Nearly two weeks later (noticing a trend?) I feel inclined, if not particularly compelled, to muse on this year’s réveillon festivities.
In no particular order:
- Eating before the party (something we didn’t do last year) was a good call (the party progression is champagne pre-game, six courses (each with a wine pairing and with the show interspersed), champagne at midnight);
- Stashing a few litres of bottled water in the hotel room was another good idea;
- The langoustine-infused foie gras (course number three or so?) is probably the tastiest foodstuff I have ever eaten. I will likely never encounter (or eat) it again and this knowledge makes me sad;
- Paying further attention to our lessons learned from last year and staying a second night was a good decision. Not only was the brunch fantastic (Langoustines! Crabs! Salmon! Pastries! Wine! The friendly older couple next to us!), lazing around, hitting the pool (and the hammam), and wandering around in search of somewhere to eat dinner (a kind of sad Planet Sushi, for the record) were enjoyable;
- There was a very old, very large tower that we had somehow managed to never see, despite having been to Rouen five separate times;
- Seafood brunches (the French kind, anyway) are awesome;
- Raw oysters are actually very good. While I’m sure there are variations, I don’t really buy the textural complaints about them;
- Post-swimming hammams also occupy a space on the “awesome” list;
- I need to see if we can find the Cadillac-region wine that was served with course 4 or so; while the Purrito wasn’t a fan, it tasted like a smoother, fuller version of the honey wine I’d occasionally buy in the States.
There. The reflections on réveillon post is now complete, and I’m markedly less late (under two weeks, as opposed to a year) than the last one.
I’m fairly certain that a photograph of this thing has been posted here before.
The previously-unseen tower.
Langoustines: damn tasty.
I look at this picture and feel sad.
A view of the hotel’s courtyard.
Fezzik In Paris 