Culture: The Centre Pompidou Museum in Paris

A fun part of a day can be spent at the Centre Pompidou modern art museum centrally located just north of the Seine in the 4th district of Paris. The building itself is as interesting to see as the art inside, and there is a nice restaurant and outdoor cafe for hanging out, relaxing and feeling chic.

You can easily purchase a ticket to enter the museum on the ground floor, from one of the large red machines using your bank card, to avoid waiting in line. It is also possible to purchase a ticket for €3 that will not allow access to the galleries, but just to ride the escalators up to the top, where you will have a view over all of Paris! This is where the restaurant, Le Georges, is located as well - which looks so cool with its curvy metal seating booths, and pink chairs. Outdoors each table has a single long stemmed red rose, which in the design context adds to the feeling of being modern and chic.

Centre Pompidou

19 Rue Beaubourg  75004 Paris

01 44 78 47 99 - This number can also be used for booking dinner reservations at Le Georges

www.centrepompidou.fr 

Restaurant: Best Crepes in Paris at the Creperie de Josselin!

This is a wonderful place for all kinds of crepes in the Montparnesse area of Paris. I am sure you have tried a ham and cheese or Nutella crepe from a street vendor while walking around the streets, at some point on your visits. But how about coming in for an amazing instance of a crepe, in a sit-down restaurant, that is full of charm - with traditional decorations like lace covered lamps and dark wood paneling, along with really friendly staff.

This street has so many crepe restaurants! This is supposed to be the best one, and it was really good. The menu has so many flavor choices you probably never thought of, for both salty and sweet versions. I had a spinach and goat cheese version (after seeing it on the plate of the person at the next table), while my dining companion had a ham/cheese/mushroom version. We had a bottle of traditional French apple cider to accompany our crepes, which you drank from small bowl-like ceramic cups.

 

Creperie de Josselin

67 rue du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris

01 43 20 93 50

Recipe: Prosciutto & Melon, and a Restaurant in Murano, Italy!

It is October in Paris, and it has been cold and rainy! I was thinking about Italy and my trip this summer with my parents. We ate fresh melon with Prosciutto, of course paired with cold Prosecco, nearly every day!

You can easily make this delightfully simple dish at home any time. Select a cantaloupe or other sweet orange melon, and slice it, taking off the skin and seeds - and arrange on one large serving platter, or on individual plates. Choose a thinly sliced Prosciutto (from Italy preferably!) and arrange a small piece over each melon slice. Make sure not to put too much Prosciutto on top! The flavors should complement each other, and not be overwhelmed by the salty meat. It also looks nice to see a bit of the melon beneath.

Besides the picture of this dish which I made here in Paris, the other images below are from a very lovely restaurant, hidden off the main path in a square with an outdoor seating area with cheerful yellow coverings, where we had an excellent example of this dish. If you are ever in Murano, Italy (just a quick boat ride from Venice) stop by for a nice and simple Italian meal!

 

 

Ristorante Hotel "Al Soffiador"

Viale Bressaggio, 10-11

Murano - Venezia

+39 041 739 430

info@venicehotel.it

www.venicehotel.it 

Comme a Lisbonne: Portuguese Pastries in Paris!

This is a great little bakery and store centrally located in Le Marais area of Paris. The woman I met in the shop told me she is Portuguese, from Port, and was very friendly, speaking English, Portuguese or French, depending on her customer.

There are always lines of people for the fresh baked Pasteis de Natas, which are a special Portuguese pastry, with a crust a bit crunchier than a croissant, and an egg custard filling, topped if you like with cinnamon.

Inside the shop you can sit and have an espresso with your pastry, or browse the selection of Portuguese olive oils, tinned fish, and alcohols.

Everyone knows Port, but they also have Vinho Verde, a dry crisp white wine from the northwest region of Portugal called Minho, Amarguinha, a sweet almond liquor to have with dessert and coffee, and Brandymel, which is a digestif made from honey and Aguardente.

 

Comme a Lisbonne

37 Rue du Roi de Sicile  75004 Paris

07 61 23 42 30

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