Thursday, August 28

We woke up at 7 am feeling surprisingly refreshed. We were hoping to get to breakfast by 7:45, so we dropped off the key at the front desk and were on our way by 7:30. The early-morning Paris we walked into was nearly completely empty. We would later see that the commuting action really didn’t get started until 8:30 or so. It was overcast and rain was expected later, but undeterred, we walked down the Rue de la Bienfaisance towards Boulevard Malesherbes. The streets were still fairly quiet as we came upon a huge church- the Eglise Saint-Augstin. This church would be a very helpful landmark to know that we were nearing our hotel from the west.

We turned onto Malesherbes and walked only a block to reach our breakfast destination- Boulangerie Eric Kayser. We ordered a croissant, pain au chocolat, a cafe, and a coke (I don’t drink coffee, but I felt like some caffeine would be a good idea). We sat down with our food at a table by the window. The restaurant seemed to be fairly new, and the layout/decor was very stylish and clean. I was relieved that I survived my first all-french conversation- I had at least made enough sense to correctly order everything we intended! I took a bite of my croissant, and I immediately knew that it was the best croissant that I have ever had.  Throughout the trip, I tasted many excellent breads, but I think this first croissant beat them all. Megan gave rave reviews of her pain au chocolat, too. I took a bite, and I can verify that she was right about it- fantastic.

After our delicious breakfast, we started on our daunting itinerary for the day. (See the “Itinerary Files” page on the blog for a download of the original plan for each day of the trip). We walked back towards the hotel, but we passed it and continued northeastwards towards the neighborhood of Montmartre. We knew we were getting close when we came across the iconic Moulin Rouge. We walked up Rue Lepic, and saw a familiar sight- the Cafe des Deux Moulins which was a feature of the film “Amelie.”

We made a detour towards the Cimetiere Montmartre, but we could not find a way in at first. We soon realized that we would need to go under the road to enter. The cemetery had a map to display the locations of the grave sites of many famous Parisians. My angle was music history, and I wanted to stop by the sites for Nadia Boulanger and Hector Berlioz. Megan wasn’t really into this, but I thought it was interesting place to see. All the graves are above-ground (something which I had only seen in Charleston and Savannah). I will admit that the hazy morning and being the only people in the cemetery made for a slightly creepy experience, but it was worth a look in my opinion.

We walked back up to the main road (Rue Caulaincourt) and began to explore the beautiful neighborhood of Montmartre. After a few blocks, we turned right and took some pedestrian stairs that led to Place Dalida. Immediately, I was captivated by one of the prettiest streets I have ever seen- Rue de l’Abreuvoir. We walked up this charming street into the sunlight that was breaking through over the curved domes of the Sacre-Coeur.

We then walked around the outside and inside of the Sacre-Coeur. The inside was not much to write home about, but the outside offered some great views of the city and the church’s beautiful exterior.  We knew that this was supposedly an area with a lot of pickpockets and so-called bracelet scams, but we really didn’t see any of that going on other than a few of the cheap souvenir salesmen about. Perhaps it was just too early at 9am.

We walked down the stairs and realized that we were ahead of schedule. However, this would be a perfect time to stop by the Paris Tourism Office between the Louvre and Opera Garnier to pick up our pre-purchased 6-day Paris Museum passes. It was a long walk to the Tourist Office (and we thought about taking the Metro), but it was nice to see all the sights and sounds of Paris as we wound our way along the streets and boulevards. This would be a good time to mention that I would have never made it without the fantastic map add that I downloaded from CityMaps2Go. It was a large download, but the maps were excellent and required no phone data at all to use. I actually downloaded 4 maps (the first 5 are free) for the other locations we visited, too.

The people at the Paris Tourism Office were very nice, and they had our passes ready to go immediately when I showed them the email confirmation. If you want a museum pass, but you are worried about how to get it, I would recommend picking it up at the Tourism Office. You can also pick up the pass at FNAC stores, I believe. We were not going to start using the passes until the next day, so we would have Friday-Wednesday to see all the museums and chateaux that we could. We turned onto the Avenue de l’Opera and saw a huge, beautiful building ahead. This building, the Opera Garnier, was our next destination.

After purchasing student passes from a self-serve terminal for 5 euros each (The Opera Garnier is not on the Museum Pass anyway), we entered one of the most ornate interiors that I have ever seen. There was marble everywhere. Every possible ceiling, wall, and doorway was resplendent in gold plate and/or hand-crafted design. We saw the beautiful auditorium from a private box and the elaborate painted ceilings of the side halls. It was truly lavish and beautiful.  The “tour” was all self-guided, but there was no need to explain what we were seeing- after all, the venue still offers world-class ballets, operas, and concerts every year.

At this point it was about 11:30, and we were getting hungry. We had planned to have lunch at Boco- a restaurant near Gare Saint-Lazare. The restaurant specialized in food served in glass bowls and had great reviews. We arrived at about 11:50. Absolutely nobody was there even though the restaurant was open. (Aside: it is a strange phenomenon, but as soon as the clock strikes noon, all the restaurants magically become full in Paris). We were confused as to whether we could eat at the restaurant (the bowls were refrigerated and I didn’t see a microwave) or if we would have to take the of food with us to heat up….Perhaps the dishes were actually meant to be served cold? At any rate, given that it was still my first day, I was too nervous to ask about it in French, and we ended up just leaving (Altogether, now: “Stupid American!”)  Megan was not very pleased with that (ha), but we tried to make the most of it.

We ended up a few restaurants over at Cafe Au Depart which looked over the Square Saint-Lazare. It was there that I had my first experience with the famous “croques”. I had a croque-madame which was toasted bread with ham, cheese, and egg on top. It was actually pretty tasty, and I would have several more before the end of the trip.  While we ate, we took advantage of the restaurant’s prime location for people-watching. The only negative about the abundance of great outdoor seating that most Paris restaurants offer is that you have to deal with everyone’s second-hand smoke. We never complained about it or anything, but let’s say it didn’t really add to the experience much.

It was time for us to get moving, so we started off down Boulevard Malesherbes in the direction of the Eglise de la Madeleine. There were a lot of people eating lunch on the steps of the church. We took a quick look around the inside and then stopped outside for a few minutes to watch the street scene. We also caught a nice view of the Obelisk at Place de la Concorde.

We did not go to Place de la Concorde. Instead, we retraced our steps, and headed back up Malesherbes towards the first church we saw that day- the Eglise Saint-Augustin.  However, more sanctuaries were not on the agenda. We continued to the intersection with Rue de Miromesnil for a treat at Pierre Herme. Pierre Herme is known for macarons, and we (Megan especially) were really excited to try them.  We had a really good time picking out which flavors to purchase. To my chagrin, I cannot remember all the flavors, but my favorite was Rose (It actually tasted like how a rose smells). We walked to a park bench in nearby Parc Monceau to indulge ourselves. We were not without entertainment. We saw people from all walks of life pass us by in our macaron moment in time- kids enjoying their last few days before school with a football (soccer) game, children taking pony rides through the park, and an elderly couple out for a stroll. Even though we were just stopping through, it was nice to feel as if we were a part of it all in that moment.

As much as we enjoyed our time in the park, we had to stay on schedule. The sky was darkening, and it looked like the rain that was threatening us off and on all day was finally going make an appearance. As we walked down the Avenue Hoche, we were greeted by the Arc de Triomphe for the first time. I knew that it was larger than it looked from a distance, but it REALLY is larger than it looks! After snapping a few pictures, (we would be back another time) we entered the mass of humanity along the Champs-Elysees.

Perhaps we were tired, or perhaps it was the fact that there were a lot stores also with US locations along the Champs, but we did barely any shopping. It started to rain, so we ducked into a Monoprix (which kind of reminded me of Target, but smaller). It did not rain long, and soon the sun was back out again. We were way ahead of schedule, so we had time to stop at the FREE Petit Palais to see some of the art there. The building itself- along with its larger sibling the Grand Palais, was beautiful. The art inside was very nice as well such as Clairin’s Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt.

We braved the traffic to stop by the Place de la Concorde where we saw the Obelisk up close. From there, we walked toward the quays until we caught our first glimpse of the Seine and the Tour Eiffel. I don’t know what it is, but there is just something about that tower. You know that it is there, but it always seems to take you by surprise. I couldn’t believe how exciting it was to unexpectedly come across the Tour Eiffel for even the 100th time.

We walked along the river with the Eiffel Tower in view all the way to the Jardins du Trocadero. On the way, we stopped by the Bateaux Mouches boat tour office near the Pont de l’Alma to inquire about taking a boat cruise that evening. Tickets were not booked in advance, so we resolved to come back after dinner.  At the Trocadero Gardens, we once again were inundated with a mass of humanity. There were tourists everywhere of course, but it was here that we first saw some “shady” characters. There were of course the people selling the usual cheap Eiffel Tower models and jumping stuffed dogs, but there were also some women with petitions roaming about. There was also a “shell” game taking place until a police car drove by, at which time everyone scattered immediately. All of this said, we were not hassled by anyone, and just a “non” or no comment at all was enough to deter any one trying to get our attention. The best solution I found was to not make eye contact and keep walking. We never felt unsafe at any moment- really for the entirety of the trip.

The view of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocodero was excellent. While we were taking pictures, the rain reappeared, but it stopped again after a few minutes.

We walked across the Pont d’Iena to the base of the Eiffel Tower. We did not plan to go up the tower at all, and it was probably good that we didn’t- the lines were incredibly long. Instead, we continued on our way through the Champ de Mars for some more pictures from the other side of the Eiffel Tower. It rained again for what would be the last time of the entire trip. We found a tree-shaded bench with a view, and waited for the rain to stop. It was here that I started to realize how tired I really was. I had no clue how long we had walked so far, but it sure felt like a lot (After I returned home, I mapped our walking route and discovered that we made it 27 km or nearly 17 miles on foot for this day!)

At this point, it was only 6:15 in the evening, but our poor American stomachs were calling out for dinner. I had read that like most Europeans, the French eat dinner much later than I’m used to. (Which to be honest, I would prefer to do at home, but Megan will never agree with me on that!) I had planned out most of the meals (of course) that we would have on the trip, and I had been able to make a few reservations online too. Tonight’s dinner at Tuk Tuk Thai was one of those reservations. Unfortunately, I made the reservation for 7:00pm. When we walked the lonnnng way to the restaurant on Rue de Laborde, we actually arrived on time. Nobody was there. Well, the restaurant staff members were there setting up for dinner, but no patrons were to be found. We decided to “read the menu” outside for about 5 minutes before actually entering the restaurant. We were seated at a table right by the window with a very cool hand-drawn “reservation card” on it.

Overall, it was an excellent meal. One would think that on your first night in Paris, you go for the Parisian meal experience, but this was just how our planning worked out. I wouldn’t have changed it at all in retrospect. We first ordered a “carafe d’eau” for water- along with a bottle of wine. (We would have a bottle of wine with every dinner of the trip). My chosen dish- Pad Thai with Shrimp- was expertly made. The decor was fun and cultural with an actual “Tuk Tuk” vehicle in the restaurant, and the service was on point, too.  The desert, however, was the best part. We ordered Mango Sticky Rice, and it was phenomenal! We noticed that the restaurant started to get busier at 7:30, and when we left at 8:30, it was completely full. My advice for any restaurant reservations would be to make the reservation between 8 and 9:30 to capture the best atmosphere.

After dinner, we walked (yet again) over to the Bateaux Mouches river cruise office. Along the way, we caught a beautiful sunset crossing the Champs-Elysees, and we had our first glimpse of the Parisian twilight. (Aside: Sunset/Dusk is my favorite time of day in Paris. All the lights are now turning on, people are out and about, and there is a palpable excitement in the air as the day closes and the night begins.)

We arrived at the Bateaux Mouches ticket office just before the 9:20 boat was expected to leave. It was nearly full, and we asked if we could wait to be first in line for the next boat at 9:40. When the next boat arrived, we quickly headed towards the top deck and grabbed two seats in the very front row so that we would not have any one in our field of vision. Soon we were off, and heading south towards the Ile de la Cite.

The river cruise was great! The route took us around the Ile Saint-Louis, all the way upriver to the Pont de Grenelle or thereabouts, and then back to dock by the Pont de l’Alma. Along the way, we saw all the great monuments, museums, cathedrals, and bridges within view of the river- the Musee d’Orsay with it’s grand lighted clock, our first look at beautiful and iconic Notre Dame, and many of Paris’ famous (and infamous) bridges such as Pont Neuf and Pont des Arts with thousands of love-locks. We saw lovers and friends enjoy the camaraderie (and wine!) along the quays of the Ile Saint-Louis and Ile de la Cite. There were mass dance lessons on the Rive Gauche and impromptu jazz bands wailing into the night along the Rive Droit. But the impression that will stay with me the longest was the view from the river of the Eiffel Tower, bathed in a beautiful light that made it appear to be made of solid gold. It could have been for all we knew. “Magical” was the right word.

After we disembarked, we meandered through the city towards our final destination- the Hotel Wilson Opera. Even as we tired, the city continued to be wide awake with many people spilling into the street at the various restaurants and wine bars.

It was 11:30 as we again passed the Eglise Saint-Augustin- which signaled our imminent arrival to the hotel. We were welcomed with a friendly “Bonsoir” from the concierge, and we headed upstairs to go to sleep. It was an amazing first day in the city of light, but our grand adventure was only beginning.