Andrew - you don’t know me from Adam, but just wanted to let you know I really enjoy reading about your adventures in Paris. Please keep it up!
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@Neal - must have been updated. Long story short, three or four terrorists were arrested down the street, trying to blow up an apartment building. The article kept calling the 16th a “chic neighborhood” and pointing out that if they were in the 16th, they could be anywhere. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek post.
Definitely have seen more police lately, generally on bike patrols, going through the neighborhoods. It isn’t enough to make me feel unsafe (or worry about the family), but it is a reminder to keep your eyes open.
I have not! Somebody else was trying to turn me on to it, but I largely use Paris by Mouth and recommendations from colleagues. My wife and I don’t go out that much, given we have four kids 
Other funny note - we don’t have a toaster. Long story, but when you’re furnishing a house for 18-30 months max, you pick your battles, knowing you’ll either need to resell or toss everything you buy. So, my latest indulgence is buying sliced (tranche) bread, usually a petite campagne or bagged Poilane, and tossing it in a sauté pan with a big chunk of melted Bordier demi-sel and browning it. Top with some Ferber jam and I’m a happy guy. Probably not the healthiest thing in the world…
To the rest of the world, all of Paris is chic, I suppose
Home for the weekend! With Fall in full swing, I brought one of my daughters to the Saxe-Breteuil market this morning to see if there was anything exciting. We ended up settling with pretty basic stuff - onglet de veau (veal hanger steak) and travers du porc (pork ribs, because everybody misses the grill) a but it was fun to hit a couple stalls that always have hunted/foraged products this time of year. See the pics below.
My daughter translates for me now, so the vendors always seem to give her free stuff. We went to a cheesemonger, she got a goat cheese puck. Coffee bean guy? Gave her a cup of hot cocoa. I bought some grilled ribs to eat for lunch, the butcher gave her a couple extra “for the road.” I laughed when she asked where we were going next…
“To the wine store, doh. Tell ‘em you like Burgundy.”
Andrew, great story. I love your posts!
Public service announcement - if you’re waiting for a Metro train and see this:
Chances are, the train is running late and in two minutes, you’re going to end up seeing this:
Rather than enjoying a Shinegawa Station experience in Paris, wait 60 seconds for the second train 
Hey, some people like that Shinegawa experience.
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It’s cold outside.
I fully recognize that 33 degrees Fahrenheit isn’t “cold” to most of you; hell, I’d been living in Seattle for the previous 10 years and it’s not even cold there. That said, I didn’t have to walk everywhere in Seattle. As much as I hated driving around in a Toyota Sienna with 37 cup-holders and a dual-input DVD screen… the heater worked, the seat warmers worked and didn’t get winded going to the store. Sounds like a great segue to a walking tour!
My wife is in a great spot in Paris, as she benefits from two things - no work visa and kids at the International School. Many of the local English-speaking tour groups here market heavily to the parent base, as they’re all largely in the same boat. Why sit around the apartment all day when you can go on a “chocolate tour of Paris” for 30 euros or a guided day trip to Champagne for 125, lunch and tours included? She convinced me to tag along on a “Hemmingway walking tour” with 10-15 other parents on a Friday morning. We popped out of the Metro at Jussieu and, after grabbing a couple of croissants and pain du chocolate (come on, it IS Paris), met up with the rest of the group and started the tour. The Hemmingway tour turned out to be more of a Hemmingway, Joyce, Orwell, Roman coliseum, random courtyards in the 5th/13th tour, but that’s just a technicality. Moral of the story is that for 15 euros/head, you can have somebody witty guide you around Paris and show you stuff you would have never found on your own (see: Roman coliseum behind an apartment complex). Don’t know that I’d do it if I was on a 3-4 day visit of Paris, but if you’re here for a week, it’s a nice break in the action and you don’t have to worry about planning things on your own. Home
Some random pics from the walk posted below. Final note for this post - Juveniles continues to please. Had a great dinner there last night (hence the “it’s cold outside,” as we walked a bit and took the bus) and enjoyed a 2010 Clusel Roch Cote Rotie (70 euros) off the list.
Other seasonal note - the city of Paris cancelled the Christmas Market on the Champs-Elysees this year and is cutting the giant Ferris Wheel next year. The mayor claimed the market wasn’t impressive enough to be on the Champs and was clearly not French, given all of the sausage / pork knuckle / hot chocolate stands that lined the way. It’s Paris, so there were protests, of course 
And finally… a nice pic I took the other night, walking home from a doctor visit.
Ok, I can’t help myself here.
Going to Guy Savoy tonight!
I’ll post pics here 
Really enjoying the posts, Andrew. Hope Guy Savoy met expectations
Thanks, Neal! Gearing up for dinner now. Have been wanting to go since we got here, but finally managed to find a way to land it. I’ll attempt to live post here, just for the hell of it.
Pre-party at Chez Nous, as I got here entirely too early. Round 1: 2013 Gilles Barge Côte Rotie Cuvee du Plessy. Holy tannins! Considered asking for a Mollydooker shake in a decanter and then realized that would likely get me shot in Paris.
Did I mention dinner will feature a “Secret Santa” activity? This is going to be awesome
Starting off with the Nacho Libre commemorative chargers.
Chestnut and celery soup. Not exciting. Wine for the table arrived and it’s evident that I am not ordering, although I do enjoy Ogier’s line-up in Cote du Rhône.
Lobster and beets course, before and after bisque.
Monkfish with several types of potato. The crowd enjoyed my story of trying to order shallots at Marche de Passy, only to get frustrated to end up with a bag of potatoes (Charlottes).
Please accept my apologies for the pics that are 90 degrees off. You’d think working at a tech company would make me a bit better at posting these.
So far, the hands down highlight of the meal was an artichoke soup with truffles and Parmesan. Just amazing.
Here’s the dark, blurry pic, as I’m not going to be “that guy” using my flash.
Main protein course was a pheasant / pigeon / foie stack win foraged mushrooms. Amazing flavor, but then again, I could eat foie all day and be happy.
Quite a few small bites for dessert. Will wrap with this pic!
What a wonderful evening! Thanks for sharing it