Palais Ganier

 We had never been to the Palais Garnier which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera.  The Paris Opera is now mainly used for ballet as there is a new Paris opera house.  Many will be familiar with the Palais Garnier because of its setting for Gaton Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and the 1986 musical.  We did an audio tour because we hadn't planned in advance so the tours in English were full.  Next time we will take a guided tour, and see the lake under the building. Yes, there is a lake under the Paris Opera. When they built Palais Garnier the area was a swamp. The only way to erect this magnificent structure at the time was to leave the lake under it.  Next time you go to Paris, if you haven't been to Palais Garnier it is a tour not to be missed.

View to the side of the grand staircase to the next level.

Ceiling painted by Chagall depicting scenes from 14 operas, and the chandelier made famous by the book and musical Phantom of the Opera.

Extravagant gilded interior with red velvet seats (which are getting a little tired) in a horseshoe shaped auditorium.  This stage is the largest in Europe and can hold up to 450 artists.

Intricate inlaid tile floors

The Grand Foyer which was designed as a drawing room for Paris society

Chandler reflection in a mirror.

 Tom was in the mood for crepes again so we followed our hotel's recommendation and walked to La Creperie Bretonn.  The crepes were amazing and definitely worth a return visit.

Our second dinner of crepes.

 Cooking is one of my many passions.  Eating is one of Tom's passions. This means he humors me when I feel the need for a new gadget for my kitchen.  Off we went in search of a cast iron pizza pan.  I wasn't successful but we did enjoy browsing through E. Dehillerin.

A great kitchen store, especially if you like copper pans.

 Everywhere you walk in Paris you see reminders of the country's rich history.

Statue of Joan of Arc

 The visit to Paris was short with only three nights and two days.  Food is an integral part of what makes this city wonderful.  We love trying new restaurants, but also can't resist revisiting old haunts.  KGB or Kitchen Galerie Bis was a place that warranted a re-visit.  This trip we tried the 10 course dinner.  While it was delicious, next time I'll go back to 8 courses.  The plates aren't huge, but the meal is definitely filling.  I recommend a bottle of wine with your meal.

Four courses served together.

Seafood of the day

Squid with beans

Duck

Desserts

We took the TGV from Paris to Dijon.  It's an easy and comfortable way to travel. (The difficulty for us was all the luggage we had for eleven months of travel plus the usual extra items I bring for the boat).

It's definitely winter.

 Philippe was at the train station to meet us and help with all our luggage.  That was a relief!  He had de-winterized the boat and had a beautiful bouquet of flowers for us.

We had time to hang out on Rabelo, unpack and decompress from our whirlwind 3+ month visit in the U.S.  Being back in Burgundy meant lovely walks together in the crisp winter air.

Dramatic winter skies as a backdrop for the stark scenery.

The cows are brought in for the winter.  What's left are pieces of their fur caught on the barbed wire of their enclosure.

 Every town and village has a war memorial as a tragic reminder of their losses from WWI and WWII.

War memorial in Saint Jean de Losne.

Our old stairs.

 Philippe put in new and much safer stairs to our boat from the road.

New stairs

Ice forms on the deck which makes it as slippery as an ice rink.  Carpeting helps to keep us safe.

It's time to drive to Villefranche-sur-Mer and enjoy warmer weather while we explore the South of France.