A Day in Paris

 The next morning, we got an early start to the day- partly because we were trying to squeeze Paris in a day (we’ve both been here before) and because we slept so well that night. 

To prepare for the long day, we stopped at a nearby coffee shop called “Dreamin Man Roastery”. We both ordered lattes, and tried two of their pastries. One was a chestnut cake. I hadn’t eaten anything like it. It was very tasty (maybe a tad much for breakfast), but we made a mental note to come back again sometime. 

After coffee, it was time to explore the city! The first stop was only a few minutes walk to Galerie Vivienne. Galerie Vivienne is a historical covered passageway built in 1823. It’s a tiny “outdoor” shopping mall with restaurants, antique shops, bookstores, and an apothecary. What makes it special is the neo-classical design. Its floors are adorned with intricate tiles, while the ceiling is covered in glass, letting in rays of sunshine while keeping out the noise and precipitation outside. I had never heard of it before, but in doing some deep blog searching for unique places to visit in Paris, discovered it was a popular stop for tourists and Parisians alike. I’m glad we stopped by; it was beautiful. 

Walking out of Galerie Vivienne, we stumbled upon the Jardin du Palais Royal. These are the gardens of the National Royal Palace. Built in the 1620s, it originally housed a Cardinal who represented the Council of Louis XIII. The palace changed hands multiple times since then. In the 1800s, it was known as a city within a city, with more than 400 shops, including restaurants, gambling houses, and brothels. Today, it hosts various offices, including the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, and is open to the public. We did not go inside the Palace itself, but walked throughout the gardens. Benches were nestled between pristinely manicured trees and shrubbery, while the sound of fountains and crunch of stone gravel filled the air. It seemed very popular with Parisians, who were stopping by on their way to work for a few minutes of peace and sun. 

Our stroll through the gardens ended, and we decided to walk along the Seine River. We had a few timed tickets for later in the morning, so we slowly made our way in that direction.

 Along the way, we stopped at two old churches: Eglise Saint Severin and Eglise Melkite Saint-Julien le Paurvre. The Eglise Saint Severin is a gothic, Catholic Church built in the 12th century. While some of it was reconstructed due to a fire, a bell tower from the 13th century remains. It is known for its stained glass, which were illuminated brightly by the morning sun, juxtaposed against the otherwise extremely dark interior of the church. 

The other church we visited was the Eglise Melkite Saint-Julien le Paurvre. It is a very small church from the 12th century. It was pretty inside, but people were praying, so we exited to leave them in peace. 

Since we were nearby, we visited the well-known (and very touristy) Shakespeare and Company. This bookstore opened in 1951, and quickly became a center for literary scholars and artists to visit. Since then, it’s become popular with tourists, who can not only find new releases, but also old copies of beloved work.  After waiting in line for the shop to open, we went inside and browsed for a bit. We both found a copy of a book we were interested in reading. When checking out, we made sure to get our books officially stamped with the Shakespeare and Company insignia. Why not?!

Leaving Shakespeare and Company, we visited one more church on our way to our ticketed tour. Eglise Saint-Etienne du Mont towers over the city, with a mix of gothic and Renaissance design. Work began on it in the 15th century, but it was not completed until the 17th century (hence the mixtures of design). Its scale was enormous. We were glad we visited. 

I Up next was our timed entry to the Pantheon (finally!). A surprisingly more recent addition to Paris (in comparison to the churches we saw earlier), the Pantheon was built in the 18th century. Originally built as a church, it was later adjusted to become a mausoleum. Some of the elements we see today were covered up during this period to give a darker, out-of-this-world feel to the building. Today, it is the final resting place of just over 80 people, including Louis Braille and Marie Curie.

The Pantheon was very interesting inside, with its huge dome and art installations throughout. We walked through the crypt to see the famous graves, which was a bit chilling. The star of the visit was the roof viewpoint. From the top of the Pantheon, you can walk around the dome, which offers breathtaking views of Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to the churches we had seen earlier. If you haven’t done that portion of the Pantheon, I would highly recommend a visit. 

We left the Pantheon and headed towards Notre Dame. The cathedral was still closed for restoration due to the fire, so we were able to only see the outer perimeter. It’s worth noting that Notre Dame reopened just a few weeks after our visit- we were a tad too early! 

On our itinerary next was Sainte-Chapelle. I had never visited before, but it was definitely worth it. There was extremely tight security since it’s right next to the Parliament, so we had to go through metal detectors prior to entering. The gothic chapel is known for its blue stained glass windows, which add a unique hue to the room when the sunlight hits the chapel. While beautiful, it was very crowded inside, almost to the point it was hard to enjoy. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in the summertime, given we were visiting on a random fall weekday. However, still worth a visit. 

You’re probably wondering what time of day it is by now. It was not even lunchtime at this point. I know. I don’t know how we did it. Upon leaving Sainte-Chapelle, we headed up to Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf, a department store known for its olde time design and bright glass ceiling. We did not buy anything, though it was tempting. We left to freshen up at our hotel, and then decided to head up to Montemartre for lunch.  

Montemartre is one of my favorite areas of Paris, partly for its history of being the center of the Paris art scene and partly for the views. In the early 1900s, it was the place for artists like Degas, Renoir, and Van Gogh to live and work. While the neighborhood is not nearly the same as it was back then, and some of the art is just made for a quick souvenir, there is something about it still still feels bohemian.

After strolling through the streets for a bit, we stopped for lunch at a place called Le Tire-Bouchon. I ordered duck for the second time within 24 hours being in France (why not?). The food was good and having a seat outside offered some great people watching. 

After lunch, we enjoyed the views of the city and took the train to the Champs. We did some shopping, including a walk past the in-progress Louis Vuitton hotel. We made our way towards the Eiffel Tower, which was our plans for the rest of the evening. What was pretty exciting was that city was still full of banners about the Olympics, as the Special Olympics had just ended right before we arrived. The Olympic rings were still on the Eiffel Tower, and I won’t lie, it made me wish we had visited for the Olympics. There was still a unique energy in the city that was exciting and thrilling. 

We took quite a bit of photos along the Siene, and decided to get drinks at a bar on the river for sunset. We managed to find a bar that didn’t seem too clubby, and celebrated with some champagne. It was nice to finally relax a bit and it hit us that we were in Paris. There is just something I love so much about the city. It really is just such a beautiful, romantic place to be. 

All of the walking worked up an appetite, so we headed over to the neighborhood of Saint-Germain and had some dinner. We found a French restaurant called “Le P’tit Troquet”, which is known for its beef bourguignon. We were seated in a nice, quiet back room, and enjoyed our meal with some glasses of red wine. The table next to us was also visiting, and in talking with them, they didn’t seem to care for the food. We both enjoyed it- I would recommend. 

Once dinner was finished, time was ticking to see the Eiffel Tower’s hourly light shows. We found a wine shop around the corner. They offered us some cups for the wine we selected. We were so grateful how nice and accommodating they were for tourists. One thing we didn’t realize was that much of the gardens surrounding the Eiffel Tower were still closed off for the Olympics, so we had a sparing selection of spots to view the Eiffel Tower from. We settled on some from around the backside of the Eiffel Tower. One of my favorite things to do in Paris is watch the light shows from the Eiffel Tower at night. It sounds cliche, but there is something so magical about them- it’s a pinch me moment. We enjoyed the show until the early hours of the morning, then headed back to the hotel as things were getting a bit rowdy (someone was drunk  and kept trying to steal people’s belonging’s and wine. They were promptly carried away by security). 

Our walk back to the hotel was lovely- a quiet chill in the September night air and French wine still on our breath. I went to bed dreaming of Paris and how incredible it can be, even just for a day.