Paris, France | Recap

WHAT WE DID IN PARIS, FRANCE

— Jay

Paris was never really a major destination on my travel list. For some reason, the city just never called out to me. However, it has been at the top of Ewa’s list since I’ve known her. And who am I — but a humble cabana boy — to deny the request of mon chatelaine. Little did I know, by the end of the trip, Paris would become one of my favorite cities.

Tuesday

We touch down at Charles de Gaulle Airport at the ass crack of dawn on Tuesday morning. We grab our things and hop a train to the city. It’s about a 45 minute ride. Once here, we ride the regular RER train system to our area. Our airbnb is in the 8th arrondissement. Regarding its urban layout, the metro area of Paris is split into 20 different arrondissement, or administrative districts. Each has their own distinct personality and flavor. In terms of New York, think Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, etc.

We get to the airbnb and let ourselves in. I feel that the hallway and main stairs were a bit creepy. It has some old fashioned red velvet finishings and the lighting was extremely dim. Major The Shining vibes. But when we get up inside the apartment, it is pretty charming. We have a studio unit with a small kitchen. The best part is a small balcony that opens up onto the street below (we are on the 5th floor). Murder hallway aside, I like the unit.

Once we have a chance to settle down and change out of our raggedy airplane outfits, it’s time to hit the pavement. We slide out and pop into a nearby cafe for our first meal. We order a meat and cheese plate, then polish it off with some espressos while people watching. Quite Parisian.

Sufficiently full and flatulent (just kidding, you know we had the Lactaid on deck) we set off to do some exploring. Our first destination isn’t too far away as the Arc de Triomphe is right around the corner. Up close, I am blown away by how huge and ornate this thing is. If you’re going to honor the fallen and commemorate victory in war, this is the proper way to do it.

The Arc sits right at the top of the Champs-Élysées, a bustling avenue known for its theaters, cafes and luxury shops. Something like a mix between 5th Ave and Broadway in Manhattan. We spend the next 2 hours wandering down the strip, soaking in the sights, eating delicious macarons and looking at all the high end goods we can’t afford. This area is very expensive and quite touristy so you won’t want to spend too much time here; but it’s cool to see in person nonetheless.

Eventually, we break off the main street and cross a bridge into the 7th arrondissement. We have dinner plans over in the 5th, so we figure we’ll walk there. As we mosey on, we spot the Eiffel Tower in the distance. When I say distance, I mean this thing blasted straight up against the blue sky. You definitely can’t miss it. The high visibility is by design. Since 1977, the City Council has imposed a height limit of 37m for any new buildings within the metro area, so that the city’s landmarks could tower impressively over the rest of the skyline. This limit was recently relaxed in 2010 (to 50m), but I don’t think the city is is an hurry to start green-lighting hella tall buildings just for the sake of it.

As our reservation approaches, we head towards the train. When we get there, lo and behold, the train station is closed for construction. As an NYC resident, this unexpected issue with the transit makes us feel right at home! Anyways, we start to panic because it’s actually way further of a walk than expected. We flag a cab and hope to make it on time to dinner.

We arrive at the restaurant just a few minutes late. You can take the kids out of NYC, but you can’t take the perpetually-late-due-to-a-combo-of-transit-issues-and-poor-time-management out of the kids. Tonight, we dine at Oka, a 1 star Michelin French/Brazilian bistro. The ambience is upscale yet relaxed, which is good because we are not mature enough for anything too fancy. There is a prix fixe tasting menu so we decide to roll with that. Who are we to deviate from the Chef’s choice?

The food — a series of exquisitely prepared and garnished small bites — is extremely creative and unique. In addition, the wine pairing accents everything nicely without taking away from the flavor. Would highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion.

As is usual for Ewa and I, the combination of jet lag, excitement of a new city and a few drinks leads to us acting extremely goofy. One of us makes a dumb joke and we crack up uncontrollably (to the point of tears) for about 10 minutes. We try to get ourselves together, but even a glance at the other sets the laughter off again. The waiter sees this and decides to avoid us as we work to regain composure. Once back to our adult forms, we pay the check, thank them for the delicious meal and then head out.

Our friends Xuan & Connie also happen to be in town, so we hop a ride over to Le Perchoir Marais to meet them for a drink. This spot, nestled in Le Marais district (more on that later) is a popular cocktail bar. Featuring a rooftop patio, you get a dope panoramic view of The Eiffel Tower, the Seine river and a general sense of the central cityscape. There’s a bit of line when we get there — about 12 people ahead of us. While the rest of the group waits, I run over to he nearest bodega (or the Parisian equivalent of one) to grab a phone charger. Shout out to all my perpetually dying phone battery fam.

When I get back, we are next to go up. I couldn’t have timed it any better. To get to the rooftop, you make your way through the BHV Marais department store and up the elevator. When we reach the top, it opened up into a lively atmosphere. The crowd seems to be a mix of young professionals and artsy types alike. I felt that I fit right in because I had a fedora hat on. I knew I bought this thing for a reason. We order some drinks and get seated. We spend about an hour huddled around our small table and enjoying the vibe. The cocktails were on point, the view was on point and even the snack tray of olives and meat was on point.

To cap the night, we stop by a cafe called Les Marronniers on a lively block around the corner. We have a few snacks and some more drinks before we hit a wall. I can tell that Xuan & Connie are still saying words, but my brain wasn’t processing. We have early morning plans tomorrow so we bid them adieu and make our way out. Fully depleted, we rush back to the crib and pass out immediately.

Wednesday

Early next morning, we have a train to catch. Today’s destination is Versailles. The Château de Versailles, home of the royal family until the French Revolution in 1789, is a lavish commemoration to the opulence of the past. The Palace is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has witnessed many historical events such as the signing of the Treaty of Versailles to end WWI. This was #1 on Ewa’s hit list, so we make sure to cut out a good portion of the day to explore.

To get to Versailles from Paris is pretty straight forward. We take the RER A to La Défense, the U Train to Versailles-Chantiers and then walk the last 20 minutes. All in all, about an hours’ journey. Before heading into the palace grounds, we pop into a local cafe. Here, we load up on carbs and espresso like we’re about to run a half marathon.

When we get to the Palace, there’s already a long line. Luckily, we purchased our tickets in advance. Always pre-prepare for International trips dawg (like with the Firenze Card). We slide up into the shorter line like some VIPs and get in in no time.

Inside, I am instantly blown away. It feels like a real life Disney movie (minus the music numbers and dying animal parents). Heading into this trip, I thought that Versailles would be pretty dope, but I wasn’t prepared for how majestic everything was. From the Hall of Mirrors to the King’s Apartment to the Gallery of Great Battles; everything went 1,000%. It’s hard to explain how grandiose and regal everything is. Here’s a pic

After an hour traversing the Chateau, we head outside to the grounds. The shit is huge. From our vantage point, it looks like a 10 minute walk just to get to the gardens. As I mentally prepare for this journey, I spot something out the corner of my eye. Nearby, there’s a little stand that appears to be renting out golf carts. This is a damn revelation! We run over and pull up to the counter. It’s like €30 to rent a cart for a half day (4 hours). This bout to be the best €30 we ever spent.

With the golf cart, we‘re whippin all around the grounds like the Indy 500. Well I mean, the thing tops out at like 25mph, but that’s probably a good thing for everyone’s safety. Seriously though, if you go to Versailles, be sure to rent a golf cart to maximize efficiency. We were able to see all of the major outdoor attractions in the time it would have taken us to walk through just the garden by foot. Plus, you can park the cart at each destination and get up close and personal. Make sure to checkout:

The Garden - Massive plot of land with impressive landscaping, fountains, canals and sculptures
The Hamlet - Marie Antoinette’s personal hideaway to escape from palace life
The Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon - 2 pavilions to serve as mini palaces away from the main Chateau
The Temple of Love - An architectural folly outside the Petit Trianon
Place d’Armes - The sprawling courtyard in front of the Palace. The Great and Small stables are situated at the edge

After about 5 hours total at Versailles, we are ready to head back to Paris. On the way out, we go to take a photo in front of the gate at the Place d’Armes. However, we are prevented by an older man and his female assistant, who were taking various measurements of the gate. They keep looking annoyed with us (and the rest of the crowd) for interrupting their “work”, even though there was no indication they were staff. I can only assume this was some kind of Doc Brown/Marty McFly kind of mission and they were going to plow a Delorean right through the gate. Oh well, no sense in disturbing such important work. We hop the train and zoom back to the city.

Once back, a power nap is in order. We awake shortly before our dinner plans. As usual, we rush to get ready and head out the door. We meet up with Xuan & Connie (hereafter known as Xuannie) at Maison du Sake. This restaurant specializes in French + Japanese fusion. Once again, we decide to do the tasting menus because choice paralysis is some real shit. Overall the food is really great and each dish is the right proportion. But the real star of the show was the plating. The presentation on each dish is so involved and done up. Similar to infants, we have a really good time playing with the food before eating it.

Afterwards, we desire further libations, so we head into Golden Promise tasting room. This whisky bar is tucked in the basement underneath the adjoining cafe. Although the spot had a decent crowd for a weeknight, we are able to get seated within minutes. The walls are decorated with hundreds of bottles of whisky, some appearing to be incredibly old/rare. Unable to settle on a single order, Xuan and I each get a tasting flight of 5 tastes each. I believe the wives just drank sparkling water as their palettes are not accustomed to this level of sophistication. Tish tosh. I know that taste is subjective, but I’m sure these whiskys are pretty damn fire. The girls don’t know what they’re missing out on.

For the next stop, we hit up Bon Esprit to link up with my cousin Ali, who also happens to be in town with some friends. We have a few drinks here and catch up. At one point, we notice that there’s a foosball table in the back. I quickly beat Xuan in back to back games. He played it off like he didn’t care, but I could tell that his ego was in pain.

Seeing the action, a few locals patrons approach and ask if they can play. Feeling confident from my humbling of Xuan, we agree to the challenge. The first game is very close, but ultimately the other dudes win. We can’t go out like that so we run it back. This game is even more neck-and-neck, but in the end, Team Xueromy pulls out with the W. Now it’s 1-1 and no one can walk away happily from that. So we agree on a tiebreaker game; this time, loser buys a round of shots. We should have known better. We’re in a foreign city, in a bar with some locals who challenge us to a game with a punishment on the line. Our hubris is our downfall.

As expected, we lose the game. It ends up being pretty close but that’s probably just them letting us down easy so we wouldn’t feel too cheated after. Hustling 101. Xuan and I go to buy the shots but we hatch a plan. We ask for the house tequila and house whisky and come back with 4 shots for the group. Everyone shoots and makes a thizz face. They did not taste good. Looks like we hustled them back… and ourselves too. Game over.

Before heading home, we head to McDonald’s to indulge our inner American gluttony. Plus, I need something to soak up the shots and competitive failure. Fin.

Thursday

The next morning, I wake up with a bit of a hangover from the spite shots. Ewa has already been up for a bit, hitting up the local markets to grab ingredients. First order of business is a photoshoot. She sets up the breakfast spread with minimal help from me as I boil water while zoning in and out. Before you know it, the beautiful spread is laid down and my time in front of the camera arises. I splash some cold water on my face, throw on a hat to cover my bed hair and we git’r done.

Next on tap is lunch at Les Papilles with Xuannie. This classic French restaurant is near Le Jardin du Luxembourg. So we hop a train (me shaking off some nausea) and bum over. The inside is pretty small and quite charming, like something out of a novel. We hit a round of espressos to wake up out of our stupor — Xuan is also feeling the bitter hangover of defeat. The food is delicious but extremely heavy and the portions are plentiful. No amount of Lactaid can prime my stomach for this. Even with just 2 apps and 2 entrees, the 4 of us can only knock out about 60% of the meal. Our Chinese families would be ashamed at the amount of unfinished food at this table.

A feast fit for folks with stronger stomach constitution than us.

Seriously, if you’re ever traveling here on a tight budget, come to Les Papilles and carb load for like €20. My favorite part is when the waiter brought out a plate of cheese for dessert. This dude tryna build an atomic bomb of farts using my stomach. You know I have to pass it up. In an effort to speed up the digestion process, we make our way to their airbnb by foot.

Xuannie is staying in Le Marais (good choice). Le Marais, a historic district of Paris, also serves as one of its major cultural hubs. It houses a bevy of shopping options from high end designer to quirky thrift, great restaurants and cafes, art galleries and museums. Le Marais is also the LGBTQ+ epicenter of the city with a poppin nightlife scene. There’s a buzzing energy to the area and some really great architectural/design choices. Definitely carve out a full day to spend in La Marais, to take in its full spectrum of personalities.

We spend the next few hours perusing the streets, popping into various stores and occasionally making a purchase. My favorite stop is a streetwear boutique where I cop 2 pairs of long socks, 1 featuring Bruce Lee and the other with Biggie. Baby-babeh!

Wiped out after a half day of wandering and just generally being in our 30s, we stop by Bistrot Leo so that we can sit down. While we’re here, we eat a snack, sip an espresso and enjoy some people watching while the sun slowly sets.

Not wanting to carry bags around all night, we split up with Xuannie and head back to our respective Air bnbs for a pit stop. Here, we drop off our bags and rest up again. Hopefully this shakes off the last of the traveling fatigue. I almost considering ghosting them foos and just passing out; but it’s their last night before they split out for Spain in the morning. They so selfish! Anyway, we freshen up and head out the door.

We head over to nearby the Shangri-La Hotel, an accommodation that we definitely couldn’t afford. Ah but to be a Crazy Rich Asian. Inside, the lobby and general decor reek of old moooolah babbbbehhh. After absorbing the 2nd hand baller status, we head to the bar in the back. We get seated right at the bar, which is perfect because we want to see how the sausage is made. The bartenders are very friendly and knowledgeable and design our drink order based on each of our favorite base liquor. I believe I went with Cognac cuz ya boy tryna fit in with this luxurious setting. They proceed to artfully and skillfully make our drinks, which seem to take like 10 steps each. When the drinks started coming out, mine was served in a copper bee. Deadass a big drinking apparatus shaped like a bee. To be honest, I don’t think I can enjoy drinks in the future if they not served in the same manner. We all try a bit of each other’s drinks (pre-covid times, you feel) and they are all amazing. Mostly worth the €120 euro bill.

With a nice buzz going, we walk around the hotel and take in the scenery. Security seems to be pretty lax because we’re able to pop in and out of all the meeting rooms like we run this bish. After we get our fill of high society, it’s time to get back to our common folk grind. We leave and head towards the Eiffel Tower.

The walk over is uneventful. Mostly just vendors trying to sell us souvenirs, probably because we look hella out of place. There is a funny moment when we ask this dude to take a photo for us with the tower in the background, and he must have done the Harlem Shake while taking the pic because the shit is insanely blurry and angled mostly from our waists down to the floor. None of the pics are usable, so we ask another couple to takes some shots for us. They are much better. After the double photo shoot, we continue our trekking.

When we get to the Eiffel, the whole park is fenced off and it appears to be closed for the night. Plan B is to go get a late night snack before we call it quits. However, most restaurants are outside of optimal walking range. Just then, like a chariot sent from the gods, a bike taxi pulls up right in front of us. We ask if he can take our group about a half mile down the road. He sizes us up, and seemingly against his better judgement, tells us to hop in. It takes homeboy a moment to get going, but then he builds up some momentum. After a bit, we’re cutting through the night air like… a bike taxi full of 4 adults in the hot weather. At one point, he offers us a cable to connect a phone for music. We throw on All I Do is Win to pump the rider up. It doesn’t seem to affect him, but we’re having a blast in the back.

We arrive at our destination, thank our driver and leave him an extra tip for his effort. He rides away, probably fulfilling his daily exercise quota from just this ride. When we get inside the cafe, we’re the only people there. We relax with some snacks and the sound of smooth jazz from the speakers. After an hour or so, it seems like the restaurant wants to close shop so we pay our check and leave. Here, we wish Xuannie a safe trip to Spain (and Xuan good luck in any future unsanctioned foosball matches) and part ways. We fall asleep in the taxi on the way home.

Friday

We wake up ready to do some supremely tourist things. Our first stop is Cafe Marly, a restaurant on the grounds of the Louvre Museum. From the table, you overlook the courtyard and can get some extremely high quality people watching in. We have a light breakfast as we do jus that. At one point, we are laughing about Kylo Ren’s shirtless scene in The Last Jedi, and how hard Adam Driver must have worked on his physique, only to get played by them high ass pants.

Deciding that watching the people was not as good as being amongst them, we go for a stroll through the Louvre grounds and the Palais Royale.

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Apparently we didn’t eat enough at brunch because we quickly feel the need for more sustenance. We pass by a spot called Bistro Kunitoraya, that already has a bit of a line. There’s about 10 people ahead of us. A 2 top opens up by the window, and as luck would have it, we are the only couple in line. So we get seated within a few minutes. We order some udon, tempura and onigiri; because we can only go long (a couple days really) without some Asian food in the system. We are seated right next to an open window, and on the other side of the window is the line for the restaurant. So as we eat, we can see people watching our food longingly. We put extra effort into eating as noisily as possible and sighing in enjoyment (just kidding).

With our second meal under the belt, it’s time to head out. We go back to La Marais and bounce around with no particular agenda. It’s already becoming our favorite part of town.

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I would challenge Joey Chestnut, if it was a braised pork sandwich eating contest

Something about all of the walking has really built up an appetite. Either that or the constant insulin crash from endless simple carbs and wine. We hop into 2 spots for back to back snacks. The first is Chef Dong — a small Chinese cafe with a menu full of South West Chinese classics. However, we don’t want to pack up too full at the first spot. So we decide on a small braised pork sandwich. Oh. My. Lord. This shit is SO fire. It’s chunks of flavorful and perfectly tender braised pork in between 2 flaky and crispy textured bread layers (kind of like scallion pancakes. It was so good, we immediately ordered another one. After licking the sauce off of our fingers, we resist getting a 3rd, so that we can try somewhere else.

The next spot is Chez Alain Miam Miam. This small and unassuming cafe is hidden in plain site. From the outside, it isn’t even readily apparently that there’s a restaurant here. Inside, you can order from a list of sandwiches or you can customize your own. We went with the latter and got a pastrami sandwich with mushroom and avocado. Overall, the sandwich was very good. The pastrami was cut at the right thickness as to not require tearing or gnawing, and the mushroom and avocado were savory and complimented the texture of the bread well. It was a very good sandwich, but I think we were still jaded from Chez Dong.

After this, we head back to the apartment to drop off some bags and chill for a couple hours. As the evening rolls through, so do the rain clouds. There’s a bit of a storm outside, but we’ll need to brave it because we have dinner reservations at Double Dragon. This Southeast Asian inspired joint is located in the 11th, so we make the mini voyage over. Luckily, the rain let up while we were en route, and didn’t pick up until we got inside the restaurant.

The spot is small, cozy and reminiscent of many an Asian restaurant we’ve been to. They’ve done a good job of cultivating the vibes. We order a bunch of food, probably more than needed for 2 people: fried shrimp wonton, marinated cucumbers, sautéed mussels, red curry with rice, triple cooked beef and eggplant. Everything was super rich, savory and flavorful. They really captured the Southeast flavors, including the spice. Ya boi had a light layer of forehead sweat going. Right as we’re wrapping up dinner, the rain subsides, seemingly for the night. The weather gods are in our corner tonight.

We walk a few block down to Cafe Charbon where there is already a big crowd. This must be a popular spot. We are not really in the mood to wait, but we suddenly spot an open 2 top at the end of the row and it seems to be first come first serve. Lucky again. We rush over and take a seat. Here, we do some people watching while we wait for the waitstaff to come by. 5 minutes later… still waiting. 10 minutes later… they do know we’re here right? 15 minutes later… Let me try to flag someone down. 20 minutes later… okay, this table is clearly cursed. We decide that it’s not worth the wait and head across the street to a less trendy spot.

Here, we have a few low key drinks. But as they combine in our stomachs with the heavy dinner, we are compelled to go home. We end up doing just that. So much for getting lit on a Friday night!

Saturday

We wake up late for our reservation (surprise) and rush out the door to the 7th. We’re having lunch at Les Ombres. I choose this spot due to its allegedly spectacular view (hopefully Trip Advisor didn’t play us) of the Eiffel Tower. Super touristy thing to do but hey, we’re in Paris. We gone see this damn tower finally!

When we get there, we take an elevator up from the garden at the Musée du Quai Branly. The doors open up into a typical and traditional upscale venue. Taking a look round the floor, the general patrons’ age skews older. We make a mental note to make less poo poo jokes to each other, as to fit in better. Unfortunately, they don’t have a table available by the windows, meaning we can’t take in the sites. Damn, that’s the whole reason we pulled up! Oh well, no use crying over spilled IG photo backgrounds =/

We order a few dishes and kick back at our corner table. As expected, the food was nothing spectacular. Of course, it was certainly better than the average restaurant, but it’s pretty clear that the focal point of this restaurant is the proximity to landmarks. As we get ready to leave, I notice that there’s a woman outside on the roof. I mean her ass was fully outside the perimeter of the restaurant terrace and standing on the conjoining buildings’ roof. I ask the waiter how to get outside, which he helpfully shows us. Maybe this was worth it after all.

One of the outdoor terrace window wall panels is opened up, allowing access outside onto the roof. We head out and walk towards the Eiffel. At the edge of the roof, we’re treated to the promised spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower. It’s even better than the ones from Les Ombres’ Trip Advisor page because out here, there’s no window wall panels obscuring the view. This is some off menu shit. We do the whole photoshoot thing, because where else in the city are you gonna get a straight on vantage point like this.

Happy with the better than expected views, we make our way out. Since we’re in the area, we head towards the Eiffel Tower park to check it out. When we get here, it’s like a mini music festival. And by that I mean there’s pockets of lively revelry going on, mixed in with deserted areas full of shady characters trying to sell you substances. One the real, for every 2 or 3 groups of people picnicking, there’s a dude nearby aggressively trying to sell them booze, cigars or souvenirs. There’s also hella ravens around. Like, the giant birds who quoth. That was unexpected. Realizing that this park is probably better in our imagination (just like Lower Central Park), we keep it moving.

We head back to Le Marais to do some shopping (can’t keep us out!). Paris is known as a Fashion hot spot, so we preemptively set aside some room in our suitcases to bring stuff back. You know how it go, time to get crispy. We stop by a few designers that are locally based (no tariff costs you feel) and pick up some pieces. This is where I get my Kenzo crossbody bag that I wear to this day.

Not trying to blow the whole bag on a few items, we make our way to an assortment of local vintage and second hand stores. In at these shops in Paris, you can find some true gems if you have enough patience to do some digging. One in particular, Kiliwatch, is my favorite because I find a vintage navy long peacoat — a style which I’ve been searching for forever. It’s a bit pricey but way less than I’d expect to pay for a jacket of this quality. Plus, I’ll make some back on the refund.

One thing to note is that in the European Union, they have a thing called the VAT Tax. This is a tax that’s applied to any good or service that’s bought or sold for consumption in the EU. BUT, this tax only applies for EU citizens. As a foreign visitor, you can receive a refund on the VAT Tax. There are a few stipulations though. You must spend €175.01 or more at the same store, in the same day. You must be 15+ years old and have your passport with you at the time of purchase. And you can’t be in any EU country for more than 6 months. If you check each item, you get a special receipt from the cashier which you can redeem at the airport on your way back home. Make sure you ask about this so you can get yo cash back.

Don’t be surprised if she ask where da cash at

Feeling good about our purchases and the 12%-ish percent refund we’ll be getting back later, we head back to the crib to drop off our haul.

Dinner tonight is at one of the restaurants we’ve been most looking forward to go to. L’Avant Comptoir (“The Front Counter”) is a seafood focused tapas bar in the 6th. It’s called the front counter because in addition to the traditional seating inside, there is a small counter out front in the open air that seats (stands?) maybe 6 people max. They ask us if we want to be seated inside, but we opt to stand at the counter outside because that way your belt won’t constrict your expanding stomach and cause discomfort. Gotta do this shit right! We start out with some oysters, which are hella fresh. Then we run through some chef’s recommendations which is a journey through the ocean: oysters, squid with quinoa, fresh sardines in oil and cured salmon with fresh herbs. By the time we’re done, we smell like Poseiden’s tank top after a cross-fit workout.

After dinner, we go home to drop off bags and chill, per usual. Here, we have to shower and change so we don’t pull up to the bar smelling like Spongebob’s birthday party. Once adequately fresh, we head out to the 3rd.

Our first stop is Bisou, an eclectic bar with indoor seating and a nice outdoor patio. When we get there, the inside is jam-packed. However, there’s one 2-top open on the patio. It’s a bit chilly, but it’s our only option. We snatch it up as we’ve been know to do this trip. The inside of the bar is dripped out in a neon pinkish vibe. The crowd skews younger here, about 23-30 and there’s a good energy about the place. We order a few of their seasonal cocktails and kick back. The first round is so good, we run it back for another. And the second becomes a third. Soon, we’re buzzing and don’t even notice the cold in the air. Although the drinks are top notch, we are craving something a bit more turnt up, so we pay our bill and head out.

We head out around the corner to Little Red Door; but when we get there, there’s a long line. Not wanting to kill our buzz by waiting in line, we wander around the area trying to find somewhere we can get in right away. However, after 30 minutes of moseying (and singing karaoke off of my phone), we haven’t found anything. We decide to head back to Little Red Door to give it another try. When we get back, the line has miraculously disappeared! Perhaps they were holding the line to scare off those of weak constitution like us. We pop right through the red door.

Inside, the place is full but not packed. It’s just the right amount of people for the space. The decor is reminiscent of the old school speakeasy vibes that can be commonly found in NYC. We are feeling quite comfortable now. We grab some seats the bar and open up the menu, expecting to find a seasonal cocktail list. However, we were blown away by the coolest concept we’ve ever seen. Instead of the regular listing of drink titles and their ingredients, the Little Red Door menu contains a series of vibes to choose from. Each spread in the menu contained some imagery and prose to capture certain emotions or moods to be found in the human experience. The accompanying drink is crafted to evoke that feeling as you imbibe. Very fascinating and unique indeed. As the menu likely changes, I won’t detail specifically what we drank. But I will say that the presentation of each drink matched up to the selected vibe perfectly. Between the drinks, decor and atmosphere, there is a contained energy that feels like it could pop at any moment (have people dancing like a flapper in the 20’s n shit). Overall, this was our favorite nightlife experience in Paris.

After an evening of drinks and great company, we to call it a night and head back to our apartment. Tomorrow, we need to be up early.

Sunday

This morning, we wake up early to pack our things. We booked a room at the W Opera Hotel. Gotta do the last night up in style. When we get there, we check in with no problems. The room is pretty fancy but there’s a bland looking wall outside our window. We ask them if we can get a better view, so they move us to the other side. Here, our balcony has is overlooking the Palais Garnier. That’s whatsup!

We have a pretty lax schedule today compared to the rest of the trip. Mostly just eating and bumming around the area. We head over to Holy Bely but the line is around the block. Skrrrrt. So we make our way over to Marché des Enfants Rouges instead, a covered market in Le Marais. There’s a bunch of food and grocery options around. We decide on Traiteur Marocain for a snack.

Not fully satiated by our meal, we pop into Breizh Cafe which is not too far away. There’s a bit of a line here too, but much more manageable. Once inside, we treat ourselves to some delicious savory crepes. With 2 meals in our stomach, we are ready to take a break from eating. We spend the new few hours hopping around Le Marais, checking out various stores and cafes. Many espressos were drunken. After that, we head back to the hotel to recharge our phones and tired bodies.

For tonight’s dinner, we go to Clamato, which turns out to be our other favorite meal of the trip. This seafood restaurant is tucked in the 11th, so we take a rideshare there instead of walking (and inevitably being late for our reservation). From the outside, it was very nondescript; just a green front stuck between an antique shop and what appeared to be an office building. We have an early reservation so we’re one of the first tables seated. The decor is soft-spoken and rustic, reminiscent of a small cafe in the countryside. Perfect low keys vibes for a Sunday night.

It’s our last proper dinner in Paris, so we order a bunch of food: Seafood platter (which included oysters, clams and barnacles), eggplant with trout roe, rockfish ceviche and caviar eggs. Everything is so fresh and expert in its preparation. I always thought barnacles was some shit to scrape off the bottom of a boat; but I guess we fans of eating them now.

This must be called the fresh breathe platter XD

The funniest part of dinner was when I went to pop a barnacle, and the ocean shot juice all over the back of the shirt of the guy sitting next to me. We would have been mad embarrassed, but the dude didn’t seem to notice at all. He was so engaged in the convo with his date. I take my towel and lightly wipe his back. He looks at me with a confused face, I smile and nod and he turns back very confused. If things go well and he she ends up back at his place, hopefully she doesn’t mind the smell of fresh barnacle juice. My bad bro!

After this extremely satisfying dinner, we hop the train back to the 2nd and take a stroll through the night air. Eventually, we stumble upon the Pont Alexandre III and do an impromptu photoshoot at the bridge. After the sun sets, we head back to the hotel and enjoy the night view from the balcony.

Monday

On the final day of our trip, we woke up early to maximize our last few hours. We order some room service, have a nice breakfast photoshoot on the balcony and take some photos. I could really get used to Parisian mornings but alas, all good things must come to an end. We pack up our bags and leave them with the front desk for holding.

For our last proper meal, we head over to Pink Mamma. This Italian spot in the 9th came highly recommended online. When we get there 15 minutes before open, there’s already a queue outside (probably 40 people ahead of us). Once they open, the seating moves very quickly and efficiently. We are at our table in about 5 minutes. The restaurant has a few floors, each with it’s own dining room and distinct flavor. I notice that our entire room was seated with Asians. Seems like we are being grouped here. Suspect for sure, but run that good food outchea and I’ll ignore the circumstances. We order some steak, truffle pasta and ceviche. The steak and ceviche were serviceable but the truffle noodles are phenomenal. Can’t go wrong with the pasta at an Italian joint, eh.

Fully fed, we head out to savor the last hour before we have to split. We jump around to various landmarks like the Arc d’Triomphe and the Pont Alexandre III to do the photo thing. Once the photoshoots are complete, we grab our bags from the hotel and hop a train to CDG.

At the airport, we attempt to go into Star Alliance Lounge. It looks very nice in there with its dim lighting, soft music, a tasty food spread and an espresso machine. But they weren’t accepting our Priority Pass. Too low class perhaps. We’re directed to the iCare Lounge down the hallway. When we get here, we are treated to a big crowd, harsh bright lighting and some Oscar Meyer ham on a ritz cracker. Oh well, it’s better than nothing. We end up eating like 10 ham & ritz crackers because why not. Can’t be all michelins and corner bistros everyday. Perfect way to adjust back to our non-vacation lives. Fin.