Lunch with our Longtime French Friends

We were more than flattered when our friends, Pounette and Tristan, invited us to lunch at her Parisian apartment.  The French are very private and do not entertain often in their homes.

Pounette lives in an apartment which is just across from the very large Russian Embassy and a block from the Bois de Boulogne, in a quiet residential neighborhood. We took the No 63 bus from Gare du Lyon through the 5th, 6th, and 7th arrondissements, and then through the Trocadero which turned out to be nearly a one hour ride. It was like being on a tour bus, and we saw things we had never seen before. When we got off the bus, we only got a little lost.

At lunch, besides, Tristan and Pounette, her daughter, Patricia, and Patricia's husband and 2 1/2 year old daughter attended.  Patricia and her husband, Xavier, just had their civil marriage last Saturday in Paris.  Their religious ceremony will be in June in Hyeres. It was the first time we met Xavier.

Lunch began with a champagne aperetif.  Aude, the darling baby girl (in the cutest little dress and stockings), was sent to a nap( with the "Whidbey Island" bear we had brought her), and then we went to the dining room for lunch.

Tristan had prepared foie gras (from scratch) with a wine based gelatin as the entree'.  I was sitting across from Rick and couldn't quite reach to kick him, to let him know that this wasn't the whole lunch. And it was divine so how could he resist second and third helpings along with the excellent wine.

After the foie gras, Pounette brought out a delicious veal dish with shitake and cremini mushrooms in a thick sauce.  It was DIVINE!  And there were carrots, potatoes, and more excellent wine.

Next there was green salad with a vinagrette, and cheeses, and then finally a pastry for dessert and coffee.

We rolled out of the apartment at around 4 p.m. after having wonderful conversation with dear friends. We've known Pounette and Tristan for around 15 years, and met Patricia when she was just in high school.  We really enjoyed her husband, who turned out to speak English quite well.

Rick was reluctant to spend another hour on the bus, so we took the bus to Place de la Concorde, got off and walked past the very new ferris wheel............

and into the Tuileries gardens with loads of other people enjoying the mild weather.

We waited for a bit to see if the Eiffel Tower would start to twinkle, but as the sun went down it became colder and wee needed to walk after that wonderful lunch!