Five Days in Paris
Arriving in Paris off of a red eye flight, we were running on adrenaline as we made it to our AirBnB. To be honest, we got the wind knocked out of our sails when we got into the apartment and realized that we had been overly generous with our assessment of the place at the time of booking. “Well, at least we won’t be here much, we’ll be out exploring,” we reasoned, oblivious to the jet lag we were about to face and the number of hours we would spend there, restless through the night or napping the day away. Oh well, c’est la vie. At least our neighbor was cute:
We spent the week bouncing between the Latin Quarter, Le Marais, tourist attractions, and the 7th (where we have family who recently moved from the US to Paris). While our preference is to experience a new place as if we lived there, some of the iconic attractions in Paris couldn’t be missed. Our apartment was closest to the Eiffel Tour, which was a handy landmark in addition to a clock, flashing twinkling lights on the hour. We also made our way to the Notre Dame Cathedral which was, sadly, still heavily under construction following the April 2019 fire. From the sides of the building you could see inside as the roof was completely gone. It’s clear the amount of precision and preservation they are putting into the restoration though, so we will be happy to come back in the future when it’s complete. The Arc de Triomphe was another must-see for us, however we found the Champs d'Elysee to be overblown, reminiscent of Times Square or Union Square in San Francisco, not at all unique and flooded with tourists and unapproachable luxury shops.
We walked through the gardens at Luxembourg Gardens which were pretty and relaxing but not in full bloom, so a bit anticlimactic. The garden of the Louvre was impressive with its sculpture collection, and of course the backdrop of the Louvre (which is massive, and sidenote - closed on Tuesdays). We didn’t have a full day to spend in the Louvre, so we went to Musee D'Orsay on the recommendation of many people. Their collection of impressionist works was really representative of the movement and they had many works by big names including Monet, Renoir, and Picasso. They also had some really grandiose pieces, giant paintings and sculptures. Tickets were only 14 Euro per person.
FOOD
We mainly stuck to french food during our short stay in Paris, starting with dinner at L’Abreuvoir in the 15th (near our AirBnB). We were pleasantly surprised with the portions and I enjoyed the best burger I’d had in a while while Marcus had duck. Also near our place were two bakeries, Amandine & Pauline and Poilâne, which we can vouch for delicious, fresh and flaky croissants. We mainly stuck to pastries for breakfast, with the exception of the weekend when we went to Kozy Cafe for brunch. The coco chia pudding and granola and Sexy Benny were both fantastic. They have a few locations around town.
We had to try a creperie, so we got a late breakfast one day at Creperie Contemporaine 142 near our place. I don’t think it was a place worth going out of your way for, but we were glad to have something tasty and close to the apartment. We had buckwheat galettes, mine with egg and Marcus’s with egg, cheese, and chorizo, and a lemon crepe.
We were lucky to be treated to a home cooked meal by Marcus’s cousin Unmi, who recently relocated to Paris along with her family and Marcus’s Aunt Jeanine and Uncle Guy. We enjoyed salmon and pasta at their beautiful apartment overlooking the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.
One of the best meals we had was at the dinner show we attended at Paradis Latin. Paradis Latin is a cabaret show with, first, a dinner show featuring a singer and dancing, followed by a more burlesque- and choreography-focused show. Aunt Jeanine and Uncle Guy had been to a few other cabaret shows in Paris and described this one as more intimate than others, with the dancers moving between the tables and a smaller venue. I had pate and beef wellington and Marcus had (you guessed it) duck.
One of the more touristy cafes we had to try was Cafe de Flore. They have a famous tea there, with notes of cocoa, which we loved (and would have gotten a box of to take home if it weren’t 45 Euros) as well as the delicious Tart Tatin. This place was great for people watching alone, as there were many “influencers” there getting content and giving us a good laugh.
We were unimpressed with Le Hibou, where the prices were exorbitant, service was rude and we found a fly in our wine. But for eating out every meal and only having one subpar experience, I’d say that’s pretty good!
DRINKS
Our first night in town we went to Le Gatsby, a cocktail bar, where we unintentionally walked into a happy hour of the local American club. One of their members told us how cocktail bars were not very common in Paris, where most places serve beer & wine and will just give you a glass of vermouth if you order a Martini. Being our first night there, though, we just got wine (trying to have a more authentic Parisian experience). The bartenders were friendly and funny and the charcuterie that everyone was having looked great.
Another cocktail bar we went to and really enjoyed was Little Red Door in Le Marais. They had a slight line when we arrived but it didn’t take long to be seated and offered their menu which was a book featuring their farm-to-glass menu. Their current theme is around featuring ingredients from regional farms and highlighting the farm and farmers, with a focus on sustainability and inventive flavors. My cocktail was crafted around buckwheat, and Marcus had the olive drink.
Finally, Candelaria was a speakeasy-style cocktail bar in the back of a taco shop, where we enjoyed the cave-like vibe and delicious drinks. (We also had birria tacos and frozen margaritas in the Taco Shop before venturing back, both were good!)
For wine, we went to a number of sidewalk bistros which were more or less the same, and found that the Bordeaux were fantastic. We may even incorporate Bordeaux as a stop in our trip later!
One of the best places we went for wine, which is worth visiting, was L’Avant Comptoir du Marche. They had an extensive and well curated selection of wines you could buy by the glass or bottle and the bartender was very knowledgeable. He recommended a fantastic full-bodied red, a Crozes-Hermitage, which we easily finished a bottle of. You can also order charcuterie and small bites here.
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Paris was the first stop on our four-month long adventure, so it posed a few unique challenges. First was the jet lag. We felt very prepared for the trip in most ways, but feeling that jet lag was out of our control, we did not plan for it. In hindsight, we would have done a bit more. By day four, after many nights tossing and turning past sunrise, we finally got some melatonin. The exhaustion definitely dulled the shine of our first few days. Another challenge was the cold. The majority of the trip will be in spring/summer and further south, so we packed accordingly and planned to layer up in colder locales. The temperature and wind in Paris proved to be more than we were prepared for, but luckily we were saved by Marcus’s Aunt Jeanine who lent us some jackets for the stay.
Overall, Paris was exciting but also difficult as we adjusted. We made the most of it and found some really great spots along the way, but look forward to trying again perhaps on the return for Bastille Day.
