La huitième fois à Paris - part two.

After the shock of realising Amandine and Gary wouldn't be there to ooh and ahh over everything with us, Jul and I decided that after getting some breakfast, we were going to go shopping.

Breakfast, Paris-style

The Xmas tree in Galeries Lafayette. So purdy.

I don't think words can describe how much I wanted this dress. The only things that held me back from trying it on was the price tag of €810. And the fact it probably would get covered in blood and god knows what in the lab.

I highly recommended to Jul that we go to the rooftop to enjoy the free view. It was very enjoyable and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the rooftop has a smoking ban which was enforced by a security guard while we were there!

As a side, this year's Xmas windows for Printemps was Dior-themed. I didn't take any photos because the crowds were crazy but it featured puppets dressed in classic designs to more recent ones. In short, I wish I was dressed like one of those dolls. 

Maybe it was the crowds, maybe it was the location, maybe it was the $1.50 I paid in Printemps to go to the toilet, but after a few fruitless hours walking around we realised that neither of us really felt in the mood for shopping. From this, we decided to simply enjoy being tourists.

*sigh* I will always love this view from Trocadero. 

And this view of the Palais de Chaillot

And this one from the Champ de Mars!

After heading back to the apartment, I suddenly went *NON! JE DOIS ACHETER UN SAC A MAIN!!!* and ran out to Longchamp to get myself a Planetes. It was totally worth it. 

I also listened to this random string orchestra near the Palais Royale.

For Saturday dinner, we had been planned to catch up with Gnoudesavanes at  Le Buisson Ardent on close to Le Monde Arabe, and so we took a leisurely stroll to the location.

*sigh*

Then I altered my programmed settings so the light would seem warmer

*SIGH!!!*

For some reason, I chose to use my phone to take photos of the meal. This was clearly a dereliction of duty because the photos don't represent the sheer awesomeness of the meal.

Entree - Prawn ravioli with fennel, mango, and saffron stock.

Main - Veal liver with red onion jam and potatoes

Dessert -  poached pear stuffed with gingerbread ice cream and butterscotch sauce

Pistachio millefeuille

White chocolate dome filled with passionfruit ice cream and confit fruits.

I would highly recommend Le Buisson Ardent. Compared to last year's epic dinner a lAOC,  this was a lot less traditional French, a little bit more expensive (€35 for the 3-course menu compared to €29), but I walked out feeling a lot less heavy. Maybe it's because I didn't eat 200g of raw beef this time around though...

And then the way at least one night in Paris ends up, we headed to Bastille for cocktails. Gnoudesavanes ordered absinthe and they gave him his own water dripper. Now that's dedication.