Girl’s weekend in Paris
My friend and I hopped a train on Friday for a girl’s weekend in Paris. Four hours later we were strolling the beautiful streets of Paris. As an American, from the west coast near Seattle, Europe has always been such a journey. Now, it is a beautiful, easy, fast train ride that takes you to Zürich, Mulhouse, Basel, Dijon, and finally Paris Gare du Lyon. All without a trip to the airport, customs, security, and no passport or ID checked. Amazing.We stayed at an AirBnB in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The location was perfect, just a stone’s throw from Le Bon Marche, Angelina, Laduree, Hermes, Poilane, and a plethora of outstanding shopping at your doorstep (and the flat looks out over a beautiful garden and playground, for when you bring the kids). We were also minutes from the Rodin Museum, The National Residence of the Invalids, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Tuileries Garden, a walk along the River Seine, and so many more famous landmarks in France.Once our train arrived in Paris, we took the Paris Metro (the subway) from Gare de Lyon to Sèvres-Babylone, which was just steps from our flat. Our host met us at the door with a bottle of rose and a fresh baguette. So perfect! Once we dropped off our bags, we headed straight for dinner and a glass of famous French wine.Saturday morning we woke up late (no children…) and headed straight for a fabulous brunch at the famous (and friend recommended) Les Deux Magots in the shadow of the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. We ordered croissants and eggs as well as espresso and sat in the hot morning sun. There was a man playing an open piano and wildly tapping his foot which added such ambiance to our little Paris brunch. Once finished, we headed for a stroll through the Saint-Germain-des-Pres church, the oldest church in Paris! They have an app to put on your phone for an audio tour, well worth loading before you go for a tour.Once we had a spot of culture, we headed to Ladurée for some famously colorful and delectable macarons. For a cheeky girl weekend, it is worth having tea in their gorgeous tea room. Or Angelina, both seeped in history, gorgeous, and tasty. I opted for a pink box of six macarons. I love their keepsake boxes, and so do my girls. They always use the box for their doll house in one way or another. My favorite macarons are the raspberry and the salted caramel. I try to get a few new flavors each time, but I always come back to those two. We walked along the Seine River towards Notre Dame and were lucky enough to walk up to the entrance for a peek before they closed the gates for a school graduation. Notre Dame is spectacular inside and well worth the line. The line moves quickly, even if it looks daunting. In April we waited about 20-30 minutes in line to get in. There is no charge and it is just incredible.
After Notre Dame we wandered across Love Lock Bridge, which has received a makeover since April. All the famous locks are now removed and artists have painted it. We strolled through the famous pyramids of the Louvre, then sat and shared a bottle of cold rose and a cheese plate in Tuileries Garden, and chatted about our amazing adventure. We soaked in all that is Paris as we cooled off from the heat wave.Once refreshed, we walked toward Madeleine to refill our Maille pot as we strolled toward our one and only dinner reservation for the weekend. Once tasting all the varieties of mustard at Maille, we set off to our dinner at Market, a Jean-Gorges’ French and Asian fusion restaurant right off the Champs-Élysées. The menu was amazing and we immediately wanted everything we read. There was sushi, fresh fish, spicy coconut chicken soup, truffle pizza, chicken, burgers, etc. There was something for everyone, but it was a small menu. Perfect.I ordered the spicy chicken soup, sushi, sea bass, and the salted caramel ice cream, caramel corn, peanuts, chocolate and chantilly dessert with an espresso. Oh my goodness. Luckily we had a 30 minute walk that went along the river passed the fully lit up Eiffel Tower ahead of us to walk off the gorgeous meal. The restaurant was modern, almost casual, with great food. Thank you to Kate for the recommendation.Sunday we spent the entire day at Le Bon Marche. Sunday. In Paris, Le Bon Marche is usually closed on Sundays. But not the weekend we went! June 26-28 is Sale weekend in Paris so the stores were open late and on Sunday! We were thrilled to get a manicure and pedicure on the first floor which had an entire wall of gorgeous OPI colors to choose from.
Then we had a nice snack at the Rose Bakery upstairs. We spent quite a bit of time on the children’s floor as the toys are just gorgeous. I picked out a few great presents for the girls which they will love, a magnetic paper doll set by Sente Spere that is perfect for the plane or a car trip, a coloring map of Switzerland by OMI and a paper doll making kit by Djeco.
Paris is such an incredible city. I hope to take the train again in the autumn after these next few busy summer months. Having a great travel companion to walk and explore the city with was so much fun. This was my second girls’ weekend in Paris and they have both been unforgettable. It was nice to get away, and even more sweet to get home. My girls looked so big and so little all at the same time. It is so good to be home.