I am sure some will be aghast when I say that my opinion of Paris hadn't been that of "the best city in the world" during our first trip there about 6 years ago. The trip overall (to Paris and Italy) was amazing, but the weather in Paris was quite rainy and the attitude of the people left something to be desired. But, in all fairness, if I went on vacation anywhere and the weather was bad, I would probably have the same opinion.
However…all of that changed last weekend when we made the 2.5 hour trip on the EuroStar down to Paris to revisit the best hot chocolate place in the world from the 2002 visit and determined to change my opinion of “The city of light.”
We arrived around 10:30 a.m. and walked from the train station through a shady area of town that reminded us of Canal Street in NY city. It was full of chintzy clothes and shoe shops that smelled of cooking rice. We wandered for a few hours through the side streets getting lost and making our way down to the Paris city center. Our goal was to find food about mid-way through and we ended up in a little place on the St. Martin Canal where we got a croissant, a half of a baguette, jelly and butter and a cappuccino. We had stopped at another café down the street (Café Prune), but it seemed they didn’t have cappuccino – only espresso of which Eric had 2.
We continued into town taking the back streets and made our way to the Cimetière du Père Lachaise and spent a good hour looking at all of the amazing monuments and headstones. Some very famous names are buried there: Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Jim Morrison (just to name a few).
 |
| Hotel room picnic |
Made our way to the hotel Abbatial Saint-Germain in the Latin Quarter, seeing Notre Dame, the tip of the Louvre triangle, and Les Halles along the way. We were hungry again so we went to the grocery across the street and got some soft cheese, a baguette, and some salami to have for lunch. Our hotel was sufficient. It was clean and seemed relatively authentic. We ate our ‘free grocery’ lunch in the hotel, and then headed out again.
We were determined to find this café that served the best hot chocolate EVER 6 years prior. We think we found the street, Eric secretly had looked at the background of the picture that was taken of me with the hot chocolate back in ’02. The fish place from the picture was still there but the place next store isn’t and the café is sadly, a sushi joint. I am still convinced that it was actually a different café that sat on a square with some governmental building surrounding it. All weekend, I had my eye out for such a place. (Came home unsuccessful though.)
We travelled to the the fountain that sits at the bottom of the Champs Elysee and then were tempted by the sights of the Eiffel Tower all lit up and sparkling at night. The vision was breathtaking so we decided to walk towards it. Well, little did we know that it was actually about a 5 mile walk (ok, not really but it certainly looked closer than it was!) We admired the tower, Eric peed in a bush, and then we headed to dinner. A lovely family run Parisian restaurant called Chez Lena et Memile. The staple of many of the appetizers and main courses was courgette. Weren’t sure what that was so good thing Rick Steves Quick Conversation Guide was nearby. Turns out, it is zucchini. The food was wonderful and definitely a place that we would recommend to anyone wanting an affordable, authentic meal.
Saturday Highlights:
- Discovery of Rue de Mouffetard = Heaven
Street Market with Bakeries, Chocolate shops, wine shops and fromageries. It really doesn’t get much better than that - Breakfast/Lunch of cheese (that tasted like pickles) and a baguette on the sidewalk of Rue de Mouffetard. Fantastic people watching.
- Enjoying the lovely spring weather in the Jardin des Plantes and the Managerie and even better, the Jardin du Luxembourg. There were so many people outside reading, sunbathing, and enjoying the unusually warm February weather. I truly see why so many people rave about “Paris in the springtime!”
- Found our hotel on Rue de Turbigo from our visit back in 2002 –ahh, fond memories at Hotel Bellevue.
- Ate an amazing goat cheese and spinach tart near the Opera House
- Had fabulous wine and a sub-standard hot chocolate at a great café where we did some more people-watching and lamented the fact that the weekend was coming to an end
Were our usually thrifty selves and got about 3 bottles of wine, cheese and more bread for our dinner on the 8:43 Eurostar train back to St. Pancras.
 |
| At the bottom of Rue de Mouffetard |
 |
| No crowds in February |
Next visit to do list:
Rent bikes (with horn and basket included) and take to the streets
Walk (and potentially shop) on the Champs Elysee
Be able to speak French fluently (me not Eric)
Find the illusive hot chocolate place
To view the pictures from our trip go to http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.8l8m16zr&x=0&y=qp8ili
