Dorothy and I took the train to Paris for the weekend. It’s only a 3-hour trip and the train is highly civilized. We had a lovely train picnic while we sped through the countryside. Then we ate and drank our way through Paris!
It was Dorothy’s first time visiting Paris, so it was hard to decide what to do since there’s no way you can fit it all in, but James helped us come up with a solid itinerary to cover quite a bit of ground but also left us with enough freedom to be spontaneous and explore, which worked out perfectly except for the time we got caught in a protest on the Champs-Elysees and got tear gassed!!!!!! Luckily we were able to escape down a side street toward the Seine and got out of the smoke quickly.
We unwittingly stumbled into this protest on The Champs-Elysees. It was a pretty big deal in Paris. Thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest the price of oil (and other fine points we didn’t fully get). The police were out in full force in riot gear and many of the major monuments, including the Arc du Triumph were closed which was annoying, but not as annoying as getting tear gassed! We were fine, but it’s good we escaped when we did because things got way worse later that night when the protests turned more violent and fire became involved. Ironic that after spending the last two years engaged in activism and countless protests I ended up getting tear gassed in Paris for a cause I knew nothing about!!Just before things got hairySmell ya next time Champs Elysees!
Protest aside, we had a fabulous weekend. We walked an average of 7.5 miles a day, took the Metro all over town, and called Ubers when my foot got too sore. We covered a lot of ground! The best part is we ate oysters every day!
Treasures of the SeaDorothy had Baked Alaska. She didn’t even mind the spectacle.Welks are deliciousOur fancy dinner at Le Grand Colbert. So fun to be all dressed up with someplace to go.Check out that viewThe Christmas scene at Le Galleries LafayetteDior had some fancy business on their storefrontCan you tell we love our seafood?Cafe SelfieWe saw this restaurant near our hotel in Montmartre and we had the loveliest (and extremely delicious dinner). This was an instance of successful spontaneity.Staying in the Montmartre neighborhood was definitely the right choice. I almost booked us a place closer to Louvre area, but I went for a more neighborhoodish feel instead, and it was just the vibe we were looking for.Cozy places on every cornerWe went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night and it was gorgeous to see the City of Lights from up there.We had oysters for lunch at this food market in The MaraisWe accidentally found a flea market in the Marais and it turned out to be the coolest thing. It went on for several blocks and had endless fur coats, crystal chandeliers, tube socks, and sausages.Dorothy ran out in the morning and got us coffee, croissants and freshly squeezed OJ and we had breakfast in bed and it was SO NICE.
