Lady Penelope celebrates in style

Monday 26th August 
So the step count came to a grinding halt today which is to say, we barely cracked the daily goal of 10,000 steps. But there were more serious things to consider as it was Lady Penelope’s birthday. From the outset of the planning this was the focus of our departure dates as Paris seemed  like the perfect destination for a party. Little did we know it, but others felt similarly and so a wonderful day of celebrations  began. Whilst guests from afar rose in the dark to travel by car, boat and plane via Calais and Amsterdam respectively we slowly prepared for our day of gastronomy which of course required us to travel across to the 16the armed with a change of attire to suit the days events.
Our first destination was Elysee St Honore, a delightful restaurant on the right bank not far from the Arc de Triumphe. Here we met up with Laura Jane Ogilvy and her youngest son Orlando, who had driven from London to celebrate the occasion over a long lunch. The Tattinger champagne flowed, there was barely a breath drawn as the two ladies quickly caught up on the news of the last seven years, which was when they had previously met. The friendship goes back 46 years when Lady P arrived as a nanny for the Ogilvy family and Laura Jane, as the oldest sibling relished the company of the ‘big sister’ companion. So there was plenty of reminiscing, some wonderful food and Flashy and Orlando discussed the more intellectual topics such as Brexit , fast cars and the event management industry which is the university course Orlando is currently completing.

All of this was of course undertaken in the quintessential setting of a Parisian pavement on another simply stunning Paris day where the temperature reached 33degs. In mid afternoon the next special guest from afar arrived, another long time family friend, Sheryn Foord, originally from Adelaide but currently travelling in England to follow the Ashes test cricket. When dinner in Paris was suggested  there was no hesitation and so midway through the afternoon, Sheryn joined us all for more champagne.  Lunch finally wrapped up around 5pm and we farewelled the English connection who returned to London, and we slowly sauntered off along the  boulevards until we reached the Avenue de la Grande Armee , where we sought a cooling refreshment in the form of a Heineken beer for Flashy and two tall gin and tonic for the ladies. We retired to the air conditioned  comfort of Sheryn’s boutique hotel which was just nearby and showered and changed into our dinner attire. A short walk to Le Pergolese where you guessed it another bottle of Tattinger awaited. We decided on the seven course degustation, after all we were celebrating and we are in Paris. Duck Foie gras with rhubarb and strawberry compote, followed by stuffed lapin (that's rabbit for those who didn’t study french) numerous amuse bouche in between and a palate cleansing peach and ginger foam. And finally there was the desert platter with a quenelle of strawberry and capsicum sorbet. The menu was accompanied by the sommeliers selection, a Paydoc marsanne, a Burgundy chardonnay, and a Bordeaux cabernet sauvignon merlot.

We rolled out of the restaurant, sauntered along the Paris side streets back to Sheryn's hotel and then departed by taxi through the streets of a still very warm Paris night and home to our delightful apartment.
Our Parisian boutique apartement
Claude’s petite apartment in the 14th arrondissement was just perfect for our 5 day sojourn in Paris. More like a bed sit but with a full kitchen, large bathroom and plenty of steaming hot water for those much needed showers at the end of our marathon walking days. The furnishings were mixed but modern and although the bed was of a low style it was no problem for the youthful Lady P. The walls were adorned with prints of old Paris images and a view of Le Tour Eiffel appeared out the ‘window’ of the toilet. It was located on Boulevard St Jaques in  fairly affluent part of town near a hospital. As a result it was incredibly quiet and we often wondered if anyone even lived there. A perfect sojourn for our stay.