Parisian Adventure: Part 1

Bonjour from Paris! 

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! 

For now, au revoir!!!!!!

xxx Ivy & Eve

Travel in Style With a Carry-On Suitcase

When traveling with only a carry-on suitcase the main goal is to try and pack as much as possible while still having enough room to shop while you are on the trip...or just buy a new suitcase for all your shopping and check one bag on your way back! As kids, we remember packing for two week trips using the biggest suitcase we could find, and even then they were never quite large enough for all the clothes we wanted to wear. Now that we're older, and travel on our own, we like to keep our luggage to a minimum (carrying/rolling around big suitcases inside trains/airports and buses just gets exhausting and annoying).

Traveling with a carry-on suitcase can be a daunting task. How do you to decide what to bring and what to leave at home?! We get it, and still struggle with this issue. The biggest thing to think about is trying to pick items that you can wear with multiple outfits, ie. jeans which you can wear with a basic white t-shirt and sandals or dress up with heels and a cute silk tank top. Scarves and statement jewelry don't take up much room and can transform an outfit. Being strategic about what you can wear multiple ways is key. Our saving grace for this packing "mission" is the Ziploc Space Bags! All you have to do is slip your clothes into the bag, seal the bag, and roll/press the air out! It shrinks the clothes to half the size they originally took up. Brilliant!  Also keep in mind that all your liquids have to fit in a small Ziploc baggie and you can't bring liquids larger than 3oz. Here is a list of things we typically bring on our holidays....

Ivy's Beauty Essentials:

• Aquafor
• CeraVe face wash and PM cream
• Foundation
• Makeup removing wipes
• Eyeliner
• Eyeshadow pallet
• Mascara
• Favorite red lipstick (Keep It Red)
• Travel toothbrush
• Deodorant 
• Hairbrush

Lexie's Beauty Essentials:

• Foundation
• Face powder
• Eyeliner
• Eyeshadow pallet
• Contouring/blush pallet (ISH Contour kit)
• Mascara
• Makeup brushes (eye shadow, blush, contour)
• Deodorant
• Travel toothbrush
• Rollerball Parfum
• 1-2 lip glosses/ lip sticks
• Hairbrush

Things We Share:

• Toothpaste/Floss
• Sunscreen 
• Medication (Advil, Advil cold and sinus, Emergen-C) Being sick on a trip is the worst! We pack only essential incase of emergencies. These are essential since in america we are given the luxury to have off the shelf drugs that actually work! We swear the drugs on European super markets shelves are just sugar. 

Here is what we recommend for packing a carry-on suitcase: 

• (2-3) Pairs of pants 
• (5) Shirts
• (2-4) Dresses, rompers, skirts
• (1) Shorts (if needed)
• (3) Shoes (one pair of sandals, one good walking shoe, and one pair of heels)
• (2) Bras
• (10) Undies
• (5) Socks
• (1) Swimsuit (always bring one just in case!)
• (1) PJ's
• (2) Jackets (One jacket for warmth and one rain coat incase it rains)
• Jewelry- bring a few items that can be layered together or go alone
• (1) Sunglasses 
• (1) Umbrella
• Chargers & International Converter if necessary
• Makeup/Beauty Bag
• (1-2) purses (one everyday and one fancier)

Keep in mind this is our recommended list for a trip similar to ours spanning 20 days or less. We will be doing our laundry abroad. 

Remember to check with your airline to confirm your bag meets the required size limitations, and to make sure you can bring another "personal item". Ivy will be using a backpack to put her camera bag inside, laptop, and her airplane essentials this trip. While Eve uses a tote bag. Make sure to wear your heaviest/bulkiest clothes on the flight to limit the weight and save room in your bag for souvenirs.

We hope this helps you next time you have a weekend getaway or an extended vacation!

xxx Ivy & Eve