Today is our last day in the wondrous land of baguettes, champagne, macaroons, Chanel, and too many more of our favorite things to list here (it would take years). We wanted to recap our first day in Paris for you all. We will post more later, but for now here is a taster of what we were up to!
First off was flying out of SFO at 7:00AM. We took the AirBus from out hometown to the airport and stayed overnight in a hotel. There was nothing special about the hotel, we pretty much picked the cheapest hotel with free airport shuttles. We were only going to end up spending a few hours in the room anyway.
We woke up bright (not so much, it was 4:00AM) and early an headed to the airport. We printed our boarding passes before we left home and packed only cary-ons so it was smooth sailing through security. (TIP: Always pick security lines with more men than women in them. Us girls usually have more things to put through security such as purses, scarves, fancy buckled shoes to take off etc.) Once we were on the other side, we headed to our favorite SFO food spot, Napa Farms Market. They have delicious pre-made foods, drinks, and gourmet gifts (and wine!). All of the food sold there is local to Northern California. We picked up our favorite on the go breakfast, Slingshots. Slingshots are yogurt based protein drinks with a tasty crunchy granola “shot” you pour into the bottle before you drink it. We also got a few Il Morso mocha flavored coffee bars. These things are delicious! They taste like chocolate covered coffee beans but look like a square of chocolate. the mocha flavor has 14mg of caffeine for a little kick. Ivy also tried a Project Juice Wellness Shot- Tummy Tonic. We had never had their juices before but this little drink was tasty and good for people with sensitive stomachs while traveling.
We flew through Chicago and had a quick layover before boarding our flight to Paris! During the layover Eve bought a pocket French Phrasebook and a pocket sized Paris Guidebook, both by Lonely Planet. We had a lot of guides at home for planning but none would fit in our day bags. The guide also had a pullout map which was SUPER helpful throughout our trip. (TIP: buy a map before you get to your destination and mark where you will be staying and a few key landmarks. This will help you navigate wherever you are.) We flew with American Airlines, honestly, it was the cheapest flight we could get by hundreds and we definitely noticed the difference. We usually fly with Virgin, AirFrance, or British Airlines, all of which have great inflight entertainment, food, and complementary drinks. American Airlines had NO personal entertainment consoles and TINY seats. This being said, The customer service was amazing. We booked two seats together but we could only pick center seats when we bought them. When we got to the gate though, we asked if there was any way we could get better seats. They took our boarding passes and gave us seats on the side and much closer to the front! When we boarded the plane, a lovely first class flight attendant chatted with us while we waited for the line to move. She ended up giving us glasses of free champagne AND a bottle of first class wine to enjoy in Paris! This was the nicest thing any flight crew has been to us. It goes to show that if you are nice to people, sometimes you get something unexpected in return!
Finally we landed in Paris! We took the RER train from the airport and then the Metro to our stop. We were so lucky to be able to stay at our Uncle’s family home in the 6th Arrondissement. The place was MAGICAL. To put the icing on the cake, the house even had its own garden and patio! After settling into the house, we took a quick nap while we waited for Eve’s boyfriend to arrive. P (he wants to be know on the blog as P-man [lol]) comes from Manchester. Eve met P-man on her first day of grad school at Durham University in the North of England. Once we are all together, we went out in search of our first Parisian meal!
We wandered a little bit away from the house and stumbled upon a wonderful café called Au Chai L’Abbage. We sat on the street patio and sipped wine, and ate a light lunch. We love that lunch is the most important meal in Paris. It is the meal that people tend to enjoy leisurely, starting off with drinks, starters, main courses, desserts, and finally a coffee. Paris is the perfect place for people watching and outdoor cafes are made for it! After lunch, we wandered over to Notre Dame and strolled along the river, getting our bearings on the city and just enjoying being there! Afterwards, we headed back towards our house and got a few groceries for breakfast and snacks.
For dinner, We headed to one of the Bistros our Uncle recommended, Petit Lutetia on Rue De Sevres. The restaurant was full of lots of locals, and DELICIOUS! For starters we all shared the burrata salad and escargot. The salad was super fresh, and the burrata was so creamy. Yum! The escargot may have been the best we have ever had (that is saying a lot because Eve orders escargot anytime she sees it on the menu). For the main course, Eve had the veal in a mushroom cream sauce, and P-man had the steak tartare. Ivy had the chicken cooked in a individual cast iron dish with a cream sauce with chanterelle mushrooms. All of the mains were delicious but Ivy’s definitely won which was surprising to us because usually chicken isn't the most exciting of dishes. Wow it was good! We didn't have room for dessert and we were all pretty sleepy from our travels so we headed home to bed.
Next up, Reims for a day of visiting some of our favorite Champagne Houses!
