I woke up today and bid farewell to my husband. Bon voyage, Dean! And merci beaucoup x a million for returning home to care for our young so that I can continue cavorting around Paris without a care in the world. Worth his weight in rubies, this man!!
Although I was sad for him to go, Dean's departure left me ready for my first dose of girlfriends-only time on my trip. And what a wonderful day we had planned--we were setting out on a bike tour! If you're counting, this was my second bike tour of the trip.
Danna, Beth, Colleen and I spent a good chunk of the day riding around with the good people of Fat Tire Bike Tours. So informative, so great to see the city on a bike. We saw the Eiffel Tower together along with many other buildings, bridges and monuments. We stopped at a cafe in the Jardins des Tuileries and ate lunch, we heard outlandish stories about Louis XIV, and we learned how to stop traffic with our outstretched palms, aka "the palm of power."
The genius of the Fat Tire tours are the guides and our designated storyteller for this one was Johnny. Johnny was raised in the US but his mother's family is from Versailles, so he has had a long history of visits to France and was a fount of knowledge and history. He had an abundance of tales regarding the flamboyant Louis XIV, The Sun King, and told amusing stories of how proud Louis XIV was of his calf muscles. Therefore in many portraits of Louis XIV, he is showing off his calves in this very pose that Johnny was proud to demonstrate with anyone who wanted to pose for a photo with him. History coming alive, folks.
The Jardin des Tuileries is a huge park with flower beds, little ponds, lines of towering manicured trees, a few little eateries and long stretches of generous crushed gravel walkways. It stretches from the Place de la Concorde all the way over to the Louvre. There are little groups of chairs everywhere along the walkways and there are gatherings of friends sitting in the chairs everywhere you look. So many beautiful flowers are planted there (dahlias galore) and yet...situated within sections of lawn that are roped off so you can't really get close to the flowers. How a nose is ever supposed to get close enough to any of the beauty leaves me with a certain mysterious je ne sais qu'ois. You can only admire the scope of them from the perimeter. I can't lie--this is when my feelings are most hurt by the Parisians. There is not an abundance of grass that you can walk on/sit on/roll around on in Paris--and yet there are so many beautiful parks. You can be nearby to the grass, but not on it. There are polite but hurtful little fences set up around most of the grass. As an American, I guess I just feel entitled to contact with grass--I can't help it.
Danna, Beth, Colleen and I spent a good chunk of the day riding around with the good people of Fat Tire Bike Tours. So informative, so great to see the city on a bike. We saw the Eiffel Tower together along with many other buildings, bridges and monuments. We stopped at a cafe in the Jardins des Tuileries and ate lunch, we heard outlandish stories about Louis XIV, and we learned how to stop traffic with our outstretched palms, aka "the palm of power."
What a beautiful reality check. Here we are! At the Eiffel Tower. Together! Friends!! This felt so wonderful and we all were pinching ourselves. From ideas to hoping to deciding to planning to getting on an airplane and here we all were!! Amazing.
One of my favorite pictures from the trip: Beth taking a selfie at the Eiffel Tower. Haahahaaa!! Can you tell how excited she is?!!
The genius of the Fat Tire tours are the guides and our designated storyteller for this one was Johnny. Johnny was raised in the US but his mother's family is from Versailles, so he has had a long history of visits to France and was a fount of knowledge and history. He had an abundance of tales regarding the flamboyant Louis XIV, The Sun King, and told amusing stories of how proud Louis XIV was of his calf muscles. Therefore in many portraits of Louis XIV, he is showing off his calves in this very pose that Johnny was proud to demonstrate with anyone who wanted to pose for a photo with him. History coming alive, folks.
Johnny doing his best Louis XIV.
Danna looking adorable on her bike and Johnny looking...to detract from Danna's cuteness! We already have a picture with you, Johnny--move over!
I love this picture!! Everyone, meet Beth. The absolute embodiment of the word, "giddy." If you've never met Beth and you think you know someone who is 90% giddy, you should reserve judgment until you've met Beth. Here she is showing pure giddiness on her bike. I love you, Beth!!
Colleen and Beth walking their bikes out of the Jardin des Tuileries and looking like the two cutest little flowers in the entire jardin!!
The Jardin des Tuileries is a huge park with flower beds, little ponds, lines of towering manicured trees, a few little eateries and long stretches of generous crushed gravel walkways. It stretches from the Place de la Concorde all the way over to the Louvre. There are little groups of chairs everywhere along the walkways and there are gatherings of friends sitting in the chairs everywhere you look. So many beautiful flowers are planted there (dahlias galore) and yet...situated within sections of lawn that are roped off so you can't really get close to the flowers. How a nose is ever supposed to get close enough to any of the beauty leaves me with a certain mysterious je ne sais qu'ois. You can only admire the scope of them from the perimeter. I can't lie--this is when my feelings are most hurt by the Parisians. There is not an abundance of grass that you can walk on/sit on/roll around on in Paris--and yet there are so many beautiful parks. You can be nearby to the grass, but not on it. There are polite but hurtful little fences set up around most of the grass. As an American, I guess I just feel entitled to contact with grass--I can't help it.
We all loved riding around Paris on our bikes for the tour. This was the first time the other girls had been given a chance to experience the pedaling thrill and everyone was on a city cycling high. There is no biking allowed on the paths in the Jardin des Tuileries so we walked our bikes inside the perimeter--to the cafe and then to the edge of the Louvre. So just to recap, it was a beautiful day, we were on bikes, learning about French history, visually feasting on beautifully arranged flowerbeds and having quiche for lunch at an outdoor cafe. It was simply sublime, mon chérie. C'est Paris!!
At some point in the day, it dawned on Colleen that she had been in Paris almost two whole days and had not eaten ONE pastry. Obviously, this was an emergency. So we decided to head directly from the tour over to Pain de Sucre, which is one of the best patisseries in Paris and happened to be a stone's throw from our apartment. Glories. We walked in with pastry dreams and walked out with macarons, croissants and guimauves (flavored marshmallows). Nothing could've completed our lives any further in the moment.
We went back to the apartment for a rest before dinner that evening. I had reservations for Chez Dumonet, where Dean and I went on our first night in Paris. Twice to the same restaurant, you ask? Yes. Originally, I had booked Chez Dumonet for our Group 1 girls because our beloved Suzanne had wanted to go there and it happened to be on my list, too. In the meantime, Dean, who didn't do a whole heckuva lot of trip prep for this jaunt, had received the same restaurant rec from a friend of his and had made a special effort (unbeknownst to me) to ask our hotel concierge for a reservation. The concierge then e-mailed ME to say he was confused because I already had a reservation at Chez Dumonet for a group later in the week and did I really want two reservations for the same restaurant? Well, as it turns out, I did.
At some point in the day, it dawned on Colleen that she had been in Paris almost two whole days and had not eaten ONE pastry. Obviously, this was an emergency. So we decided to head directly from the tour over to Pain de Sucre, which is one of the best patisseries in Paris and happened to be a stone's throw from our apartment. Glories. We walked in with pastry dreams and walked out with macarons, croissants and guimauves (flavored marshmallows). Nothing could've completed our lives any further in the moment.
The beloved Pain de Sucre hot pink gift box with my chosen macarons. This box was nicer than any box that they give you at Anthropologie when you spend a far greater amount of money on clothing. This is a box to support TREASURES.
This was the croissant from the savory side of Pain de Sucre. The layers, the flakes, the crush of teeth through breakage into softness and the textural divinity found therein. It's heartbreaking to think back on it.
Speaking of heartbreak, behold the salted caramel macaron from Pain de Sucre. In thinking about how to describe it, I actually just want to cry. I cannot approach this kind of beauty with words. I'm sorry.
The day's selection of guimaves--the gorgeous sponges of marshmallow perfection--blackcurrant (cassis), passionfruit, vanilla, rosewater, salted caramel, coconut chocolate and others.
The blessed partaking. Colleen has been officially "pastrified." All is well.
Giddiness, version: macaron.
Dearest Danna holding her salted caramel macaron. The picture makes the moment look so close. And yet...I suddenly want to cry again thinking about how far away this moment actually is.
We went back to the apartment for a rest before dinner that evening. I had reservations for Chez Dumonet, where Dean and I went on our first night in Paris. Twice to the same restaurant, you ask? Yes. Originally, I had booked Chez Dumonet for our Group 1 girls because our beloved Suzanne had wanted to go there and it happened to be on my list, too. In the meantime, Dean, who didn't do a whole heckuva lot of trip prep for this jaunt, had received the same restaurant rec from a friend of his and had made a special effort (unbeknownst to me) to ask our hotel concierge for a reservation. The concierge then e-mailed ME to say he was confused because I already had a reservation at Chez Dumonet for a group later in the week and did I really want two reservations for the same restaurant? Well, as it turns out, I did.
Because it was important to Dean, I initially thought we'd just go to Chez Dumonet together and then (because at this point, it was looking dim for Suzanne to join us in Paris) just cancel my reservation with the Group 1 girls and find somewhere else to replace it. Ehhh, that thought process changed almost the instant we sat down at our table (see this post for details). So I came back! Soufflé love will make me do some wild and crazy things. By the time we left, Danna had somehow talked the waiters into giving her a whole menu to keep and Beth was doing the European kiss-kiss with our waiter. The coziest, yummiest food memories with the dearest friends possible were made that evening!!
The wonderful thing about Paris is that with their public bikes system, Velib, even though we'd taken public transport to get to dinner (or did we walk?), we had the option of biking back to the apartment after dinner. At 11:30 at night! And feeling safe having made that choice.
One of the things I miss most about Paris is being able to indulge in a wonderful meal and then having the option of walking or biking the mile or two back home, which just feels so right to my body.
Needless to say, we all arrived back to the hotel ready for rest. And a good thing, too, because we had big plans for the following day...a day trip to London via the Eurostar. The wakeup call for that little adventure would come much sooner than any of us would've liked! Sweet dreams, ladies!!
Dinner at Chez Dumonet with our waiter who especially took a shine to our Beth!! Haaa!!
Oh, glory. It's the boeuf bourguignon again.
God forgive me, it appears as though I may have been praying to the soufflé.
My first soufflé (previous photo) came out a little underdone, so they redid it. Apparently, they used the Eiffel Tower as inspiration for scale. No complaints. Merciful heavens.
And one last photo of Beth and her garçon!! It's so hard to say goodbye.
Needless to say, we all arrived back to the hotel ready for rest. And a good thing, too, because we had big plans for the following day...a day trip to London via the Eurostar. The wakeup call for that little adventure would come much sooner than any of us would've liked! Sweet dreams, ladies!!
Hello. I'm French and I live 30 minutes from Paris... but I never take the time to go there just to have fun. And reading your article makes me realize that in 2014, I should take the good resolution to take advantage of living so close to Paris... :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Audinette! You definitely should!! I think that is a great resolution!! If you keep checking back in on the blog, I will add to my Paris trip as I have time to write and edit photos. I have many more special memories to share!
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