Paris - Part 2
The next day started off pretty differently from my usual routine…. I slept in!!!!! Each hour kept passing by, knowing I needed to get up to get ready, but I literally couldn’t get out of bed. Finally, around 9:00 a.m., I finally dragged by butt up and got ready. After some breakfast, technically lunch since it was 11:45 a.m. and I had no idea why our waiter was so confused when I ordered a chocolate croissant until I actually learned that it was 11:45 a.m., we headed to the Musée de l'Armée (The Army Museum) which was high on Justin’s list to see in Paris. We did not realize how big it was or just how much was in the museum, because we spent 3 hours there! Justin couldn’t step away, he was so invested in everything and I couldn’t bear to pull him away. They had one of the most amazing World War II exhibits I had ever seen.
After the museum, we headed to one of my absolute favorite places… Ladurée! Yes…. again! Except this time, we were going to the Ladurée on Champs-Élysées, which is probably the most popular in Paris. I had never been to this location, just a long time admirer, so I was so excited on our way over. Champs-Élysées is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris with some of the best shopping in the city. It has everything from high end fashion, restaurants, to more every day stores such as Gap, H&M, etc… When we pulled up, I immediately saw Ladurée’s signature green trimming on the building, with giant letters that spelled Ladurée on the side of the building. I had already envisioned all of the beautiful photos I wanted to take that I had been planning for so long. Since Ladurée was founded in Paris, me being at Ladurée IN Paris was sort of an Eloise at the Plaza situation. I felt at home immediately. Stepping inside, it is the most grand, dreamy decor. To the left is the long line to the take away counter where they have all of their macaron flavors and various pastries, to the right…. the most gorgeous restaurant. We waited in a short line to be seated and they seated us in the green house style room. When we sat down, Justin said while bright eyed, looking around “I get why this is your happy place. This is stunning.” That’s like the best thing to hear from your husband. After years of teasing me for my love of macarons and Ladurée, hearing that was amazing.
Since it was that awkward time between lunch and dinner, we decided to just get a afternoon coffee pick-me-up and a pastry. You guys… you have to try the hazelnut flavored coffee. I probably could have asked me to make an entire pot and I would have finished every drop, it was SO good! Poor Justin had to put up with my little photo shoot of our eclairs and coffee. After the loveliest time, we got some macarons to go, snapped some photos outside and decided to just stroll along the avenue.
As I mentioned on my previous post, I completely ruined my feet when we were in London and gave myself the WORST blisters. By this point, my feet still weren’t any better and I was now having to wear an ace bandage around my ankle and foot - it was just horrible. Justin had been telling me for probably 5 days now that I needed to just get a new pair of shoes that were actually meant for walking. Me being the stubborn, infuriating person that I am, did not listen… Finally, after passing by a Foot Locker, I finally decided to get some walking shoes. Just when I was about to give up, I saw the cutest pair of Pumas, I tried them on and felt like I was walking on a freaking cloud. I said to Justin “I could have had comfy shoes like these this entire time?!?!” That obviously didn’t make Justin very happy since he had been telling me this our whole trip!
I can’t find the exact pair since I purchased in Paris, but here is the exact same pair, just in white! Seriously the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned.
We walked over to see the Arc de Triomphe, which is really cool to look at! It’s such an iconic landmark in Paris and really so beautiful. You can go up to the top with tickets, but it had closed at that point.
One thing in Paris that I have admired for years and years was the Hotel Plaza Athénée. Anyone who has seen Sex and the City, you know the scene in An American Girl in Paris, Carrie goes out onto her stunning balcony to stare at the Eiffel Tower. I have pretty much dreamt of staying there since I saw that episode for the first time. Since the rooms are just a little over my price point, I still had to stop at least for afternoon tea or a cocktail there. We unfortunately were not able to stop for a cocktail since there was an event taking place for Paris Fashion Week, but I at least got to stand outside and admire the hotel I had been stalking on Instagram for SO long.
Side note : they just unveiled a brand new Dom Pérignon cellar inside the hotel and it looks incredible!
Justin was getting a bit hangry, so we started walking somewhere that had a view of the Eiffel Tower for dinner. We passed by this restaurant that had the most incredible view of the tower and we immediately went to sit down. It was about 5 minutes until the tower was going to light up the sky, and the sweetest hostess sat us right on the edge of the patio so we had the best view. After staring bright eyed at the sparkles, we ordered a couple Aperol Spritz’ and our dinner. This meal was probably the best meal we had so far on our trip. Everything was so delicious and it was just such a great experience. I highly recommend Chez Francis if you are ever in Paris.
One thing that I regret not doing more of when we were in Paris is just wandering the city more at night. We saw the whole city by foot during the day, but we didn’t really explore it at night and I really wish we did. By the time we were done with dinner every night, we were so exhausted, we just couldn’t wait to get to the apartment to relax.
Justin went to bed immediately because he knew the next day was going to start off early. We were headed to….
VERSAILLES!
Coat : Zara - Purchased in Paris, but here is a similar one!
