Planning For Paris: Part II
Day 3
We began our day on a 35-minute walk to the 5th arrondissement to Le Cercle Luxembourg for an espresso and a croissant. Then we met our tour guide in front of Le Petit Journal for the Entrée to Black Paris tour. The company provides tours on the Black history in Paris, life, and culture and the African diaspora. There is a lot of rich Black history in Paris that most don’t realize. During the walk we discussed Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Chester Himes, Josephine Baker and more. This was spiritual, with that in mind, my following post in this series will dive into “Paris Noir” solely writing on the history. The walk was 2 hours, I wish it were longer. I realized when the tour concluded how it was meant for us to come to Paris.
Soul Food
After our tour we went to Gumbo Yaya, a soul food restaurant. I read about it in my research of Black owned restaurants to try. I walked into the restaurant to one of my favorite songs “You know what’s up” by Donnell Jones ft. Left eye. I had fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, hubby had chicken and waffles. It was seasoned to perfection, and it was not greasy, the macaroni had just enough cheese and flavor too. I like eating good, hardy food but not large portions. I didn’t feel heavy after eating. Afterwards we took a stroll through Tuileries Garden. The garden is between Louvre Museum from the Place de la Concorde. The garden is 69 acres with a playground, carousel, and Octagonal Grand Basin to float tiny boats.
Dinner
For dinner we went to the well-known instagrammable rooftop Italian restaurant, Pink Mamma. This pretty pink building has so much character. It made me think of Alice in Wonderland. When the doors opened the staff clapped as patrons trek up flights of stairs to reach the restaurant. I ordered bolognese pasta and Hubby had truffle pasta. Just as everything we’ve had it was delicious. After dinner we walked just 5 minutes away to the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret show. Built in 1889 where St. Louis’s very own Josephine Baker danced on the stage. Upon entry it had a red velvet hue with pictures and paintings on the wall of past performers. A band played to warm up the crowd and then the show began! The show could include dinner, but our ticket purchase came with a bottle of champagne. The style of dance is a chorus line dance known as “cancan” which is very physical and energetic, it reminded me of ballet, jazz, and acrobatics. The shows are about 2 hours long; however, they are entertaining and very elegant.
Day 4
Jet lag got to us, so we slept in a bit. On this day we walked to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was built in 1887, and it stands at 1,083 feet! It was built for the entrance arch for the World’s Fair. For the best photos we chose Rue de l’Université street. We didn’t purchase tickets to go up the tower, the lines were long, and we knew of another area to get a great view of Paris as a whole. The area around the tower was clean, despite things I’ve read online. After, we stopped by Seine River to take pictures. Later, we had a wine tasting at O’Chateau, a local wine bar. It’s only right to do a wine tasting in France for the Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy region.
Champagne
Says it in the name, known for its cooler climate to give us our favorite types of bubbles. Champagne has three main grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Remember it can only be called Champagne if it is from Champagne, France.
Bordeaux
Known for its bold dry reds with three main grapes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.
Burgundy
Known for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
We chose the “Tour De France” tasting that features 5 wines and a champagne. Our sommelier informed us about the growing styles, regions, and grape varietals. And she even complimented me for my scent recognition and food pairing. It was a “lit” time to say the least among the other tasters. Wine and conversation are the best combination.
Dinner
We had reservations at Bar Vendome in the Ritz Paris for dinner. This is the hotel Princess Diana resided in before her untimely passing. The most exquisite hotel, everything catches your eye, even with my gown on I felt under dressed. That’s how stunning it was. I saw a long hall full of designer items from well-known Parisian fashion houses. Gowns, blouses, and jewelry in all glass frames like in a museum. I enjoyed the Farm-raised yellow chicken with vegetables, potato and poultry jus and hubby had the French pan seared filet with potato puree and béarnaise sauce.
Day 5: Our anniversary
We visited the Champs Elysee, known for its luxury shopping and cafes near the Arc de Triomphe. Though beautiful it’s very crowded so we walked around before going to Galleries De Lafayette. It was packed there as well; however, we picked up a few souvenirs. On the rooftop of the mall, you have a panoramic view of the city
Later that evening we had a late dinner at Girafe, a well-known restaurant. We specifically chose this restaurant for a view of the Eiffel Tower at night to watch it sparkle. It was worth the hype, the ambiance, food, and the view made for our best meal!
Day 6- Final day
For our last day, we wanted to see as much as we could. Just like the other days we grabbed coffee from Paul’s and a croissant then walked to the Parfum Museum. Located in the Opéra Garnier district of Paris, the museum walks through the stages of perfume. The formulation, manufacturing, harvesting etc. as well as its beginnings in ancient Egypt.
Earlier in the day we tried to reserve the Museum d’Orsay, Opera, and Notre Dame but everything was sold out. Even though we saw a lot while in Paris it was so much, we didn’t see due to timing. So, we walked around to some local shops to pick up a few more souvenirs before getting ready for our early dinner. We opted for an early dinner because our hotel pick up the following day was at 5:00 A.M.
Dinner
Our last dinner was at Aux Crus De Bourgogne. I had chicken with morel mushrooms and hubby had beef bourguignon. The presentation was there but the flavor wasn’t there for both dishes unfortunately. When we returned to our hotel we strolled around the Louvre to stare at it and take it all in one more time.
