Paris Part Deux

For our second full day in Paris, David & Kristin took us out for a picnic. We went to the market for fresh meat, cheese, fruit, veggies, baguettes, and of course wine. We went to Trocadero (which is just on the other side of the Eiffel Tower from the Champ de Mars, where we went to see the sparkle when we first arrived) and spread out our goodies on the steps, overlooking the fountain and park. We had a little struggle getting into the wine, but it all worked out nicely. The weather was absolutely perfect, so after our meal, we spread out on the grass and enjoyed a nice little nap.

Pretty view/slight struggle with the wine.

Kristin and I then headed over to the Champs-Élysées for about an hour to look around while the boys headed back home. A friend from A&M (Jack) and his new wife (Leigh) invited us all over for dinner that night, so after shopping, Kristin and I rushed back home to get cleaned up for the dinner party. Jack & Leigh have a lovely apartment and prepared a delicious meal for us. We all had a wonderful time.

The next day, Kristin took Kellen and I for a walk around their neighborhood, where we stopped at a café for some coffee and croissants. We also threw in a palmier for good measure.

Yum.

David was already at work, and Kristin had to go in that afternoon, so Kellen and I roamed around on our own for a while. We went back to Champs-Élysées and looked around. We went into the Louis Vuitton store there, which is huge and absolutely gorgeous. It must be a nightmare to work there, with so much traffic from tourists who aren't going to buy anything (like me), but the employees were all friendly and the store was immaculate, so they're doing something right.

Lovely.

That night, we went on a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours, and I truly can’t say enough wonderful things about it as a company and about the people who work there and make it so great. We ended up going on three bike tours while we were in Paris, and they were all so much fun and such a great way to get to know the city. But back to our night tour…we met up at the shop and picked out our bikes. People from all over the world met up for the tour, and we were soon on our way. Our guide led us all over the city, until it got dark. We then parked our bikes and got on a boat that took us up and down the Seine for some lovely nighttime views of the city.

Notre Dame.

Eiffel Tower and the moon.

The next day was possibly my favorite of our Paris trip…Kellen and I took a bike tour to Versailles! We didn’t bike all the way there. Our group met at the bike shop early in the morning, then rode to the train station where we all loaded our bikes onto the train. After about a 25-minute ride, we unloaded in Versailles and rode our bikes to a nearby market. (A quick aside: there is just something about buying food from a market in Paris…not only was it cheap, everything we got was so fresh and absolutely delicious. The fruit was fantastic – possibly the best strawberries, peaches, and nectarines I’ve ever had.) Kellen picked up some delicious olives, and we got the most amazing croissants. Up until that moment, I honestly never really understood what was so great about croissants. Now, I’ve never met a bread I didn’t like, but I had also never had a truly delicious croissant before that. We also picked up some chicken wings (why not?) and wine.

Fresh produce.

Pretty, tiny flowers.

These were gorgeous. I wish I knew what they were called!

Li'l sweets.

Versailles is breathtaking. The grounds are gorgeous, and the chateau is so extravagant: art, gold, and marble everywhere you look. Here are a few pictures on our way in:

Once inside the grounds, we had our picnic:

Notice the "pamplemousse" (grapefruit) in the top left. That is Kellen's favorite French word, so he made sure to use it before we left.

More of the chateau:

A bed fit for a king.

The outside was just as magnificent as the inside. These are an excellent example of the difference between English and French gardens. English gardens (like the ones at LMH in Oxford) are very “one with nature,” where you just plant the plants and let them go. Occasional maintenance, sure. But for the most part, you let the plants do their thing. French gardens are all about man dominating nature, so they are very manicured and trimmed/hedged/shaped/etc. This is the garden behind the chateau:

Once you reach the end of the garden, you can go down some stairs to the Orangerie:

The tiniest baby oranges you've ever seen.

Versailles was a long day, but a wonderful day...a day I will always remember.

Paris at last

Kellen and I arrived in Paris on the evening of Monday, August 1. Even though the train ride from London to Paris was quick and very easy, we were both really glad to arrive and start our vacation. Our friends David and Kristin have a really cute apartment that they have generously opened up to us, and they have been so sweet to show us around and be our tour guides. That first night, we shared some meat and cheese boards and wine at one of their favorite local spots. We then walked around and sat on the Champ de Mars, just in time for the 1AM sparkle of the Eiffel Tower.

We have eaten some terribly fantastic food here. Our first full day here, we went to get lunch at L'avant Comptoir, a tiny standing-room only restaurant where we had fried fat (it was delicious; I thought it would be a textural nightmare, but it was were really good. Similar to a fried mozzarella stick), delicious tuna, beef carpaccio with parmesan, and a truly delicious artichoke...and of course wine. D&K then took us on a walking tour where we picked up some delicious chocolates and some macaroons at Laduree, then went to the Louvre to have a taste test. (FYI: the melon macaroon and the coconut macaroon were the clear winners; citrus thyme, raspberry, guava, and strawberry mint fell short.)

Some of the treats at Laduree

Just outside of the Louvre, a street artist's work caught our eye. Kristin had been wanting to bring some art back as a souvenir, so we looked through all of his work trying to help her find the perfect pieces. The artist, who we learned was named Michel Lode, did not speak much English, but we were able to communicate a little with him.

Admiring Michel's work

Bargaining with Michel

Kristin decided on 3 pieces, and after bargaining with Michel, she was able to get all 3 for a reasonable price. When he was rolling up Kristin's pieces, he threw one in for me...for free!

Kristin, Michel, and me
(photo: David Christie)

We walked around some more, then decided to head home to shower and get ready for dinner. We went to one of D&K's favorite restaurants, Chez Gladines. We had David's favorite meal here in Paris, which was duck with potatoes au gratin and the most delicious roquefort sauce you can imagine. Actually, no. The sauce was better than you can imagine.

(photo: David Christie)

We are all really having a great time. I am so thankful to have D&K to show us around. I was afraid I would be a little overwhelmed being in a country where I don't speak the language (except for counting...any time we need to count 1-15 I have that covered), but it has actually been fine. As long as we attempt to speak French, the locals are (for the most part) very nice. Many people here actually know some English, so if they see us struggle with speaking French, they ask if we want to speak English. It has been a wonderful trip so far, and I promise to post more updates soon.