Monday 31 December - New Year's Eve

Walking around this morning we were happy to see that the work on the restoration of part of St-Augustine's church has been completed. The parvis has also been cleaned up.

With Aux Iles Marquises closed for good as of last Saturday we had to find another venue for our Saint Sylvestre meal. We chose Chez Leon on the rue Legendre very close to the apartment. It was a good choice with pleasant, friendly staff and a very good kitchen. The meal included a glass of champagne and a small bowl of chestnut soup with foie gras and mushrooms.

There was then a choice of foie gras or ravioli stuffed with shrimp.

We both had the turbot marinated in champagne in a ratatouille 

The lamb in a pepper sauce with a mousseline of artichokes was , well done on the outside but rare inside

Nougat glacee au caramel latier

  

Grosse truffe chocolat a l'armagnac was very chocolatey and the "sail" was a very chewy toffee.

A bottle of Saumur Champigny went well with the lamb and we were given complimentary digestifs (Grand Marnier and Calvados).  As the evening wore on the restaurant filled, mainly with local people, many of whom were well known to the numerous staff who all wore formal clothes. A great meal and a great evening. 

After the meal we admired the lights along the rue de Levis and started out along the Boulevard de Courcelles towards the Arc de Triomphe. However, we needed a bathroom break and decided to turn back to the apartment. We were able to view the sound and light show of the Arc de Triomphe on TV and had a much better view than if we had joined the 200,000 people who jammed the Champs Elysees.

Happy 2019 everybody.

I have started a new blog for 2019. You can find it at:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3473729577479877995#allposts