Paris proved magical once again. Magical and delicious and decadent! On my one-day stopover to Paris before I left for Southern France I wasn’t as impressed with the city as I had been on previous visits. I was afraid that maybe I had imagined the magic of Paris, that maybe all the movies and books had lied about what a wonderful city it is. But upon my return, with just a quick stroll over the Île Saint-Louis and a nice evening espresso at a sidewalk café, the magic came back and I remembered just how much I love the city.
I arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon, had a little picnic next to Notre Dame and then strolled around the Latin Quarter before heading in early. Since I’ve been to Paris before, I’ve crossed off most of the big tourists spots, and instead had a smaller list of things I hadn’t yet done (mostly food based) that I wanted to do this time around. I woke up early on Saturday and grabbed an absurdly expensive café crème at a very cool café on the rue Rivoli (in Marais and near my hotel). Paris will be the only place I stay in a hotel because the hostels I found with availabilities had abysmal reviews and were still very expensive. So instead I stayed in Hotel Herse d’Or right near Bastille and it was perfect. A very basic, but clean and practical, room in a fantastic location, just on the right bank and in walking distance from everything!
My initial plan for Saturday was to wander around Marais a bit and then head over to the Louvre area in the afternoon to hit up a museum. But an interesting thing about the relationship I have with Paris, and perhaps one of the reasons I find it so enchanting, is that I have no sense of direction in the city! For most people this might not be surprising, but I usually have an extremely good sense of direction. Seriously, I just have to look at a map for about five minutes then walk around a city for half an hour and I have it completely down, for good. But with Paris, I can be sure that I’m headed in one direction and will then find myself in a completely different area than I expected to end up. The only time I’m really sure (besides when I’m on streets I know) is when I’m next to the river. So anyway, I started walking around Marais, with Paris all mapped out in my head, sure I was heading towards Bastille and beyond, when all the sudden I turned a corner and I was at the Louvre! Stunned, I just had to laugh and go with it. So I strolled down the Jardin des Tuileries and headed to the Musée l’Orangerie, one I hadn’t yet been to. The Orangerie houses Monet’s water lilies and a solid collection of other impressionist work. The water lilies were wonderful. They’re set up in a white oval room and the colors and shadows on the paintings change as you walk around the room, the scope is amazing!
After the museum, I was in a good place to walk down the Champs-Élysées (another Parisian experience I’d missed as most of my time has been spent on the left bank), so I headed along until I came to Ladurée, the very famous patisserie that produces macarons. This is one of those Parisian attractions that attracts tourists and Parisians alike, in fact the French woman in front of me bought 70 euro worth of macaron cookies! Macarons are small sugar and almond-paste cookies with a chewy shell and a jam-like inside. I got a bag of six and tried pistachio, coffee, dark chocolate, cherry blossom, caramel with salted butter, and orange blossom. They were all delicious and I quickly munched them down. However, I definitely preferred the savory flavors over the fruity flavors and actually thought that they were a bit too sweet. Maybe it was just that I ate them for lunch, but I thought less sugar would allow the flavors to come through more.
When I travel to cities I like to walk absolutely everywhere. Sure there is usually great public transportation that could save time, but I think you really get to know and appreciate a city by wandering through little streets and unknown neighborhoods, also all the walking allows you the freedom to do things such as eat six macarons for lunch! So after Ladurée I continued up to the Arc de Triomphe and then over to the Eiffel tower just for a quick view (wouldn’t be a trip to Paris without it, would it?) I then returned to the area of my hotel and had another coffee and a much needed rest as I watched the world go by.
The day was far from complete though, the sun began to shine (it had been raining most of the day and even though Midnight in Paris sings the praises of Paris in the rain, I was personally happy to see the sun), and there were plenty more Parisian activities to cross off the list! I continued walking and headed over to the Latin Quarter and the Rue Mouffetard (my favorite in Paris) to grab a crêpe for dinner. My crêpe had egg, tomatoes, mushrooms, and lettuce, and I would classify it as ‘good, not great.’ I decided to then walk some more (because I hadn’t done enough of that already) and strolled through the Jardin du Luxembourg, through St. Germain des Pres and back to the left bank of the Seine, right across from Notre Dame. It was about ten and the sun was just setting, so I popped down at a café (one recommended by Lonely Planet so I promise it was cool even though it’s in a touristy area!) and enjoyed a beer as I soaked up the last rays of Parisian sun. One thing about cafés or brasseries in Paris that takes some adjusting to is how long you have to wait. It’s nice to have so much time to sit and observe without being bothered, but it can also be difficult for me to relax because I always convince myself that this time I’ve messed up and that really I need to go order up front before I just sit down. But alas, that was never the case, and I came to enjoy the hour or so it would take to order, drink, and pay for a beer or coffee.
To conclude my perfect Parisian day, I watched the roller bladers outside of Notre Dame (they’re ridiculously awesome) and walked around the islands and by the river. Whatever Paris may offer during the day, it is nothing compared to what it presents at nighttime. Paris at night is beautiful and magical. The city glows yellow, lights reflect in the indigo blue river, and everyone is out and walking around together. Once I’d had my fill of the enchantment that is midnight in Paris, I headed back to my hotel which had actually turned into a 20s jazz club full of famous authors and painters. Okay, just kidding about that last part, but Paris really is magical at Midnight!
The fun and food continued the next day, Sunday definitely won for most unhealthy day of the trip! I started off the day with a stop at a patisserie for a pain au chocolat and sugared brioche, both delicious. The pure sugar and butter gave me the energy for the long hike from Marais to Montmartre, an area that I’d remembered liking previously. Once I got there however, the place was swarming with tourists and I was very overwhelmed. Basically I arrived, walked by Sacre Coeur, passed by the Moulin rouge, checked out a few side streets, and high-tailed it out of there, I don’t do well with crowds.
A good friend of mine who spent last summer in Paris recommended I check out a very well known restaurant called Angelina for what she titled “the best chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) you’ll ever have.” Although I knew this place would be touristy, I decided its reputation was enough to merit checking it out and so I sat down in the elegant and grand tea salon (right by the Louvre) to enjoy a pitcher of thick and creamy liquid chocolate with a side pot of cream to cut the amazing sweetness of the chocolate, which was indeed the best I’d ever had. Ridiculously full and sugared out, I spent the rest of the afternoon basking and strolling and soaking in the last moments of Paris. I passed all these finches for sale and absolutely had to tear myself away from them. I adore finches and wanted to buy all of these adorable little guys.
Around seven, I was absolutely craving some vitamins and protein, however, I still had plans to hit up an ice cream shop before calling my Paris dessert tour quits so I wanted something lighter for dinner. I grabbed some fresh veggies and smoked salmon and ate it by the river before heading to Berthillon, the best know ice cream shop in Paris. I hadn’t been before and deemed it essential this time. I headed to the shop and consulted the very long list of flavors (around 70). I decided on two boules, rhubarb and grand marnier (this is why I thought I’d like raw oysters, I always go for the odd flavors) and yes, they were amazing, sweet and creamy and magnificent, the grand marnier had candied orange in it! However, the scoops were also very very small. This place is known for the pettiness of its scoops, gotta keep those Parisians petite! Having had a light dinner I was still hungry (and wanted to try a few more flavors) so even though I’d already had enough sugar that day to last me a few months, I went for round two! Luckily, the ice cream is sold at more than one place on the Île Saint-Louis, so I was able to keep my gluttony a secret! Round two brought fig and sea-salt caramel, just as delicious as the last, and this time my ice cream craving was properly satisfied!
As I was leaving Paris my heart was breaking a little, I love it. It’s beautiful, it’s full of love and elegance. It’s complicated as well though, it’s snobby, excessive, a place that can be difficult to feel comfortable if you’re not Parisian. But it’s Paris! On my ride to the airport I realized I could stay if I wanted, that’s the beauty of this trip, I call the shots, there was nothing stopping me. But I realized contentedly that I didn’t want to stay. Paris is magical because it’s fleeting. I wouldn’t want to spend every single day ambling the streets and eating ridiculous desserts, these things are beautiful because they are rare, because they don’t last, because you can’t enjoy them everyday. The beginning of my travels turned out a little more decadent than I imagined, but I think that this was the perfect way to see and understand Paris. So to finally conclude France – Paris, je t’aime and someday I will be back for another whirlwind tour of your beauty!
Soleil et Café 