We got up early today because Joe was going to go all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower this time. I really wanted to eat lunch at the Jules Verne on my Birthday but was afraid to make reservations because last time we were in Paris he refused to go and Courtney and I went up, Jodi stayed down with him. Not that it upset her that she did not have to go to the top, she of not the fondest of heights. He stated his intentions on arrival, but I was unable to get reservations that late. No big surprise to me, though the kids couldn’t figure it. In the past I have made reservations as soon as I was allowed in order to get the time we wanted. So we traipsed off to the towering beauty yet one more time to stand in line and wait our turn. As usual getting the tribe off in a timely manner was difficult so we did not get there when we had agreed we wanted, but our wait was not as horrible as I expected. 45 minutes to an hour, I think. I did not really keep track. The trip up went smoothly, as usual there was another lengthy wait on the second level to go to the top. It was an incredibly windy day and to be honest, I was a little uneasy at feeling her sway back and forth! After the melodrama of going up was done the kids loved it. I wish I could say the same for Jodi, though you would not know it by looking at her. Of course Joe was very proud of himself!
For lunch we went to a place we had seen the night before, they make pizza without tomato chunks on it so Joey would not have to pick them off. It was relatively hot and it was good to sit and relax a bit. After, we journeyed to the Rodin museum only to find it closed on Mondays. It had been a bit of a hike and we had rested on the way in one of the innumerable parks that exist in Paris. We decided, however, to go on to Luxembourg garden and hang for a while. We picked up some beverages on the way and sat in the shade. We could not find enough chairs, Courtney had one and we just hung out on the bench until Courtney and Joe could scarf others. Near us there was a disapproving elderly woman, and a few feet away on the other side of the walkway a bunch of nattering elderly gentlemen. On one of Courtney’s “Scarffing” missions an elderly black gentleman came right up and took the chair that she had vacated. She was astounded, grumped for a minute and then started joking about going over, bawling out “I want my chair back”. We all got a good laugh out of that.
I made reservations at Bofinger for that evening as I hoped Jodi would enjoy their gazpacho, and thought I remembered them having steak tartare for Joey. We paid a visit to the apartment, got cleaned up and headed back to Bofinger for dinner. This restaurant is only a block or so from the apartment. My prior visit had been very pleasant and I had no reason to expect otherwise. The kids were adorable; they both clean up rather well. They also both behave rather nicely in public and it makes us so proud. Despite all of that pride our service was very different that evening, when compared it to what I had experienced before. Had that been my first and only visit, I would not have returned. I still don’t know about future visits. I had fois gras, confit de canard (Duck confit – which reminded me of pressure cooked meat and mashed potatoes) and an Isle Flotant (Which was quite frankly a mess – a Cream Anglaise with a heap of browned meringue floating on it); Jodi stalwartly finished it off for me after my first bite. It was just wrong, two toppings in one dessert. Jodi liked her soup, Joe LOVED his tartare and Courtney ate a burger (sans bun) off the kids menu. Dinner was done and bed was calling.
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