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At the recommendation of one of MrFodder's colleagues, we booked a table at the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel tower. You get to travel up a private elevator to the restaurant, which is 123 metres high in the Southern leg of the tower. At 105 Euros a person for a three-course meal (not including drinks), it's pretty expensive, but we figured that it's our honeymoon, and we rarely eat at fancy restaurants, so we decided to make this our super fancy meal for the trip. If you are thinking of going, make sure to book as early as you can, because the tables are generally assigned on a first come, first served basis when it comes to the tables that are along the window (where you can see down to Paris). The larger tables (for more than 4 people), seem to be away from the window.
This restaurant is one of those fancy ones where the waiters pull out your chair for you, and they seem to have a billion different types of cutlery. Luckily, they brought out the right utensils for each meal, so I didn't have to worry that I was using the soup fork for my bread instead of the bread knife. All of the staff were incredibly attentive and courteous, even though we barely spoke any French - they spoke English. There was a sommelier who helped us pick out a champagne, and then the waiters helped us pick out which items from the menu we should try. Everyone seemed to know a lot about each item, which I thought was amazing. Plus, since I had sent them my allergy list ahead of time, they were aware of it, and without asking, modified my meals so that they were suitable.
I have to say, the food was amazing, though probably not the food that I would choose to eat if I had the choice. I know that sounds bad, but I guess my palate isn't really refined for the high life. In fact, as I sit here in the Hilton in Berlin (which I managed to get on sale), I feel like that kind of fancy life isn't really for me. I know the waiter was only doing his job, but a part of me wanted to sit in my chair without assistance. The entire time I was there, I felt like I didn't belong. I actually wore a dress and heels to the restaurant, and MrFodder and I were well dressed compared to how we have been for the rest of our trip, but I still felt like I didn't belong. I didn't want to eat my meal the wrong way (*gasp* She started eating the beef first without swirling her wine?! What a heathen!), I didn't want to make a mess and get us kicked out, I didn't want to accidentally make some innocuous seeming hand gesture and get someone fired. OK, I don't think it was that bad, but it just seems like a whole other world that I don't feel comfortable in. MrFodder says that because we have enough money to be eating there, then we belong.
It reminds me of that scene in The Wire, where D'Angelo (who is *spoiler alert* a drug dealer) and his girlfriend go to a fancy restaurant, and the entire time, he's looking around at what other people are doing, and he performs so many faux pas that you get the feeling that everyone around him is thinking he doesn't belong. But, just as MrFodder said to me, when he begins to doubt himself, his girlfriend says to him, "So? Your money good, right?" But he explains that sometimes, not matter how much you try to hide it, there's just something that stays with you. What I'm trying to get at is described so much better in this blog post - which draws parallels with The Great Gatsby (which is sitting on my Kindle unread, but after reading this post, is probably going to be the next book on my list).
Don't get me wrong, I had a great time at the Jules Verne, and I am definitely enjoying some of the nicer perks of staying at the Hilton (like a massive hotel room for one, plus a nicely furnished gym, and the fact that in the lobby we have people playing a freakin' grand piano). But it's definitely a holiday thing for me. I feel much more comfortable in my cheapo worn jeans and eating take-away food out of a styrofoam box.
Oh, actually, one part of the high life I do have to say I enjoy - travelling in first class. If you're an adult, the only Eurail pass you can get is a first class one, so we ended up with first class tickets from Paris to Berlin. The extra leg room and comfy seats were well worth it. If I could afford it, I'd travel first class all the time, and leg room doesn't usually matter to me! The train ride was just so comfortable that it didn't feel like 8.5 hours at all. After buying our Eurail pass, I think it was only around 30 Euros more to reserve a first class seat, and I'd 100% recommend it if you can afford it. Well, I guess we can't talk about what the regular class seats were like, so they might have been amazing, too. I kinda wonder if there are standing-room only "seats", as on the train from Frankfurt to Berlin, I noticed some people standing in the baggage area, and they were there when we boarded the train, and were still there when we left the train. Maybe they just don't like sitting down, I don't know.
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