paris in december part II

Our next and last day in Paris, before we caught the evening train back to London, was a less ambitious and slower moving day than the first.

We started it off at a neighborhood café for a pastry and coffee.  (Pain au chocolat for him and chocolat suisse for her.  Always.)

Next we took the Métropolitain down to the Marais neighborhood.  With it's many restaurants and bars, the neighborhood is so alive at night. (John Galliano's famous drunken late-night antisemitic rant went down in a Marais bar.) The narrow cobblestone streets are quiet and empty at 10 am.  

We wandered the neighborhood playing home envy and taking in the architecture until the shops opened. We spent a good chunk of the morning in the massive design shop FLEUX (actually 4 shops under the same name, scattered around an alley / courtyard) where I wanted everything in sight but took away only a Christmas ornament.  Next stop was Compagine de Provence to stock up on my favorite soap.  In classic French form, the shop was still closed an hour and a half after the posted opening time so we circled back after we hit the great perfumery + candle shop, Durance.

After the boutiques and vintage shops, another must-do in the Marais is getting falafel.  There are dueling falafel shops opposite from each other.  We avoid the shop with a line and a huge sign above the door that says their place is highly recommended by Lenny Kravitz.  Instead we order at the sidewalk counter of the other shop as we are hassled by one of the employees of the busier joint, "OPEN YOUR GUIDE BOOK!" I can assure you though, both places are amazing.  We took our overflowing falafel to the beautiful park Place des Vosges to enjoy on bench in the sun.

The rest of the afternoon we walked along the Seine to the Pont de l'archevêché: the lover's lock bridge (where we didn't place a lock - bad luck?), went inside the Notre Dame because there was no line for once, and then ended the day in Shakespeare and Company - a really special independent bookshop on the left bank.  Such a beautiful shop and a total sensory overload that fills you with Amazon guilt.  The guilt and action of mentally jotting down novel and coffee table book names that you want to buy but will instead look up on Amazon when you get home to purchase used or cheaper.  (I probably just made my sister in law (occupation: writer) cringe.  Sorry Mary!)

Some photos below from a lazy day in Paris.

paris in december part I



Mid-December Marco and I took the train from London St Pancras  >>>  Paris Gare du Nord to spend the weekend in Paris and see the city during the Christmas season.

 

As it was a last minute trip, the Airbnb apartment we rented last time in the Marais wasn't available.  We found a great place near the Montmartre neighborhood instead which was perfect because I had never been to the Basilica Sacré-Coeur.

 

Friends Ian and Mélanie were also in town as Ian had a basketball game in Sceaux, a posh suburb of Paris.  So we spent the first night in Sceaux watching Ian play.  After the game the four of us drove through Paris at night taking in the elaborate Christmas light decorations and then found a bustling brasserie where we enjoyed wine, steak, and frites (except for the professional athlete - he opted for a hearty salad).

 

The next day we spent the morning taking in the city views from the Sacré-Coeur and wandering Montmartre and the artists' square, Place du Tertre in the 18th arrondissement.  Montmartre was once the mecca of modern art and home to Picasso, Dalí, and the like.  With it's tiny cobblestoned streets the neighborhood is full of the typical Parisian cafés you see in movies and these cafés proudly display what motion pictures were filmed at their establishments.   

 

In the afternoon we shopped the Champs-Élysées along with the rest of Paris where big name stores like Louis Vuitton, Goyard, and Nike have massive elaborate shops and store fronts. 

 

Ian and Mélanie needed to head home to Caen that evening (our recent trip to Caen here and here) so we said our goodbyes and Marco and I champagne BYOB-ed it over to the Eiffel Tower.  We sat beneath it with our mini bottles of bubbly and waited for it to sparkle at the top of the hour. 

 

For dinner we headed to the Latin Quarter for a cheap hole-in-the-wall gyro dinner.  Near the Sorbonne, this neighborhood is definitely a student atmosphere with rowdy bars - the place to go to find a GOOD cheap meal (doner, gyro, crepe, falafel).

 

We ended the night at a craft beer bar and small music venue Le Supercoin.  A grittier and quieter atmosphere than another craft beer bar we recommend, la fine Mousse, but still a knowledgeable staff and stock of quality microbrews - everything from Belgium favorites to some lesser known French and Italian breweries who are doing great things.