There is nothing better for me than waking up in Paris. I just love this city and can't get enough of her.
Today's agenda was pretty loose: Visit the Arc de Triomphe and La Defense before our walking tour of St. Germain at 3pm.
This was our 5th trip to Paris and we hadn't been up in the Arc de Triomphe since the 2nd (2005). I figured it was time for a revisit.
We procured a Navigo Decouverte for husband (his original one was stuck in Houston because of Hurricane Harvey), loaded up mine, and we were off to the Arc. As we walked to the ticket office I realized that I had planned to buy Museum Passes at Fontainebleau the day before but forgot. No matter, the 6 day Pass still saved us money and time.
We made our way up the hundreds of steps, husband saying "I don't remember there being this many steps last time." It's was hike but so worth it for the incredible views of the city. It was a pretty day and we took pictures from every angle. Watching the traffic below is always interesting, too.
On our way down, we kind of stumbled into a really cool exhibition on uniforms worn by different armies in World War I. Very interesting. We liked it a lot--and more than just as a spot to take a breather!
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| American Infanrtyman, 1918 |
Our next stop was La Defense, where we'd not been before. We cacught the metro from the Arc de Triomphe and it was a straight shot there. We didn't really have a plan except to take in the views from La Grande Arche. The weather was beautiful and there were a goodly number of people wandering about.
We got to the ticket line for the Grande Arche and decided to have lunch in the restaurant because that was in some ways cheaper than spending the money on just going up.
The escalator ride up was pretty scary for me. Husband was not bothered at all
We only made one mistake with this plan because we chose to eat before taking in the views. The weather while we ate changed from sunny and cool to cloudy and threatening, and eventually rainy. No matter, our lunch at Les Jardins du Josephine was outstanding. The restaurant was pretty quiet, except for a table of about 20 business people and a table of four chefs, the service was outstanding, including two visits from Chef Jean-Christian Dumonet himself, and we both enjoyed our food. We'd definitely eat there again.
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| Terrine de campagne entree |
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| My sebaste (red fish) |
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| Husband's rumsteak or pave de faux filet |
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| Cooked pear and ice cream for desert |
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| Gorgeous arrangement by the entrance |
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| Cloudy view |
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| These buildings looked unfinished |
We headed down which was a lot less scary for me. We took the metro to the 7th to meet our guide with Paris by Mouth for our tour of St. Germain.
We arrived at the appointed location and were invited into a small, closed boulangerie where about 12 other people were sitting around a table laden with cheese. This is when I realized I'd booked the wrong tour and that, after a delicious and filling lunch, we'd be tasting tasting various cheeses accompanied by wine, instead of walking around collecting items for a picnic.
Oh well, husband just chuckled and shook his head--I've made these types of errors before! After admitting our mistake, we set about enjoying the tasting. The guide was fabulous and kept everyone involved and interested. We learned a lot about cheese and it made our ordering cheese at Le Meurice Alain Ducasse a few days later much easier.
Afterwards, we were really stuffed so we meandered down to the Champs de Mars, taking in the views of the Eiffel Tower. We made our way over to the Trocadero and joined the masses enjoying the view. It was a spectacularly gorgeous evening.
On our trip in 2015, husband really enjoyed Tabac de la Muette so we headed there for a drink. It was about 730pm and they closed down right around 8-815pm. The quick service, the people watching and then a most spectacular sunset, made us both very happy.
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| Spectacular sunset! |
We walked by Notre Dame to the RER. I ignored his pointing out all the rats. I refuse to see them! An Asian woman asked for directions to CDG and we helped her find her way (feels good to know how to give basic directions in my favorite city!).
And that was our day of arches and cheeses. Fantastic!
Takeaways:
1. The views from the Arc de Triomphe are really worth the climb
2. La Defense and the Grande Arche was a fun, off the beaten path thing to do
3. Les Jardins de Josephine was great, we'd definitely eat there again
4. Dining at Josephine Chez Dumonet and taking in the view from the Montparnasse Tower vaulted to the top of the list for our next trip
5. Booking the wrong tour doesn't have to be a disaster. We learned a lot in our cheese and wine tasting
6. Old haunts (Tabac la Muette and Au Bougnac) are fun to revisit. Makes us feel like we belong a bit
7. I love Paris.
Next: Walking in the 1st and 2nd, Canal St. Martin, and the opera
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