All in Parisian Style
We left Blois and drove the few hours to Paris, where we dropped off our rental car and Ubered into the city. We were exhausted and the day had been mostly rainy, so after check in we only wandered the area for a little while before heading back early to eat some take out Chinese food and our bottle of sparkling wine we bought the day before. Ashley is quite the Paris expert, having been there many times, so I was content to just let her take the lead as we walked to see the sites. That evening we stopped by the Petit Palais and the Pont Alexandre III (the famous bridge), walked through the Tuileries gardens, and wound up at the Louvre. In the Tuileries, we came upon a carnival, where we obviously had to ride the swing ride for a fun view above the city, and an Amorino gelato stand, where I obviously had to stop for my favorite treat. It was a laid back day as both of us were tired and happy to get some early sleep.
The next morning began a jam-packed day of seeing the city. We began at the Palais Royal, a super trendy spot with some interesting art installations that you may recognize from Instagram. Next we met for a very exciting breakfast with one of my favorite Parisian bloggers, the lovely Daphne of Mode and the City. Per her suggestion, we ate at Claus, a delicious little place close to the Palais Royal. She was such a sweetheart and she and I and Ashley spent hours chatting away happily, munching on eggs and scones. After parting ways, Ashley and I relaxed at our hotel a little to avoid the rain that was pouring down, then when it stopped grabbed an Uber to the Ile de Saint Louis (where Notre Dame Cathedral is) and walked around the area, making our way towards the Luxembourg Garden. In the few hours we spent wandering around, the clouds had gathered again and we ducked into the Cafe Angelina for some tea and desserts. By the time the rain cleared again, we had decided to head to the Marais area of the city, where we could do a little shopping and Ashley's favorite part of town. We had some delicious falafel for dinner at an unassuming place that I probably would never have known to try if it weren't for Ashley's insistence that it was the best falafel pita in the world (it really was yummy), shopped a little, and headed back to the hotel for the night, both understandably exhausted from all the walking.
Our last morning in Paris was Bastille Day. We'd planned to go get some pictures by the Eiffel Tower, but the city was barricaded left and right for the celebrations, so we had to take the Metro to get there and back. On our way back we get stuck in the midst of the parade and so stopped for some food at LaDurée waiting for it to clear so we could get to our hotel. Then we packed up, checked out, and I hopped in an Uber to the airport, off to the next leg of my Euro-adventure.
