Versailles and the BEST soufflé in Paris

We've made it to our last day in Paris! What a wonderful week it had been. We had one more excursion to fit in, a life-changing soufflé to eat, some souvenirs to buy, and of course another fabulous dinner! Cue Picture overload!

We had arranged a small group tour of Versailles, and our tour guide picked us up from our hotel (nice!). There was only one other family with us, so it was a very small group. The traffic was heavy, but we finally made it.

Keep in mind - by now, we have been on our trip for two weeks, have been to many museums, "palaces", etc.. It was too funny. We would walk into a room, do a 360 with our eyes, and then move on. It was almost "old hat" to us. Below are some of the photo highlights of the palace! (which was amazing, by the way!)

The "hall of mirrors"

 

Probably almost as famous as the inside are the Versaille Gardens. We visited in between seasons, so there wasn't too much in bloom. They were actually working on prepping the plants for the fall/winter. It still was such a sight to see! Can't you picture a garden party?!

 

 

 

 

We got back into the city and rested for a bit before heading out for a late lunch. One of @mkmaddox's friends had recommend this "souffle" place, La Recamier. It seemed like the "French" thing to do. We got there and they asked if we had reservations (not many places we go require reservations for lunch!). Thankfully, they were able to find us a table. It was a great place to people watch, and the theme/atmosphere was based on a book and reading. (Already a winner in our books! No pun intended!). You can see below, the ceiling looks like you are opening a book, and there are pages from French novels on the walls.  

We started with a quinoa and artichoke salad. Look at the presentation! It was so beautiful and so flavorful.  

Then. The "piece-de-resistance". This was really the first soufflé we had ever had and didn't quite know what to expect. GUYS. I wish we could provide taste-a-vision. I've never tasted anything like it. Puffy, creamy, savory, light, full, AMAZING. We had chosen the chicken soufflé. I know the picture does not do it justice, but if you are ever in Paris.  RUN, do not walk, to La Recamier.

We aren't quite done with lunch. We had finished our savory soufflé and now had to make the tough decision on what type of sweet we would choose. We picked the toffee soufflé with caramel sauce and sea salt and NO WORDS. It reminded me a little of a bread pudding, but to the extreme next level. Five stars/two thumbs up for this lunch. It was definitely our favorite of the entire trip. @aushellbell said she would go back to Paris to eat at this restaurant alone. It was THAT good. I found this article from Vogue about this "hidden gem" if you'd like to read more!

Happy and full, we left and decided to stroll around the St. Germain for some last minute souvenirs for our family and friends (and us!). One secret we've learned from traveling is that a grocery store is the ideal (and sometimes budget friendly) place to buy little treats to take home. They usually have local treats or candies that are the perfect little gift!

Before we had gone out that day, we had asked one of the girls at the hotel where she would recommend our final dinner, and she made us reservations at L'epi Dupin. It was the quintessential French restaurant. When we arrived, there was a large party behind us. You could tell they were local and were celebrating. That was a great sign as we typically go to our favorite places when we are celebrating! 

The menu was very much in French, so we basically asked our waitress what she would recommend. The chef brought out an amuse-bouche for us to start with. We split a goat cheese and vegetable salad. Then opted for a beef and fish dinner (so we could try both!) for our mains. Everything was local, fresh, and so flavorful!

I know this looks a little funny, but we ended with a taste of sorbets and fruit. It was quite the presentation, and the perfect little bite to end our wonderful dinner.

I think we said it before, but WHAT a day. It was the perfect ending to the perfect birthday trip! We made it back to the hotel and had to pack our bags (boo) since our flight was super early the next morning. Next week we'll do one more post about where we stayed in Paris as it was one of the highlights of our trip and made our Paris experience the best!

Au Revoir until then!