Paris Day 4

On our final day in Paris we had one activity scheduled, as you might guess it was the Louvre. Before we headed out on our final day though, we stopped on Rue Cler again for petit dejuener. Again we attempted to blend in with the crowd during a weekday and try our might at ordering breakfast in French. I ended up ordering only brioche and hubs ended up order oeufs and brioche. (His french is obviously better than mine..) The brioche was amazing though. The restaurant was called L'Eclair and it had amazing coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice as well. I also fell madly in love with fig jams while in France. AHHHmazing. The coffee is also amazing. Did I mention that the bread and pastries are amazing too? Yeah...

After breakfast we hoped on our Bato Bus and headed to the Louvre.

 

SECRET TIP! A little known fact around Paris is that there is actually a second entrance into the Louvre. You'll notice a HUGE line outside the pyramid because the "real" entrance IS under the pyramid, but if you enter on the side of the Seine there is actually an underground entrance to the mall area in which you can access the ticket line for the Louvre. It definitely looks like it's not legit, but if you look for the lions on either side of the Arch de Triumph du Carrousel there is a staircase leading down into the mall area and viola!! Skip the lines!

I'll also note that we had purchased the Louvre app on our iPhones to use while visiting the museum. It's such a crowded place and it's so massive in size that it's incredibly easy to get lost. We used the Masterpiece Tour while visiting so that we could see all the major pieces of art that are a significant attraction to the Louvre. It also helped because it told you where to walk and where to go and also entertained you while walking to your next location. It probably took 2-3 hours and in a museum where you could spend weeks, it was nice to have some direction and to learn what we were looking at!

 

Venus de Milo above

 

Victory of Samothrace

Probably one of my favorite galleries that is majestic in person!!

OH there's the Mona Lisa... and her ridiculous paparazzi!

 

I barely gave much thought and time into taking a good picture of her, the crowd was overwhelming and a little tip about the Louvre as well... IT'S HOT!! The AC barely works because of it being an older building and the ridiculous amount of people that swarm the museum every day of the week. Also be sure to CHECK ALL MUSEUM TIMES because some are not open certain days of the week! More paparazzi below of Mona..

These are photos of Napoleon's actual apartment inside the Louvre. Definitely make time for this as it's not on the masterpiece tour but it really is incredible!

You can barely see, but there's the massive crowd at the main entrance.

After exhausting ourselves in the Louvre we sat down for some "typical" French food.. Escargot and Nutella crepes that were WAY overpriced but worth the time we were able to sit down and rest our little feet. We had a big dinner planned for later that evening at the only restaurant I made a reservation for in Paris.

 

Pretty Paris.. This really never gets old..

 
 

Pantheon on the way to dinner.

For our last meal in Paris I had done some research on restaurants and one restaurant kept popping up time and time again. Les Papilles. It sounded fun and interesting without being super pricey but I felt would garner us an authentic Parisian experience. The chef goes to market each day and hand selects his ingredients for his menu which is a complete surprise every day as well. So you don't choose what you want, the chef simply prepares it for you. Four courses, as typical of a French meal, for around 33E per person! Once there, the chef collects wine so you simply choose a bottle of wine off the shelves and they'll serve it to you, or the chef will personally choose a bottle for you. It's such a fun experience! To get a table at this TINY restaurant you HAVE to make a reservation and you must confirm your reservation day of by email or phone call to retain the table!!

  

First course, Zucchini soup

 

Second course, Osso Bucco
 

Third course, camembert cheese, a favorite of the French! We followed the cheese with a apricot panna cotta, which I normally don't care for, but it was delish! I just didn't take a photo of it unfortunately. It was a lovely experience and it was so nice not choosing what I wanted to eat and just having it prepared for us. The kitchen was so small at this restaurant that they were constantly cleaning dishes while cooking. I'd definitely recommend Les Papilles to anyone visiting Paris!

After our lovely meal we headed back to the Seine and caught the Bato Bus for it's last round of the evening and to take in Paris one last time at night. It was the first time we rode at night and it was c'est magnifique!

One last time walking by Madam Eiffel.. She never gets old that's for sure. Until next time Paris. You were amazing and I still can't get you out of my mind..

Au Revoir Paris, j'taime!
xoxo,
Amanda

Paris Day 2

On our second day in Paris we wandered over to Rue Cler to attempt to have breakfast. We were really proud while we were there to try not to offend the locals and try to communicate with what few French phrases we knew so when we wanted breakfast we sat down, but apparently we just said we wanted coffee so they took our plates and napkins away and we enjoyed a coffee... and then I made hubs let me stop for a pain au choclat, win win. Plus Rue Cler was so cute for pictures that morning.

After petit dejuner we decided let's just go to the Eiffel tower and go up! It was so beautiful so we took advantage. We decided to walk up to the first level because there was no line. (A little known secret, it's cheaper to walk up the 320 stairs to the first level and catch the elevator from there, so you can also avoid the line at the bottom!) Hubs is afraid of heights so walking was not his cup of tea because the stairs were metal grates with holes and you could feel the tower moving ever so slightly so we just stayed on the first level, but it allowed for amazing photos!

An absolute amazing fete of technology and ingenuity. I am still enamored at how amazing the Eiffel Tower really is. It really is everything and more. I would recommend anyone visit the Eiffel Tower and numerous times. Day and night. Next time I'd like to go up at night. I hear it's particularly stellar at sunset.. Next time. The good news was, every day we walked by the Eiffel Tower and I could not have been more happy about it! Again, thankful for our 7th Arrondissement flat!!

 We took the Bato Bus everywhere because the days were just to glorious not to be on the Seine and the price wasn't too unreasonable. It's effectively a taxi water service, so don't expect a tour while on the Bato Bus, but do expect to stop at all major attractions in Paris along the Seine and enjoy the beautiful scenery from the water and not the metro.

 Ponte de Arts - Lovelock Bridge

 Carrie <3's Big

 Cliche French lunch - French onion soup, Tuna Nicoise, Creme Brulee

 I adored how much activity was present on the Seine, everyone seemed to gather and eat, hang out and just enjoy life in the beautiful city. It was so glamorous!

 I could think of worse places to get married than Paris, but that's quite the dress to haul around.

 Cathedral de Notre Dame

After viewing the inside of the cathedral we decided to climb the 400 spiral stairs for what I think has to be one of the best rooftop views of Paris!

I mean really, how beautiful is this city?! So incredible!!!

After a long day of walking up a million steps, we ended the night with dinner at our host family to be for Compiegne. The family actually lives in Paris and ironically lived a few blocks away from where we were staying in the 7th. I wish I could've taken photos of how gorgeous their top floor apartment was, but that would have been embarrassing, but it was beautiful!! Definitely what you'd want to aspire to have in Paris. 3 bedrooms, balconies, and an eat in kitchen. Even better though, was the company. We truly loved the family we were able to spend time with in Compiegne. She would definitely be my mom away from home! We miss dear Guilhene and Jaq all the time, but more on them later.

xoxo,
Amanda