Who would have thought that we could spend another Christmas in Paris for the second straight year? As I always like to say, "A goal without a plan is just a wish" so plan it I did.
The adventure began on board KLM804 bound for Amsterdam. As the brochure aptly put it, this would be our grand December Celebration. I have always found airline food to be barely tolerable -- would KLM's food make the long flight less wearisome?
Salted mixed nuts were served right after take off -- with your beverage of choice. The nuts certainly helped assuage hunger pangs as it was past lunch time by then.
This was quickly followed by an appetizer of smoked salmon, a fresh shrimp rice roll and a small green salad with a tart, tangy vinaigrette. I had decided not to order a vegetarian meal and take my chances that fish would be served -- vegetarian meals are usually the worst kind on any airline.
Cream dory, which I don't particularly like because it is just about the ugliest fish I have ever seen -- was served baked with a cream sauce and a heap of buttery mashed potatoes. Not bad and quite flavorful but too rich for my taste.
Jay had a traditional Dutch beef dish which was served with even more mashed potatoes, this time in a different shade of yellow orange. He didn't complain so I suppose it must have been all right.
For dessert, they offered different kinds of cakes but I opted for the cheese plate and got three different kinds of cheese -- one with peppercorn, an herbed soft cheese and a hard emmental. With a small packet of crackers, it was a great choice for a meal ender. Maybe I should just have had another cheese plate instead of the cream dory?
Fruit skewers were also served for people who wanted a much lighter option.
This was quite a filling lunch -- and no wonder, we wouldn't be fed again until nearly eight hours later, just before arriving in Schiphol Airport!
I was ravenous when we got on board Air France for our connecting flight to Paris -- it didn't help that I couldn't eat the cold pate sandwiches although the small dish of ratatouille was piquant and tasty -- albeit, too small a serving.
We arrived at the apartment nearly midnight, with a chilled bottle of red wine waiting for us. What a typical French welcome!
Bon soir Paris -- we meet again!
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