Weekend Cooking/Paris in July - An afternoon in Paris!

Well.....it wasn't really an afternoon in Paris, but last weekend we had a French themed day out in Melboure! Considering that we are once again in lockdown this weekend it is lucky that we did get out and about last weekend. 

Every year the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) hosts a Winter Masterpieces exhibition which is generally big name art, maybe tied into a theme (for example, a few years ago there was an exhibition all about Napoleon), or a style. This year's theme is French Impressionists from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. 

There were so many famous impressionist artists included in this exhibition from Monet to Renoir, to Manet to Pissaro and Degas. Now don't be deceived. I am not really an art specialist, but I do enjoy going to these exhibitions and seeing the displays. I like what I like, but there area lot of areas of art that I don't necessarily get!

What I was surprised about was how many people there were in the exhibitions. These exhibitions are always busy and you find yourself jostling for space, but we had timed tickets so in theory the numbers of people inside was limited but it still felt very crowded.

Here are some of my favourites, most of which feature water of some description, because to me, that is one thing that these artists were so good at portraying, especially in that second picture which is by Frits Thaulow and The Grand Canal picture which is by Monet.

If I could only pick one picture as a favourite, it would be this one though, it would be this one. I love the colour and movement and it reminds me of the book Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland, which is about Renoir, who also painted this picture.

There was a whole room that was dedicated to still life painting. On the way into the room there was a quote by Cezanne on the wall, where the final line was:

As to flowers, I have given them up. They wilt immediately. Fruits are more reliable.They love having their portraits done.

It made me smile!!

After having a drink and a sit down for a while, we went onto the next part of our afternoon and headed into Bistro Guillaume, a French restaurant right on the river in the middle of the city. It is a place that I have wanted to try for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

This is a restaurant that is inspired by French bistros, and as such the menu offers mainly classic dishes. I was a little surprised that the menu was quite limited but included things like Confit Duck, Moules Frites, Escargot and more.

I started with the Twice Baked Souffle followed by Steak Frites and finished with Isles Flottantes (Floating Islands) and Robert had Onion Soup (yum), Steak Frites and Creme Brulee.

What I did find myself wondering was what makes something particularly French and this is not the first time I have found myself wondering this. I mean, cheese souffle - absolutement. Steak and chips? Not so much. And yet it is a French classic. In the case of the meal that we had there was a lovely mix of seasoning on the steak and it was served with bearnaise sauce. Our favourite sauce of the night though was the aioli that accompanied the chargrilled broccolini.

There were a number of items on the dessert menu that I liked the sound of. In the end, I chose the Floating Island because I had never had it before. It was nice, very sweet when you have both the merinngue and the vanilla custard. It was served with a little chocolate and some slices of truffle, which was an interesting addition.

What this restaurant does have going for it is it's location, right on the river. Afterwards we went for a walk along the river despite the cold,  watching the gas flames display.   It's one of my favourite ways to end a date night and we haven't done that for a while. The company was amazing as usual! 

I would go back again, especially to try their set price lunch menu, and I would go back there again just because of the location, but I am keen to try some other French restaurants in the city for dinner.

I am so glad we took the opportunity to visit  both the exhibition and go for dinner. Not sure we are going to be able to do anything like that for a few weeks now!

Weekly menu

Saturday - Out for dinner

Sunday- Bacon, Vegetable and Risoni soup

Monday-Steak Egg and Chips

Tuesday-Zucchini, Tomato, Parmesan Risotto

Wednesday  - Fried Chicken

Thursday- 

Friday -Takeaway

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