42 Years Ago

Oh, to be young again...I remember our wedding like it was yesterday so how could 42 years go by so fast.  Isn't that what everyone says?  This is the month of all our birthdays and also our anniversary. Nick and Lauren are turning 36 and 34 years old this month.  So, I guess it has been that long but it's still hard to grasp. The thing to do is to just embrace it and celebrate so that's what we did last night. 

After being in Paris earlier this month, we wanted to do something similar so we picked an outdoor cafe-type setting at a restaurant on Capitol Hill called Monsoon.

                 
Nothing is really like Paris except Paris but we did our best living in Seattle.  At least it was a sidewalk table and it was on a really nice street with lots of trees and not noisy with traffic.  My favorite thing about Paris was...well, there were so many things but #1 was the sidewalk cafes.  

Since it is Europe, it's easy to find one on streets with no cars, pedestrians only.  But we are in America so there is no getting away from cars.  In Seattle, it's easy to sit at a restaurant next to water which is what we usually do so you are away from cars and parking lots but there is just something about those Parisian sidewalk cafes.  

You are never rushed to leave.  In fact, you have to ask for the check because it is the custom to expect that you'll sit for awhile and enjoy your time which we always did.  How could you not?  The food is always amazing which was my #2 most favorite thing about Paris.  Anybody want a little French Onion Soup or Beef Bourguignon?

 

Or how about a homemade crepe?  Lots of those around Paris, too, and we couldn't get enough. 

Or some creme brûlée?  We had a few of those, too.

We were only in Paris for 3 days but we made the most of it and next time we will stay at least week, if I have my way.

My third favorite thing about Paris was all the trees and parks. 

 

The trees in Paris were an effort by Napolean III who had a mission to beautify the city and planted all the trees between 1853 -1870. You can tell, too, because they are old trees that have been there awhile. 

 

You never walk very far before you were in another park. And people know how to enjoy them. Lots of relaxing and sitting around enjoying the beauty of Paris. 

                        

Even the busiest street of them all, Champs-Elysees, that is down from the Arc de Triomphe is lined with beautiful trees.

Of course, I loved all the shopping here.  Come on, it's Paris!  Fashion capitol of the world.  

Sidewalk cafes, food, trees, parks, shopping...we also loved all the architecture and beautiful buildings.  

It's all just gorgeous.  And I mustn't forget about the people watching.  That was also one of my favorite things about Paris.  

I guess I ought to say that I loved people watching people with dogs.  Like I said, always so relaxed.  Dogs were so well-behaved and relaxed just like their owners.  I love that.  In my next life, I will live in Paris with my dog.  

We did not have a lot of time on this trip so we mostly walked around looking at everything.  And then when nighttime came, it was even more gorgeous.  Can you tell I fell in love with Paris?

So, it was only natural that we would want to celebrate our anniversary Parisian style.  We had our sidewalk table on a tree-lined street.  The food at Monsoon was exquisite.  It is a Vietnamese street-food style restaurant run by the same couple as another one of our favorite places called  Ba Bar.  We ordered four items and shared the dishes so we could taste everything.  Honestly, I wanted to taste everything on the menu, it all looked so good.  I'm not sure what my favorite was but we both absolutely loved the Wokked Anderson Ranch Lamb with cumin, sweet onion, dry roasted chile and fermented black bean.  The onions were really, really sweet and the lamb flavor was very subtle and tender. 

My favorite was the steamed Alaska Black Cod with lily flower, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles and dry scallop sauce. I hardly know what any of that is but this dish was superb.  The sauce was amazing and again, the onions were super sweet. (All their ingredients are locally sourced).  You wanted to lick up every drop of this dish. 

I also ordered the crispy Imperial Rolls made with Carlton Farms pork, shrimp, glass noodle and nuoc cham which is a Vietnamese fish sauce to dip the rolls.   I loved this dish, too, probably my second favorite of the evening. 

And the fourth dish was Green Papaya Salad with grilled prawn, mint, caramelized shallots and peanuts. It was sweet like papaya but has a more firm texture so they shredded it like coleslaw. It was a very refreshing salad and I would order it again but there are so many good things to order at Monsoon and you can only eat so much. We'll just have to go back again.

It was so pleasant sitting out on the sidewalk but the inside also was nice and they also have rooftop dinning which we might try next time. We walked around the neighborhood afterwards because its one of our favorite parts of Capitol Hill.  There are lots of old houses that are remodeled and fixed up, very well done and fun to look at.  

It wasn't Paris but we did have great food, a sidewalk dinning experience, lots of trees, and lovely architecture to look at while walking around the neighborhood.  This will have to do until our next visit to the City of Lights.  Happy Anniversary to us.