Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Tripnotes: Paris

(sigh)...Paris. There’s so much to say. And rather than overwhelm you (and let’s be honest, you'll get bored and be like "Why is she bragging so much?!?") with long and detailed Tripnotes, I thought I’d quickly share some of my favorites and a few tips.

Foodwise eating in Paris can be exciting and slightly overwhelming given the wealth of options and in my case, the language barrier. Here are some of the places we loved, which were local and super laidback, go figure!

Relais Odeon
132 Boulevard Saint-Germain
Tel: 01 43 29 81 80

This spot in St.Germain is a charming café with a considerable
amount of outdoor seating along an ancient cobblestone path (seriously - I'm 98% sure it's medevial.) When we went in the Fall, it was the perfect place to sit and warm up with a hot chocolat and pretend to live in Paris.

La Cuisine de Bar
8 rue du Cherche Midi, 6ème 

Tel: 01 45 48 45 69
Closed Sunday, Monday

Cuisine De Bar was for realzies one of the tastiest and most affordable meals we ate while in Paris. Near Le Bon Marche (translation "The Good Marche"), they offer a lunch special of a salad, a tartine, a glass of wine and a coffee for around 15 euros. They exclusively use Poilâne breads from the famed neighboring bakery and the tartines (open faced sandwiches not women of ill morals, duh) are to die for. Not kidding.

Laduree - LE DROOL!

Les Fines Gueules
43 rue Croix des Petits Champs
Tel: +33 1 42 61 35 41

WOW WOW WOW WOW! JWOWW! Les Fines Gueules is a cozy, filled-with-locals wine bar near the Louvre and hands down one of my favorite meals in Paris. The menu is written on a large chalkboard with dishes featuring local and seasonal products. Opt to sit in the wine-cave if possible. The veal carpaccio (sorry PETA) a signature of the house was fresh and absolutely delicious. The owner even came by with two glasses of crispy dessert wine for us to enjoy with our cheeses! Thanks man!! Eating at Les Fines Gueules felt like knowing a secret and I’m dying to go back.

Funky jazz bar.

With a million museums to visit, gardens to wander and shops to spend your life savings in, Paris is definitely not short on activities. But anyway, here are a few of my favorites:

Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou
75004 Paris, France
Tel: 01 44 78 12 33

It has a funky sounding name and the building itself is cool (think hamster cage with tubing). Centre Pompidou is an awesome modern/contemporary art museum with new exhibits every few months (check out their website for a schedule) Check it out just before sunset for an incredible view of the Eiffel tour against a pinky orange sky. It was da bomb.

Moody, spooky Notre Dame at night. What up Quasimodo.

Laduree
75 Avenue des Champs-Elysées,
75008 Paris, France‎ -
Tel: 01 42 25 18 90‎

Yes yes yes – I know. Everyone talks about Laduree, but the 100% truth is that the macaroons are actually as delicious as advertised. So, believe the hype! I mean...they have flavors like orange blossom, rose and black currant. Come on! For about 15 euros you can get a sampler box and choose from their insane range of flavors – kinda like with donuts in the US of A! These make really great gifts, though you may want to get them towards the end of your trip so they stay fresh and you're not tempted to devour them.

Cuisine de Bar. This guy was actually pretty snobby.

Poilâne
8 rue de Cherche Midi,
6th arrondisment

Poilane, a French bakery famous for their delicious breads and pastries is a great place to pop in to for a last minute gift. Their signature butter cookies called “Punitions” are about 5 euros and stay fresh and tasty for weeks. Apple turnovers from this place = tastebud overload. Your morning danish is gonna look like such a punk compared to these things.

I don't know what this building is.

In general, Paris is just as fun and cool as it is in the movies. You seriously have to go. If you do though, make sure you don't miss the last metro, which stops running at midnight. Otherwise, you'll have a huge American fight with your boyfriend in front of all the refined Parisians like I did and make the USA look really bad.

Au-revoir and bon voyage.

p.s. all photos taken by moi...see what I did there? That's French.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic city. I really like the places you highlighted in this post.

dulci said...

Thanks Des! It's such a special place - I'm dying to go back!!

:)

Anna Walker said...

Aweh I love Paris! It's amazing!

http://annawalker1992.blogspot.com/

My Owl Barn said...

I have never been to Paris but it's on my must-go list. Thanks for your tips and guide to the city. Your photos are lovely! Have a great day!

My Owl Barn said...
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My Owl Barn said...
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My Owl Barn said...

I am sorry about the duplicate posts. I tried deleting them but they are not completely deleted.

dulci said...

No worries!! Thanks for commenting :)

Hello Lover... said...

Is it pathetic I might be most jealous of Laduree?!

dulci said...

definitely not! I'd kill for a chocolate macaroon right now...haha!

Plan and Play said...

Dulci, thanks so much for your comments on my blog. I had to make a comment on this post because my family and I just returned from a trip to Paris...Girl, I think we hit the same spots (I wonder if we passed each other on the street... Crazy!) That very first restaurant was one of my favorites (chicken with morels...Yum!) I think I took the same pictures. Laduree was one of my favorites too. I am preparing a post about some faves in Paris but thru the eyes of my 6 year old girl. Please check back for it later on.

http://planandplay1.blogspot.com/

Love your blog by the way

Elena

dulci said...

Wow - you are the coolest Mom, taking your daughter to fashionable Paris at age 6!! She is one lucky lil lady - Looking forward to reading your post!!

xodulci

Kristina said...

paris the THE best!! glad you had a good time. and, i love laduree!! to die for :)

dulci said...

Thanks for commenting Kristina! Laduree was my favorite :)

The Franglaise said...

I love reading about travel notes on Paris. It is interesting to see the different places people explore. There is so much to see and do (and eat!) that everyone's trip is always different. By the way, if ever you are back, try La Durée on rue Royale. It is the most authentic one as it was the first to open in 1862!

and thanks for visiting my blog and leaving comments! ;)

Carine x

dulci said...

Thanks for the suggestion Carine. I'll have to try that next time I go to Paris!! which I hope is soon...haha

HOGGER + Co. said...

Great post dulci! Going to Paris in less than 2 weeks and can't wait!

Thanks for the tips (especially about the metro! hahaha)

dulci said...

Smita - let me know if you need any more tips! I have tons more I didn't include for this post :)