We started our honeymoon off in Paris, one of my favorite cities in the world.
I studied abroad in Paris when I was in college and this was my first trip back. Last winter, when Adam and I started planning our honeymoon out and brainstorming of where we wanted to go, I immediately shouted out PARIS! We had to go to Paris. It was a given. Paris was where I fell in love with food and where decided to make a career out of my passion. I’m obsessed with the French culture, the way of life there that involves all the sweet little pastry shops, markets and fresh flowers. There’s a spark, a bit of magic, that you feel when you stand on the bridge overlooking the Seine and the gaping steeples of the Notre Dame. I know it’s just a city and it has it’s share of issues, but for me there will always be that spark.
Instead of going the hotel route, we rented a tiny flatduring our stay and couldn’t have been happier. Traveling is both Adam and my biggest passion and when we travel, we like to “be local” as much as possible. For us that means steering clear of big corporate hotel chains, walking everywhere {or learning that city’s means of public transportation} and finding out the fabulous hole-in-the-wall restaurants. We aren’t big into touristy things and would rather dig in to local culture. That’s why it worked out so well for us to rent a flat!
Here’s the inside of our flat! It was tiny but perfect for us and was in a wonderful area on the left bank close to many bistros and cafes and about 15 minutes walking distance from the Eiffel Tower.
The bedspread was covered in hearts! Adorable. This flat had previously been a bakery in the early 20th century. How fitting, right? If you’re interested, you can find the listing to “The Boulangerie Room” here. I really can’t recommend it enough and the owner was incredibly nice. He took Adam and I on a stroll around the neighborhood right when we arrived to show us all his favorite places.
We spent five glorious nights in Paris. One of the days we slept until 12:30 in the afternoon! If you know me or have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I NEVER sleep in…but it felt wonderful to just relax and catch up on all the sleep we missed during the wedding and on our long flight. It rained pretty much every day we were there, but we didn’t care. We just buttoned up our rain jackets, grabbed the umbrella that Christopher {the owner of the flat} left for us, and headed out to explore.
We stuffed ourselves absolutely silly with chocolate croissants, tarte tatin, ham & cheese crepes and flourless chocolate cake. Every single day we ate dessert after lunch AND dinner. It was fabulous. A typical mid-day snack was hot goat cheese toast and rose wine….or gelato, which I ate daily on the trip. I think that covers all nutritional bases, right?
While in Paris, I also became obsessed with the vending machines in the metro stations. I mean, they are really the cutest! Filled with European chocolates and Haribo gummie bears.
And the fresh flowers! They were everywhere, despite the cold rain.
We spent one afternoon exploring the Jarden des Plantes, which was in my old neighborhood, and then when it started to rain again, we took shelter sipping hot, sweet mint tea and nibbling on crunchy pastries at the Paris Mosque.
Another day was spent walking along the Seine and through the winding streets of Ile St-Louis. We ate dinner at my favorite restaurant in Paris that night, Il Caveau. If you’re ever in Paris, please do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a meal here. It’s actually quite affordable, as far as Paris goes. I believe dinner that night for the two of us cost only 60 euros, and that included wine and dessert.
When you’re there, start with a steaming bowl of French onion soup and then order the salmon with rice instead of vegetables for your entree. The sauce with the salmon is life changing, full of garlic and other magical things. Definitely get the soft chocolate cake for dessert, which is sort of like a chocolate lava cake, but served with thick, rich creme anglaise for dipping. Then, let’s chat.
On our last evening in Paris, the rain finally stopped. We took that as an opportunity to stock up on truffle salami {from our neighborhood charcuterie}, stinky cheese, French bread and macarons from La Grand Epicerie and head to the Eiffel Tower to have a picnic. The ground was still wet, so my husband went out and bought us a cheap blue blanket from Monoprix to spread underneath us and we cracked a bottle of Pinot Noir, made sandwich after sandwich, and feasted happily.
I have still have so much I could tell you about, like the ice cream sundae from Laduree, the falafel sandwich the size of my face from L’as du Fallafel in the Marais {we waited in line outside in the cold rain for half an hour to get that sandwich and let me tell you, it did not disappoint}, the countless cones of gelato from Amorino and dry, fizzy champagne we sipped out of paper cups in our flat, while our shoes dried out from the rain. Of course we had a dud day that involved walking in circles for hours, but that’s not relevant.
We left Paris early in the morning, dragging our sixty pound suitcase down the Metro steps as we made our way to the train station. The next part of our adventure to come!
**Regularly scheduled recipe posts will resume shortly. Thank you for understanding + having patience as we unpack, settle in and start our lives together!
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