Paris - Take Two

They say you either love or hate Paris. The first time I was there (over 10 years ago) I hated it. This time I loved it. There is so much to do and it is just such a pretty city. And despite the fact that I’m completely horrible with French, people were beyond friendly and helpful. Based on our experiences they don't deserve some of the stereotypes they get.

After our stay at the Hilton we moved to a hotel in the Marais district. We really didn’t want to leave our nice, luxurious room but we ended up being quite happy with our room at the Hotel Sevigne. It was tiny….like Tokyo tiny but it was in a fab location and well maintained. The people who ran the place were great and it was an excellent deal….I don’t think you could get better in Paris considering location.

The Marais was the perfect place for us. It’s really central and full of boutique shops, small cafes, and a ton of restaurants. We just weren’t in the mood for French food all the time so it was perfect with a variety at our doorsteps. Our favorites were Momo Pizza (decent pizza), Takami Sushi (good for a sushi crave), L'as du Fallafel (great falafel….the line outside the place 24x7 tells you something), and Breakfast in America (real American breakfast). We also had an amazing dinner at Café El Sur in the Latin Quarter (Great Argentinian food….best steak ever!)

Since we had both been to Paris before and we’re getting TIRED, we tried to chill a little. But seriously it is almost impossible to relax in a city with so much going on. Even on days that we took it easy we ended up walking like 5 miles! We did visit the Louvre, (asides from the must-see Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, my favs were Napolean’s apartments, Psyche and Cupid and the rest of the Greek/Roman sculptures), Notre Dame Cathedral (still as amazing as the first time), Musee D’Orsay (our favs were Monet, Van Gogh, and Matisse), the Eiffel Tower (nice view but pain to get to the top with ridiculous lines), and Versailles (the hugest palace and grounds ever. I mean it took forever getting from the Chateau to the gardens….and we only saw like 1/10 of the estate!).

We also made a visit to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur, which is probably my favorite church in Paris. It’s set on a small hill and if you walk to the top you can see pretty nice views of Paris. It’s also fun grabbing a drink and people-watching in one of the cafes in Montmartre. We were lucky enough to see, Iya Traore, a street performer who blew us away with his free-styling football skills. I was so mesmerized I saw his show twice....seriously he belongs on a Nike commercial!!

Surprisingly even with 6 days in Paris there were things that we missed (Rodin Gardens was at the top of the list). And unfortunately I can't comment much on the late night scene....we tried to rally every night but just couldn't do it. But I'm pretty sure we'll be back!!

Au revoir!