20230325_122653Views from the arc de Triomphe (March 2023)

I still wasn’t quite refreshed when I woke up around 8h30 the following morning, having been up until close to midnight the night before. However, I had to get ready and head out to meet up for brunch with Camden from Baguettes and Bicyclettes— we’d met through blogging a few years back, and as she lives in Paris, it was an opportune time to meet up in person. Plus, it was also my birthday, so hello the big 3-0!

We met up close to 10h00 at a cute brunch spot in the 11th arrondissement. I ordered a few items to try out, including a sesame latte, avocado toast, and a lychee dessert. Everything tasted yummy, although the lychee dessert was the highlight of the meal. Camden and I spent about an hour chatting and I got to know about her life in Paris as an American expat– it was a chill, but pleasant meeting!

20230325_095200Sesame latte

20230325_102206Lychee dessert

After brunch, I headed on my own to the arc de Triomphe, where I queued up to climb up to the top. It took about an hour to get through the line, as I’d arrived close to noon, but it was worth paying and taking the steps to the summit, where I got expansive views of Paris from above. The arc de Triomphe is one of my favorite spots to gets views of the city, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to enjoy the panoramic sights on my birthday.

20230325_113916Arc de Triomphe

I spent part of the afternoon at the musée Rodin. Despite having visited Paris numerous times, I’d never gotten around to visiting this museum until this trip, so it was a first for me at this famous site. What makes the musée Rodin distinctive from other museums in Paris is it almost-exclusively displays sculptures from 19th century sculptor Auguste Rodin– considering a lot of museums I’ve visited have been dedicated to paintings, the sculptures at musée Rodin are a refreshing change.

20230325_132237“The Thinker”

20230325_133046“The Kiss”

Next was a jaunt to a couple of bookstores in the Latin Quarter, including The Abbey Bookshop. Founded by a Canadian in 1989, this book store is rival to the larger and more well-known Shakespeare & Co located just a few blocks away. The Abbey is a lot smaller, crammed floor to ceiling in all sorts of books you can imagine. It’s a maze to get through and extremely narrow, to the point that no more than 15 people can visit the shop at the same time. I don’t consider myself claustrophobic, but I will say I felt it was way too tight of a squeeze to fully enjoy the visit, so I ducked out shortly thereafter.

20230325_145014Inside The Abbey Bookshop

I took a quick look outside of Shakespeare & Co, but decided to forgo visiting, as the queue to get inside was massive. Instead, I took a stroll along the Seine, where I saw the Notre Dame still in restoration, being repaired after the disastrous fires in 2019. However, I learned that it’s set to reopen in December 2024, so it’s coming soon!

Feeling the late-afternoon slump, I popped into a Japanese-inspired café where I grabbed a small, afternoon pick-me-up. The café had a wide selection of drool-worthy éclairs in flavors like matcha, black sesame, and yuzu– I ended up choosing the yuzu éclair, along with an onigiri and matcha latte. All very tasty and satisfying to get me until dinnertime.

20230325_153628All the éclairs!

I took a rest at my Airbnb before I headed out again in the evening to grab dinner at my favorite Sichuan Chinese restaurant. I ordered my usual dan-dan noodles at medium-spicy, which hit the spot. The restaurant was also right next door to the bar where I would meet my French friend for a drink afterwards, and it was nice catching up after over three years. I stayed out later than I’d expected, and I ended up catching one of the last RER trains back to my Airbnb, returning just shy of 1h00. Another epic-long day, but a fun one to spend on my 30th birthday.

20230325_190313Dan-dan noodles

More of Paris to come soon. Until then!

— Rebecca

Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

46 thoughts on “Destination: Paris, France (Getting Brunch, Climbing the Arc de Triomphe, and Birthday Shenanigans– DAY 2)”

    1. The éclairs were delicious, and I loved how it infused Japanese flavors! The Abbey Bookshop was cute, but very narrow and claustrophobic; worth a go when it’s not too busy!

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    1. Thank you! The Abbey Bookshop isn’t as popular as Shakespeare and Company, but it’s still a charming little bookstore to check out. The lychee dessert was yummy, as was with the many other sweets I had in town. More to come soon!

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    1. The views from the arc de Triomphe are my favorite in Paris! I can’t believe it took so long for me to finally visit the musée Rodin, and it was a lovely experience. Lots of food to be had, and more will be recapped in the next few posts! Thanks for reading, Lyssy 🙂

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    1. Really was! I try to meet up with people I know on my travels, if the timing works out! Paris was the perfect way to ring in my 30th year– couldn’t have had it any other way!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah! I ended up meeting many fellow bloggers during my London/Paris trip, which was fantastic; it was great to put a face to the name and to see each other in person. The musée Rodin was a lovely visit, and I can’t believe it took me so long to finally go!

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  14. Visiting Paris is a fantastic way to celebrate such a huge milestone birthday, Rebecca. Can’t believe you have to queue to get into the Shakespeare & Co bookshop. Despite the crowds, it would still be a lovely place to pick up a souvenir from Paris such as a book about Paris or a book with a connection to Paris. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

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    1. Paris is always a good idea! Shakespeare and Co is incredibly popular, so I wasn’t too surprised with the queue, especially in the springtime. There are other lovely bookstores all over the city, so the options aren’t limited as to where to pick out books! Thanks for reading, Aiva 😊

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  15. I didn’t know about this other, Canadian bookshop. I visited Shakespeare&co on my trip to Paris. Luckily, then there was no queue to get inside. Oh, the view from Arc was a great birthday treat

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  16. A birthday in Paris, it’s gotta be done. It was fun being reminded of those views from the Arc de Triomphe. I did manage to squeeze that in during my one and only trip to Paris many moons ago. I also ‘think’ but can’t be sure that I had a wander around The Abbey bookshop. All the food looks lovely, boy I would have a tough time choosing between the eclairs. Maybe I’d just go for one of each.

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    1. I wish I had ordered all those éclairs! Regardless, the yuzu one was a hit! Paris was the perfect city to ring in my 30th year, and I’d go back to celebrate more milestones! Thanks for reading, Leighton 😊

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    1. Yes, I really liked my éclair! You can’t go wrong with an éclair in France! It was a good time celebrating my 30th in Paris. Thanks for reading, Han 🙂

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  19. A fantastic way to celebrate your birthday in Paris! I didn’t know one can go up the Arc de Triomphe. Must do that next time I visit Paris.

    I’m curious how the sesame latte tastes, I’ve never encountered one. That lychee dessert and the dandan noodles look so yummy.

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  21. So nice you got to meet a fellow blogger! Always cool when that happens 😊 Lovely you got to the top of arc de Triomphe, the lines really look like long lines. Rodin has some fascinating sculptures. Bookstores are fun to visit, and I probably could spend hours there. I like how you described it as an another epic-long day. An epic trip

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    1. Yes, it was great meeting a fellow blogger! I’ve met up with a few throughout my travels, and it’s great to see each other in person, beyond the computer screen…it was my first time to musée Rodin, and it was a pleasant visit. It was definitely another epic day, and it’ll continue to be epic! Stay tuned 🙂

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