Paris… Part 2

Welcome back to my hear about the rest of my amazing Paris trip. Just a heads up, I do mention some of the sightseeing we did but I don’t go in to a ton of detail about it because that information is everywhere. Not that it wasn’t amazing or beautiful, because it really was, but that is information you can get from a million different sources and I just want to share my experience and all the other stuff we did.

Day 3- Day 3 was the day I would finally go see the Eiffel Tower, up close. I had looked into getting a reservation to eat there but there weren’t any spots available. We woke up pretty early and headed in that direction and by the time we got there, the line was already super long. So we just walked around it and took some pictures. It was so beyond gorgeous. I was a little bummed we wouldn’t get to go up but I knew that now that we live in Europe, I could always go again, which I absolutely plan on. 

After taking a ton of pictures, we headed to breakfast. I found this spot called Kozy Bosquet. It had a ton of great reviews and it gets pretty busy. There was a short line when we got there, but by the time we got seated the line had at least doubled. They had some gluten free options and it wasn’t very expensive. I remember liking the food, but I don’t remember what I ate, and since this was all before I decided to start a blog, I didn’t take pictures of all my meals. But I do know that I had a pretty latte, and I am pretty sure that I had something with gluten free bread, because if there is gf bread available anywhere, I will 1000% eat it.

After breakfast we headed towards the River Seine. We bought a 2 day, hop-on/hop-off boat pass. We decided to do one side of the river one day and the other side the next. There is so much to see and do in Paris, so it was hard to decide what to choose. We didn’t really make a plan, other than to go to as many bakeries as possible to continue the search for an amazing, gluten free croissant. 

Our first bakery of the day was called NoGlu. I got a regular and a chocolate croissant. They were both good. They still weren’t as fluffy and light as a regular croissant though. They were also pretty expensive compared to a regular one. That’s one of the problems with gluten free, everything costs at least 2-3 times as much and doesn’t always taste as good. But that’s my life.

We walked around and took in all the incredible sights. We walked past the University and towards the Église de Saint Germain des Prés. On the way, we made a stop at Ladurée, the famous macaron shop. Macarons are one of my all-time favorite things to eat. I know I say that a lot, but seriously, they are. They are so delicate but so flavorful. I also appreciate them so much because they are so difficult to make perfectly. I have eaten macarons from Ladurée in Miami a couple of times, and I have had macarons probably everywhere I have traveled, but these are the best. Again, we got lucky with the line. When we got there, there were a couple people ahead of us, by the time we walked out, there were at least 10 people waiting outside the door. 

We explored the Église de Saint Germain des Prés. It was really beautiful inside with lots of stained glass, painted walls and ceilings and a huge organ. From there, we headed towards Notre-Dame, because that was a must see. We knew it would be closed because they are still fixing it from the fire that happened in 2019, but we wanted to see the outside at least. On the way however, we happened to stumble into The Highlander, a Scottish pub, nestled into a small street. So we stopped and had a drink! After the drink and the Notre-Dame we got back on the boat and headed towards the last stop, the Outdoor Sculpture Museum. It was closed though so we didn’t get to check it out, but it looked cool through the gates. We jumped back on the boat. We were going to meet up with my cousin who lives in Paris. She lives near the Eiffel Tower so we rode the whole way back on the other side. It was so magical to see all the lights and beauty of Paris as we floated down the river. We spent a couple hours with her catching up and then called it a night and headed back to our hotel. 

Day 4- Day 4 was the other side of the River Seine. We took a taxi to the Le Marais area for breakfast at Breizh Cafe. They had a great, French breakfast menu with plenty of gluten free options. I had a Galette with eggs, ham from Brittany, and French cheese and butter. Really good! 

We walked towards more touristy things and explored the streets and made our way towards the Louvre. We happened to stumble across a New Mexican, store but it was closed, but it was still pretty cool to see that in the middle of Paris. We went to the shops underneath and of course did all the typical touristy pics. Add again the beauty of Paris just continued to captivate me. Everywhere you look it’s just beauty and more beauty. I can’t even put it into words. 

We hopped on the boat and cruised the river a little more and made our way down to Trocadéro Gardens. I wanted to watch the sunset by the Eiffel Tower. Apparently so did everyone else in Paris, but it makes sense because it’s just so stunning to look at. We hung out around there for a bit, took some more pics and watched some street performers. I also wanted to watch the first twinkle of the night up close but we had some time so we found a place  to have a drink while we waited. It was called Pub Kleber. After a drink we headed right back to Trocadéro Square to watch the twinkles properly, with an unobstructed view. I took a few pictures and then just stopped to watch, take in the moment and hug my husband because he always helps to make my dreams come true.

Now it was time for dinner and finally we took the subway. We went to the Montmartre area near the Moulin Rouge. I found a place that had gluten free burgers called PNY Burger Pigalle. I love burgers and I rarely get to eat them out. This one was delicious. Now with a full belly, it was time to bar hop. Anytime we go on vacation, that’s pretty much what we do for 75% of the time, eat and drink. That’s how I explore the world, through flavor. My husband actually makes fun of me because all my memories of places I have been usually start with what I ate, not about the sights I saw. But I can’t, and don’t want to help it. Food is amazing, flavor is amazing but it’s also how we can connect with each other. So many special memories in my life are centered around meals. Important moments with family and friends, celebrations and holidays, so many memories are tied to food. Even something simple like sharing a frozen pizza with my bff, who I love and miss dearly. Food is life and food is happiness. 

On to the bars! First off was a tiki bar called Dirty Dick. It had a super cool vibe inside with delicious tropical drinks. It was pretty cold outside so it was a little weird to drink tropical stuff but it was also fun. From there we went to an Absinthe bar called Lulu White. Absinthe is good but also dangerous and so much fun. And it was our last night in Paris, so bottoms up. We talked to the bartender while we drank. He was a super cool guy from Chicago, (I think) who had moved to Paris with his girlfriend who was in school for Fashion Design. It’s always great to make connections with others and hear their stories. 

After lots of Absinthe we went on to find a karaoke bar and an Irish pub. I’m not really sure in which order that happened but I know we went to both. No matter where you are in the world, there will always be an Irish pub and a karaoke bar, so it’s like a given, you gotta do it. We then decided we were hungry again so we found a place to get a late night snack. It was actually hard to find something that I could eat at this point but we eventually did. I ate a cheese plate 🤣. But it was delicious, and since Karl doesn’t like cheese (yes, he’s a weirdo) I got to eat it all by myself. It was a long day and we were super tired and maybe a little drunk so we went back to the hotel. It was a great, last night in Paris!

The next morning, we woke up and headed out to have breakfast and to hit the last bakery on my gluten free list. I got one last croissant and some other pastries. On the way back to the hotel we also decided to have some sushi too. I told you, we eat a lot. My last croissant was ok but still left a lot to be desired so we also got me a regular one that I had decided I would eat once we got back to our apartment. Eating gluten causes a whole lot of pain and problems so I didn’t want to deal with that on the plane, but I also was going to have my real, Parisian croissant, I had only been waiting like 30 years for it. We went back to the hotel, caught a Bolt, and headed to the airport.

I was sad to leave but also so wonderfully happy that I finally made it to Paris. Our trip was everything I wanted it to be. Paris is the most beautiful city I have ever seen in my life. So many times, people would tell me that I might be a little disappointed once I got there because I had built it up so much in my mind, kind of like they say never meet your idols. I was slightly worried about that, but luckily, that wasn’t the case. I had heard a few bad things about it, and I didn’t encounter any of it. People say that the locals are rude, especially if you are American, I didn’t experience that even once. I also heard it was dirty and smelled and I didnt get any of that either. The only negatives I think I had were that it was cold, but I went in November so that’s to be expected (I just don’t like the cold), it was a little pricey for some stuff but its a large city and that’s usually the case, plus our flights were so cheap to get there and the hotel was reasonable so it made up for it, and I think the biggest complaint I had was that a lot of the restaurants were little and they crowd as many tables as possible in so it was very crowded in a lot of places. But I think those aren’t  dealbreakers whatsoever. I absolutely fell in love with Paris, it was absolutely everything I dreamed of, and more, and I can’t wait to go back!

And yes, when we got home, I ate my croissant. I was actually really nervous about it but it was so worth it. I did feel pretty shitty for a couple of days but I had to.  

I am going to make a list with all the places we ate and drank, so check that out too for a easier reference of all of it.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Leave me some suggestions on what to do on my next trip to Paris! ❤️