Champs-Élysées and Le Diane

It was really nice to sleep in this morning without having any solid plans until the afternoon. We spent some time planning out our week in Italy, ensuring we had places to stay and ways to get from point A to B to C. It looks like it's all falling into place. 

This afternoon, we took the metro to Champs-Élysées and got a close up view of the Arc de Triomphe, located at the western end of the strip. It looks so much larger in person than pictures make it out to be.

We had a few hours before our dinner, so we went into some of the shops along the strip, and stopped by this fancy place called "McDonalds" for a quick snack.

It was actually a pretty futuristic McD's. They have a bunch of touchscreens along the wall, where you can place your order and pay, and then walk up to a counter and pick up your food at a separate counter, away from the longer lines. 

I think we were able to order, pay and eat before some people in the other lines had a chance to even order their food. Technology!

It wasn't exactly the quality of food we'd come to expect from this city, but we had to try it once before we left (we're looking at you, Katie Fraser!)

A few days ago, one of Ashleigh's shoes broke just as we were arriving back at the apartment, so she was on the lookout for a new pair. She managed to find some that were suitable for our dinner out, but she almost instantly regretted it afterwards due to their lack of comfort. They won't be making the trip back to Canada, as she left them in the metro for some lucky(?) person to find. 

We arrived at Fouquet's, a swanky hotel where celebs like T-Swift and Jay-Z/Beyoncé stay when they're in town. The hotel has a few restaurants to choose from, but Ryan had booked us a dinner at their Michelin star restaurant, Le Diane. It was just a bit of a step up over McDonalds, although I didn't see any touchscreen on the walls. 

We sat outside, as it was a beautiful evening, and the temperature was just right. We had a reservation for 7:30, thinking we'd be eating at a fashionable hour, but it turned out that we were the first ones there.

The service was like nothing either of us had ever experienced, and likely something we never will again. I'm not even sure how many servers we interacted with throughout the meal. One person to take our bags, a hostess to show us to our table, another to pour drinks, another to set the table for the each course, two more to clear plates (one server would never carry two plates), and another to ensure everything was meeting our expectations. 

The meal included four courses and two desserts. Four of the courses were paired with a different wine as well. Each of the courses was a complete surprise, so we never knew what to expect next. Fortunately, everything was amazing! There were even three types of butter served with three kinds of bread. While it doesn't sound very appealing, seaweed butter is second to none. 

I can't fully remember what all of the courses included, so I'll get Ashleigh to come back and edit the descriptions of each, but there were definitely some frog legs in the mix! 

We normally laugh at people who post pictures of their food, but this dinner was too well-presented not to, so bare with me.

Our dinner was an experience we'll never forget. Thank you for the amazing wedding gift, Ryan!