Three Days In Paris

Us at the Tour Eiffel

Bonjour!!

After eating at the Cafe Madeleine (named after an old church by our hotel), our Parisian journey started on foot walking through La Concorde and through the Jardins des Tuileries towards La Musee du Louvre (snapping pictures along the way), and continuing  along the Seine river.  Paris is great because no matter where you go, you’re surrounded by historic buildings and plenty of shops/cafes.  On one of the bridges over the Seine, we found a few things...  One was a man trying to channel aliens with his homemade ‘device’ which resembled a microphone stand with two CD’s taped to the top.  I know what you’re thinking but, I’d like to reassure you it was legit since he wrote ‘NASA’ on the base of the ‘stand’ in black magic marker... We also noticed a fence on the bridge full of locks with people’s names etc... The concept was neat so of course, we had to do it!  Now we’re forever in Paris, on the river Seine--which makes me so happy for some reason ;)

Forever on La Seine

After that, we continued down the street to find a bathroom but, instead found a Thai Massage storefront (of course Jon spotted this place from a mile away).....We had to go in and at least inquire.  I’m not much of a massage person but, Jon definitely is and since I’ve known him, he’s always said that the best massage he’s ever had was when he was in Thailand.  Walking into the store, we were greeted by a host of Thai women.  At that point, he was sold (as was I) and we decided to stay - I got a foot and leg massage and Jon got a foot and back massage. They whisked us into the back where we changed into Thai PJ gear and headed back to  a quiet serene room with individual reclining chairs.  We got our waters and felt....relaxed.  That’s when the turbine engine started. AKA: large snoring woman beside us who was apparently VERY relaxed.  She had feet like a Sasquatch and a snore like a lion's roar, but despite this distraction, nothing was going to stop us from enjoying this experience.  I must say, those Thai women really know what they are doing! I thoroughly enjoyed my massage and when Jonny finally came out from his back massage, he looked as if he had been beaten with a stick!  In all reality, he was so relaxed and happy that he looked exhausted (if that’s possible?!).  Anyway, we’ve probably talked about this experience everyday since.  He says that it was comparable to his experience in Thailand which is saying A LOT!  

After our massage, we continued down the street towards Notre Dame.  Before we make it there, we stumble across the “Great Canadian Bar” so, of course a stop was in order.  Even more so when I saw that they served Poutine! It wasn’t even close to as good as the ‘real thing’ but, it was a nice snack and reminder of my ‘home and native land’. Leaving the bar, we are still meandering when Jon starts walking faster and faster. “It’s around here, I know we’re getting closer” he says.  I have no clue what he’s talking about.  Finally he says “The last time I was here I had the best Gyro I’ve ever had in my life and  it was right around here!!” .  Sure enough, we turn the corner down this narrow street concentrated with Greek Gyro shops and he finds ‘the one’.  He orders the sandwich and I must say, I’ve had my share of Gyros but, this one looked extra good.  Sure enough, it's AMAZING!  I’m not sure if was the fries pilled on top or the meat but, whatever it was, it was so delicious!  At this point, Jon has had the best day of his life.  The only thing that would have topped it off would have been a Redsox game and a craft IPA. 

Best Gyro ever...

We get to Notre Dame and it was as breathtaking as I remember.  All the detail and grandeur of that church is just really incredible. This area is packed with busloads of tourists (of course), making even getting around the crowd to get inside the church a challenge. Finally, we get inside and I can't help but think to myself ‘they just don’t build things like this anymore’.  Snap some pics and head out for a stroll around the church. 

Kiss

To top off the day, we head back for another Gyro and sit on the terrace for some people watching.  All in all, a very action packed day full of random stops!

The next day, we grabbed lunch and walked the Champs Elisysee...(essentially full of tourist, similar to Michigan Ave. in Chicago--probably could have skipped this part).  The idea was to walk down the Champs Elisysee since it leads to the Arc de Triomph.  We got there and found out we could walk up to the top so, after a grueling 300 stairs, we made it and saw Paris from above.  Later that night we dined at ‘the Brasserie Flo’.  This was highly recommended to us by several sources. It's a bit hidden but, if you love seafood and champagne as I do, this is the place for you!  We had a nice dinner there and enjoyed the overall experience (minus the entire waitstaff and bartender getting into explosive verbal fights all night--awkward...). 

During our time here, we definitely got our fill of croissants, french onion soup, french fries (fyi--they serve fries with EVERYTHING!), and escargot for Jonny.

Aurevoir, Paris!

p.s. Here are some additional pictures from our time in Paris.

Jean (Jon)

Tour Eiffel

Me with our lock on La Seine

Notre Dame Cathedral