Parisian Getaway 2-It's All About The Food

As I type this, it's 5am and I've been trying to sleep for hours. Jet lag sucks.
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I treated to myself to a non-slummy Parisian getaway after enduring the trip in October. This time I took the Eurostar which is luxury, nay-a God-given miracle compared to the bus. I even managed to sleep and distinctly remember snoring with my gob hanging wide open. (Sorry fellow passengers.)

I caught up with a girlfriend in the Japanese quarter of the Opéra district. I was craving for Tonkatsu Ramen and look what I found!

Afterwards I headed to La Champs Elysees. The trains were running behind schedule and it was like the Central Line during peak hour. People were crammed inside and there I was trying to look content with the locals. No one scowled or harassed people getting on like they do in London. People understood that you had to get from A to B so we all had to suck it in. Some people just laughed.

La Champs was looking fantastic with the Christmas lights. I strolled to the Seine and watched La Tour Eiffel beam through Paris like a sparkling beacon.

The next stop was tres important. No trip to Paris would be complete without a meal at my favorite restaurant La Nouvelle Epoques, even if I had to dine alone.

I ordered the usual starter, l'escargots. (The waitress asked me in English: "You do know what they are, right?")

A guilty secret is that I can eat a whole baguette with the garlic butter alone. And without me asking, the owner whisked my empty bread basket away and replaced it with more bread. Now that's service, I thought.

The slippery little suckers!

Roasted duck with the most creamiest caramelized potatoes ever.

I asked for lemon sorbet but I *guess* this will do!

The owner saw me playing Angry Birds and in true French animated fashion, he pointed and laughed. Not intending to be rude but as his waitress translated, he thought I looked amusing, like a little girl playing video games throughout dinner.

She also said that he remembered me from my last visit. Why? Not because I'm the only customer struggling with French, but because I singlehandedly demolished the bread basket and asked for more. A clearly gluttonous request by French standards.

So that explains why he was swift with the bread!

I checked into my hotel around midnight. It was a long day eating marathon and the next morning I went to the Richard Lenior markets to oogle at more food.

Guess what these are?

Sea urchin which I brought back. Spiky but delicious.