On my short weekend getaway to Paris for that was only supposed to be two days short consisted of a lot of travelling on the metro, getting (aka rushing) from one destination to the next, really not my kind of trip. If you don’t already know, I’m the type that is ready to take things slow, sit a café chatting or just strolling the city and really just take my sweet time to absorb the vibe of the places that I travel to… especially in Paris! What am I doing rushing about... However, I do have a good explanation for this and a very good mitigation plan. First - I have a confession to make, I didn’t like Paris from three years ago, full stop. I thought it was overrated, everything closed at 4pm, it didn’t feel safe, the streets were dirty, there was nothing to do but goodness am I glad that I let my friend persuade me into coming back a second time with a completely different mindset towards travelling! I absolutely love the the tranquility of it! For one, everyone has been extremely friendly even though I’ve been walking around with my camera around me neck, which screams “HEY THERE! I’M A TOURIST!”, despite the stereotypical expectation of Parisians being somewhat “unfriendly” to tourists - definitely NOT the case this time round. Second - My friend had an exam right after she returns, so of course, being the good influence that I am we had to dedicate at least 2 hours a day to study, hence all the rushing around with not a minute to waste! Third - My mitigation plan for this was to extend the trip and with the booming café culture here in Paris, I have decided to dedicate this day to working on my blog (hence the complete change in layout), try out the many many hip cafés in town, especially around the 3rd/4th arrondissement, which has easily become my favourite areas of Paris since it is a relatively posh area - clean, safe and not to mention, area with an abundance of new eateries! Full review of my day here. (Coming soon) So with how this trip panned out, I’m going to write this post up with a different style. Less talking, more pictures with just a short note here and there. Enjoy! *Ps . The way we planned the travelling was according to location of the monuments, so perhaps if you're planning a short trip to Paris, you could get an idea of the location of things from this post :) Day 1 We stayed at the 4th Arrondissement - La Marais area and right opposite was a little cafe called Fragments. With absolutely no research and hungry stomachs after landing into Paris at very very early hours, we finally found a few cafés near our area that were opening for the day and we happened to stumble upon Fragments that I HIGHLY recommend because their Avocado Toast was delicious and this is pretty rare for me to say having had billions of these Avocado Toasts in Melbourne - the land of brunches in my opinion. Right after checking into our accomodation, we were of course on a quest to find the Eiffel tower. Of course when we were there, it started raining, tourists crowded it and worst part is, the long grassy pathway leading to the Eiffel tower was fenced off for construction.... great way to ruin a photo. I was determined to make use of my new camera on this occasion, so we walked around the 4 sides of the Eiffel tower and this was definitely my favourite shot, taken from Champ de Mars - Go there for a completely unobstructed photo of the tower! After rounding the Eiffel tower a couple times, of course it was time for lunch and when in Paris, how could you say no to a Michelin Star meal eh? So we booked for lunch at this extremely affordable place La Fables de la Fontaine hoping to get the lunch set at only €29 but unfortunately, it was only available on weekdays.
Controversially, instead of feasting in a French meal as many expected us to, we went to have Vietnamese food at the very Famous Phô 13 near Chinatown. I've had French food in Vietnam but never thought I'd do it the other way round but boy! I'm glad I did! I didn't get a traditional Phô and got a dried vermicelli noodle dish but point it, PLEASE go try it. One of the best vietnamese dinners I have ever had. Not even joking. Day 2 Sunday called for an early morning visit to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica Of course Sacré-Coeur was beautiful but THIS, was my favourite part of the hike up, it was looking out into the city. We sat on a bench next a very cute couple as a four staring out with nothing said for 10 whole minutes. As per usual, this tranquility was once again broken by the call of food at Supernature (remember to book in advance online if you are planning to go!), a place that was highly recommended by my friend. This brunch is only available on Sundays in two time slots, 11:30am, 1:00pm for €26, but trust me, the amount of food you get is A LOT - I was filled to the point where I didn't eat until 7:30pm that night and we are talking about ME (I have a massive appetite). 1. Entreé was a juice, a granola with museli and a basket of country bread served with a selection of home made marmalade (jam) that were INCREDIBLY tasty. 2. A plate of salad greens, steamed veggies, quinoa mix, guacamole, goat's cheese and a 'quiche' kind of thing (that I will probably recreate one day) 3. A 'crêpe' served with some fruits Food is of course not your classic brunch food but it was definitely of quality, kept me full and feeling fresh for the rest of the day! Nearby was Le Louvre, so we walked over to be with a lovely surprise of being able to go in for free as students of Europe! Following a while spent at Le Louvre, we headed out to a café nearby to study for the rest of the day until dinner. How productive of us ;) So since we haven't really had anything "French" so to speak, we decided to go all out and find a crêperie near out home in the La Marais area. Trusting online reviews, we settled for Crêperie Suzette and this place, I recommend, the ham egg and cheese crêpe I ordered, had me calling out for for the menu halfway though my crêpe to get a dessert one! As seen, I was so excited I didn't even take a photo of it... whoops
So this marks the end of my two incredibly touristy days but come along with me on Part 2 of my Paris trip where I take you along on a café hopping tour around 3rd and 4th arrondissement!
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