Easter

Attend Easter mass at Notre Dame Cathedral…check. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t on “my list” before, but I think it should have been. Who knows when I will be in Paris again on a major Catholic holiday (I’m hoping I’ll be traveling elsewhere next Christmas). And while, the experience wasn’t life altering, it will be something that I’ll never forget. The mass was, as expected, conducted entirely in French and despite my improving language skills; I could barely understand one word that was said. However, I found that it was like watching an Italian opera; you don’t need to comprehend the individual words in order to appreciate and grasp the beauty of the message.

After mass we (I went with two LCB friends) had reservations for brunch at Le Murano inside the Murano Urban Resort, a trendy boutique hotel in the Marais. We wanted to treat ourselves to a decadent champagne brunch and I had read that is was the best brunch in Paris. Even though I have nothing to compare it to, I still don’t know if it’s really THE BEST (aside from the eggs), but it was awfully darn good.

The hotel is fairly decadent in it’s own right. In true boutique hotel fashion, it’s super modern and over the top. White leather as far as the eye can see, hundreds of white cylinders hanging from the ceiling and in the lounge area a long, two feet tall fireplace that covers the length of an entire wall…even if you don’t go for brunch I recommend stopping by for a drink in their bar, just to see it all.  The brunch consisted of eggs to order that were cooked in the back and brought to your table (the best scrambled eggs I have ever had at a restaurant, but then again, I adore my scrambled eggs custardy and soft) and then three different buffets; each in it’s own room, as well as coffee, tea, and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices (orange, pear, apricot, strawberry, cucumber, and carrot). Sweet buffet: breads, brioche, pains aux chocolats, croissants, fromage blanc, Swedish pancakes, and of course toppings for it all. Savory buffet: a myriad of salads, cheeses, smoked salmon with blinis, Serrano ham carved to order, various other meets (even American style bacon and sausage) and chafing dishes filled with casseroles. Dessert buffet: tiny petit fours and miniature versions of classic French desserts: éclairs, profiteroles, custards, napoleons, etc. Needless to say, it was a very long brunch, because we wanted to try it all and had to take breaks a long the way to make room for more.

Oh and regarding the other brunch-ers (or should it be brunch-ees, hmm I guess neither are real words anyway), we must have finally popped out of the tourist bubble that seems to follow me everywhere, because we were the only English speaking table! Lots of trendy French twenty/thirty somethings . Overall, it met all my expectations but did not exceed them. Brunch with 2 glasses of champagne was 70€, the non-alcoholic brunch is 56€, definitely a splurge either way but worth it for a special occasion…or simply when you are particularly deserving of something fabulous.