Je T'aime Paris!

-The early bird travels to paris
-lunch at the Eiffel tower, jules verne restaurant
-air bnb
-who in the heck is Dominique bouchet?

San Pancras Train Station

Waiting lounge at San Pancras Railway Station

On board the very nice Eurostar train from London to Paris (also referred to as the Chunnel train)

We awakened at 5:00am and asked the concierge at the hotel to get us a taxi to San Pancras Railway Station so that we could catch a 7:55am Eurostar train to Gare du Nord station arriving at 11:23am in Paris. From Gare du Nord we took the metro to Madeleine Station in order to check in at the Sofitel de Fauborg, located in the fashion district.
As you might have surmised, we are huge fans of the Sofitel Hotel chain. If you have never slept in one of their beds you may not fully appreciate our obsession. Guaranteed great night of sleep! They also provide excellent customer service. You won't get a snooty attitude and they do their very best to accommodate any reasonable request you might have. Extra hangers in the room, etc. 

This hotel was recently renovated in a "fashion theme" since they are located in the heart of the fashion district. Our room had a mural on the wall that had once been part of a photo spread in Vogue Paris magazine. It was probably more suited to my taste than Michael's but it was lovely nonetheless.
We hurriedly put some of our things away and raced off to the Eiffel Tower where we were supposed to meet up with Michael's father and friend, Phyllis at 1:00pm. It was wonderful to be back in Paris even if only for a short while and especially nice to be able to rendezvous (who says I can't speak French!) with Mike and Phyllis. We arrived about 10 minutes late and found that they had already been seated.

The view from our table at the Jules Verne Restaurant

Under the Eiffel

Rabbit Ears in front of the Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower

The view from the Jules Verne Restaurant at the Eiffel Tower

There is no way to describe the view from the Eiffel Tower. You are able to look out through the steel beams and out into the entire city of Paris as it is laid out on a grid. It's amazing! After a wonderful glass of wine, we ordered our lunch. I chose lamb, asparagus and a chocolate pot du pain. Each bite was delightful but the dessert was especially tasty. At the end of the meal we were served even more sweets, cookies, madeleines, etc.
We stayed long after everyone else had left and the staff didn't rush us out!

Mike and the wonderful desserts!

A little pot of chocolate

Lovely Phyllis at the Jules Verne Restaurant

By the way, if you find yourself travelling to Paris and do want to lunch at the  Michelin rated Jules Verne, I highly recommend you reserve a table online in advance of your trip. The day we ate there, it was filled with local Parisians. Here's a link to do that: http://www.lejulesverne-paris.com/en
A word of caution: Don't expect to get off cheap, but know that it's worth every penny. The staff never rushes you through the meal. You can take photos to your heart's content and waiters are happy to take photos of you and your party. Everyone seems to be enjoying the experience of being in this wonderful place.

After lunch we all decided to take a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower to look down below. We got off on the 5th floor in order to look down through the glass bottom to the street level. At first it was disorienting but soon enough we were looking for interesting photo angles.
After a little while we decided to take the elevator back down to the bottom. Michael's father who is king of the one liners is hilarious. I noticed that there were many signs indicating the presence of pick-pockets and voiced my concern. It was quiet in the elevator and then Mike said, "I don't know about that but somehow I have found myself with 3 extra wallets!" 
Michael and I burst out laughing but what was really funny was the uncomfortable look on the faces of the other folks that were squeezed onto the elevator with us! Many hands checked their back pockets as we departed the elevator. Sorry, but you may have had to be there. It makes me laugh just thinking about it!

It was a short walk over to the apartment that Mike & Phyllis had booked for two weeks through AirBNB. It was a very charming little 2 bedroom apartment in a lovely part of Paris. There were little small cafes on their street and a flower shop on the corner. Perfect!

Love the red chairs

A Waterlogue version of the photo of the right Cool, huh?

We enjoyed a glass of wine and then took the train back to our hotel to rest up before our next food extravaganza. I had pre-arranged for us to dine at Dominque Bouchet Restaurant which was within walking distance of our hotel. I was also able to book this highly rated restaurant online which was mighty convenient for non-French speakers like me.  Here is the link: http://www.dominique-bouchet.com/en/booking.php

Dominque Bouchet Restaurant Intimate setting - little English spoken

My dinner was beef medallions with asparagus

Dinner for our party of 4 at Dominque Bouchet consisted of Turbot Soup - The entire fish in a red sauce, Beef Medallions with Asparagus, Lobster Macaroni, Monkfish & Quinoa Risotto. For dessert we split napoleons with hazelnut ice cream.

We walked back to the Sofitel which is located in the fashion district of Paris. Slowly we passed YSL, Givenchy, Ferragamo, Emilio Zegna, Paul & Shark, Miu Miu, and Sotheby's. A police barricade was set up at the end of our street which was a hint that a dignitary was in town. We never learned who it was.