We were fortunate enough to have another excuse to travel to Paris this summer (3rd time for me this year!). Travers' college buddy, Andy Carroll and his wife were travelling in Europe for a few weeks and asked us if we wanted to meet them while they were in Paris. We jumped at the chance! We took the train on Thursday evening, arriving at the Hotel Dauphine, in the St. Germain area. Andy and Ashley weren't due to arrive until the next day, so we had that evening to ourselves, to explore some parts of Paris that we hadn't been to before.
We started with a drink at Cafe Conti, then walked down Rue de Buci looking for a fun place for dinner. We settled on Le Moliere, a small crowded cafe where I ordered a large Nicoise salad and Travers had their plat du jour. After dinner, we headed to the Pigalle district, which lies between the 9th and 18th arrondissments. It is typically known to be the Red Light District with tons of sex shops and cabarets, and at one end is the famous Moulin Rouge, but lately, there have been a lot of hip restaurants, bars, and music venues opening up and the area is becoming a hipper place for people to hang out. So, of course, we had to check it out. Taking the metro there, we found a popular bar called Le Sans Souci, meaning 'No Worries' and found a space at the bar where we could enjoy a drink and people-watch, one of our favorite travelling activities. Afterwards, we strolled through the rest of Pigalle, checking out various bars and venues, and finally passed by the Moulin Rouge before hopping back on the metro to go back to the hotel.
The next day, we woke up and walked to a nearby patisserie where we bought two coffees and some pastries to go. Taking our treats to the ile de la cite, we walked to the western tip of the island, sat on the side of the wall, and enjoyed our breakfast while we watched people, boats, and a even a snorkler pass by. After breakfast, we walked towards the Marais district, a part of Paris that we had stayed in with my sister a couple years before when she came to visit us in Geneva. We had loved it then and still love it now. It is by far one of our favorite areas of Paris. lined with quaint shops and restaurants. We strolled the cobblestone streets, enjoying the beautiful sunny day, and reminiscing of the last time we were there together. We finally got hungry again, and stopped at Le Petit Fer a Cheval, a tiny cafe right on Rue Vieille du Temple, where we shared a small carafe of rosé wine, and their plat du jour, an outstanding plate of roast duck and veggies. Yumm!
From there, we decided to grab another bottle of rosé and picnic in the Champ de Mars, under the Eiffel Tower. The tricky part about doing this is finding a store that will sell a cold bottle of wine (most grocery stores don't have refrigerated bottles), and open it for you (because who carries a bottle opener with them at all times), and then to find plastic cups to drink it in! Well we lucked out and found it all within a short walking distance of the Marais (yet another reason to love this area), so we quickly hopped on the metro with our wine and cups and were able to spend a few hours sun-bathing on the grass, watching all the locals and tourists walking around, taking photos of themselves and the Eiffel Tower, and doing much of what we were doing, just relaxing and enjoying the sunny day.
By late afternoon, Andy and Ashley had arrived, so we met them back in the St. Germain district for some cocktails and dinner. We started at Le Bar du Marche, a fun, friendly, bar where the waiters wear overalls and berets and you can watch the hundreds of people walking by in search for a seat at this popular bar. Then we headed around the corner to Peres et Filles, a family-owned bistro, where we got a table outside and were able to enjoy a delicious meal and catch up with Andy and Ashley (we hadn't seen them in over 4 years!).
The next day, we headed to the Musee d'Orsay, to get a little culture into our trip. I don't know if I had ever been to this museum before so it was great to go and see some wonderful pieces of art and the interesting architecture of the building itself. By the way, piece of advice, buy your tickets online ahead of time. Saves lots of time not having to wait in lines!
After a few hours walking through the building, and gazing at some amazing works of art, especially one of my favorites, Starry Night by Van Gogh, we decided to catch the metro and head to the top of the Champs-Élysées and get a look at the Arc de Triomphe.
Then we strolled down the famous avenue, gazing at shops, dodging tons of tourists, and found a nice brasserie for lunch just off the main drag. After resting our already tired legs from all the walking we'd been doing, we headed out again, this time catching the metro from the Champs-Élysées back to the Marais district so we could show Andy and Ashley our favorite neighborhood. We shoped a bit, finding a fantastic jewelry shop called Lottadjossou, where Ashley bought a pretty bracelt as a gift. Then we looked in some restaurant windows to see if we wanted to come back for dinner that evening. We continued our walk back towards our hotel, stopping by the Hotel de Ville and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Ending our long day of walking through the Latin Quarter and back towards the St. Germain district. Ashley and I stopped into the Dewali boutique to buy a couple more gifts for friends and family before we all headed back to our hotel rooms for a much needed nap.
That evening, we took a taxi back to the Marais to a small restaurant on a quaint side-street in the Marais, called Etamine Cafe. We were one of 6 or so tables in the whole place, and who we think was the owner, was also our waiter. He barely spoke any English, so my French-speaking skills were put to some use, while we tried to translate the menu. He was extremely friendly and patient, and in the end, we all had some really delicious food, some of us opting for the 3-course menu offered that evening. Yumm!
The next morning, our last day in Paris, we got some pastries again from the local patisserie, and took Andy and Ashley back out to the Ile-de-la-Cite to eat and enjoy the views. And just our luck, right as we sat down, we saw jet planes flying overhead with red, white, and blue smoke coming out the back and realized that it was Bastille Day and this was part of the daily festivities! Perfect timing! We were able to see tons of planes flying over the Seine while we enjoyed our coffees and pastries.
After the show ended, we walked to the Love Lock Bridge, also called Pont des Arts. Andy and Ashley had wanted to do this and had brought a lock with them to add to the bridge. Travers and I decided it was a fun idea to do as well, so we bought a lock, wrote our names and the date on it and found a spot on the bridge. We locked our lock, took some photos, then did the traditional tossing of our key off the bridge! Our lock came with three keys, so we tossed one in the Seine, then put the other two on our key chains so Travers and I each have a reminder with us at all times of our love locked on the bridge in Paris!
Being close to the Louvre at that point, we walked over and were able to see the magnificent building and neighboring Jardin des Tuileries. There was an amazingly long line to get into the museum (another reason to buy your tickets ahead of time online) so we were happy we were just passing through. We stopped and rested in the gardens and were treated to yet another airshow, this time helicopters, also celebrating Bastille day!
After the second airshow of the day, we decided it was time for us to head to the hotel, grab our bags, and get to the train station. We said our goodbyes to Andy and Ashley who were spending another day and a half in Paris before they flew back to the states. It was fun to see them, catch up, and show them our favorite things to do in Paris. It is a wonderful city and I finally feel like I know my way around. But even with three visits there this year, I still would go back again as I'm sure there is tons more to explore!
