Destination: Paris, France (2018 Spring Break Edition– Part 2)

Salut!

After the first one-and-a-half days in Paris over spring break, I continued my visit of the French capital with my parents for the next couple of days. We visited several of the main touristy districts together, all the while revisiting places that I hadn’t been to since my study abroad days nearly four years ago (how time flies!).

After a simple, but delicious torsade au chocolat breakfast (fyi my favorite French pastry), I headed out to la Sainte-Chapelle, where my parents had just wrapped up their visit of the beautiful, 360° stained-glass chapel. I’d gone two years prior, so I just met up with my parents to continue with the day’s visit.

We headed to a couple of churches– église Saint-Severin and église Saint-Sulpice–which I hadn’t visited since 2014. Having visited the lovely église Saint-Eustache just a couple of days before, I didn’t have high expectations for these two churches (after all, there are dozens, if not hundreds of them, in Paris), but the former’s interior and the latter’s exterior ended up impressing me, which I didn’t expect. Goes to show that French churches are also ready to surprise you in the best ways!

Most of our morning was concentrated in the Latin Quarter and the St. Germain-des-Près district. Besides the churches, we also visited the well-known fontaine St. Michel, which is right at the intersection of two bustling streets right off the Notre Dame, along with the Luxembourg Gardens and the Pantheon.

Besides being a hot spot for visitors, such places in these districts demonstrate just how rich and intellectual Paris is, as it’s historically the spot for writers, students, and the bourgeoise to congregate and wax philosophy and poetry over coffee and cigarettes at now-outrageously pricey cafes. Still, it’s a beautiful atmosphere, and it’s probably one that many visitors envision the “classic” Paris to be.

Having a huge sweet tooth, my mom stopped by Arnaud Larher, a well-reputed confectionery where she bought some macarons for the road. Of course, when in Paris, you need to have macarons (even if they’re historically Italian!). From almond to cassis flavor, my mom got a large variety of delicately-beautiful meringue cookies that burst with texture and taste.

Following our brief tour around the Pantheon, we headed to rue Mouffetard, one of my favorite streets where it’s both charming in its historical cobblestones and variety of bars and restaurants to choose from. It’s not far from the Sorbonne, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that many students flock to this street after classes to relax after a long day– again, it’s also filled with tourists, as it’s the “hoppin'” place to be.

My parents and I got lunch at Au P’tit Grec, which serves simple, but hearty galettes and crêpes which have made it a staple among students and tourists. It helps to arrive early, as peak lunch time (after 12:00) can have long queues snaking down the sidewalk! We came around 11:00, so it was not a problem ordering and eating inside the small restaurant. It was my second time, and I opted for a lighter mushroom-cheese galette. Still stuffed with other filling vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, onions…), but just about right to keep me going until dinner.

After lunch, we took a quick stroll down rue Mouffetard, where we took in the bustling atmosphere of the restaurants, boutiques, and cafes that lined the small, but quaint street. We soon split off for the day, as my parents took the metro over to the Tour Montparnasse for the views, and I to a few places in and around the Sorbonne.

Actually, I first headed back to the Promenade plantée to stroll along the elevated walkway and *finally* reach the “split building” site, which absolutely towered and didn’t disappoint. From there, I returned to the Sorbonne area where I paid 2€ to visit the Grande Mosquée de Paris, which transported me back to my Morocco trip just last year. From the minaret to the intricately-designed walls and lush garden, it was surreal that the mosque even belonged in Paris!

My last stop of the day was at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, which I’d tried to get into the last time I was in Paris, but it didn’t work out. Fortunately, the library is accessible to the public in the afternoon, so I was able to enter and spend about 5 minutes admiring the archways of the main room. The interior reminded me much of that in Harry Potter, and it was a lovely gem to see in the city center.

I returned to the Airbnb afterwards, and my parents were already back after visiting the Tour Montparnasse. We headed out again later that evening, but just around the corner to the Comptoir de la Gastronomie, a French restaurant that specializes in foie gras dishes. I’d gone during my study abroad program, and I’d been meaning to return for its heavenly dishes. The truffled foie gras ravioli was divine as ever, and I also got to have a nibble of my mom’s seared foie gras– really, eating super-fatty dishes is one of the biggest pleasures in life!

Likewise the next day, I spent it with my family as we started our day in the Montmartre district. I revisited the Sacré Coeur, along with the Place du Tertre, le mur des je t’aime, and the Moulin Rouge. Despite it being super crowded with tourists, Montmartre still had that cute, bohemian charm to it, which I suppose attracts so many people in the first place.

We had lunch in the area, where we tried la Cave Gourmande just off the Abbesses metro. It was a small restaurant which literally had one chef (also the patron), but we arrived right when they opened, so we were the first served. I tried bone marrow for the first time, which was nothing like I’d thought it would be– imagine scraping off salty fat from a massive bone that probably belonged to a cow, and spreading it on a toasted slice of bread…very strange, but weirdly delicious. If this is what haute cuisine is all about, then I’m game!

Finishing lunch, we took the metro to Concorde, where we spent some time at the musée de l’Orangerie. It was free with my visa/temporary EU status, and I revisited the 360° rooms with Monet’s Impressionist paintings, as well as the long hallways of Renoir’s still life works. Unfortunately, due to the apparently worker’s strike in France (which affects not only public transport, but supposedly museums as well), many of the other Impressionist exhibitions weren’t available and instead replaced with Impressionist-inspired contemporary works which didn’t impress me as much. In any case, my parents were still impressed by the Monet rooms, and they left with a good impression of the museum.

We wrapped up our day just right off the Champs-Élysées, where we crossed the beautiful Pont Alexandre III on our way to the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. We made a brief visit inside the latter, which surprised me with its abundance of antiques and artifacts dating to Ancient Egypt and medieval France– perhaps if I hadn’t spent the whole day exploring, I would’ve had the energy to stay and see more of the exhibitions.

All the same, we exited the Petit Palais and took the metro back to our Airbnb, where we rested for the remainder of the day. We were still quite full from lunch, so we just dined in for the night, supper and all.

Stay tuned for the last installment of my adventures in Paris this spring break– à bientôt!

 

— Rebecca