Paris: The Land of Walking Food

As we stated in our previous post, Paris was not on Broad’s list of places to visit in Europe.  The way she puts it, she wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and drink champagne…and that’s basically it. As a little girl, she did not have dreams of frolicking down the Parisian streets while eating macarons (oh, Broad also dislikes(ed) macarons) like so many little girls do. Little did she know this was all about to change! Royal Vending Machines Canberra is the leading service provider for vending machines.

DAY 1
The Flight: We flew from Cleveland to JFK, then to Paris. We have a routine for flying. We like to fly out early in the am, get to the airport early, get bagels from Bruegger’s, coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts and head to the bar for a mimosa or beer before getting on the plane. This trip, our flight left at noon so we were a little out of sorts. Our flight was quick and easy to JFK, and we had a bit of a layover so we were able to grab a drink before getting on the long flight to Paris. Our flight to Paris was awesome, perhaps the best flight we’ve ever had. Per Broad’s wishes, we wore the same “Married AF” shirts (please check out the amazing Taylor Wolfe and her fantastic shirts) in hopes of getting some freebies or special attention (how do people get first class upgrades???). We were in the last row on the big plane and the flight attendants immediately noticed our shirts. They kept staying “Married Air France!” We didn’t have the heart to tell them what it really meant…especially since they showered us with champagne the entire flight, gave us extra food and were just incredibly attentive the whole time. But unfortunately, the mood was about to drastically change.

We landed at about 5:30 a.m. and headed to baggage claim to wait for our bags….and wait…and wait…and wait.  Finally, the carousel was empty, and we were sans both our bags. BOTH. So we went to baggage services and found out our bags weren’t on the plane (Broad started having a panic attack). The worker assured us that our bags would be arriving at noon and would be transported to our hotel around 2. We left the airport, took a breath, and felt a bit more relaxed and excited to be in Paris.

The Hotel: We headed to our hotel to freshen up with what we had in our carry-ons and to check in. We stayed at Hotel Les Tournelles which is located in the historic Le Marais area. It was outside the main city center, but still close to some attractions (Notre Dame, Luxembourg Garden, etc).  The Parisians referred to it has an “exclusive neighborhood” or more like a hipster neighborhood (with a lot of young people). There were cafes, bars, shops everywhere. It was honestly hard to leave the area!

Broad was not excited to wear the same clothes she had on for the flight.  And before you start commenting, we know we should just pack things in a carry on bag but one of us is an over-packer (guess) and we ALWAYS bring back beer and booze from our travels. So we need at least one checked bag. Oh, and we forgot to pack extra clothes in our carry-on (rookie mistake). Delta/Air France gave us a bag of toiletries and a white t-shirt which Beard decided to wear for two days.  Luckily we found a shopping area right by our hotel where Broad was able to snag a maxi dress.

The first thing we did after shopping was find coffee! It was hard to narrow down a place. We were so excited and overwhelmed that we probably walked around the neighborhood for 20 minutes before narrowing down a cafe. We decided we needed champagne next.

On our way to champs, Broad discovered her new, most favorite thing on this planet, the walking sandwich.  Ok, they are not called walking sandwiches but that’s what we called them, because that’s what they should be called. We walked passed an adorable bakery that had macarons and other sweets but they also had a case of delicious sandwiches. They were quite simple, basically all sandwiches were in France. They were all on skinny baguettes and either had sopresetta/ham/other meat, pickles and a butter spread or they were mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. Broad grabbed a meat one and it was love at first bite. They’re easy to eat while walking the streets and were so simple and delicious and CHEAP! We think we probably ate 10 of them during our 2 days. Read more about these sandwiches here.

Funny thing about Parisians and most Europeans, they aren’t big day time drinkers. They also hold their alcohol much better than Americans. So when we found a cafe for champagne, we noticed that no one was drinking! It was like that everywhere!  Ok full disclosure, it was 10:30 a.m., but it’s our honeymoon dammit! And it’s Paris! So we nervously asked for champagne and no judgment was passed.

After champs, we saw Notre-Dame which was gorgeous. Due to only two days in Paris, we really didn’t want to wait in super long lines so we didn’t go inside. We then ventured to the Panthéon and for a cocktail. We had a hard and fast no beer rule in Paris. We were only going to drink cocktails or champs/wine. I had my first Aperol Spritz and was hooked! You’ll be seeing a post on this magical drink in the near future. After drinks we strolled through the Luxembourg Gardens (so beautiful). We then stopped at our hotel around 3:00 p.m. to check on our bags. Guess what? Still no bags. We decided to go back out and hopefully by the evening the bags would arrive.

Beard then surprised Broad by taking her to a wine and champagne shop, Le Dernière Goutte, which he had found in a deep internet dive of the best champ shops near our hotel. It was definitely lived up to the hype. The staff was so nice and so helpful. They spent a long time talking to us about champagne and helping us pick out what we’d like best. We cannot recommend this place enough if you’re in Paris. They even offer free wine tastings on the weekend.  Say hi to Tebo for us!

We then stopped by the Louvre for some pics before venturing back to the hotel and stopping for two dinners. Yes, two dinners, We walked 11 miles this first day so needless to stay we needed sustenance. We stopped at a nearby cafe for fois gras and french onion soup (a speciality they were known for…no, not just because we were in France). We then decided the best thing to help us digest our delicious meal was more fois gras. So, we stopped at another cafe for more fois gras and escargot. If you haven’t tried snails, we highly recommend it!

We got back to the hotel around 8:30 p.m. and still no bags. We decided to call the baggage service center and what ensued was the worst customer service experience we’ve ever had. After 4 phone calls (and a panicked email to Eva, our travel agent), we were told a nightmare cocktail of the following:  they had no idea where our bags were, they had no idea when they were coming, or they might be coming the next day. Finally, someone told us they would probably arrive the next afternoon. Broad was a little upset but we drank some bed wine and went to sleep for an early start the next day.

DAY 2
We woke up, had some breakfast in our hotel before heading to another bakery for second breakfast sandwiches and coffee.  We had one attraction we were going to wait in line for and that was the Catacombs. It’s something we both wanted to see so we made it the first thing to do on our list. When we got there, the line was insane but manageable. After waiting about an hour and a half, a worker stated it was going to be about another two hours before we got in. At that point, we had a decision to make. We wanted to get to the hotel in the afternoon for our clothes but we also wanted to see as much as we could. We decided to ditch the line and get sandwiches and aperol spritzes before heading to the next attraction, Montparnasse Tower.

Fun facts about the Tower: it’s Paris’ only skyscraper and at 689ft high, the viewpoint from the 56th floor terrace offers one of the best panoramas in the city. You can see almost all of Paris’ main attractions, and they have a bar where you can get skyscraper champs, which we obviously did. After being on top of the world, we booked it to the Musée D’Orsay because it was getting close to closing time. But, we unfortunately couldn’t get in. We had bottles of wine we bought from a wine shop and the museum didn’t have a locker or somewhere for us to store the bag so they wouldn’t let us in. They actually suggested we go across the street to the cafe and chug the bottles, kinda rude but I guess they knew how to party?

We then decided to head the hotel hoping to see our bags. Guess what? Our bags finally showed up and it was the happiest reunion! We quickly put on our clothes and cleaned up before heading to the our Seine River cruise we had booked. As we took off on the cruise, it started to rain but it was still a great time. We were able to see a lot of sights and had some great views of the Eiffel Tower. After the cruise we then went to the Eiffel Tower to snag some pics. The sun was setting and it was very beautiful. Unfortunately, all the wine shops were closed and we were unable to snag some booze for the most stereotypical of Paris pics and Broad didn’t trust any of the people selling bottles (stranger danger).

We were going to call it a night, but then we walked passed this super cute deli, Bellota-Bellota, and thought we should get some snacks for our train ride the next day.  This was one of those places that smelled and looked like a deli should.  Aromas of salty meats and cheeses greeted us as we entered, followed by the lovely woman behind the counter.  A young man then rushed up from the busy dining area and offered to guide us through every meat they had on the board behind the counter (and hanging above us), as the woman gave us samples.  They then did the same thing with the cheeses and wines we were interested in.  This was by far one of the best experiences we’ve ever had in a place like this.  They were super busy, with only the two people working, and still took the time to make sure two tourists had a pleasant experience.  Because of this, we bought way too much cheese and meat and wine.  Can’t recommend this place enough if you find yourself in Paris.

After acquiring our train snacks we were ready to head back to the hotel…but then we received a message from one of our friends telling us to check out a cat cafe. Obviously, this was going to be our next destination.  We thought it would probably be out of the way, but Broad discovered it was a half mile from out hotel! Another honeymoon miracle! We checked the hours and ubered to Les Café des Chats. Broad was in heaven, hanging out with kitties and drinking rosé. The atmosphere was very “cat chic.” You could order food, coffee and booze and were able to hang out with all the cats. They were very comfortable in this environment and you could tell the workers spoiled the crap out of them. One of the little guys even tried to get into our meat and cheese bag! After staying until closing time, we headed back to the hotel to enjoy some wine before calling it a night before our trip to Brussels the next day.

Final Thoughts

• Broad fell in LOVE with Paris and retracts all her previous negative thoughts and feelings, like Beard said she would.
• We definitely recommend packing smarter than we did (we very much learned our lesson).  If possible, only travel with a carry on! And don’t sweat things that are out of your control. Broad is very type A, anxious, likes things to run smoothly where Beard is a go with the flow type B person. Luckily he was able to keep Broad calm during the baggage fiasco (minus one major meltdown).
• Have a (loose) plan. We planned out things we wanted to see and eat during our trip but due to many factors we couldn’t hit everything on the list, and that’s ok! We still saw so many amazing things and ate so much amazing food. We only had the river cruise booked so we were very flexible.
• We do suggest getting a Paris Pass or some other sightseeing pass if you have the time and want to see a lot of attractions. It wouldn’t have made sense for us to get one for this trip but we’ll probably get one next time!
• Be polite and TRY to speak the language. This was the BEST advice we received. We were told any place you go, at least say “bonjour” and they would appreciate the effort. They did!  Be respectful of their culture and customs and they’ll respect you as a tourist.
• Oh and most important, we almost forgot to get macarons. The morning we were leaving we ran to a bakery and picked up a few. Guess what? We LOVED them. We swear they just taste better in Paris!

Stayed tuned for our next post on Brussels & Bruges!