La Ville-Lumière

Sarah’s mother Carol is a wonderful human being.  Always smiling, she must be the most positive person on the planet.  Her curious demeanor is a fabulous model for our children (and for us).  And the love she has for others is limitless.  Yet the trait that enabled this post is her desire to spend time with her grandchildren while we skipped the country.

Carol agreed to corral the kiddos for two days and one night and Sarah and I took that offer and ran with it: Our Eurostar train left London at 7:01am and was soon speeding under the Channel.  After checking into our hotel and wandering the neighborhood a bit we had excellent crepes finished off by a decadent cheese plate (the first of several over the following 36 hours).

We then explored a bit of less touristy Paris…

…before finding ourselves at the Orsay, a beautiful former train station art museum.

 

The views over the Seine were quite impressive on a fine summer afternoon.

A Chateau!  Or something!

Did you know that parks in central Paris have trees planted in geometric patterns, and sitting on the grass is strongly discouraged?  Did you know that Parisian food tastes really good?  Did you know that I like playing with the defocus feature on my new camera?

Salad!

 

A wander down the Champs-Élysées rounded out the night.

The next morning was our food tour in the Latin Quarter.  We enjoyed eclairs, café (well, Sarah seemed to enjoy it), macarons, real marshmallows, award winning chocolates with a whisper of raspberries and some trendy citrus whose name escapes me, pâté, sausage, and of course cheese, wine, and a baguette.  Our guide, Catherine, led us through the intricacies of French cuisine, architecture, and culture with both panache and some other French-based fancy word as well. [Nonchalance? Détente? Rendezvous? Am I getting close? -Sarah]

The blackcurrant was splendiforous.  

Fun fact- goat cheese has a season! In the summer, goat milk is at its fattiest and most flavorful, and les fromageries are filled with varieties of extremely fresh goat cheese. Our favorites were light and almost lemony, and my mouth is watering in memory.

The main street of our Latin Quarter gastronomic exploration.

We spent quite a while digesting at the wine bar where Catherine left us, but eventually were able to waddle through a few more neighborhoods.

 

Paris looks like a movie set. 

 

Lamposts!

Even the gelato is artistic in the City of Light!

Some church. No hunchbacks, but it was pretty crowded, so it’s possible we missed him. 

While we always strive to live in the moment, inevitably we couldn’t help ourselves planning when we we would be able to come back with the kiddos and spend more time in Paris.  We’re thinking summer 2020.  Who’s in?

 

– Warren and Sarah

 

Recommendations:

Located half a block from a metro stop and on the edge of the Marais neighborhood, the Hotel Ecole Centrale was a lovely, and relatively inexpensive, hotel. We would stay there again (here’s hoping they’re still open in 2020!).

The Paris by Mouth Food Tour with Catherine was truly awesome.  We wrote a TripAdvisor review which explained as much.  If you find yourself hungry and in Paris do yourself a favor and sign up.

 

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