Paris: day two

Day two

I woke up in PARIS! I practically flew out of bed (something I never do) and immediately stepped onto our tiny balcony to admire the view and inhale the Parisian air.

I got dressed in a fully thrifted outfit fit for exploring – Akira wax jeans, Gap grey mock turtle neck, Zara animal print blazer, no brand round sunnies, and Air Max Thea Nikes (purchased new just before the trip).

We opted for a quick breakfast at the hotel – strong but smooth ‘American’ coffee, and a basket of divine pastries that were light, fluffy, and just barely sweet. I also ate a yogurt for protein, and it was so much better than any American yogurt I’ve tasted that I was a little peeved.

I didn’t stay annoyed for long, because today was Lourve day! We headed off in that direction on foot doing some window shopping and sight seeing along the way. Being November, we drooled over cozy chic displays and admired a giant building caterpillar made from sweaters.

In a word the Lourve is overwhelming. I read that if you looked at every piece of artwork for 30 seconds, it would take you 100 DAYS to see everything! We only had an afternoon, so we picked a few sections to explore. We decided that we had to see the Mona Lisa, but I have to admit it was anti-climactic. Perhaps because it was swarmed with tourists and the room was a million degrees. Opposite the Mona Lisa is Los Noces de Cana (The Wedding at Cana) by Paolo Vernese which I actually enjoyed more. It is massive, and depicts the event where Jesus performed arguably his most amazing miracle of turning water to wine.

My favorite piece of the day was Winged Victory of Samothrace. At the top of a staircase, perched on a bow, carved out of marble, stands this Hellenistic sculpture of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.She quite literally took my breath away. The drapery of her dress for which she is so famous seems to be flowing in the wind. She is triumphant, strong, and beautiful even without a head.

After our fill of art, we stopped for some macaroons at a colorful little shop. We exercised self-control and tucked them away in our bag for later. Next, we explored St. Germain. It had a more ritzy vibe than Marais. We found furniture stores, florists, and more white buildings with beautiful wrought iron work. For lunch, we parked ourselves under a heat lamp at cafe Le Saint Germain. We ordered two glasses of rose and shared a charcuterie plate (not everything was, but we ate it!), and a salad nicoise. Pronouced nee-suahz), this is composed salad, like a cobb salad in the US, but made with tuna, green beans, hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, onion, capers, and potatoes. Mmmmmm.

We held off on desert, knowing we were armed with macaroons, and decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower.

It was quite a long walk, but we were full of rose. The Eiffel was magical. We found a park bench and enjoyed the view and our tiny desserts.

For dinner, I left my Akira wax jeans on and threw on a thrifted Forever21 sheer tunic top, a DIY choker, and my quilted leather jacket (sadly it is not thrifted, BUT I wear it all the time and will last me a lifetime, so at least there’s that) and black booties.

Prior to our trip a friend wrote me an email with one line: ‘eat ever meal at Cinq Mars‘. This was a a pretty strong endorsement, so we took it. Also, when I googled Cinq Mars pictures of Pippa Middleton exiting this establishment popped up. Done.

Warning: Cinq Mars is pretty far off the beaten path, but well worth the effort. This tiny hidden gem is free from tourists and filled with neighborhood patrons. It was the tiniest of all the restaurant we visited – and that’s really saying something. It had what felt like 10 tables and a casual feel. The food was a more rustic while still retaining that Parisian refinement.

Again, no idea what the wine was, but it was great.

First course – We had sautéed wild mushrooms – potent and mouth waveringly savory.

Main course – Mom ordered lintels with poached egg, and I ordered roasted duck with figs. We shared everything of course, and everything was TO DIE FOR.

Dessert – We ended the meal with a classic creme brûlée. No fruit, no whipped cream, no cookie, no nothing. Just the creamiest custard I’ve ever had with a perfect crystalized sugar crust.

Everything at Cinq Mars simple and excellent.