We are taking the high speed train to Paris. Should be in Paris around 11 am. The train station was busy this morning. It is Friday and seems like everybody is going somewhere. People taking the train to Paris and then changing trains there to go somewhere else.
There is an average of 43 trains a day between Lyon and Paris, leaving approximately every 25 minutes. The high speed travels at a speed up to 200mph. When I was in Japan last November, we took the high speed train. The ride is so smooth as you sit there reading and enjoying the countryside pass by.
As soon as we arrived in Paris, we got a taxi and then checked in at Hotel Leopold. After we got settled in, we were off to Angelina's. I thought it would be a nice way to end our stay in Paris.
Angelina was founded in 1903 by the confectioner Anton Rumpelmayer and his son, Rene. It was named after his daughter-in-law. The location's charm and Rumpelmayer's skill and expertise with pastries, made this tea room the place to be. Coco Chanel would come daily and also well known French fashion designers gathered at the tearoom, as well.
The weather has not been the best for the past several days and today was no different. When we arrived at Angelina's, people were standing outside with their umbrellas waiting for a table. I was so glad that I had asked Becca to make us a reservation. We walked right up and they seated us at table "45". The table that Coco Chanel would sit at daily to watch the people and drink her hot chocolate.
Angelina is famous for their hot chocolate(le chocolat chaud en francais), and is often cited as the best hot chocolate in Paris. The cost is approximately 10 euros for the hot chocolate.
When you walked in, you felt that you were in a palace. The elegant and refined decor is the work of the Belle Epoque architect, Edouard-Jean Niermans. You felt as if you were walking back in time to the early 1900s. It was well preserved with the plethora of mouldings, cornices, bevelled mirrors and paintings from Vincent Lorant-Heilbronn.
With the hot chocolate, we ordered Angelina's signature pastry, which is Mont-Blanc. It is a crispy and dry French meringue under a smooth creamy dome of light whipped cream, covered by chestnut vermicelli. Of course, none of these had calories. I can't even begin to describe the taste. It touched your tongue and the taste was fabulous. Not too sweet or too bitter. The perfect chocolate.
Due to the rain, it was nice to be in doors. We sat there several hours, reminiscing about our trip. Everybody went around the table talking about what they enjoyed the most.
The evening was spent packing and getting ready to fly back to the U.S. tomorrow.
1 comment:
I like trains fast ones, slow ones and adverage ones
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