calories don't count on vacation

of paris, harriet beecher stowe once said, "at last i have come into a dreamland..."

and that is how we feel about french cuisine.

our chef friend recommended we try lunch at l'hotel, so we made a reservation and hoped that sage would be perfectly behaved. as luck would have it, she fell asleep for all but the petit fours at the end of the experience. we had the most relaxing, happy lunch date sitting in a quaint, sun-dappled courtyard. the weather was perfect, the food even more perfect. 

i can't even remember exactly what we ate, but it was all presented beautifully with greenery--that grew in the garden next to our table--incorporated into every dish.

we went back to a little bistro we loved last time, and the restaurant had changed names and owners. however, we recognized one of the waiters--the one with impeccable manners who took his role very seriously. he told us he'd been working as a waiter at that address for thirty years, through every name change and every owner change.

the perk of eating out ridiculously early (7pm is ridiculously early) is personalized service. for sage, the waiters brought out markers and paper on a platter. they also offered to make a custom off-menu entrée of roast chicken and mashed potatoes just for her.

we tasted lots of onion soup. we made sure to pick up macarons at ladurée, and browsed restaurant menus in one area until we found chocolate mousse.

my foodie friend just sent me a woman's description of her experience at a famously chic restaurant. at the end of her epiphany, the woman says, "i was in love with the world because of food. i have never known anything like it in my life."

while my life wasn't changed in quite such a dramatic way, i was feeling pretty in love with the world after our week of indulging. i love that cooking is an art form and a serious sport for the french.