Our last days in Paris were filled with magical late night walks and tasty eats. We didn’t want to leave our cute little rental apartment either! Hope you enjoy these photos and tips from our last days there.
On our last days in Paris we hung out at the Champs-Elysee for the people watching and window shopping and stayed to savor the most amazing pot of mussels ever! I was not a mussel-lover until I stepped into Leon de Bruxelles. There was a long line to go in which is indicative of its popularity and quality. Don’t make the mistake of ordering anything else but their Dijonaisse mussels–it is the perfect combination of brothy, sweet and pungent flavor. Just thank me later.
Leon de Bruxelles at Champs-Elysee.
Best Dijonaisse Mussels ever! We ate here two times just to have these.
Macarons at Laduree at 7:25pm at Champs-Elysee and there was no-one in line (versus the long 50 person line at 4:25pm)! We also visited La Maison du Chocolat for their exquisite chocolate confections and flavored chocolate-ganache filled macarons. Don’t fret though, both shops are available at the Orly airport where we departed from.
We made a pit stop at Sephora and discovered that we have more beauty brands available in the USA even though Sephora was born in France. The only brand I saw there that I haven’t seen in stores here? The new make-up line by Laduree!
We also visited Gallerias Lafayette, the most outrageous and opulent 8 story shopping center that houses all my beloved beauty brands and Spanish design brands. I thought shopping at Neiman Marcus felt luxurious, now this is truly an experience!
At Champs-Elysee where Paris Fashion Week and Elle Magazine were being celebrated in September 2015.
At Champs-Elysee at an undisclosed fashion show location bloggers step in and out to photograph their outfits!
Paris Fashion Week was going on while we visited so you could feel the hustle and bustle on every street and restaurant. I was lucky to visit this iconic set-up at the Louvre Museum right after the Dior show.
By the time Sunday came up we managed to find something to do on this day where the French usually just rest or “aimlessly walk through the streets.” In Paris, Sundays are dead. If you are a tourist forget about visiting any malls, stores, shops, museums because they’re all closed! I thought I’d visit the Gallerias Lafayette that day and just shop-around but that didn’t happen because it was closed #FAIL. When we asked a French person what we could do on a Sunday they literally said we shoudl to try to wander around aimlessly and explore…ummm, no. We visited the only museum open that day: The National Museum of Modern Art (visit their shop full of quirky products!) at the Centre Pompidou which also hosts an impressive rooftop restaurant named Georges where we had tea and hoped to bask in the beauty of it’s view of Paris but it was cloudy.
Once we hit this part of town where the museum was located named Beaubourg we discovered a slew of open shops, street performers, and mostly, a lot more people just walking around. I had an amazing Nutella and Grand Marnier crepe and took it all in: this is where its at on Sundays!
Wearing my custom-made Damari & Co. gloves.
Selfie with mon-amour!
Enjoying tea at Georges restaurant.
We enjoyed a lovely night at the Eiffel Tower drinking hot cocoa and snapping some pics. No need to bring your own champagne or hot beverage either, you can buy a bottle on site and our hot drink was only $3 each!
Cuetst part of our viist to the Eiffel Tower was taking the pedi-cab back to our apartment because it was raining. I was susprised when I saw this selfie and saw the Eifeel Tower in the back!
One of the things we most enjoyed was eating at a French restaurant away from the touristy area called Le Pied de Fouet located at 45 rue de Babylone A friend recommended this tiny but amazing restaurant and it’s sooo tiny you’ll be rubbing arms with 2 people at the same time when you’re eating but it’s totally worth it. Tip: Ask for a side of their mustard sauce…it’s heavenly on their steak and mash.
We used the Metro to get everywhere. Since our apartment was next to a metro station it was super convenient to hop on the metro and just head to every single place we wanted to visit. We used a super neat app on our IPhone that does not require WiFi so you punch in your destination and it gives you the specific route to take in the metro. Download the PARIS METRO app on your IPhone like we did and getting around will be a breeze! (Paris by the way is not a Wi-Fi friendly city).
Oh and that myth of mean French people that’s been haunting me…I can finally dispelled it! The French were sweet, made an effort to speak English and they were helpful when I was trying to track down cold un-sweet tea which according to the French is the weirdest thing I could be looking for!
Oh Paris! We can’t wait to be back! I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it! Especially to try more macarons from La Maison du Chocolat (pictured above).
