Day 2- Dinner and the Pantheon

We got back to our apartment, exhausted and decided to go straight off for dinner before we got too sleepy.  I quickly prank called my Dad at his hotel room where he was sound asleep, and we left.

We wandered over to an attraction which was close enough to our apartment- the Pantheon.  Imagine walking down the streets of Paris, with the common five storey art-nouveu style building towering over as you navigate the narrow corners and juggle between the road and footpath.  All of a sudden, around a bend, a clearing forms in the distance.  As you approach the clearing, an enormous monolithic structure bears its chest in a humbling display of absolute power.  I was truly in awe by the size of this thing, it looked as if God lived inside. The Pantheon, originally built as a Church, but now a masoleum, a fitting function for such a grand and blank entity.

We ate at a nearby restaurant called 'Le Comptoir Du Pantheon'.  Again, all the seats faced the street in a theatre style setting.  For entree we ordered french onion soup and some snails.  The french onion soup was topped with melted cheese and bread and was lovely and warm and sweet.  The snails were filled with a buttery basil sauce and tasted really nice.  They have the texture of calamari and were actually very pleasant to eat, once you got around the fact they used to be greasy garden bugs.  I asked Bec to taste, to which she bravely agreed.  Though her head nodded to me in agreement, her quivering throat and dry reaching told a different story.

For mains we ordered a honey smothered Duck breast and a 4 cheese Pasta, both of which were reccommended as traditional french dishes by the waiter.  The duck breast was moist and juicy with a sweet honey sauce- tasted incredible.  The 4 cheese pasta tasted like boiled pasta, with cheese on top- I DONT KNOW WHAT I WAS EXPECTING.

After the meal we wandered to a nearby ancient bookshop called 'Shakespeare and Co' which was well known for hosting late night recitals and plays.  To our delight, a performance of Macbeth was underway just outside the shop.  We wandered through the shop looking at the new and used books.  the shop was very cramped but had a lovely warm character about it.  Ancient timber bookshelves adorned with rail ladders were all over the place. 

As we wandered back though the streets back home, i got a glimpse of the most iconic French building in existence- the Eiffel Tower, in the far distance.  It had just been lit up and i looked at my watch and realised the time was 10.30pm.  It is unbelievable- it never gets dark here.  At 10,30pm the sun was still out and dusk was just hitting. 

No wonder the Parisians are so laid back in the mornings, their days are 20 hours long.  What kind of cultural influence would a never ending day have on this society?  In Australia we work 8 hours a day because our day lasts about 10-12 hours.  How long do you work if day is double that?  what time is early?  what time is late? I just realised my 10 day holiday is now 20 days long!

On the way back home, we stopped at one of the many street crepe places and ordered a nutella and banana crepe.  The mixture is poured on to a hot plate and spread thin, covered in nutella and a banana, folded with the skill of a samurai.  Gooey, warm nutella filled every mouthful with the sweet banana and crispy crepe made a decadent combination and a perfect way to finish the long day.