For the last few days of Ryan’s parents’ visit, we took a short trip to Paris. We went by train (as usual) and rented an Airbnb apartment near the Eiffel Tower. It was in a beautiful neighborhood and was decorated in the typical Paris style that you would expect.
We had to head straight to the Eiffel Tower to get some family pictures. Ryan forgot his selfie stick (which is key in these situations) so I pressured him into buying one from one of the shady guys selling things on the street. Well, that was 3 euros wasted because it didn’t work! We got our pictures and then it was time for happy hour. On the way to a café we were looking for, we passed a patisserie and we had to get some desserts to have with our afternoon drinks. We decided on eclairs and I chose a pistachio one since I usually get chocolate. OMG this was the best dessert I’ve ever had in France. It was so so good, I’m already dreaming about when we can go back and get another! After walking around a little bit more, and searching for a new lovey because we forgot to bring Makenna’s lovey, we headed back to our apartment. Paris has Uber Eats which is the best when traveling with young kids, so we ordered dinner and ate in our apartment.
Like every other time we’ve gone to Paris, it was chilly and raining. We made the best of it, and tried to spend our only full day doing as much as we could before it started pouring in the afternoon.
We started by walking to the Arc de Triomphe so Nana and Dzia Dzia could see it, then we went to the famous English bookstore Shakespeare and Company. This bookstore has been featured in several movies, and while it’s not the original (the original closed when the Nazis invaded Paris and never reopened), it has a lot of history. The original store was frequented by famous writers such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and served as a place for them to socialize, write and even use as their postal address. The store is mentioned in Hemingway’s book “A Moveable Feast”, so I purchased this book there and had them stamp it with the store’s logo. Both the old store and new have been a haven for expat writers, and the current store has been a place for writers to sleep if they need a place to stay. All is asked is that they work a few hours in the store and read a book a day. I took some photos and browsed the shop which was really interesting with lots of little rooms on 2 levels. We bought Makenna a few special books and I bought a couple books about life in Paris.
After the bookstore we had hoped to take a boat ride down the Seine, but the weather was not cooperating. As it began to drizzle we decided to find a restaurant for lunch. We chose a restaurant nearby in the Latin quarter that featured the traditional dish of raclette. This was the first time I had raclette in a restaurant; the only other time I had it was at Ryan’s coworkers home and he had a very large raclette heater. I was given a plate of charcuterie and cornichons, and then a small raclette maker with potatoes on top of a heater to keep warm. There were several little trays to put cheese on and slide under the heater. It was delicious!
By the time we finished lunch, the rain had picked up and after walking around for a little while we decided it was raining too hard to keep the kids out so we went back to the apartment.
Our short time in Paris included several drives and walks through the city, which were truly my favorite part of the trip. Just looking at the beautiful old architecture that is everywhere you look, whether it be a monument, fountain, apartment building, store, restaurant etc really is so special. Taking in the city life, which is so different than our small city life in Clermont, is fascinating and exciting. Each time we visit Paris I fall in love with it a little more.
The next morning Ryan’s parents left for the airport to head back to New Jersey. We had some time to spare before we had to get the train back to Clermont, so we spent it doing – a lot – of walking. We walked from our apartment to Champs-Elysées, all the way to Jardin des Tuileries and by then I had to go to the bathroom. There was a public bathroom there, but of course it didn’t open till 11am! So we walked to a nearby café and had coffee before heading back down Champs-Elysées and back to our apartment. And just like that it was time to head back “home”. When we told Makenna we were on our way to the train station she said “but I want to stay in Paris all the time!” Me too sweet girl, you are wise beyond your years….
The Pawlowski's Go To France 