We helped contribute to the economic solvency of the Chunnel (remember that case Kellogg friends?) by taking the train from London to Paris. We had just one day in Paris but will be returning for 3 days at the end of our time in Europe.
We had an absolutely wonderful day thanks to a co-worker/friend Ryan worked with 7 years ago who took a day off work to show us the city. Not only did she take a day off work, she designed a whole walking tour around different foods we wanted to try and several key sites we wanted to see. Wow – it was amazing – thank you so so much Marie-Odile!!!
To help offset a portion of the calories we were about to consume, Ryan and I kicked off the morning with a walk/run in Tuileries Garden (a park right in front of the The Louvre that overlooks of the Eiffel Tower). It was beautiful!
Our taste of Paris during the day included:
-Macaroons from Laduree, the original maker of macroons – these were incredible!
-Cake from Pierre Herme, known for its chocolates and beautiful cakes
-Tea from a historic tea shop
-Local cakes from the Brittany region (cake used loosely… Really they were just butter and sugar :)) + carmels (fleur de sel)
-Chocolates from Jadis et Gourmande Choclats
-And finally we finished off the day with Gelato
Marie-Odile led us through so many beautiful back streets which had incredible architecture. We visited multiple famous sites including Sainte Chapelle, Isle de Cite, Notre Dame, and the Jewish Quarter. I love stained glass (and actually used to make stained glass pieces… until work and grad school :)) so I particularly enjoyed Sainte Chapelle as it is comprised entirely of windows showing major books of the Bible.
Saint Chapelle
Notre Dame
We finished our day with a wonderful dinner at Le Violin de Ingres, a Michelin 1 star restaurant by Chef Constant (for you foodies). They had a surprise tasting menu. The food was fantastic… and Ryan was excited that the surprise nature of the menu made me try some dishes I would have never ordered. This included Foie Gras and Pigeon which were both delicious. The meal finished off with an incredible cream pastry covered in salted carmel sauce. Wow!
Since the restaurant was near the Eiffel Tower, we strolled by for a look at the tower twinkling at night. What a great way to end a wonderful day!
The next morning we picked up our car for the next month, and the car is great! We are “leasing” the car from the car manufacturer Citroen so it’s a brand new car. The lease is like a traditional car rental to us but offers the car manufacturer a tax benefit when selling to car rental companies. We’re now on the road in the Normandy and Brittany region in France.
More to come from these areas soon!
Ryan & Emily - The Globetrotters 
Looks fun! I was never in France but Chuck and his parents were. They went to a nice restaurant and he thought he was ordering something wonderful when the waiter brought it out, two hard boiled eggs! He also said they don’t drive in their lanes. They just go. When you get to Germany are you going to Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria? The Disney Castle is patterned after it. Uncle Nikolaus drove us down there and it is worth seeing, and also King Ludwig’s Hunting Lodge. Our relatives came from Germany!
LInda, Yes, we will be going to the castle. I think it is around Aug 20 or so on the end of our loop in Europe. It looks pretty cool!
The food sounds absolutely fabulous–I’m very envious. 🙂 I had pigeon a couple of times in Egypt, and I thought it was pretty good there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a restaurant in the US, though.
Love the pictures!! Looks like y’all are having a wonderful time! Can’t wait to see/hear more of your journey. 🙂
Love the pictures!! Looks like y’all are having a wonderful time! Can’t wait to see/read about more of your journeys! 🙂
Tis is so much fun, trekking along with you. Your photographic skills are lovely to look at, your subjects, just what I want to see! Keep them coming and enjoy yourselves.
Thanks! We will keep posting things every few days. We are on a fast-paced start, but things will slow down soon. Tomorrow we get to Spain!
Emily, Ryan, I definitely enjoyed meeting you and visiting Paris with you. It was so much fun. We really had a great day. Glad you enjoyed. I hope your tour of France is going well. Have fun.
Marie-Odile
Marie-Odile,
We agree – we had a great day! We have loved the rest of France and are now in Bordeaux. Luckily, it has only rained when we have been driving!!
Have a happy birthday on Sunday, Ryan!
Congratulations on an excellent start to the trip! Sounds great! MM ________________________________
What did you think about those “bleachers” they put in front of Notre-Dame? Lionel and I really thought they looked awful. I hope they will take them down 🙂
Once you got past them they did give a different view photographically, but yes, it would be nice to see the Church without anything in front too!