Blog by: Rhys Davies Photos by: Bear Krutsinger
At some point in ones life, we think about traveling to Paris. Maybe with that one person who completes your heart, maybe with your future kids, your best friend, maybe just by yourself because you say screw it I want to go. Thousand upon thousands of reasons you could give yourself to go to this place. Use any of them, because you have to visit this city. From the people, to its’ history, the beautiful architecture and monuments, and of course the food. Paris is a place where you will never regret going.
Just some advice to those who do wish to do the backpacking travel style, I recommend getting your own flat via Airbnb or whatever you use. Bear and I were lucky enough to find one for relatively good price and it really made the whole trip so much more worthwhile having our own space to go home to. Another tip, for visiting any part of France really, is try and learn a few words and phrases of French. Keep practicing even when your there. It really pays in spades both for yourself and for the people you meet, because the people honestly will respect you more for trying then not at all.
Our day of arrival was fairly pleasant, as we got to Paris right when there springtime was starting so it was very sunny and warm. A nice change of pace from the rain and clouds we were used to in the UK and Ireland. We took the evening nice and easy, eating out that night on something simple, as we wanted to really get our research together before trying to venture forth. Best part of our flat was we had a really nice window where you could just sit on the sill and hear the sounds of Paris. Bliss.
Our first outing was to the train station to grab tickets. So funny situation, the system for getting tickets for a train that doesn’t leave for a few days or more is eerily similar to the DMV. You get a ticket with a number on it and then sit in a designated place for an hour or more until they called you up. Safe to say Bear and I had played this game before and we weren’t interested in sitting on our ass twiddling our thumbs.
We ventured to best Patisserie (Pastry) shop known in Paris, La Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac. A bit pricy but damn worth it, even just for one of their creations. Perfect snack to grab and when we got back we had only about a 15-minute wait left. So of course we snacked on our treats. Every person in that little sitting area was eyeing our treats with such envy, but we did not care. Play the game boys and girls. Don’t let it play you.
After that our adventure really did begin. Paris is a lovely city to walk through but they also do have a great metro system. But I’d recommend walking if it’s not to far. If you do decide to grab the metro, depending on how long you are there for, grab the ten-pack of tickets. You get a slight discount. Our first stop of course was the Eiffel Tower. Coming up on it from the garden section is good and all, but if you want to get some great pictures, head up to the Palais De Challiot, just across the Pont d’lena. It’s just behind the tower with a huge fountain as the big marker to look for.
After photos, we had some lunch by the tower and just enjoyed the sun. Something we really didn’t learn until later down the line is France timing for food is fairly different than anywhere else. From eight AM to about two PM breakfast, brunch, and lunch are served just about everywhere, but after 2 most cafés and small restaurants close for about four to five hours. So the between time when you get hungry again, I recommend either packing yourself some snacks or grabbing a baguette and some cheese/meat to snack on in a park. Bring a bottle of wine or some beer as you are allowed to drink within every park.
As we were in the area, the Arc du Triumphe was our next stop. The Arc is truly a remarkable piece of architecture. Stunning and strong, it stands proud in the center of a storm of traffic that, if you like, you can try and dodge to run up to it. Or you could use the underground tunnel. But what’s the fun in that? (I believe the saying is if you can dodge traffic, you can dodge a ball) After walking so much, we decided a sit down was in order so we visited the Jardin des Tuileries, a fairly large park. Nice area to just chill at with a bottle of wine for a couple of hours with friends.
That night we snacked on some food that was really tasty. It’s at a place called Gustave le Claps. It’s a sandwich shop that is open most of the day and the night and damn it is good. They don’t use traditional bread, instead using this type of thick tortilla that they grill after making the sandwich to make it nice and hot. If you’re looking for a simple dinner or a really tasty lunch, this is the place to go.
Our next day we decided to venture towards the northwestern section of Paris, stopping at another top rated sweet shop, this one called L’Eclair De Genie. We had two each and they were absolutely amazing. The pastry chef working that day was kind to give us a taster of his special for the day. Apparently he appreciated our attempt of French, which he said most tourists don’t even try to learn when they visit. See what you get for trying? We then found, quite by accident, the Le mur des je t’aime also known as the “I love you” wall. It’s a wall that has I love you written in every language in the world, including ASL to my happy surprise. Brilliant.
After climbing numerous steep hills we found the Sacre-Coeur, an extremely large white church that sits atop a giant hill that gives an absolute gorgeous view of Paris. Oh and we also got to see the famous hookers of Paris in broad daylight on our way down to the Palais De Royal. A fun game to play when you catch sight of them is Who’s the Pimp? It usually is the one guy in a leather jacket sitting alone with his arms across his chest. While down in the area, we decided to check out the pyramid of glass that the Louvre is famous for. Really spectacular to see when the sun hits it just right.
While we were in the area, I got to witness something absolutely amazing. So faint at first, I heard music playing in the area and immediately I was entranced. I started searching for the source until I finally found her. She was playing a haunting melody on the violin and I couldn’t stop watching her play. She looked so peaceful, dancing to her tune while she played with her eyes closed. I can still hear the music, even days later. Stunning.
That night we decided a taste of home was in order so we grabbed tacos and queso at this lovely little restaurant (Run by a girl who’s mother lives in Texas) called Le Noperia Toqual. Some small advice for this place, grab the burrito instead of the tacos. The tacos are tasty but fairly small and won’t fill you up. Still, the fact that we were able to find a taco place in Paris that was actually good made me feel pretty happy.
We then visited the Paris Catacombs. This is a place you have to go! Tip: pay the extra online to pass by the line or you will be waiting for hours. After satisfying our scare factor for the day, we had a lovely French lunch at Le Lithographe, and went walking around the Luxembourg Palais and the park surrounding it. There is an amazing statue in the area, the Le Fontain De Medicis that is breathtaking. We also grabbed ice cream at a place called Berthillion, best ice cream in Paris so they say. I was very happy with that, because while enjoying our treat we caught sight of Notre Dame in a beautiful afternoon light.
Because of that sight, we decided we needed to visit the church and the towers above. The church itself is breathtaking, though fairly noisy from the amount of tourists, but the towers are worth the long wait. You get a great view of the bells inside and a panoramic view of Paris from so high up. They have netting all around though, so it ruins the ambiance of the area. While up that high we noticed the Pantheon was fairly close so we decided we should check it out as well. Nice surprise, because of a mess up of ticket costs by the service desk, we were given complimentary tickets to climb up to the top of the Pantheon, giving us in my opinion an even greater sight of Paris.
That night we met up with a friend of ours from Texas who had been living in Paris for a few months, Jacob. He was kind enough to show a few fun spots to catch some music and a couple of drinks. That and gave us another sampling of French cuisine, this one being meats, cheese, and veggies on a platter with a large helping of bread. Couldn’t have asked for more. Of the bars we checked out, La Fontaine was my favorite. That night we got fairly drunk, so we slept quite well. The morning however was another story.
Hangover with Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. Though the morning was rough, we decided to push through and visit one of the oldest cemeteries in Paris, where the famed Jim Morrison is buried, whom Bear very much wanted to visit. This cemetery is massive and honestly if you want a quiet place to write some poetry and eat some lunch, this is the place to go. Another famed member of the worlds’ history buried here was Oscar Wilde, a person I very much wanted to visit.
So fun fact about Paris, on Fridays just after 6 the Louvre Museum, home to works by Da Vinci, Raphael, and many more is free to the public. Including foreigners. So naturally we took advantage of this time to explore one of the biggest museums in the world. We maybe got through a third of it, max. It’s not something you can do in a few hours. It’s a day trip just to get through it, after you will feel burnt out with the amount of information and sights coursing through your brain.
With all of that info coursing through us, we felt like we needed a breather of sort. Here comes Jacob once again to save the day, bringing us to a Paris house party with some pretty fun people, where we got to try Pastis, which is very similar to Absinth. We actually ended up partying till about four AM and because of that we missed the last train for the night a few hours earlier. So we caught the first one out at 5:30 am, which we caught by staying outside the train station till then. Drunk. So that was fun.
Our last day was a very French day, beginning with a Parisian brunch, and then getting together with some friends that we met via Jacob. Emmanuel thank you again for showing us a fun time for our last day in Paris, and introducing us to savory crepes. These are the kind with cheese, meat, and other goodies in them instead of the regular sweet kind. Couldn’t have asked for a better last day.
Au revoir Paris. Thank you again for such an experience. We are now off to Bordeaux, center of wine in France. Super excited for that. Thanks again for tuning into the adventures of the Bear and the Lion. If you liked the blog, leave us a comment. We love hearing from everyone. Till then, santé.
A Walk Through Paris Blog by: Rhys Davies Photos by: Bear Krutsinger At some point in ones life, we think about traveling to Paris.
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