Paris Days 1 & 2

Up early today! To introduce me to Paris I had booked a walking tour with Urban Adventures (I’ve got a couple more in other places too) so I headed out in the drizzle to find the obelisk at Place Concorde.

Eventually our guide, Arthur, showed up, and met our group of seven, and we paused for a brief history lesson. Then we set off, around the streets nearby, wending our way through the “Paris end” of Paris, where all the prestigious shops were. The end of this section was making our way to Fauchon, the amazing gourmet food shop, where we stopped for a macaron. 

This place is amazing – huge spreads of cheeses, breads, meats, cakes, caviar, etc etc!

We each chose a macaron (mine was the copper-sparkling chocolat praline) and oohed and aahed over the shop and the tastes of our choices. 

We wandered around a bit more of the area and headed down to the 1st arr and then to the Marais district, where we stopped in a cheese shop for a cheese tasting. Yum! They were all very good.

The tour broke up at the modern art museum, and a few of us retired to a nearby cafe for un cafe and lunch. I had the baked camembert, which came with a salad and bacon chunks, and was amazing. I could feel my arteries buffing up with every mouthful!

 

The mother-and-daughter pair of Americans I was hanging out with were tentatively making plans for the Loire Valley the next day, and invited me along, but later when they worked out it would be the whole day, I decided that I probably needed to see a bit more of Paris before heading out on Sunday. A pity, because they were lots of fun, but hopefully our paths will cross in the future.

After parting ways, I wandered through Le Marais district, pausing to savour the atmosphere at the Place de Vosges, a lovely park in amongst the bustling neighbourhood, before braving the metro to get back to the hotel.

I arrived back to my room to find the email I had sent to Hilton this morning querying the tea and coffee facilities (don’t judge – I just wanted a cuppa! I had even packed my own tea!) had borne fruit, and there was a kettle waiting in my room. It was lovely to be able to put my feet up for half an hour with a nice cup.

Next on the agenda was the champagne tasting Seine cruise (I booked through O-Chateau). Again, this was a metro trip rather than walking, as I needed to meet the boat down next to the Eiffel Tower. Two birds with one stone! The Tower is pretty impressive close up – but the crowds are pretty huge too!

Big queues for the cruises, too, but the champagne tasting ticket lets you jump to the front to be on the one you booked for. The cruise was great – an hour up and down the river, going past a lot of the sights like the Louvre and Notre Dame. We had three different bubbles to try, and although it was supposed to be “tasting”, it ended up being just a tour of the sights with a few glasses of bubbly thrown in. Not bad 🙂

I headed back to the hotel later for hopefully an early night, popping into the Starbucks next door for a Paris mug and a salad for dinner. I also had a peek into the Gare de Saint Lazare station area, where there are heaps of shops, including a tea shop (Lov Organic and Kusmi Tea), and even a Lush!

The early night didn’t end up being terribly early, but I didn’t have to get up early so slept in a litte. The second day in Paris I didn’t need to run around lots, so I’d planned to check out the shopping – the big stores Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, and the plus-sized clothing shop I’d seen down the street (Jean Marc Phillipe) and whatever else took my fancy.

I started out at Printemps, scoping out the Swarovski stand and snapping up their last Eiffel Tower charm for my charm bracelet, and then wandering the clothes racks for what seemed like decades. I then transferred over to the homewares building, and trawled around all the way up to the ninth floor, which I didn’t realise had a rooftop cafe and views across Paris! Although, for someone as scaredy-cat of heights as I am, it wasn’t awesome… so I headed down again. I was very tempted to replace all my new luggage with even newer Lipault bags to match my purple carryon bag, but I restrained myself, instead running amok at the MAC counter. They had new stuff, what can I say? And I was almost at the threshold of the tax-back scheme, so it made sense to buy a new mascara as well, right? 😀

Next door is the equally impressive Galeries Lafayette (they have an amazing stained glass ceiling -wow) which had again, floors and floors of clothing and accessories, but here I restricted myself to the incredible food hall, indulging in cheeses, charcuterie, fresh fruit, chocolate (did you know Lindt has a new flavour – sesame? It tastes interesting…) and a couple of little jars of mustard as souvenirs. I also picked up a bottle of the most refreshing “citronnade a la menthe” – old-fashioned lemonade with mint. Delicious!

On my way back to the hotel with my lunch, I passed by the Jean Marc Phillipe shop. I’d loved the flowy tops in the window, but I eventually walked out with a “cassis” (purple) pair of 3/4 pants with a cute zip at the ankle. I was dithering over a fabulous fuchsia rain/trenchcoat, but said no, and had immediate buyer’s remorse! 

Over lunch and a Facebook discussion, I decided to go back and get the trench. I’d been wishing yesterday that I’d had a raincoat, and even though today was dry, I’d heard that Brussels is always rainy, to say nothing about upcoming Ireland! So I went for another wander, passing fruitlessly by Desigual and Camper. By the time I was returning back, I’d talked myself out of the coat, but as I walked past the shop, my feet just turned in. It was fate. Fuchsia trench is mine! And I have something else to work out the tax refund details for… 😀

So tonight will be a quiet night, as I’ve well and truly spent my day’s entertainment money on shopping… Good thing I have cheese, crackers, charcuterie and champers in my room!