Paris Is Always a Good Idea
Yeah I stole that title from Juliette Binoche's character in Sabrina but is it so true. Every time I've been I've loved it and this time was extra special to share it with Scott.
Unlike my normal blogs, I'm going to outline this one by our itinerary. It was a perfect blend of sights, walking, eating, and relaxing and you might want to take some of it for your own trip. If you do, let us know and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Logistics
Trains, Metro, Buses
If you have an iPhone, it's super easy to get your tickets for both the bus and Metro. First, download the Île de France app to your phone and find it in your wallet under Transit options for France. You buy the tickets on your app and they show up in your wallet. When you want to ride, you just put your phone with the wallet open on the reader and you're in - super easy. There are different tickets for the train to/from the airport (RER B), the metro, and the bus. You can buy passes but we just bought them as we went. Taking the Metro is a super way to get around and Google Maps is very accurate at giving trip options but be aware when getting to your train or changing trains you are going to walk a lot and there are a lot of stairs up and down. It is definitely not handicap accessible. The one place it is accessible is the airport thank goodness but when we got into the city we had to lug our bags upstairs out of the station.
Luggage Storage
We stored our large, heavy bags at the airport to avoid having to deal with them. Also be aware that you are not allowed to have more luggage on the Metro than you can easily handle. And again, STAIRS! If you do store luggage, pay extra for the expedited service. The line can be very long and slow if you don't.
Where We Stayed
We stayed in the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank near Saint-Michel Metro station. It was a great area with lots of restaurants and cafes. It's also close to a lot of Metro options, including one of the stops on the RER B line from the airport. And of course, it's on the Seine and right across the street from Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis so walking over to the river in the evening is easy.
Jet Lag
We use the Time Shifter app to combat jet lag. It starts three days before your trip and carries you through to the day after arrival. Shifting your schedule according to the app, combined with melatonin, definitely helps us adjust more easily.
Day 1
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we got on the Metro to the famous bakery Du Pain et des Idées and bought the first of many pastries we had.
These Niflettes were scented with orange and were absolutely divine!
We ate our pastries next to the Canal Saint-Martin, just two blocks from the bakery. You can sit along the quays and watch the bridges swing open to let the boats through. It's a beautiful area of Paris we had never seen before. There are even locks along it. If you have time, a boat trip down the canals would probably be very scenic.
We decided we needed something to settle the pastry so we got gelato from the local Amorino. This is a chain throughout Paris and their gelato is delicious!
From there, we walked along the canal and locks and through the parks along them to the bus stop and took the bus to the Picasso National Museum. The museum is housed in the Hôtel Salé built in 1630. It's as impressive as the collection to be honest and the roof-top cafe is a great place to rest and get a fresh lemonade.
By now, jet lag was starting to really kick in and we needed food, a drink, and some rest so we headed by bus again to the Place de Vosges. Just an aside, taking the bus is great because you get to see the neighborhoods you're passing through instead of just speeding under them. It's definitely slower and can be detoured unexpectedly but for short trips it works well.
The weather was beautiful and Place de Vosges had turned into Plage de Vosges.
I've always loved this square and it was fun to show it to Scott. We rested in the shade of the pollarded trees and then had lunch, at 3:00, at Carette, one of the restaurants under the galleries that surround the park.
\
After lunch it was back to the hotel to unpack and take a much needed shower. It was sooo tempting to go to sleep but we persevered and went out to the Pub down the street for some Guinness, Jameson, and Wimbledon before finally giving up and hitting the sack.
Day 2
Day two began with breakfast at Le Lutéce, just a block from our hotel.
I will say that Parisian servers get a bad rap. Every one we had was nothing but polite and friendly to us. They spoke English without an attitude and were helpful.
After that we began our day by walking across the Pont Saint-Michel to the Île de la Cité and across the Pont au Change to the Metro passing the Place du Châtelet.
We took the Metro to the Grand Palais and took in that beautiful building as well as the Petit Palais.
We caught sight of two famous places on our way to the Hôtel de la Marine.
We didn't get any closer to the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe and we didn't go into either Palais. You have to choose how to spend your time and for us, avoiding crowds is a priority. Yes, we "miss" some experiences others value but for us the trade-off works as it leaves more time to walk through parks and to relax.
That being said, if you've followed our blog, you will know I love house museums and always try to make time to see at least one. The Hôtel de la Marine did not disappoint! Built in 1757-1774 as the home of the Garde-Mueble, after the revolution it became the home of the Ministry of the Navy and much of the decoration is from that time. Facing onto Place de la Concorde, it saw much of the important historical events in Paris' past.
There is an audio tour included in the admission to the private apartments, which is always nice.
These two pictures are of ornamental heaters that were added when it became available.
Included in the apartments tour is the large outdoor gallery overlooking Place de la Concorde.
.
Although the day was warming up, we meandered through the Tuileries Gardens, taking time to sit and rest in the shade.
After passing the Olympic flame and the ferris wheel, we made our way to the bus stop by the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe du Carousel. 
We didn't go into the Louvre as we have both been before, and again priorities, but we hadn't seen the new pyramid entrance and really wanted to see it.
Midday and time for lunch, we took the bus up to the Le Bouillon in the shopping area around the Bourse. After a nice lunch with some liquid refreshment and time spent relaxing in the shade of the cafe's awnings...
...we walked the indoor shopping passages in this area. Built in the 18th and 19th centuries as private shopping areas, these pedestrian only malls are decorated in Art Nouveau, Neoclassical, and Art Deco motifs with glass ceilings and quirky shops. This was something else that was very much worth taking a detour to see. Off the beaten tourist path, you can window shop with the locals and maybe pick up a souvenir.
We hopped the Metro back to the hotel and showered and rested after nearly 15,000 steps! But then it was back out for pre-dinner Sprtizes at Union Square
Like my new scarf I bought in one of the Passages?
We had dinner at Bistro des Augustins and if you like gratins you have got to go to this place. They make full meals out of gratined potatoes. I had a Niçoise one with ratatouille, French ham, and egg and Scott had the Paysan with lardons and an egg. They are beautiful and delicious and the pair that run the restaurant couldn't be more welcoming. It's a small place right on the left bank of the Seine with views to Notre Dame.
After dinner, we made our way back across to Île de la Cité to see Notre Dame in the evening light.
It was really interesting to see the repair work still underway.
As a reward for all of our walking we went over to Île Saint Louis and had Cognac and ice cream at La Flor de Ile.
Too full to call it a night, we stopped into Cafe de Paris V to listen to the singer and take in some Parisian nightlife.
Day 3
Directly across from our hotel was Paris Baguette, a small bakery and coffee store that was always packed. We tried it out and it was a great way to start the day. Being Saturday, the morning was devoted to markets. We took the Metro to Marché Saix-Breteuil, an open air market in the 8th Arrondissement with a view to the Eiffel Tower.
It was a good thing we spent all of our money the night before and hadn't been to an ATM yet! I would have bought a chicken and some of those amazing roasted potatoes and sat right down to eat them! And the produce was so beautiful; it's like artwork. You have to put at least one market on your agenda!
After the ATM and a view of Napolean' Tomb, we walked to Rue Cler.
Rue Cler is a small street filled with shops, mostly food and restaurants, like the amazing cheese shop in the pictures below.
The afternoon we dedicated to Montmartre and the southwest section of the 18th Arrondissement. We took the Metro up to Lamark-Caulaincourt on the backside of Montmartre. If you do this, you avoid the massive crowds at Abbesses on the front side heading to Sacré-Coeur. Trust me and do this! You still have to walk uphill and we chose the picturesque Rue des Saules.
At the top, you arrive at the historic Lapin Agile and the Vigne du Clos Montmartre, Paris' last active winery. 
It was time for our midday lunch, refreshement, and rest so we parked ourselves at Le Tire-Bouchon and had an iconic French meal. A Galette Breton for me and a Croque Madame for Scott.
We wandered the streets a bit and saw some of the sights of Montmartre including the iconic water tower. 
This area was SUPER crowded! If I hadn't been for our desire to revisit Montmartre, I'm not sure it would have been worth it. But we persevered and made it to the relative quiet of the Museum Montmartre. A quirky but very interesting little museum about the history of Montmartre and the artists that lived there. It has a nice view over the vineyard and a quiet little garden in back. A great place to escape the chaos.
Finally, we pushed through the crowds to the front of Sacré-Coeur and sat on the steps just for a minute before escaping. We took the funicular down just for fun as we didn't even know it existed! But it was a quick run from there back to the Metro, our neighborhood, and Union Square for another round of cocktails - this time something a bit stronger!
We decided to make it simple for dinner our last night and had some amazing pizza at Sarno in our neighborhood. We couldn't resist desert though from Maison Georges Larnacol.
Wrapping Up
Hope you enjoyed our tour as much as we did! It was so great to be back in Europe and back on the road exploring new places. Paris is beautiful these days. It's extremely clean for a big city. Every time we're there, we think of Washington DC and all of the similarities. How monumental it is, literally, the boulevards, the angled streets, the squares and parks. It was a perfect reintroduction to the pleasures of Europe and we're really looking forward to continuing on to Greece. Stay tuned!
This featured blog entry was written by mrb430 from the blog Arrr Adventures.
Read comments or Subscribe
