There are Zombies in Paris!

Oh Paris (pronounced with a french accent Par-ee)! It has been too long and yet we didn't get to stay long enough. Two and a half days in Paris no matter how many times you've been there just isn't enough. It is such a large city, with so much to see and do that you'd drive yourself crazy trying to get it all done. So knowing our visit was going to be short, we decided not to stress ourselves out by going to lots of museums and things, but to relax and stroll through the streets of Paris, and just take in the buildings, the people, the scenery, and stumble upon whatever monuments we might happen to stumble upon.

Travers and I took the train Friday night from Geneva to Paris (3.5 hours) and headed to the 4th arrondissement where Bryna, Ben, Corey and Marie had rented an apartment for their visit, and which they invited us to stay in for the weekend. Bryna had found it on Airbnb. The place was amazing! and in an amazing the location. Just outside the door were tons of restaurants and shops!

We were welcomed with a cheese and wine cocktail party while we caught up with them on their trip to Bologna. They had gone there between Geneva and Paris. We then headed out to dinner, and found a cute place just across the street called Les Philosophes. They amazingly got us a table for 6 right away, and we had a delicious french dinner. I got some tasty french onion soup and a ham panini, and Travers got the beef bourguignon. Both were delicious.

After dinner, we said goodnight to Marie and Corey, and the four of us headed to the latin quarter (5th arrondissement) to grab a drink and see the Parisian nightlife.  We found a little bar on the main drag that served decent glasses of wine, although the boys had to teach the bartender how to make their drinks (but they then got those drinks for free).  The crowd, however, quickly got younger and younger, and reminded us of a bar in San Francisco called Bar None, where all the recent college graduates go to play beer pong. Needless to say, we had one more round of drinks, then decided to call it a night. It was already pretty late, and we had a big day of seeing Paris the next day.

We woke up later than expected on Saturday and made a huge breakfast at the apartment.  Bryna and I went and got fresh pastries for everyone at a bakery around the corner, then we all figured out what we wanted to do for the day.  Marie and Corey went on a walk together on the right bank, while Bryna, Travers and I took a walk down the left bank. And Ben, who likes to walk on his own and not have a set destination, took off on his own to discover hidden treasures of Paris.


Bryna Travers and I started towards the Notre Dame Cathedral first. We walked along the Seine, and made our way across Pont D'arcole to the Ile de la Cite where the Notre Dame Cathedral is. We took the classic photos standing in front of the cathedral, and unfortunately, did not go in because the lines were outrageously long. Apparently, all the french tourists come to Paris in October. We thought tourism would die down a bit into fall, but, apparently the rest of the French wait for the other summer tourists to leave before they come to Paris in the fall.  So we moved on and kept walking.  We crossed another bridge to the left bank and winded through some tiny streets in the 6th arrondissement on our way to Boulevard Saint-Germain des Pres.

Then we headed down Blvd. St-Germain des Pres, looking at all the designer stores, and came across this jazz band that was playing on the corner and a big crowd had gathered to listen. It was fun to hear live music just in the middle of the day!

After a bit more walking, we rounded a corner and Voila! We could see the top of the Eiffel Tower!  Even from far away, and even though we have all seen it before, it was magnificent.  We continued our walk in that direction, always trying to keep the tower in view!  We walked and walked, winding our way through the streets. It started to feel like it wasn't getting any closer, but then we rounded a corner and knew. We  had made it!

Bryna at the Eiffel Tower!

Travers & Me at the Eiffel Tower

One of my favorite pics...the sun shining through the base of the Eiffel Tower

After seeing the Eiffel Tower, we hopped on the metro back to the apartment to meet up with everyone else. We were going to cook dinner that night at the apartment so Ben, Bryna and I then headed to the grocery store. We bought 2 roasted chickens from a butcher shop that specialized in roast chicken, then bought ingredients to make pasta with fresh tomato, basil and parmesan topping, and a huge salad. We sat down to a delicious feast and all told stories from our day of what we saw and where we all went.

And like the night before, after dinner, Ben, Bryna, Travers and I went out to take in the Parisian nightlife. This time, we headed down the street to a place called Yono's Bar. But a few weeks earlier we had heard of a club called Silencio that was new in Paris that just opened. We wanted to check it out as it was designed by David Lynch, the writer/producer/director, most known for Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, who was married to a friend of our good friend Jen Larsen.  So, we took an assessment of our outfits and decided we were all dressed well enough to go. So we left Yono and hopped in a cab to Silencio!

We immediately got let in without a wait and headed down the 3 flights of stairs to the club.  There were several separate rooms, almost cave-like, and all with different decor that was very odd, but very typical of David Lynch.  We headed to the bar, and were amazed at watching the bartenders, who were very meticulous with each drink they prepared.  Based on this, we felt comfortable to order martinis with confidence that they would get them right. (Ben had ordered a vodka martini here in geneva and had gotten a glass of vodka mixed with martini....not a vodka martini).  We were right, and the bartenders made great martinis, which we took to the dance floor and spent the next hour or two dancing!

The next day, Sunday, we were sad it was our last day, but determined to make the most of it. Travers and I got up and out the door by 10:30a and headed to Place de l'Hotel de Ville where a huge screen had been set up for everyone to watch the World Cup Rugby match between France and New Zealand.  The crowd that had gathered was huge but we had no problem seeing the screen.  After a nail-biting second half, France unfortunately ended up losing, but the crowd took it well and quietly dispersed.  We headed back to the apartment to meet up with everyone.

Once everyone was ready, we decided to walk towards the 18th arrondissement in search of a flea market that Marie and Corey had been to before.  It was a part of Paris that I hadn't been though before so it was neat to see the different streets and neighborhoods.  Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered the flea market wasn't open on Sundays!  But we made the best of it, and ended up going to see The Sacre Coeur instead!





We climbed up several flights of stairs, and out of breath, we got to the Sacre Coeur terrace.  After taking in the basilica, we turned our attention to the views below.  We could see all of Paris from up here. It was magnificent. You could see so much of the city. It was such a great surprise to be able to see the city from up there and see where we had been the past two days.



Our last few hours in Paris were spent at a cafe in the 4th arrondissement, having a late lunch.  All of a sudden we saw a parade coming down the street that we were sitting on. But this was not your normal parade. This was a parade of zombies called the Zombie Walk.  Apparently it happens each year and its thousands of people all dressed up looking like zombies and acting like it too!  They all had tons of make up on, with fake blood, and wounds and things, and all playing their part as zombies really well. They came up to our table a few times, growling and trying to reach for us. We played along a bit, but after the first couple hundred, we really just wanted to watch them, so ignored them when they came up to our table. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos as I didn't want to draw attention to our table. But it was such a strange thing to see in Paris. Not something you would expect, but I guess Halloween is right around the corner, so zombies on the streets of Paris in the middle of the day I suppose is normal! Ha!

After the zombies left, we headed back to the apartment to say our goodbyes and grab our bags and head for the train station.  It was sad to leave Paris, and sadder to say goodbye to Bryna, Ben, Marie and Corey. But I take comfort knowing that I will see them all next week when we go back to San Francisco!  As for Paris, we will definitely be back, sooner than later.

A bientot Paris!
xoxo