Our flat and exploring Paris by foot

Hello everyone!!! I am back. I am sorry, I haven't posted anything for a while. I have been back for close to a week now, but work took over my life, making up for the 5 office days I've been away (with interest many times over). Even jetlag was too scared of work to have an effect. Hahaha. I have accepted that it's price I have to pay for pretending to have a balanced life. 

So now I am back with Tales of Paris... (first! since it's the place closest to my heart). Our whole trip was only a total of eight days in Europe (three in Paris, three in Florence and two days in Rome - for Easter no less). I would say, that it was only possible to enjoy it because we consciously decided to go to places I have been to before, with little on our agenda except to eat and shop and do nothing.

In all the places, our primary criteria for our flat was it had to be very well located, and we did a really good job in choosing. In Paris, we were literally just a few steps away from the Cathedral de Notre Dame (warning: This post contains a lot of pictures of the Notre Dame). We literally walked every where we wanted to go, taking the metro only to go back home. I thought my feet would fall off after the third day. The only downside was that the flat was a 5th floor walk-up (that's 6 floors because ground is referred to as zero) so I decided not to buy a thing (except for Sofia's Pain au Chocolat and some of my favorite Galettes Bretonnes (Butter Cookies).

We loved Valerie's Apartment (we found her through airbnb.com). I think Valerie and her daughter really live in that apartment, then they just move out when they have renters. I would love to own an Apartment like Valerie's that I only plan to live in while I'm on holiday at Home in Paris, and I would rent it out most of the time.

Valerie's Apartment on Rue Maitre Albert

It's the blue marker below Notre Dame.
We walked to all the other blue markers, stopping at places in between.

The apartment had two bedrooms and two floors.
This is the comfy living room.
The couch is a Sofa bed if you are a bigger group.

The other side of the living room.

This is the Master's (Valerie's) bedroom.
It looks exactly like the pictures on airbnb! 

Valerie's light turns into a Disco Ball at night.

The kitchen is nice, cozy and well-stocked.

The window has a view to die for,
overlooking Place Maubert.

This place reminds me of my old flat,
because you can see a FranPrix just down the street.

I was so excited to see a market just down the street,
but we didn't have time to visit.

And Valerie had a Nespresso Machine with Capsules for her guests.

I loved Valerie's thoughtfulness in providing us with Milk and Sugar.

She also had a selection of teas.

And a well-stocked cupboard she told us to help ourselves to.

There was only 1 bathroom, but it was very modern
and clean, and there are racks for your toiletries. 

The second bedroom was the entire second floor.

This is the bedroom of Valerie's daughter who's 10 or 12.

This is the lovely view from the bed!
I guess you can see the stars at night, I just never thought to look.

Tim and I took this bedroom.

The view from the other rooftop window.

Our flights (we took separate flights from Singapore) landed at 6:55am, so we were extremely hungry when we reached Valerie's apartment before 10am. After settling in, all we wanted to do was to go get some food, so we just walked towards the Marais in the left bank so we could eat at the Breizh Cafe, one of the places on my must eat list.

We saw the market on our way out, but hunger trumps love of markets.

I love Paris. I love the Saint Germain area.

On my Paris List (for next time) is to live on a House Boat on the Seine.
Yes, I remember I promised to bring Sofia next time. 

A different view, same house boats.

Notre Dame from the back.

We saw this pop-up Shakespeare theater on the Left Bank
showing Romeo et Juliet.

One of the nice doors on Rue Vieille du Temple

After AT LEAST half an hour of walking (because I got us lost!),
we finally got to Breizh Cafe.
If branches in Cancale (Britanny) and Tokyo are any indication it must be good. 

We didn't make any reservations because we wanted
to play our first day by ear, so they directed us to the
Deli (L'Epicerie Breizh Cafe) which has the same menu. 

The. Best. Crepe. Ever. Seriously.

I had the crepe with the smoked duck, creme fraiche, cheese, potatoes, and maybe mushrooms too. Warning, if you want to eat at Breizh Cafe, reservations are recommended. Obviously, this place deserves it's own post. 

After fortifying ourselves with yummy crepes, we decided we had the energy to enjoy the nice Spring day (around 11 degrees) and walk all the way to Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré to the flagship store of Hermès because that was the only thing on the to do list of one of our friends.

Of course, after eating,
Tim had to stop at the Fred Perry store
because they had SOLDE (sale) signs.

One of the quiant shops along the way.

Repetto for ballerines.

There was this guy offering rides for a price.
He looks like he came from the set of Back to the Future!

Another cafe.

There was an intriguing Ukay-Ukay (Vintage) Chain store
that sells clothes by the kilo.

One of the old buildings with a touch of Modern Art.

We passed one of the entrances of the Louvre on our way.

We were starting to get tired because it felt like we were already walking for an hour when we spotted more interesting sights. There were two Goyard shops facing each other on Rue Rue Saint-Honoré.

 

Then we finally hit Madeleine. The area where we stayed when I was in Paris the last time with Sofia. You can read all about that trip here.

Place de la Madeleine

Finally. The mothership.
The home of the Birkin Bag.

It sure was an experience shopping in Hermès albeit vicariously. There were so many ridiculous rules or protocol you must adhere to, otherwise you risk the ire of the ever so powerful sales assistants (SA) who have the final say on whether or not you will get "offered" to buy a Birkin or a Kelly bag. Seriously. When we arrived, the store was literally chaotic, with loads of Chinese and Japanese Nationals (plus other Asian nationalities, with a handful of western ones thrown in) getting served or vying for attention. The first rule it seems is that you wait patiently to be noticed. You can look around for what you want (though it is assumed that you did your research before coming and you know what you want!) but you can't bug anyone to show you anything because they are busy attending to someone else! When you finally get the attention of someone, she says she is only the receptionist, so she leads you to an empty counter, where you wait some more for an SA to approach you. When the SA finally comes, she will ask you what you want, where you must be ready to rattle off the Model Names/Numbers, as specific a description as you can, preferred colors and preferred sizes AND your passport number. It goes something like this, "I would like to see an Hermes Birkin or Kelly in 30 or 35 cm in any bright color please." The more specific you get, the greater the chance you don't get anything, but the more general you get, the greater the chance you get something you do no like - because they will only bring out ONE option, lest you get tempted to buy both - and they will have to wrestle one away from you. By the way, the passport number is to check in their system to ensure you did not buy your allocation of of one of the coveted bags in the last year or so (including from their other branches in Paris). In fairness, my friend managed to score a 40cm Kelly Rouge (something that wasn't quite what she wanted - but was too good to pass up) and the price was so cheap for Hermès that for 30 seconds I was also tempted to go through the song and dance to snag one for myself (or for resale!) but I told myself I will never impulse buy a car, therefore it follows, I should not impulse buy a bag - that's the price of a car. The protocol is a bit more relaxed when shopping for accessories or scarves, but all the same, you have to sort of elbow your way to the front, then once you have the SAs attention you should ask for everything you want to look at because once you lose her attention, you have to do it all over again. The SAs are assigned per category so you can't drag the leather expert and ask for scarves and bangles. So that was an experience for me, because try as hard as I did, I really didn't find anything I was willing to hand my hard earned money over for. Maybe that will change when I make enough money to live in Paris.

Jem, are you tired of waiting na?

This is me. Patiently waiting for all my friends to finish.

After Hermès, we just walked to a cafe nearby in Medeleine to rest before we headed for dinner.

Tim and Lysch happy with their Hermès loot.

Guess who owns what drink?

The cappuccino is mine of course! 

Tim had a caprese salad with his wine because he couldn't wait till Italy.

Since we were already so tired, we took a train back to the Saint Germain area because we wanted to have dinner at Le Relais de l'Entrecote, a place well-known for their steak frites that it's the only thing they serve. They actually just ask you how you want it done.

We arrived before the restaurant opened and we were
first in line.

The famous l'Entrecote Steak Frites with the secret sauce was so good.
It also deserves a separate post.

Due to jetlag, we called it an early day. We were so tired, we totally skipped the waking up in the middle of the night and we woke up the next day around 7 or 8am. While everyone was getting ready, Diana and I went down to Kayser, known to make one of the  best baguettes in Paris.

The baguette was still warm,
I started eating the crust as we walked back to our flat.
Yes, this also deserves a separate post.

We decided to walk around Paris towards the touristy spots since stores are normally closed on Sundays. This time around, we walked towards Notre Dame.

At the corner of our street is Atelier Maitre Albert,
a Guy Savoy restaurant we tried on our last night.

Another charming Cafe on the other corner.

I was super bundled up because it was the coldest day.
I think it was 6 degrees.

View of Notre Dame from the end of our street.

The bouquinistes (book sellers) by the river.

Most of them sell old junk.

But there are also places with souvenirs and
padlocks to leave on Pont de l'Archeveche.

Notre Dame's stained glass windows from the outside.

Notre Dame side view.

We were there on Palm Sunday,
so there were guys handing out palms.
So, that's how palms look like in Paris.

There are also seats across Notre Dame.

and screens so you can hear mass from the outside.
Just like in St Peter's Basilica.

All of us in front of Notre Dame. 

With Tim and Jem.

Notre Dame is 850 years old!

When we entered, mass just ended and it was the blessing of the palms.

Say a Prayer, Light a Candle area.

I have one of these on my Paris Charm Bracelet.

Stained Glass and crucifix on one of the side chapels.

After Notre Dame, we made our way towards the museums.

Hotel de Ville actually means City Hall.
There was a time when I was just learning french and I thought it meant
the best hotel in the city. Hahaha.

If Sofia went with us, I'm sure she would want to
go on the Carousel.

We went to Centre Georges Pompidou first because it was closer.

Photo op by the pond with Modern Art.

Group picture thanks to the Gorilla Pod.

Street artist literally (who looks like he has all his belongings with him).

The lines to enter were quite long.

So we grabbed beurre et sucre (butter and sugar)
crepes just like the last time.

Runny butter, grainy sugary paste. Yummy.

It was super freezing, it was nice to just hold on to the crepe.

After the museum, where I opted to spend my time in the Museum Shop since I have been there before, we made our way towards the Louvre looking for a place to lunch on the way.

We passed Benoit, one of the the Michelin starred Bistros
by Alain Ducasse that we wanted to try but it was closed.

We ended up eating at la Cooperative on Rue Rivoli.

 

la Cooperative from inside.

I ordered a Foie Gras, Chevre (Goat Cheese), Smoked Duck
and Gizzards salad and it was so good.

Tim ordered Steak Frites again and it was good too.

Lysch just had foie. love love love foie.

Diana ordered a really deadly looking
Caffe with Whipped Cream so I had to have one too.

Yummy. It was so rich, it did not need any more sugar. Hahaha.

The place has a nice retro feel, plus the waiter was nice.
He was helping me with my French.

The restaurant was just a side street away from the Louvre.

You can already see the pyramid from this entrance.

The Pyramid from the building entrance.

Memories of the Da Vinci code.

Another group picture before entering.

A rare moment with no people.

Side with the fountain.

Just another picture by the Louvre.
I have visited this place so many times
because entrance is free every first Sunday.

This time with Jem.

Our friends weren't able to enter because the ticket office closed just when we arrived. In hindsight, we probably should have taken pictures afterwards. After the Louvre, we started walking towards Jardin de Tuileries.

There was a PAUL stand, but it was closing too.

The ducks in the pond.

The Jardin is much nicer in Spring (it still look and felt like Winter),
but we couldn't resist sitting on the leaning park chairs.

We walked till we reached Place de la Concorde.
You can see Arc de Triomphe at the end of Champs Elysees.

When I was in Egypt, I visited the Luxor Temple,
and our guide said, some stupid Egyptian gave
one of the obelisks to the French. (May 2011)
So there you have the Obelisk in Place de la Concorde!

The lamp post,
the obelisk from the Luxor Temple in Egypt,
and the Tour Eiffel.

You can also see the Tour Eiffel and newly weds getting their picture taken.

This was the closest we got on this trip.

From  there, we finally took the Metro to head to Montmarte to see the Basilique du Sacre Couer.

Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart)

View of Paris from Montmarte.

View of Paris in Vivid.
You'll notice that there's a magic show going-on.

The girls.

We started and ended Palm Sunday by visiting a Church.

We went to the Artist's Square at the back,
but a lot of them have gone home already.

The souvenir stores on our way down were open,
but the Sympa (suplus shop like) Stores were closed.
I used to be able to buy Kookai, Sinequanone and
other French brands there for s steal!

For dinner, we went to Leon in Saint Germain.

I was so in need of a Sugar Rush,
I enjoyed the Coke Light the most.

Don't get me wrong, I love Leon and it is really on my must-eat-list when I am in Paris. You can read about my previous entry on Leon here. I just needed Coke light more.

Coke even has a Marc Jacobs tie-up.
They are giving away 10 Marc Jacobs bags everyday.

Back to dinner. As usual, this is my favorite order.
The one with Cream, White Wine, Bacon and Mushrooms, among others.

Me and Diana with Tim taking our picture in the mirror.

We also ordered a Tomato based one to share and it was very refreshing.

The next day, our last day in Paris, the agenda was back again to doing nothing, except for a bank errand so I could pick up my new Carte Bancaire.

We decided to have breakfast together first at one of the Cafes beside
Notre Dame.
We sat outside because there were extra strength heaters that made us
feel like we were inside tanning beds!

View of Notre Dame from the Cafe.

You start the day right if you have a good cappuccino
and the time to savor it.

I was craving for Omelette du Fromage et Jambon!

It doesn't look like much, but it was really very good.

Takaw much but I ordered a croissant too because it's also on my
must-eat list! But it wasn't that good because it was served cold. Boo.
Sadly, I ate it anyway. It was still buttery.  Hahaha.

I decided to split up with my friends so I could do my bank errands, and the could go back to do the song and dance in Hermès and the other expensive stores beside it.

My first stop was Boulevard Haussman where all the big department
stores live. It's just like visiting old friends!

At Printemps I got tempted by yet another H.Stern
Ice Cube Ring, but I managed to walk away.
It probably cost double what I paid for mine in Rio.

Galeries Lafayette is another old love.

I used to tell myself that coming here was a cultural experience in
itself because of their beautiful glass dome ceiling.

The ceiling and upper balcony shot in vivid.

Even without the vivid function it's just beautiful.

From almost top to bottom.

My other favorite non-shopping part of Galleries Lafayette is the
Cafe on the topmost floor. It has a great view of Opera.

And a nice view of the rooftops extending to the Tour Eiffel.

The Palais Garnier (Opera House in Paris).

From Opera, I made my way to Arc de Triomphe
on Champs Elysees.

I was able to pick up my Carte Bancaire but
I wasn't able to do much else with my limited French.

Strategically located right next to my bank is the flagship store of LV,
so I was able to buy something one of my friends asked me too.

Having planned my errands carefully,
I arrived in time to meet my friends for a late lunch at
La Duree but they never showed up.

I grabbed a bite from Paul across the street instead.

Paul is always so busy. This place is also always on my must visit list.

This time, they had a lot of bread for Easter.

I just stuck with my forever favorite Tarte Au Citron.

Then I just walked down Champs Elysees, till I reached Le Petit Palais.

Pont des Invalides

Until I reached Place de la Concorde again.

Then I headed towards the La Duree on Rue Royale
to have tea while my friends had a super late lunch.  

Tim was very happy because he bought his
first pair of Louboutins.
What is the world coming to? I don't even own a pair!

The iconic red sole also comes in sneakers!

Sadly, this was my only loot for Paris.
My daughter's only bilin was Pain au Chocolat
after I told her they don't have toys in Paris,
offering her handbags instead. Hahaha.

The only bright side is that it wasn't too hard to drag down my luggage.
Thanks for the help Tim!

Walking to the Train Station, my Pinoy humor couldn't
help but capture Cafe Panis.

We were brave enough to take the train because we
found the lift!

For future trips, look for the Rue Xavier Privas exit from the RER B Platform
if you stop at Saint Michel - Notre Dame.

Good bye Notre Dame! I enjoyed being your neighbor for 3 days.

Just a reminder, when taking the RER, check if the approaching train
stops where you want to go before you ride.

At the Airport, we had enough time for
Petit Dejeuner (Breakfast) before boarding.

Lysch was obviously hungrier than Tim!

Jem had her own baguette too.

Diana and I with our breakfast.

Of course, I had to have Cappuccino and Croissant.
Warning, the Brioche Doree Cappuccino really sucks. Worst I've ever had.

But their croissant was to-die-for. Just what I was looking for.
I got it fresh from the oven, crisp outside, and melt in your mouth inside,
full of buttery goodness. Worth every calorie.

And of course, I had to buy magazines for the flight, and a Strawberry
Shortcake Easter Story and Activity Book for Sofia to practice her French.

Goodbye CDG.

Goodbye Paris! I will see you soon!

 ...Hopefully next time on a houseboat. Then hopefully the next time after that Sofia and I will live there. just saying.