24 hours in Paris

Bon soir mon amis!

I'm back from my brief visit to Paris. I'm so glad I did it, have a renewed desire to learn French (I honestly don't think I'll ever really love being alone in Paris until I can speak passable French), and am equally happy to be back in London.

Here's a slideshow of the highlights:

And now, the details.
Thanks again to all my friends responsible for the deluxe Eurostar trip to Paris. It was a very easy process to change the ticket to this weekend, the breakfast they served was fab and until we got to the first stop in Paris, there was only one other person in the whole car! Just a few months ago, they moved the Eurostar London station from Waterloo to St. Pancras/Kings Cross and the station is really lovely.

So, as soon as I got to Paris, I made my way to the Gare du Nord Metro station and had an easy two stop ride to St. Michel/Notre Dame, in the Latin Quarter to check in to my hotel.

I stayed at the Albe Hotel, which I found online and got good reviews. It was also really reasonably priced (109 euros for a single). I think it was reduced from the normal rate because they are renovating the elevator so you have to take the stairs. But since I was only there for one day, even though I was on the 5th floor I really didn't mind the stairs. And as you can see from the slideshow, I had a pretty great view of the Seine from my little balcony. If you walk out of the hotel and go 5 feet to your right, there's a view of Notre Dame, so that was a nice perk too.

Even though I had eaten a lovely b-fast on the train, by the time I got to the hotel and settled, I thought I could fit some more food in, so I went to this fantastic little crepe place my editor had recommended. It was just down the street from my hotel, adorable, delicious and I never would have found it if she hadn't told me about it. Creperie des Arts at 27 rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts in the 5th. They don't have a website but I took pics of my crepe and inside the restaurant in the slideshow. It was a mushroom and gruyere crepe with a dash of tomato sauce throw in - mmm.

After the crepe, I walked down the Seine to Musee d'Orsay, which I love for its huge collection of Impressionsits. Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, whoever you like. And I like them all. Chagall's "Le Cirque" in the post-impressionist gallery is also one of my favorites. Pointilism at its finest...in my opinion. They also have fantastic sculpture galleries and special exhibits, but I go for the impressionists. I also love the building which used to be the Gare d'Orsay - a train station, so it has a wonderful open airy feeling, and obviously still looks very much like a train station.

Post Orsay, I walked across the river and over to Musee de L'Orangerie, which is small by comparison but they house Monet's Waterlillies murals. I love sitting in the two circular galleries surrounded by the Waterlillies.

Have I mentioned what a beautiful day it was outside? Sunny, not a cloud in the sky and - considering it's winter - pretty warm out. I was thrilled because I was hoping to just spend the whole day walking around and that's exactly what I was able to do.

After finishing visits to my two favorite museums, I walked down the Champs d'Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. It was massively crowded and pretty unpleasant the closer I got to the arch. Also, there was some kind of demonstration about to happen as tons of older men holding French flags embroidered with WWII dates were lining up, along with a bunch of younger people in navy uniforms with red helmets. I never quite figured out what was going on.

Next stop, was my one effort at some shopping. I wanted to go to the Christian Louboutin home store, just to look. We all know I'm not buying at $1000 shoes, but I wanted to visit them in their homeland. They were supposed to stay open til 7pm but sadly, when I got there at 6, there was a note on the door that they had closed at 4pm. At least that's what I think it said. At any rate, it was closed.

So, a food reward was once again in order! This time to Angelina's (sadly, no website but it's on Rue de Ravoli facing Jardin de Tuileries) for some of their famous hot chocolate. A co-worker had told me about it and I knew I'd come to the right place when I got there and there was a line out the door. They have a full menu but everyone was there for the same thing. You get a small pitcher of liquid chocolate which is as thick as a melted chocolate bar (and we're not talking Hershey's), and a side dish of whipped cream. Combine both and drink up. So delicious!

My next two stops were less successful. I tried to go to Harry's Bar near the Opera. It looked awesome inside but it was super crowded and when I go to a bar by myself, if I can't get a seat, I don't stay. I'm awkward that way. So after walking around near the opera then back along the Louvre, past Notre Dame and into the Latin Quarter, it was time for another meal. I tried going to a couple of the hot spots in the Time Out Paris but I didn't have a booking and they were full. (Note: I did dress nicely for the evening so I don't think they were refusing me just because I looked like a scrubby American, but who knows) So I ended up just going to a bistro that looked decent and had onion soup on the menu. I don't even remember the name. But I know I had onion soup, coq au vin and chocolate mousse - so a pretty quintessential French meal, aside from the lack of frog's legs or snails. Everything was just ok, nothing earth shattering. Stopped and had a glass of wine at another place on the way back to the hotel and that was it. That was my Paris in a day.

The next time I go to Paris, I'm going to forget about trying to hit any tourist spots and just shop or walk around the gardens or drink in a cafe somewhere. Try to really understand living in Paris. But before that can happen, I will learn some French. I know I would be more comfortable there if I just felt like I could understand my surroundings a little better. No one was super mean or ignored me - aside from Angelina's, there was definitely a little distaste there - but when I'm traveling by myself I think I'd enjoy it more if I knew I could say a few words to absolutely anyone. All I know is I was really happy to come back to London today, just as happy as I felt about leaving for Paris. And if this job had gone to Paris for the second half instead of Canada, I think I would have been right not to consider it. It would have been a really rough adjustment and I'm not sure I would have been able to prepare enough. Like how I would have found time to learn a new language while working 60-70 hour weeks in London. This was a long one. Thanks for reading!!!

Two more things. A poster pic for Matt and Mike:


And a poster for my Dartmouth friends:


I'm thinking maybe France needs a little political correctness lesson.