Paris, Part 7

Saturday was my last day in Paris, but I had Dawn with me the whole day, which was nice.  We started our day with coffee and AMAZING pastries from the bakery at the base of Dawn's apartment building.  Armed with our delicious pastries, we revisited the Eiffel Tower in the daylight.  Unfortunately, the elevator to the top was closed for repairs, so we just saw the view from the ground. That view wasn't too shabby, either:

I can't remember for sure, but I think we did some more wandering, just enjoying a beautiful fall day in Paris. We visited the lovely Tuileries Gardens (which I still associate most strongly with Pictures at an Exhibition).  Here are a few photos from our wanderings.

Riverboat on the Seine, with graffiti. 

Love locks on a bridge.

Tree sculpture in the Tuileries. 

 

 Flowers in the Tuileries.

Finally came another highlight of my trip: learning to make eclairs from Dawn's friend Yann.  This process was highly enjoyable and delicious.  I left it to Dawn to actually remember the details of how to make them, I'll have to bug her about it next time I see her.  But here is the general process:

1.   Have awesome kitchen utensils from IKEA. 

(well we didn't actually use these, but still).  

2. Have your French host show you how to perfectly squeeze out the eclair dough he has graciously already prepared for you.  Fail miserably in your own attempts.

3. Also make chouquettes and cover them with this awesome sugar. Bake the eclair shells.

4.  Help add flavor (lime and caramel) to the eclair fillings your host has also graciously made for you.  

5. Clumsily follow your French host's example in filling the eclairs with the flavored center, then top with glaze. 

6.  Enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Yum!

After that, we had grand plans to have dinner and then do a boat tour on the Seine.  But in typical Parisian fashion, by the time we finished dinner (no trip to Paris would be complete without a rude waiter), it was too late to do a boat tour.  So we wandered around Paris in the evening.  It was lovely.

 

 

And so my time in Paris came to an end.  I left early to the next morning to return home to Los Angeles, inspired and energized to begin the busy season ahead.   Many thanks to Dawn, Michelle, and Yann, who were such wonderful hosts.  You are always welcome in sunny Los Angeles!