Ahh I’m the worst. I took so many photos when we were in Paris a few months ago, but never shared them. My plan was to put together a travel guide, but I don’t even know where to begin on that. We saw so much, ate SO much and wandered all over the amazing city. Instead of an in-depth analysis of everything we did, I’ve decided to make this post more of a travel diary with photos and some highlights of the trip. Let’s begin, shall we?
First of all, THE FOOD! Oh my gosh. The amount of carbs and desserts I had was unreal. Obviously we had to try some macarons, so we stopped at Ladurée. They were amazing and the store/restaurant itself was beautiful! We also ate our weight in croissants and baguettes. It’s so cool how all of the streets are lined with cafes and bakeries. You literally see people walking around with baguettes. That was our go-to for lunch and dinner. We would buy a fresh baguette, cheese, meat and wine and sit in a park while we ate it.
Our favorite restaurants were ones that a travel writer recommended to us. We met her and her husband on a train from Munich to Paris and had a great time chatting with them. They are from the US, around our age, and have been backpacking around Europe for 2.5 years! They work remotely and stay in a new place every 6 to 8 weeks. I wish I had gotten their contact information because they’re suggestions were spot on! First, she suggested Le Grand Bain, a tapas restaurant that has really unique dishes and is reasonably priced. The menu was all in French, so Rob and I just asked the waiters what they suggested and we were happy with all of the dishes. There was a fondue that you eat with endive leaves, which sounds weird but was SO good. We also loved the chickpea fries. They were almost like fried mozzarella sticks because the filling was creamy and the outside was perfectly crisp and flavorful. The travel writer we met also suggested a bakery called Du Pain et des Idées, which had the best pastries of our entire trip. We had the “escargot” which is called that because it’s a spiral shape like a snail’s shell. It’s just a normal pastry filled with pistachio and chocolate. Seriously, amazing! So thank you, girl who I don’t know, amazingggg suggestions!
The other meal we really enjoyed was at Chez Gladines Saint-Germain. Rob ordered their special, which was amazing. The sauce was SO good. One thing that’s interesting about dining out in Europe is that it takes FOREVER. I understand that the waitresses don’t want to rush you and it’s more of a leisurely experience, but sometimes I’m just hangry from walking around all day and don’t want to dilly dally. On the other hand, if you just want to catch up with friends and enjoy some wine it’s nice not to feel rushed.
We visited Paris in the fall, which was a beautiful time of year. It was lovely to walk around town with the leaves falling and a crisp breeze in the air. We also loved how people actually hang out in the parks. They were filled with people having picnics! One evening we brought out baguette sandwiches and wine and enjoyed a casual meal outdoors, which was so fun.
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We also saw all of the typical tourists sights, such as Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and other museums. We realized we aren’t really “art people” but loved just walking around town! There is so much to see and you might stumble upon something amazing that you won’t find in the Top 10 articles on Google. We ended up walking 30,000 steps one day in Paris and walked at least 10 miles per day. One of our favorite ways to see the city was from a boat. There are several Seine River cruises and it’s a fun way to see the sights without having to walk miles and miles. We took a cruise around sunset leaving from Pont Neuf and went past all of the sights. It’s a great way to learn more about the city and see quite a few landmarks in just an hour.
Do you have any Paris suggestions? I would love to visit again!
