Un Voyage à Paris

Hello, Blog! Wait…actually…bonjour?

This week so far has been FABULOUS and so full of new experiences and phenomenal food. On Friday after class, I met up with my sister, Olivia, who had just flown from Brooklyn, New York to London for our ten-day-double-birthday-Europe-extravaganza. We went back to my flat, packed our bags, and headed over to St. Pancras International to get on our Eurostar train to—I can’t believe I’m typing this—Paris!

We enjoyed the peaceful two-and-a-half-hour train ride to Gare du Nord and then took the Paris métro to our charming Airbnb in Le Marais, the artsy neighborhood where we stayed. We went to Thai Kok for dinner and picked up some crépes (mine, Nutella, hers, lemon-sugar) and wine before heading back to the Airbnb to get some much needed rest.

The first morning, we walked around the neighborhood to see the nearby parks, boutiques, and boulangeries. We picked up our pain au chocolat and cinnamon roll and enjoyed a beautiful walk along the Seine. After taking pictures at the river, we saw Notre Dame Cathedral, Shakespeare and Company, the Louvre, l’Arc de Triomphe, and the Tuileries Garden.

From there, we took the train to Montmartre, got some brunch at La Maison Milie, and walked around Montmartre, where we saw incredible artists, musicians, and a stunning view of the city from the Sacré-Cœur. There was even a man playing “La Vie en Rose” on his accordion, and while it was probably his millionth time playing it that day, it was perfectly magical to me. 

After all the sight-seeing, it was time for some caffeine, so we took the train from Montmartre back to the Marais, where we met up with Sofia, a friend of mine from Wellesley, who you might remember from one of my previous blogs. Since she met with me during her visit to London, it made perfect sense to meet up again and hear more about her life in Paris. What made less sense was the fact that we sat in outdoor seating in torrential rain, but that just tells you how packed the coffee shop, Noir, was, so I guess we picked a good, hip spot?

Olivia and I picked up some sweets from another cafe, Arabica, on the way back to the Airbnb, where we sat on the couch, eating our loot and waiting for our clothes to finish their cycle in the dryer (R.I.P., Olivia’s loafers). We nibbled on cakes, cookies, and our collection of French sour candies, caramels, and nougat.

For dinner, we stayed in the Marais, and enjoyed a lovely meal at Café Français of salmon for me, a burger for Olivia, and a creamy, rich ice cream profiterole doused in a warm, bittersweet chocolate sauce for our dessert.

The following morning was finally Olivia’s 27th birthday! We went to another boulangerie and got a croissant, macarons, a chocolate éclair, a madeleine, and an apple for me as a light breakfast. We walked around with our snacks and made our way around the Marais, which Olivia chose specifically for her birthday for the ultimate shopping experience. We browsed several boutiques, perfumeries, and shoe stores before stopping for a treat at Café Nuances, which was recommended to us by an amazing sales assistant from the shoe store, Alohas, who also helped Olivia to pick out a gorgeous pair of black boots. I told her we were planning on going to Carette for French hot chocolate, and she winced so hard that I thought for a second that I might have said something offensive enough to cancel a celebrity. Needless to say, she helped us avoid a tourist trap and led us to a hip, vibrant café with a delicious hot chocolate for me (my first of the season!) and a vanilla foam matcha latte for Olivia, which was also incredibly tasty. 

We killed about thirty minutes in another perfumery, smelling nearly everything they had in search of Olivia’s signature santal scent. While we didn’t quite find it, we were so impressed with the interior design of the store that we couldn’t help but walk around, spraying random perfumes on the sample paper just to keep walking around.

Afterwards, we went to Folderol, a sophisticated wine and ice cream bar where we got white wine, paired with ice creams like earl grey, olive oil, and a vanilla from São Tomé. 

We walked from the wine bar to a Lebanese restaurant called L’Area, another recommendation from the wonderful employee at Alohas. Olivia and I shared a “Super Mezze” platter of hummus, falafel, taboulé, fatayer, and other side dishes. The food was absolutely electric, and I wish I had brought an endless appetite.

After our fantastic meal, we walked to the MK2 Bastille cinema to see L’étranger, or The Stranger, a new adaptation of the Albert Camus 1942 novel, directed by François Ozon. This movie was entirely in French with no English subtitles, but thankfully, I studied this novel in AP Literature in high school, and it was a fan favorite in my class, so I remembered enough of the plot and understood enough of the movie’s dialogue to piece together the general idea. I thought the movie was great, and I would definitely recommend it! Maybe with subtitles, though.

Olivia and I made our way from the cinema to a gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower, which couldn’t have been more perfect. We had seen it from far away in the daylight, but seeing it up close, fully lit and sparkly in all its glory left me breathless and in awe. I’m usually not moved by esteemed buildings and structures that people travel around the world to see, but the sight of this tower would certainly be enough to get me to pack my bags and buy a French to English dictionary. 

Since it was too cold to stay at the Eiffel Tower for long, we eventually went back to our Airbnb to eat our assortment of candy, as well as the baguette, brie, and champagne we had bought earlier. We spent the rest of the night relaxing with our delicious assemblage while watching the French version of Degrassi: Next Generation, or Nouvelle Generation.

After packing in the morning, we took the métro to Gare du Nord to catch our Eurostar back to London! This time around, it was great to see the scenic route in daylight in between reading and catching some Zs. 

As I’m writing this, Olivia is still in London with me, and we’ve been having tons of good British fun, but I’ll save that for next time. 

Merci beaucoup for reading!

Au revoir! xx