Day 11 - Paris

We are still in Paris! A few more people from our group left for the airport this morning to get on standby for flights with Air Canada, and they all managed to get on a couple flights out. However we decided to take the train to Versailles today, and hold off for our flight on Saturday.

We stopped at Les Délices du Palais on rue du Maréchal-Foch, where we picked up some ham and cheese and tomato and mozzarella baguettes and a bottle of Sancerre. We enjoyed our lunch on the steps of the garden at le château de Versailles.
King Louis XIV enlarged his father's estate, building a court and government there in the 17th century. We toured the King's and Marie-Antoinette's chambers, the drawing rooms, and office, but the most amazing part of the chateau is the gardens.

The estate stretches for miles, with a different fountain around every corner. There is even a small lake in the garden, large enough for the King to sail his ships and for tourists today to explore the gardens on row boats.

After a nice afternoon we came back to relax at Hotel Maillot, and then decided to go to the always-crowded Coffee Parisien next door for a late dinner.

The restaurant is decorated as a 1960's American diner, with a framed American flag and Woodstock Festival poster on the walls, and Obamac Burger and pancakes on the menu. We ordered their "large" portion of nachos, according to our waitress, which in reality was about one-third of the size of an American portion.

We drank draft beers and frozen margaritas, and had an omelette, cheeseburger, and chicken fajitas for dinner.

The restaurant was started in 1990 by a French-American who introduced "brunch" to the Parisians - a concept that flourished so much that Coffee Parisien now has three locations in Paris.

The ambiance of the restaurant is really what is so intriguing, despite the delicious "comfort" food we craved. The bar is lined with portraits of JFK; the walls are filled with The New York Times front page of JFK's assassination, Woodstock tickets and Campbell's soup posters; the placemats are lined with each American president's portrait; and the seats are constantly filled with young, fashionable Europeans sipping on drinks, nibbling on burgers, and running out for cigarette breaks.

The check was left with a Coffee Parisien magnet and a handful of chocolate silver coins with the restaurant's name on it, and who else but JFK's profile engraved as well.

From the decor to the menu, this little cafe is a hidden gem on the side streets of Paris.