Louvre

We were able to enjoy a beautiful, sunny Sunday at the Louvre.

Most everything is closed on Sundays in Paris except the museums, so it's a great opportunity to visit one. The art collection at the Louvre was impressive (to say the least) and I was blown away by the size (so huge!!) but I was just as impressed with the elaborate details of the museum building itself. And I loved the huge park connected to it, Tuileries Garden, where the locals came out with their dogs to chill and soak in the sun.

Braisenville

Dinner at Braisenville (no official website, but here's a blog link).

We didn't have reservations but when we went in at 7:30 (when they open), we were able to be seated at the counter. All the table seats were booked. We were kind of doubtful since it was mostly empty until about 8PM. The counter seats started to fill up and from about 8:30, customers started rolling in non-stop.

They only use a coal-heated oven to cook their ingredients and serve tapas-sized portions so you can taste a little bit of everything.   

Exterior.

Interior.

All the bartenders/servers were incredibly friendly here.

Braised Scallops with Spinach Sauce

A very thick and creamy Potato potage with grilled mushrooms

Bread Basket

(Every restaurant we ate at had amazing bread. Carb-heaven!) 

Grilled Vegetables. So simple yet perfect, with fine olive oil and salt grains.

His main: Beef

My "extra" order: Fois Gras

The boy sitting next to us ordered this and he looked SO happy eating it (I seriously can't forget his smile), I couldn't resist ordering myself a plate. I'm glad I did because this was my favorite Fois Gras plate out of my whole trip! The acidity of the relish underneath went so well with the rare Fois Gras.

Cheese platter.

We really enjoyed our meal at Braisenville and on top of great food, they had a great wine list with very reasonable prices.

La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Finally getting some time to post updates!

After arrving in Paris after a rather smooth 13-hour flight, we had breakfast, explored and headed to La Pâtisserie des Rêves.

Exterior.

The really cute interior.

Pastry section.

They have a cafe that opens at 2PM for tea time.

Tart Tatin. YUM!

Orange Tart.

The cakes both had a very delicate sweetness to it. I picked up a pastry and had it the next morning, which was also yummy (wish I had a toaster, would have been much better heated!). The herbal teas here are really nice as well. The store is very girly, cute and photogenic - the perfect setting for afternoon tea.