3 Days in Paris

Hi guys!  Glad you enjoyed my post on Thursday on how French people stay slim.  While I don’t think there’s a one size fits all approach to food, I definitely think that we can all learn a bit from the Mediterranean style of eating.  As I mentioned, I was in Paris last week for 3 days.  Courtesy of brother, it was the one of the best birthday gifts I’ve received yet!  Given my multiple failed attempts, thank goodness he speaks French fluently.  Every time I tried utilizing whatever I learned in IB French, I ended up speaking in Hindi instead.

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Trains are definitely the new planes when it comes to travel- the 2.5 hour Eurostar journey seemed almost too convenient.  Aside from a couple hours of pouring rain when we reached, the weather remained fabulous- think crisp blue skies & blazing sun.  I’ve never been big on French food per say, but this trip sure changed my mind.  A few points about the food during our stay:

  • Croissant breakfasts  trump oatmeal/cereal
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Eric Kayser
  • Baguettes are sold like water in France…and give a whole new meaning to the term ‘bread’

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  • The best kind of dining experiences come in 3 courses:
Les Fines Geules + La Plage Parisienne
Les Fines Geules + La Plage Parisienne
  • Portion sizes are even smaller than in London.  However between eating multiple courses & the richness of the meals, the portions were perfect for me.
  • The relatively small-sized glasses of wine & cups of Americanos, however, were not perfect for me.  My go-to line with every coffee order was:  Il est possible d’ajouter plus d’eau, s’il vous plaît (=Is it possible to add more water please)?
  • With flavors like almond, coconut, and dark chocolate, sorbets are no longer just fruity, lactose-free alternatives to ice cream:
Le Bac a Glaces
Le Bac a Glaces

Aside from eating our way through Paris, we also walked our way through the city.  Especially as we were out of the hotel by 8:30 AM each day, I’m pretty sure we covered at least 15-20 km on foot daily.  With every building and monument more beautiful than the last, I naturally went photo happy…as any other shameless Instagrammer would ;).  A few of my favorites include:

Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
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Eiffel Tower
Love Lock Bridge
Love Lock Bridge
The Louvre
The Louvre

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The Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa

Especially as it’s not every day we get to run down La Seine, we also managed to fit in a run in Paris.  With the Louvre on one side of me & the Eiffel Tower on the other, it will definitely remain one of my most memorable runs yet.   I was sad to leave Paris, but my feet were thrilled- all that walking left them covered in blisters and in dire need of a pedicure.

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So much deliciousness & so much culture!  Paris, tu me manques (=Paris, I miss you)! 

What city is next on your bucket list to visit?

30 thoughts on “3 Days in Paris”

  1. Oh baguettes….I could live off them. When I was home in Melbourne, mum got me a couple of mini ones from the French patisserie- so good!

    I laughed at your coffee notion- I did that too- especially because une espresso was cheaper than a ‘cafe American!’

  2. Shashi @ RunninSrilankan(dot)com

    Paris is definitely on mine! Wow – what an awesome 3 days! And those sorbets!!! As a connoisseur of all cold, sweet, dairy free treats – those sorbet flavors AND your run through the streets of Paris have me so looking forward to being there – next year!!

  3. Looks like an amazing trip – what an awesome birthday present!!! Can we trade siblings? Haha.

    Paris and the rest of France are definitely the next places on my travel bucket list. And I actually may get the chance to go in September if I haven’t found an RD job yet!

  4. Reading this made me realise I hardly took any pictures when I was in Paris! It was my third time there, so I didn’t go crazy. Almost all of my pictures were of food or selfies – not much difference to normal life, then 😉

    Send me a text (I lost all my numbers) and we can arrange a meet up this week!

  5. What a great brother you have! Such a fun trip. I’m definitely going to try to extend my next work trip to London and include a side trip to France.

    Next on our travel list is Italy. Vishnu and I are hoping to make the trip next year. I honestly can’t wait!

  6. That picture of the Eiffel Tower makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I haven’t been to Paris since I was a tiny little thing (7? 8?), but I would kill to go again… especially now that I can appreciate all the food and culture that the city has to offer. And as much as I love my oatmeal, I’m going to have to agree with you that croissants would probably trump it. But only in France!

    1. Now that I’m back in London, I have no desire to pick up a croissant…but when in France, it’s the only thing I want for brekkie!

  7. Oh Paris!!
    I miss my time at Swissair when I was a Flight Attendant and flew to Paris so many times. It is just magical.
    You look like such a fancy jetsetter. I want to travel with you!
    Next city I will get to visit is hopefully New York. If that doesn’t happen it’s Berlin or Sydney – not too bad either!!

  8. It all looks amazing!!! I must got back, and for more than a day this time.

    The next one I visit outside the US will be in Italy, but my bucket list? That’s somewhere in Thailand! I really want to take a cooking course there.

    1. Have you been to Thailand before? I went when I was too young to remember/embrace it, so I definitely want to revisit the place so I can appreciate it fully!

  9. The trip sounds like it was so wonderful and definitely memorable! That sandwich in the second picture makes a Subway footlong look puny 😛

  10. Had to comment because I’m doing basically the same thing in a couple of weeks: 3 days in Paris, via the Eurostar train from London. I’ve never been and I’m really excited to practice my baby French language skills (I’ve only taken about a year but I’ve been working hard). Your pictures are making me excited!

  11. I had fun following along on your Instagram while you were in Paris. It looked beautiful! I haven’t been to anywhere in Europe, so I would pick any cool European city on my current bucket list.

  12. Je t’adore.

    I want to go back to Paris now. I haven’t been in 20 years and yes to the baguettes. The simple cheese sandwich I got in the train station would have put some US sandwiches from restaurants to shame.

  13. vuppala gopinath

    Lovely blog again. If all goes as per plan I should see this city this year. This blog will help me to see what needs to be seen and save my time.

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