During our trip to England, we decided to take a little three-day side trip to Paris. At the last minute, I invited my good friend, Sage’s, two kids. This meant we were a party of eight. I thought it would be a great idea to combine six teenagers and two parents for three days in Paris. What was I thinking?

Just before we boarded our train to go through the English Channel and over to Paris, Archie announced that he forgot his passport. At that point, I knew this wasn’t going to be a smooth trip. I didn’t care, though. I was going to make the best of it no matter what. Once we got to the flat, we discovered that it was at the top of five steep, narrow, winding, wooden flights of stairs. I generally pack light. However, because this is a three week long trip, I packed a lot of things in a huge suitcase. We all struggled up the stairs with our luggage. Once we reached the front door, we opened it to find another flight of stairs. I had to laugh.

A few days before we left, I booked this flat for us to stay in while we were in Paris. The advertisement said that the flat would sleep eight people. It didn’t say that eight people would sleep comfortably. I thought it would be a lot more fun to all stay together in one place, rather than in separate hotel rooms. That was probably a mistake. The flat was tiny. It didn’t matter.

I really didn’t mind. How could I complain when I was in Paris? I was happy to be there no matter what. We all were. We quickly picked our bedrooms and dropped off our luggage so we could head out and find some cheese and champagne. Well, that is what I was looking for. Luckily, I didn’t have to walk too far to find it either. Our flat was a few blocks from the Louvre, shops, cafes, the Seine, and the Picasso museum. We were very lucky.

The Paris trip was really a big blur of gorgeous architecture, art, tons of teenagers, champagne and delicious food. The croissants were amazing. We ate omelets every morning along with strong coffee. The kids ate crepes at least once a day. Then, by lunchtime, we were drinking wine while eating cheese. Sometimes, I would order a goat cheese salad just to make myself feel better about all of the cheese I was eating. I figured if the cheese sat on a bed of greens, I was doing all right. After lunch, we would have a little siesta, which was just to give us energy for our dinner. I have to admit, in between all of this, we walked a lot. So, we weren’t that bad.

One night, Daphne ordered a cheese sandwich. It arrived and looked amazing. I had never seen such a creamy, cheesy looking sandwich in my life. I had to have a bite. I couldn’t believe my taste buds. This was absolutely the best thing I have ever tasted. The creaminess of the inside with the crispy cheese on the outside was a delight. Before we knew it, everyone had to have a bite and we ordered another one to share again. Who knew that a cheese sandwich could be such an incredible experience.

By the time we went back to England, we knew we had to start eating lighter again. We showed up to Sage’s flat in London and she had a spread of Piedemontese peppers, tomato and feta salad, and bean soup. This was perfect. I have to get the recipe for her soup. It was amazing. I will share it with all of you when she sends it to me.

The following day, Claud and I still wanted to continue eating light. We told Ned and Sage that we would cook dinner for everyone at their house. We headed out to the shops and found an amazing fresh fish store. It was busy in there. They had the fish beautifully displayed. We wanted everything. I ordered lobsters. Claud ordered scallops. Soon, we had a feast to take back with us. We also bought salmon and oysters. The great thing about eating seafood for dinner is that it is not only light and delicious, but it is also really simple to prepare. We grilled the lobsters. Sage made oysters Rockefeller. I pan seared the salmon and the scallops.

I think the scallops were the best of everything we ate that night. I am not a fan of oysters Rockefeller. I like oysters raw with a little bit of red wine vinegar and finely chopped shallots. I can only eat one or two and then I am done. Cooked oysters are not my thing at all. So, I didn’t even try those.

The scallops, on the other hand, were so simple. I just lightly oiled them and sprinkled on some salt and pepper. Then, I added a bit of butter to brown them up more and add a little more flavor. This only took about 15 minutes. Soon, we were eating them and enjoying every bite. We shared all of our Paris stories with Ned and Sage. We laughed about the tiny flat and all of the stairs. They couldn’t believe our passport fiasco. Mostly, we enjoyed being together with friends who live so far away.

Pan Seared Scallops:

Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

8 scallops

1 tablespoon olive oil

pinch of salt and pepper

1 tablespoon butter

slice of lemon

1 teaspoon parsley, chopped

Place the scallops into a small bowl. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat the pan to high heat. Add the scallops. Sear on both sides until lightly brown. Add the butter. This will brown them a little more. Place the scallops on a plate. Put the lemon slice on the side. Sprinkle parsley on top of the scallops.