We were really enjoying our day in Paris and decided to just keep on strolling to Tuileries Garden.
Familiarity had changed our perception of distance in Paris. Places that used to seem quite far now seemed relatively close.
And we got to Tuileries Garden in what seemed to be no time at all. The Tuileries Christmas Market was being set-up and we could see that the Ferris wheel was already in place.
It would be in full swing when we returned to Paris.
Even though it was fairly chilly, the sun was out, so you could count on Parisians and a tourist or two (i.e. us) taking time to enjoy the day at the fountain and pond known as the Grand Bassin Rond.
It made for a relaxing afternoon…..
I'm not quite sure if it was the weather, something in the water, perhaps the air, or the environment, but we would readily adopt, the French equivalent of "Afternoon Tea", known as Le Goûter. We just seemed to flow into it. And it started on this day as the Missus decided She wanted something sweet and a spot of tea from that place She had come across when I took my baguette class on our last visit. So we headed back to the Marais and Au Petit Versailles du Marais.
After ogling the dessert collection…..
We headed over to the tea salon, grabbed an outside table, ordered the Missus's selected pastry, tea for Her, and coffee for me.
The woman working here is a hoot….she works real hard at wooing folks in who look at the menu sign and always says "best choice…best choice…." when you select one of the pastries.
I gotta say, I even enjoyed the Royal Caramel as it wasn't overly sweet.
Au Petit Versailles du Marais
1 Rue Tiron
75004 Paris, France
After our snack we headed back to the hotel and took a break.
I had made reservations for dinner with a restaurant I'd had my eye on since reading about it in Alexander Lobrano's blog named Granite. It helped that the restaurant was less than a 10 minute walk from our hotel.
Located on Rue Bailleul, Granite does modern French, and the chef Tom Meyer worked under Anne-Sophie Pic at the 3 Michelin starred Maison Pic.
The place looks quite modern.
The service was quite warm and yet professional and we got the 7 course tasting menu with a single wine pairing which the Missus enjoyed.
Things started out with an oyster course.
The brininess of the oyster was balanced out with a bit of sour tartness from green apple and the celery like flavor of lovage. The menu stated that kimchi was used in this dish but I couldn't detect that. Very clean and refreshing overall.
We both loved the Cepe; porcini mushroom which was wonderfully earthy.
The mushroom was seared perfectly with almost a buttery texture, though the other items on the plate added a bit too much sweetness for us.
Like the mushroom, the scallop was seared perfectly, the interior was perfectly rare and sweet.
Though there was a bitter component in the dish that distracted from our total enjoyment.
The Artic Char was wonderful.
Tender and buttery in texture; the lentils were wonderful and almost nutty, and there was a light sweet earthiness to the dish which elevated the flavors. The sauces really enhanced this dish.
Of all the items presented for this meal, we enjoyed the Pigeon Course the most.
We were instructed to start with the "naan", basically a buttery cube of flatbread with wonderfully flavored fowl in it. The skewered liver was wonderfully gamy and delicious.
But the real "winnah" was the seared pigeon breast which was quite tender, wonderfully gamy, the sauce featured chocolate which was more savory than sweet. There was so much complexity in the flavors. This was amazing!
The rose foam was a perfect palate cleanser.
I enjoyed the Pomelo Meringue as it wasn't overly sweet.
The Missus loved the chocolate; which was very decadent, without being overly sweet. The Earl Grey sorbet was wonderful as it added a grounding, almost lemon-orange flavor which went so well with the chocolate.
We enjoyed the service and pacing. And while I don't think we'll be returning; there are just too many options in Paris, this was a pleasant meal.
Granite
6 Rue Bailleul
75001 Paris, France
A sort of 'Gastropub' atmosphere with about 20 beers on tap, various seating sections (including covered outdoors), we were given a bottle of chilled water along with chilled glasses with our menu.
A simple menu-and there is a Monday-Friday Happy Hour, too (from 4-6:30)
We decided to try the Cheese Curds ($12). Wisconsin cheese, breaded and fried. If you bite into a hot one, it does indeed 'squeak'..but otherwise it's just a good bunch of piece of breaded fried cheese, served with a very nice homemade Ranch.
The Stuffed Jumbo Portobello mushroom ($15) can be a meal. Cream cheese, mozzarella and parmesan topped with a panko crust and placed in balsamic syrup…Oh my!
Cross section shows how many flavors you can get in a bite. 
We also ordered a Cobb Salad ($14). This tasted really good, very fresh ingredients (egg, bacon, avocado, tomato, gorgonzola and a nice Blue Cheese dressing. The presentation…eh. 
You can order 'to go' or find a seat. The 'to go' menu is on the wall to make it easy for the 'to go' people.
The 'for here' menu; a bit larger.
A cheese manakish ($4.99). A small version of a herby cheese pizza with no sauce. Excellent fresh bread: thin, slightly crisp, slightly chewy.
Here's a zaatar manakish (3.99) add cheese ($1.50). Zaatar is a spice mixture of thyme, oregano, sesame seeds, sumac and salt. It's herby, nutty, salty, savory and tangy. Sumac by itself has the 'tang' you get from lemon juice. In any case, this combination of zaatar and cheese is really good.
Six tweaks of falafel ($5.99). A nice version. Quite crunchy. The tahini dip is so creamy!
Kabab Plate ($13.99) Two very large beef kabobs with rice, grilled tomato and raw onion. Easily shareable.
An order of baba ghannouj (6.99) arrived with pieces of hot-from-the-oven pita. The roasted eggplant based dip is smoky and smooth and has a sesame flavor from the tahini. Olive oil and lemon juice as well as garlic round out the flavors. The version here is just lovely.
The Appetizers plate ($15.99). Choice of four. Plan on taking some home; the serving platter is deceptively deep. Hommus, fattoush, baba ghannouj and in the center, tabboule. All the salads are made here daily. The hommus and baba ghanouj are excellent versions. The fattoush is primarily a 'bread salad' with the pieces of fried pit toping lettuces, tomato, cucumber and other vegetables. It's another craving I've had. The tabboule is parsley, tomato, cucumber, mint, green onion and bulgur-crunchy. Its dressing (lemon juice, paprika, salt and pepper with olive oil) really showcases an excellent quality olive oil. 
A single beef kabab ($3) is sometimes quite enough for a nice snack/small meal. (This kabob is smaller than the two beef kabobs served on the kabab plate).
Free hot tea at the back; serve yourself. 
I don't know what it had been before, but it's a pretty large space.
The menu is quite extensive. Since this was a first visit…
The Mister ordered the Ma Pu Tofu ($12.99). Quite large, a nice heat/spice level, plenty of pork.
My 'usual' first time eating at a Chinese restaurant, Egg Foo Young ($12.99) This choice was BBQ pork (getting to try another favorite in this order). 
The BBQ Pork was inside (rather than on top of) the eggy vegetable filled pancake. Another unique version and quite tasty.
We ordered a medium tamarind agua fresca (fresh water)($3.25)which is made in-house, not from concentrate. Excellent tamarind flavor; refreshing and not too sweet.
One complimentary lamb broth (consommé) was brought out because of one of our orders. You can also order one small cup for $3.25. A good deep flavor/concentrated fresh lamb broth made with lamb drippings and with garbanzo beans. 
The lamb mixiote ($14.75). Mixiote is traditionally pit barbecue but can be made in an oven. Cubed meat mixed with pasilla peppers, thyme, cumin, garlic and cactus pieces. Other spices are in the mix, too. It's all wrapped in parchment paper then cooked (if pit cooked, it's wrapped in maguey leaves) (either way, it's slow cooked). This unique 'stew' has such a medly of flavors, including the unique robust (not really gamey) lamb .
The Chicharron de Queso ($7) is just that- crisp cheese made on a flat top grill. The guacamole is included and is always fresh (and wonderful). By itself, this is a decadent snack.
An order of flautas ($9.50). Flour tortillas filled then deep fried to a light crispness, topped with lettuce, creama and shredded cotija. The filling choices are lamb, chicken, potatoes or beans. Three are are quite a meal, or good for sharing. 
Walk in, order, pay, find a seat inside or outside.
There are menus above and on the wall as well as physical laminated menus. 
The Mister ordered a Soup and 1/2 sandwich plate ($10.75)
He chose a hot half sandwich-grilled Pastrami and Swiss on toasted sourdough (instead of grilled rye). Russian dressing, lettuce and tomato were offered and since this order wasn't traditional, he got it all. This was very good.
There are four homemade soups offered here: Chicken Noodle, Chicken Tortilla, Broccoli Cheddar and Clam Chowder. The chicken ones are priced at $5.50 and $6.40; the vegetarian is $5.25 and $6.15 and the chowder is $6.50 and $7.75 if purchased as an individual cup or bowl. No extra charges for the combo plate. Clam Chowder it is, and it is wonderful. Creamy, rich with clam juice and a lot of clam meat. Tiny diced potatoes and celery. Perfectly seasoned (no need to add salt or pepper), this was really the best we've had out here. 
I ordered a grilled chicken salad ($13.75) with the house made ranch dressing (as you can see, three containers of ranch are given). The fresh vegetables and nicely grilled chicken made for a really great meal. 
We started at the top right corner of this map (Green Line), changed to the Orange Line and after getting downtown, changed again to the Blue Line going North, ending up at the top left of this map. (Going home, we changed from the Blue to the Green Line)
It was sunny leaving Santee.
Then it got a bit cloudy when we hit downtown.
Many people left the Trolley at this stop, since it was closest to the Ballpark and the Padres had a playoff game.
By the time we were headed on the 'new' line, alongside Interstate 5, there was full fog.
We stayed on until the last stop, followed signage (and the other people who exited) to the Mall (through the parking lot) and eventually got to the Food Court, which overlooks the Ice Rink.
After checking all of the Food Court offerings, we decide on a meal and went off to order. The Mister stopped here, at Craft Pizza.
He ordered a Calzone with ham, sausage and mushrooms; an item going back to our dating days. This was excellent.
I went over to Kebab Grill and ordered a 'Lunch Special' advertised behind the cash register to the left in this photo.
Salad and
Lentil soup. Each was really good and made for a filling and complete meal. Then we started walking around the mall. 
The Mall has remained about the same, with new stores taking the place of old ones. There were some interesting vending machines.
Then we saw this. Had to stop.
A great selection of cookies, cupcakes, pastries and ice cream as well as hot and cold beverages. 
We shared a cup of coffee and a 
It was still overcast changing from the Blue Line to Green Line in Old Town.
Passing the new Snapdragon Stadium and back to sunshine by the time we got home.