May 29, 2015 lunch at Restaurant Jules Verne and visit to Musee Jacquemart Andre

We spent a quiet morning at the apartment, not taking any food in anticipation of today's meal at Restaurant Jules Verne and due to our overeating last night.  

We left for the Eiffel Tower around1:00 and took a taxi dream Rue  Hausman to the tower where we waited doe WIlly for about ten minutes.  Wen he arrived we rode the elevator to the first level at 123 meters. We were seated at a corner booth out of the flow of traffic and with a terrific view down the mall toward Ecole Militare.  Soon our waiter and menus arrived and we saw that the 

Lunch menu and was a prix fixe three course meal do appetizer, entre and dessert for 105 €.

Everyone except Willy ordered the Crustacean Royale appetizer, which was good but not great, a fish gelatin wiry a pile of pickled vegetables on it and an a king crab meat egg roll.  Willy ordered French onion, which turned out to be very interesting.  It had a round of gelatin with a thick soup. 

Our entree was good but not amazing.

We all ordered the sea bass except for me.  It came with large aspagus stalks.  I ordered the pigeon which was a half of pigeon with some sautéed micro vegetables.  The sommelier talked me into orderin a glass of St. Julien, which was very nice with the demi-glacé sauce.

For dessert we had ordered a special hazelnut cake for Willy's birthday, which was served with hazelnut ice cream and a tray of mint macaroons, brioche with custard and a fresh raspberry and a chocolate wafers and mocha cream on a thin layer of gateau, plus a purple marshmallows and chocolate truffles.

What the meal lacked in the first two course it made up for in the dessert course.

After lunch we walked around the restaurant then went outside and walked around the tower, but the wind was blowing so we soon went back inside and took the elevator down to the ground.

We took a taxi to the Jacquemark Andre Museum to see the Giotto to Carravagio exhibit.  The museum was a private collection of old masers and older master works in a palatial house that had been given to the French government.  I have never seen a better private collection.  

it is impossible to describe fully.  Three Mantegnas, a large Tiepol fResco in the winter sun room, a Donatello freize of a young man, a Pereugino, a Botticelli, four Rembrants,including the best one I've have ever seen of Christ at the home of Emmanaus.

Then went to the Giotto to Carravagio show and my mind was blown again.  There were three Carravagios, including the best one I have ever seen of a young man being bitten by a lizard. 

In the early category there was a Giotto diptych of two saint .p. Then I turned the corner into another gallery and was confronted by a Massacio.  The quality and artistic excellence can not be overstated.

It was a rare and treasured afternoon of art.

At 5:30 we went back to the apartment and crashed for the night.