Monday 2 January 2012 - Invalides and St. Sulpice

It turned out a bright sunny day after heavy overnight rain.  The sun was shining brightly when we arrived at the Invalides metro so we made a detour to see the golden dome highlighted in the sun.

The golden dome of the Invalides shone brightly in the sun

Les Invalides

 With nothing further in mind we walked along rue de Grenelle and then Saint Germain to look at the newly restored church of St. Sulpice.  The work has been done very well and the square is beautiful.  We took a look inside - the church is enormous and somewhat dark although the sun shining through what windows there are helped to brighten the place somewhat.

Rue de Grenelle

Rue de Grenelle

The exterior restoration of St. Sulpice is excellent

St. Sulpice

The fountains in front of St. Sulpice were playing - a tribute to the very mild weather

Coming back to Villiers we found that the barrier machines at the metro had not been altered from the weekend so we had a free ride home.

WE had dinner this evening at Le Bistrot des Vignes, just around the corner on rue des Dames.  We have always eaten well here and tonight was no exception.  We arrived after 1930 and were the first there.  The serveuse was excellent, she spoke very quickly but we got along very well with her.

Mary had veloute de potiron avec chataignes (a type of pumpkin soup with grilled chestnuts) and salmon.  I had a terrine of rabbit followed by the special of the day which was souris d'agneau (smile of lamb) which turned out to be a lamb shank with salad and a construction of thinly sliced potato in a cream sauce.  We had a bottle of Chinon with it.  We decixded to have dessert.   Mary had the gourmet coffee which included pannacotta, raspberry coulis, a creme brule and a chocolate cake with a melted chocolate sauce in the center and a deca allonge coffee.  I had apple sorbet with Calvados.  Another example of a small local restaurant which puts out excellent meals and with a great atmosphere as well.

We sat in the window and watched the passers by on rue des Dames.  There was a scooter parked outside.  A man came along with three day's growth of beard and a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth.  He put on a pink helmet and rode off with the cigarette still hanging out the side of his mouth - only in Paris!  Maybe he was a supporter of Stade Francais Rugby Club.