Thursday 29 December 2011 - St-Germain-en-Laye, Le Train Bleu

With a rainy forecast for tomorrow and the rest of our stay in Paris we decided to take the RER out to St-Germain-en-Laye.  The sun was shining brightly in a blue sky although the wind was a little cold.  This is the route of the first railway in France. Now it is traversed by a frequent service of fast electric trains.

We walked around this well to do town.  Prices are very high indeed.  There are specialty shops of all types in great profusion.  After a quick snack we walked into the vast garden of the Chateau across to the view towards La Defense and the Eiffel Tower.  There is a small vineyard on a south facing slope.

The Chateau is the first thing you see coming up the escalator from the station.

I wonder what this is supposed to mean?

Specialty cheese shop

Dinner this evening was at Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon.  The best way to get to the Gare de Lyon from our area is to take metro line 14 from St. Lazare.  These are automatic driverless trains running at frequent intervals and with few stops.  At Gare de Lyon, line 14station there is a special display of plants - a jungle setting.

The room is superb.  It is listed and the decor always takes our breath away.  There is a good description on their web pages at: http://www.le-train-bleu.com/uk/index.php

We have not been to Le train Bleu for several years because we had found the service to be arrogant and nothing special about the food.  This time we were very pleasantly surprised.  The service was excellent, the waiter was always there when you needed him, but not intrusive.  The food was also extremely well prepared.  We had fish soup/saucisson Lyonnais to start and salmon/beef jowls for the main course.  The sauces were excellent, the sauce for the salmon was a dark morel sauce.  We had to finish with the famous baba au rhum.  The waiter brings it to the table and cuts the baba open.  He pours a newly opened bottle of Martinique rum over the baba then leaves the bottle on the table to help yourself.  A very satisfying meal and we would be happy to go back again.

View from the balcony leading to Le Train Bleu