72 Hours in Paris

After five long years, I finally made it back to Europe. J and I flew to Paris and spent some time in Normandy and Brittany and even went to London for a day via the Eurostar. It was a bit of a whirlwind but it was so much fun and I was so blissfully happy to just walk around enjoying the architecture and eating delicious food and spending time with my love in such a romantic setting.

After we landed, we grabbed a cab to our hotel and luckily we were able to check in right away. We ended up taking a quick little nap before heading out for the day.

We stayed at Hotel Bowmann, which was really nice. The room was comfortable (awesome bidet in the toilet room) with a nice rain shower, plush bed, and a convenient and quiet location.

For lunch, we went to Mam from Hanoi, an awesome Vietnamese restaurant with the most delicious pho. We had the spring roll appetizer to start and then each of us had a bowl of pho, which really hit the spot after a long evening of airplane travel and no sleep.

After lunch, we just spent the afternoon walking around, exploring the city. I took J to Sacre Coeur because he loves churches and overlooks. We also walked around Montmartre, stopping by Le Mur des Je T'aime, the Moulin Rouge, and then headed down towards the river, where we popped by Jardin de Tuileries and the Louvre.

Before dinner, we stopped at Le Syndicat for drinks. This is a swanky little bar that only dabbles in cocktails made with French spirits. The bartenders were super cool and we asked them for some recommendations (which we did end up referencing). On the list were a couple of bars I had been to before (including Little Red Door and Bisou) which I loved so I knew the list was trustworthy.

For our first dinner of vacation, we went to Restaurant Eels. We got the tasting menu and enjoyed it immensely. We had smoked eel, confit carrot, and monkfish. And then for our mains, J got the venison while I went for pork. For dessert, we had differing variations of apple and plum. Everything was delicious and impeccably presented.

Because we were flitting back and forth between Paris, we ended up staying at a few different hotels. Our second stay was at Hotel de Nell. It had an amazing bathtub.

For drinks before dinner, we went to Bar Nouveau, which was one of Le Syndicat bartender's recommendations. It had a really nice vibe and the cocktails were delicious.

For our second dinner in Paris, we went to Le Clarence, which has two Michelin stars. It was one of the fanciest eateries I've had the pleasure of dining at. The staff were so welcoming and sweet and attentive and they let me practice my French, which was a lot of fun for me.

Because we're us, we opted to upgrade our tasting menu to include white truffles. For our amuse, we got these delicious little gougeres, crispy shrimp, and escargot. The escargot was so delicious. Then we were given a mochi and these super long breadsticks. We had a scallop course, which included a broth, a preparation with buffalo mozzarella, and then a scallop sitting in a squid ink sauce, and finally a clam. The next course had a beef consomme, oyster, more buffalo mozzarella, pork, and uni. We had a xiao long bao. There was brioche, a pot of clams from Brittany. We had lobster with truffle and king crab. We had shrimp ravioli with crispy kale. We had eel. There was an amazing lamb served with a vol au vent and pomme puree. And then the dessert course had multiple levels, including a plum sorbet and lemon custard, an apple tart, hazelnut pastry, cannolo, chocolate truffle, and then J got some birthday macarons. It was an amazing meal, made even more enjoyable with a trip to the kitchen to give our thanks to the chefs. Also, sat near us during dinner was a couple that ended up getting into a fight! The lady ended up leaving early and then the staff came to tell the man that they could prorate his meal. We were loving the drama and so curious about what happened.

Our last hotel was Le Narcisse Blanc, which was a really lovely hotel with an awesome spa. Hotel guests are welcome to use the general spa area, which includes a sauna, steam room, hot tub, and pool. It was really nice. J and I enjoyed the spa for a few hours before dinner.

For dinner, we went to Alan Geaam, which is a one star Michelin-starred Lebanese restaurant. We went for the seven course tasting menu, but really we should have done five because it was way too much food. They did not adjust the portion sizes for the larger menus, but you live and you learn. We started with a Lebanese yogurt meringue and caviar and zaatar crisp. Then we were given a course of a bunch of different amuse bouche: baba ghanoush, artichoke heart hummus, black falafel, and crab. J got a peanut foie gras dish and I had a halloumi with grapefruit refresher (since I'm allergic to peanuts). Then we had a scallop course, a langoustine course, a tartare with citrus caviar, a monkfish and butternut squash course, and then an apple and mint palate cleanser. Then we had a veal course with a veal tartare and a veal sweetbread with ravioli. A cheese plate arrived between the savory and dessert transition. For dessert, we had this crazy lime encased in chocolate and an apple and carrot cake.

After dinner, we stopped by the Arc de Triomphe before heading back to the hotel to rest.

On our last day in Paris, J was too ill to go out and I was suffering from a pretty bad cough so I ended up just running out to stop by my favorite kitchen store, E. Dehillerin, to pick up some canele pans.

For our final dinner, we went to L'Oiseau Blanc, a lovely rooftop restaurant with views of the Eiffel Tower.

We didn't have time to have a leisurely tasting menu meal so we ordered a la carte. We were given some delicious beetroot amuse and then we were brought a fun little tray of hors d'oeuvres, which included a crispy little dumpling-like pillow filled with an herbaceous cream.

We were served an amazingly yellow butter from Brittany to accompany a hot and fresh baked bread. For the starter, we had the langoustine. For his entree, J got the wild hare. I got the duck. And then for dessert, 

After dinner, we headed to Crazy Horse to watch a burlesque show. It was so much fun and I highly recommend it.

Then, as our final little hurrah, we went to the Eiffel Tower on our way back to our hotel (which was in walking distance anyway).

On our last morning before heading to the airport, I stocked up on pastries. The croissants were still warm from the oven; they were a perfect final treat.

 Here's my video diary (from the whole trip):

xoxo.