The day after - Giverny

The Israeli couple whom we met at the dinner at Hidden Kitchen told us about Claude Monet's house in Giverny and that's how we ended up there the next day! 1 hour drive from Paris. Easy peasy. Now that it's autumn here, the colors of the leaves were beautiful. However, the season also means that flowers were dying & drying up. A pity really. Will definitely return in spring when they are in bloom!

The visit to his house & garden (of which many of his later paintings were based on) was more significant to us because we went to the exhibition just 2 days ago. We were also really lucky to have caught the last opening day (since it opens from 1st April - 1st November). Overall, love that we could see his exact perspective..

The Japanese bridge

Halloween night - Hidden Kitchen

Actually a not so halloween night

Dined at a private supper club which I think is relatively popular among tourists, especially Americans since the chefs themselves are Americans. Interesting concept about this is that we weren't at a restaurant but in an apartment in central Paris. Each night, they serve 16 people (seated around a big table) 10 courses with paired wines (menu will be shown below). As a result of the arrangement (and of the wine), everyone began chatting with each other non-stop throughout the dinner and decibels were rising towards the end. We made a number of friends: an Israeli couple living just outside Paris, a French manager working at a Michelin-starred restaurant and his British girlfriend, and an American gay couple. The food wasn't extremely impressive (if you were to compare to other fine-dining restaurants) but we absolutely love the whole experience of dining at someone's house and making new friends over good food & good wine. The casual atmosphere made us feel quite at ease.

The courses that I liked: linguini with mussels & clams, stewed rabbit, crispy pork belly

The hosts: Braden & Laura, as well as Meg the assistant posing beside their really really petite kitchen!

Nearing the end of the meal, their terrier came out to greet all of us :) It's cute how he rest his head & paws on the table..not to beg for food or anything but just to say hi.

The meal lasted 4 hours. Wanted to head out for some halloween party after that but we were too tipsy after 6 glasses of wine & 1 vodka. Heh.

Name: Hidden Kitchen

Website: www.hkmenus.com

Expenditure: 90€pp with wine pairing

Cooking Adventures & more

1. Hainanese chicken rice with 油菜
2. Oriental pork chop with 'lee kum kee' sauce
3. Chinese-style steamed fish with 'chai po' omelette
4. Half a cooked cold crab with lots of roe (only 3.70€ from the market!)

Visited Claude Monet's exhibition at the Grand Palais last Saturday night. It was awesome. Such a rare opportunity to be able to enjoy all (if not most) of his famous paintings in one place. Took us 2 hours to finish viewing some 100 pieces. Tiring but worth every minute!

Runs till 24th Jan 2011. Tickets should definitely be bought in advance. More info at http://www.monet2010.com/en#/home/.

Weekends in Paris

What we do on a Sunday when all the shops are closed & when we're not traveling

24/10: Visited the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre (an area where the famous Moulin Rouge is). Montmartre is in fact a 130m high hill and for some reason the police decided to block the roads since 10am, which then left us no choice but to park below. Little did I know that the climb was gonna be no easy feat! Flights and flights of stairs.... In the photo, you can see a funicular which ferries people up & down. We didn't think we were THAT weak, but alas...... Let's just say that it was a good Sunday workout.

Nonetheless, the view from up there was awesome! Photo on the right, where the crowd is, you can actually see a man performing ball-balancing tricks. There were also people basking. What a great atmosphere for a otherwise quiet Sunday.

More people started arriving to attend the service which was scheduled at 3pm that day. So be sure to check if you want to (and you should) tour the inside of the basilica.

(backdated 12-13Oct10) Rouen trip

Tried & tested. Max speed before smartypants starts flying off the road: 140km/h. I swear you could see my car swerve left & right, especially while cutting the big trucks! It still took me 1.5 hours to get to Rouen, which is north-west of Paris and capital of the Upper Normandy region. Its famously-known Notre Dame cathedral is one of the largest in France. Really peaceful to take a walk inside..

Rouen was also the place where Saint Joan of Arc was burnt. The exact location can be found next to the church (photo on right). You can also find many restaurants in this square.

The Gros-Horloge, which translates to big clock.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. A must-visit. Small but contains a varied-enough collection which I really enjoyed.

Lastly, a street view of Rouen as well as a strike going on near the Galeries Lafayette. Thank goodness it wasn't too violent.