May 25, 2012
Friday
This trip began like most other trips, except that it wasn’t. This trip was another wonderful 4 day weekend that we were free to travel Europe. This trip was special, because it was in celebration of our 2nd wedding anniversary! Hell yes! Two wonderful years, and we were going to celebrate them together in the city of love and the city of lights, Paris. I know that I said last time that our next trip to Paris would be on the ICE (speed) train. Well, this time the tickets again were crazy expensive for a beautiful spring weekend, so we decided to drive. The good thing, is that the drive across the A6 through Germany and the A4 through France is nothing but rolling hills across the beautiful and open countryside. Over the border and into France, our ride took us past the sweeping green rolling hills, small villages and unique rest-stops along the way. I call them unique because the women’s toilet is nothing but a hole in the ground! While the men’s have an actual toilet….oh those crazy French!
Back on our journey we sped along, the morning sun shining down and a cool breeze filling the car. These are THE perfect driving conditions, the kind that only a BMW convertible could make better (wink, wink). As we entered the city, we had the task of weaving through the very busy traffic and to the west side of the city, the 16th district. The traffic was a little hectic, but we easily found our way to our street and eventually our apartment for the weekend. We had the luxury of a private parking spot, the only problem was the fact that turning into the spot from the narrow street that was bumper to bumper with parallel parked cars was a bit of a challenge. I managed to slightly ding the right side of the car against the gate.(fortunately it’s just a tiny dent)
Pulling into our small driveway/courtyard we met our wonderful host. We found our place via AirBnB, and were staying in an efficiency apartment below a Victorian townhouse built in 1880. Louise was a sweet doting grandmother type and met us with hugs, macaroons (Tiffany’s favorite) and Champagne. She showed us our new place, pointing out all of its features, making sure we felt at home. She also made sure we had plenty of information about the city and getting around our new neighborhood. We unpacked the car and headed out in search of exploration and food. We walked only a few short blocks and came upon the Eiffel Tower, from the top of the steps we looked down on the tower and the crowds of people. We stopped for a few photos and ventured down, towards the river and tower. Admiring the beauty, we strolled through the lawn, which much resembled the lawn in Washington DC between the Capitol and Washington Monument. As our stomachs rumbled, we found a busy café along the street.
Sitting down, we ordered cocktails as we relaxed in the warm sun. The cocktails gave way to steak tartar and mussels. We enjoyed our first meal in Paris among crowds of Parisians, relaxing with a drink and a meal near the Eiffel tower. Afterwards, we wandered back towards our apartment, through the streets, stopping and looking in the many shops and stores along the way. The city was alive and yet peaceful, we felt at ease and at home. On the way back we stopped again to admire the Eiffel tower and the Parisian cityscape. Back at our apartment we shared the macaroons and champagne before heading to bed.
The next morning we woke up early, with big plans for our first full day. We made strolled down to a little bakery café on the corner near our apartment we saw the night before. In the window were the BIGGEST meringue’s ever as well as a decadent selection of pastries. Settling down in the sun, we ordered coffee with cream as well as two delicious pastries. Mine had raspberries and Tiff’s was a tarte Sucre, like a giant flaky delicious sugar cookie. Our breakfast gave us the fuel to begin our journey. We started walking (there was a LOT of walking this weekend), and headed towards the Louvre. Along the way we walked by the Eiffel tower once more and headed down along the Seine, walking along its banks. The sun was out and the wind gently blowing gave us great weather. We walked past the beautiful old buildings and houseboats and other sites, too many to name. Into sight came the famous glass pyramid of the Louvre and along with it, a line. However despite our concerns, a very short line. 10 minuntes of waiting later, we were down the escelator, and inside the museum. We picked up our tickets at an automated kiosk and headed towards the Mona Lisa. We made our way through the winding halls, first arriving at the statue of Winged Victory, headless, standing on a podium overlooking the great hall and many staircases below her.
Past the massive statue, we followed the wide halls and vaulted ceilings around the Italian Renaissance painting section. Turning the corner, there was the Mona Lisa, behind a crowd of tourists. The famous painting, is also famously small and incredibly popular. The crowds parted, so we could have a good look and a few photos of DaVinci’s most reconizable work. We left the crowds behind and wandered through the museum some more, looking at the masterpieces on a tour of our own. We made it to the very famous (but not as popular) Vinice de Milo. A few photos and we were on to the other statues. One particular one had a naked woman lying on what looked like a comfortable bed of air, but it was actually artfully carved marble.
Seeing the Louvre is more of an endurance sport than a leisurely stroll. We had only seen a small portion of the thousands and thousands of pieces of art and were ready to explore some more of Paris. Leaving the Louvre, we headed across the street towards the beautiful gardens. Walking past fountains and rows of box-shaped trees, gardens and fields. The gardens are a beautiful site in paris that seem almost perfectly out of place. As we make our way to the end of the gardens, we can see the Arc de Triumph in the distance. We take a detour down a less crowded street and end up face to face with a market. Looking around we buy hand made soap from Marseille, and lots of dried fruits to snack on. Tired from our very busy day, we hop in a taxi and zip across the city back to our apartment to relax and shower.
Heading back out we hopped into a waiting cab for a trip back to the Latin quarter (home of our first stay in Paris for New Years) and head to a small French restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is small, and comes highly recommended by Louise and her husband. There is no English in sight on the menu, and google translate helped us with our selections. Our delicious French meal in a quaint restaurant was a wonderful was to finish off the evening. We decided to head back towards our apartment, wandering through the French quarter. We walked as far as our tired legs could carry us, before grabbing a taxi back to our apartment for the night.
The next morning was another day full of beautiful weather. We headed out and grabbed another breakfast at a cafe on the street. With now full stomaches of coffee and pastries we explored the 16th district we called home. Our search began for ingredients to make dinner. We had initially planned to go for lobster, but with no luck of at least an affordable lobster in sight we decided on a delicious roast chicken. There were many shops but we chose the butcher shop that the locals had lined up around the block to order from. (That's always a good sign) We found a local cheese shop and after a huge selection, we settled on a soft goat cheese, a hard goat cheese and a creamy heart shaped cheese. We then picked up fresh hot baguettes and a few bottles of wine. We grabbed a quick to-go order of Chinese food for lunch and headed back to the apartment for relaxation with our dinner in hand for that night.
After a quick meal and a nap, we hopped on the metro and headed down towards Notre Dame in search of some local art for our anniversary. We found a few classic prints and one original piece of art to frame and hang in our house. We also found a flower market and set off exploring. There we saw numerous selections of flowers and the stalls were full of cool things. We found a stall and picked up an ice coffee to cool off from the hot afternoon and a few more items for souvenirs. We took the metro back to the apartment. Before we knew it it was 8:30pm, and if we wanted to see the Eiffel tower from the top we had to hurry. Jumping in a taxi, we hauled ass down to the tower as the sun began to dip behind the clouds.
Standing in line and waiting to ride to the top, we got to see the crowds of interesting people of Paris move by in front of us. Just after 10:00pm we finally made it to the front of the line and hopped in the elevator and we were on the way to the top. Arriving at the top floor at 10:50pm we just missed a glass of Champagne at the bar by 5 minutes (no worries, we would make up for it the next day). The city was amazing all lit up from such great heights. The view was well worth the wait, and it capped off a great day. Back at the apartment that night, we feasted on roast chicken, french bread, goat cheese and wine. A wonderful end to the day.
The next day was our last, we started it off with a delicious brunch with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Drinking coffee and sipping champagne with the Eiffel Tower next to us was a great way to finish off our trip. Before driving home, we picked up pastries and one last baguette for the road. We had a great trip, and a wonderful time exploring Paris together.
Until next time
David, Tiffany and Oliver
