PARIS: The Day Before....
Photos Taken / Written by JENNIFER MAHON | This post was read 634 times
LE JOUR D'AVANT.....
So....second week of November, I decided to go to Paris for the weekend. What would have been a jam-packed 3 days of seeing all the main sites (again!) turned into a day and half of "normal" touristy stuff, and another day and half of....a mixture of fear, anger and sadness.
I've been struggling about how to go about this blog post. Usually when I get back from a trip, I can't wait to get on the photos and try to do at least one post. This one was difficult. I would sit in front of the computer and open up Lightroom and go through a few, then stop. No reason in particular, just a feeling that, somehow, it's not right.
So I waited....to get over the way this affected me and out of respect for everyone affected by the attacks in November. I mean, people told me to post right away, you know, to ride the coattails of this horrible event and get plenty of site traffic because that's what people would be looking to read about. But really and truly, I don't have that much of a story to tell. I wasn't near the attacks, just happened to be in the same city.....which is a big city.
So the photos are done - edited according to the somber mood I was in while doing them - and the posts.....will be an account of exactly what my Paris weekend was.....
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015
We arrive at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 8:30 am, no luggage to wait for (the art of packing light and fitting it all in a carry-on has its perks!), jump on the RER and make our way to our friends apartment (Xavier, who was super nice enough to let us crash at his place) in the 13th district of Paris. With no sleep on the flight, we decide to nap for a bit and didn't make it back out of the apartment until 1:30 pm.
LA TOUR EIFFEL
Heading out, I ask the oldest kid (who's 20 years old now!), "So, where do you wanna go first?" And the answer is, of course, the Eiffel Tower. I don't know why they push people to get off at the Bir-Hakeim metro for the Eiffel Tower - you get out of that metro and it's ugly as [email protected] and you gotta walk like 10 minutes in a cruddy area to get to the base of it. The metro you want is Trocadero. As soon as you exit this particular metro, you're at Place Trocadero/Palais de Chaillot which gives you the view that everyone wants of the tower. Unfortunately this time around the view is hindered because they're redoing the the steps or something.
Xavier, he's so darn Parisian, effortlessly looking great....all the time!
I could live just on Nutella crepes - Place Trocadero
A cold November day, with lots of revamping going on at Place Trocadero
People can't go without decorating the temporary barriers
In all the times I've been here.....kind of ashamed to say it's the first time I notice the naked l'Homme by Pierre Traverse...
....or the Bull and Deer by Paul Jouve
....and more nakedness - La Joie de vivre, by Léon-Ernest Drivier
Pigeons are always around....
The Carousel at the bottom of the Jardins du Trocadéro
Ste Rita on the Seine
Love this!
Another Carousel....like a 5-minute walk from the other one...
Classic Eiffel Tower shot....
On the ground, in the middle of this massive structure
Parisian taxis....not in our budget
Oh....this looks like a good spot for a Nutella crepe!
....and wine....
Iolanda Paris - the restaurant that everyone walks by, across from Bir-Hakeim metro station
Ah........there's my Nutella!
ARC DE TRIOMPHE & CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES
Next stop, Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées. Though I could just hear in my head my Parisian friend Xavier saying, "Oh no, no, no, darling, you don't go on Champs-Élysées, that's for tourists". Well, technically I am a tourist so Champs-Élysées it is! It is a totally touristy thing to do, but a trip to Paris ain't complete without a stroll down this famous avenue. Ducking in and out of the stores because really, who can afford those LV handbags and Cartier diamonds and Montblanc watches? Pas moi!
Arc de Triomphe in the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle
Almost tempted to grab another one.....
Souvenirs de Paris at the top of the Champs-Élysées
Cartier .....or Montblanc anyone?
Maybe Louis Vuitton....?
All above my price range, so we're just gonna have to keep on walking down Champs-Élysées
L'IVRESS - BAR À VINS
The sun is setting and we're scheduled to meet up with Sabrina, a former coworker from Montreal who had the courage to up and move to Paris in September, and Olivier, another coworker who flew over with us for the weekend.
Our destination is L'Ivress, a super trendy little wine bar in the 2e arrondisement. Great concept, where you go up to the bar and sample the wine before you order, so there's no surprises. Tasty snacks, like the bread (something about French bread!), pâtés and charcuterie platters - everything was so friggin' delicious and amazingly cheap (I think the bill came up to 45 EUR, for at least 2 glasses of wine each, 2 charcuterie platters, and 2 jars of something that was chicken and/or duck and tasty as hell). A local Paris hotspot, yet to be infiltrated by tourists, reservations definitely recommended as this place fills to the gills by 7 pm.
That's it for the first day, the daughter is falling a sleep at the table, and so am I - jet lag is a bitch - so we hop on the metro and head back to the apartment to call it a night.
Time for more wine at l'Ivress
The bread in France......OMG
Totally delish (and cheap) Planche de Charcuterie
Time to find our way back via the Paris metro
Randomness on the Paris metro
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