Last weekend in Paris was wonderful. It was one of the best trips we had this year (apart from our honeymoon). Yes yes, I know I haven't blogged about it. It was a big trip so it is taking me longer to digest all the information.
We flew into Paris CDG on Friday evening. My father-in-law sent me to London Gatwick while J went straight from work. So I had to lung two cabin-sized luggage on my own. Not for long though hahaha drama queen.
We had Yo Sushi at the airport and went to that milkshake place for some dessert before our flights. We thought our flights were going to be canceled because the day before, they were having a national strike and most plane to France has been canceled. So all was good and everything happened the way it should.
We flew with Vueling for the first time. It was a no frill airline just like Easyjet and Air Asia but the plane was pretty new. I thought it was good for what it is.
We landed after midnight and took an Uber to our hotel. We stayed in a Novotel at Porte de Vanves. The hotel is really chic and the interior design was nice but it does feel like a chain. We wanted to go with a chain because it was such a short trip and we didn't want any surprises. It was the best decision ever because it was right next to the Metro (Porte De Vanves) and there are a lot going on in that area. There's also a tram that can take you to the airport without any hassle (more on this later).
After checking in, we showered and went to bed.
On Day 1, or technically, Day 2, I woke up to look outside our room window to check out the view - we stayed on the 9th floor. And I found out that we can see the Eiffel Tower from our room! Whee!
Day view.
Night view.
J's colleague recommended us to dine at Le Assiette (more on this in another post, the food was super French and so awesome) which is 20 mins walk from our hotel. So that's what we did. Our walk there was quite lovely. We walked past a lot of local stuff like butchers, fruit stalls, bakeries, markets etc. It was really nice. I think we picked the right location because where we are is not far at all to travel into the center where all the action is but it's far enough to be in an area where all the locals are.
After lunch, we head to Eiffel Tower for some mandatory photos with the tower. TBH, we have both been there in the past so we didn't bother to get into the tower.
I think I actually prefer the Metro in Paris over the Underground in London. It was easy even if you don't speak any French or doesn't have your phone with you. But of course, we did use Google Maps for a few times. I think I am stupid without technology.
After that, we sat down at the park to discuss where to go for macarons. That's one of my top things to do as the last time I was there I didn't get to do that. I'll always want to go to Laduree because it's my favourite macaroon place in the world but we thought we should give other places that are "not known" a shot. So we went to Sadaharu Aoki because of the great review on Trip Advisor but when we went there, it's just a very clinical looking bakery with a few tables. We were disappointed and didn't go in. So, we decided to go back to what we know best and head to Laduree (another post on this later on) and I wasn't sorry at all! :)
Next we went to Louvre to take some photos together and soak in the vibes and beautiful architecture. We didn't go in as well because we have been in and seen Mona Lisa before. It was overrated, to say the least.
We then cross over to a huge park (I'm sure some of you know what it's called but I don't remember looking out for a name). We walked to the other end because we kinda were able to the Arch de Triumph. So we just kept heading towards the direction of the Arch while J did stupid stuff..like the below. FML.
What kind of madness is this..
He wanted me to send this to his mother because she always spam us with her scenery holiday photos..
Anyway, by the time we finished our walk in the park and realized that the Arch is further than we thought although we could see it, we decided to look for food again. He wanted some good steak and we thought we would go to Le Relais L'entrecote since they had such good review. We decided to go to the one at Champs-Élysées. Big mistake because the queue was around the block for that. Dammit, so we walked up and down the street to look for an alternative. It was in the shopping district so everyone must have had the same idea to eat there. We were so tired of walking by then and just want some food in us so we pulled out TripAdvisor to see the ratings of all the restaurants on that street. We then found Chez Andre which was opposite Le Relais. So we head over to see their menu. While we were looking at the menu, we saw a table right next to the menu ordered steaks and they looked pretty good, so we went there. I will post another post on this restaurant.
Can you see the Arch? It's damn far right?
So after dinner, we decided to do the last thing I want to do in Paris that is to see Moulin Rouge (outside only cos too expensive to go in #kiamsap but maybe in my next trip to Paris I very rich already and can go in). Actually not that expensive...only around Euros 100 per person for the show I think. After my last trip to Paris, I always regretted not going there to at least snap a photo outside. So I did it this time. There were a lot of people there and it is a red light district/seedy area.
That marks the end of our night on Day 1/2.
On our last day, we woke up and decided that we had to have the rotisserie we kept seeing on the way to the restaurant yesterday. But I wanted to have a proper French breakfast of croissant and coffee, so we compromised and decided to take them away and eat in our hotel room.
We went out of the hotel and saw a morning wet market and decided to see it before getting the rotisserie from the usual butchers. And we found one in the wet market. It smelt so good. We couldn't resist. We then go to a local bakery to get a croissant, a strawberry tart, and coffee. The coffee was poopoo but we didn't want to risk the chicken getting cold while we search for good coffee. Importance: Chicken > Coffee.
So here's our meal.
We then checked out and left our luggage at the reception. We wandered to the other side away from the food and I saw a chandelier on a tree near a market and quickly realized that it was an antique/vintage market. OH MAI LORD. I didn't expect it at all but you know what, it's always my wish to go to one of these French vintage markets. I skipped over and went exploring this very very long market. Shame I didn't bring enough cash (or have enough cash) to purchase some of the pieces there. I know where it is now and I will definitely be back again with Robert. Since he is my antique/vintage buddy. But I think we might need to drive down to transport everything home.
This was really a very food-centric trip to us. We decided to have another pastry before we head to grab our luggage. And we went into this bakery with the most beautiful cakes. A rough version of Laduree hahaha! Very French nonetheless.
After we went back to the hotel, we discussed if we should take the tram or Uber and me being the cheapo, I said we can save £8 from taking the tram while J wanted to take Uber but he gave in since we had quite a lot of time accounted for our journey to the airport. So we bought our tickets and get on the tram. Then on the 3rd stop, a guy come up to me and whispered something to me. I just smiled at him and didn't want to be rude but I didn't know anything he said to me. It was all in French. Then I looked at J and he repeated it to J. J understood French although he is very rusty now after so many years of speaking and listening in French. And the guy told us that there's an incident and we had to get off the train as the whole train line will be canceled. I felt like this guy was super nice to us. He didn't need to tell me. I didn't even notice him when I was in the tram, but he came up to me to tell me.
So like all the other passengers going to the airport, we were scrambling trying to figure out where to go. We followed the instructions of a staff from the tram station and go to Chatelet. But when we got there, the trains are also delayed and canceled. So by now, we were 30 mins off track and we decided that if don't take Uber then we are not going to make it for our flight. We need to arrive at our gate at 4.10pm.
So we got out of Chatelet and it was a trek because there were so many flights of stairs until we reached the top and get to the streets. But to our horror, we were on a street where a market just ended and the garbage truck were blocking the streets. So our Uber guy can't get to our location, so we had to walk to the closest main street for him to get us and he had to turn around the block to get us. It was a nightmare.
We were both tried to stay calm and discuss our options. To stay another night or take a later flight. We said we will take a later flight. So when the Uber guy finally found us (this was 3.33pm and it is supposed to take us 36 mins to the airport), J started calling our airline to ask about alternative flights. So obviously to make money, they quoted us a price of a new flight of £202 per person. Then I nudged J to say we should check Skyscanner before we confirmed, so he asked if we missed our flight, do we get a discount and the guy told us that there's a rescue fee if we can get to the airport within 2 hours of the flight departure which is £80 per person. Wtf right, he could have told us that the first time. What if we were so despo and agreed to it only to find out about this rescue fee thing? Anyway, we decided that we would sort it out in the airport because if we are going to be late, we will have plenty of time till the next flight to sort ourselves out.
Once we got to the airport, we rushed out of the car and ran into the terminal. Thank god for Uber because we didn't have to deal with paying etc. We ran up to the departure and go through custom. And there was a line, so we thought it would be a good idea to tell the lady that we are late to our gate (this was 4.10pm) and she said no, and we were like but we are going to be late! Then she said the most comforting thing ever, she said, "Don't worry, most of the people here are on that flight." PHEW!!!! We actually hugged because we made it. Like we won at the Olympics wtf. Then two guys came up to us and ask us if he can jump the queue because his flight is..NOW. We obviously let these guys through as their situation was direr.
I guess everyone was late because of that train incident.
We were the last people to board the plane. Thank god for that.
So, this is the end of this post. I will write about the places we ate at soon.
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