I have noticed a surge in searches for vacations in Paris recently.  I thought I would round up all of my posts from my trip to Paris last year! I didn’t realize how many posts I wrote until now! Wow, what can I say? J’adore Paris!

First things first though, as I get a lot of questions about how to dress like a Parisian.  Here’s the simplest way to dress like a Parisian:

How to dress like a Parisian: Striped shirt // black pants // chic scarf // ballet flats splurge, steal  // pretty French purse

Alright, on to all of my posts about Paris!

How to Rent an Apartment in Paris – We rented an apartment in Paris. In this post I talk about my experience.

A guide to eating in Paris – I write about good eats!

Best Shopping in Paris – Here I write about my MUST visit shops. I forgot to include Diptyque on this list!

Day Trip to Chateau de Fontainebleau – I *highly* recommend making the trip out to Fontainebleau. It’s little over an hour away and I explain how to get there and why you should go!

A Versailles Bike Tour Review – If you are in Paris long enough, I’m sure you’ll visit Versailles. I strongly recommend doing a bike tour of Versailles – You get to see the *entire* grounds that are nearly impossible to see by foot!

10 tips for surviving the Louvre – The Louvre museum is HUGE. You have to go there with a plan. If you just meander on in, you’ll be lost and you won’t see what you wanted.

Strolling the Champs Elysees  – I wrote about our stroll down the Champs Elysees!

Walking tour of St. Germain des Pres – I wrote about walking around St. Germain des Pres- a GREAT place for shopping and dining!

Walking the Il de la Cite – the Il de la Cite has Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle on it. A Must visit.

 Pierre Herme Macarons and Pastry review – you all know I’m obsessed with macarons. I went to Pierre Herme and wrote about it. However, I ended up loving the croissant below more than any pastry ever!

Laduree Paris Tea Room Review – a highlight of the trip for me!

Buying a Louis Vuitton in Paris – yes, it’s cheaper. I wrote about my experience in this post.

Plans for a pastry tour in Paris – these were all of the pastry shops I wanted to go to. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit them all. Guess I’ll have to visit again!

What to pack in your carry on – The flight across the pond is LONG. Here I wrote about my favorite carry-on travel essentials to help you survive the long flight!

What to pack and wear in Paris! – I know you want to look like a Parisian. Here I wrote about what to pack so you look tres chic and only pack one suitcase!

Visiting E. Dehillerin in Paris – a famous kitchen store.  If you are into cooking AT ALL this store has the coolest and most unique gadgets around.

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Today’s post is about the place we stayed in Paris. We rented an apartment this time around, which we have never done before! You see, our favorite hotel has closed down and we had to look for an alternative place to stay. Le sigh. So the search began. I have read about staying in gorgeous apartments in Paris, but I was a little iffy on how it actually worked. Well, truth be told, it was pretty easy.

Now, there are a bunch of different websites that rent apartments in Paris. We actually tried to rent an apartment from both Paris Perfect and Haven in Paris but the apartments we were interested in weren’t available at the time of our trip.

When choosing a hotel vs an apartment, there a *few* things to consider:
Apartment upsides:
– You have your own kitchen so you can prep a few of your own meals
– There is a dining table, so you can grab things and take them to-go and eat at home. It’s a big way to save money.
-Some apartments have their own washer/dryer, so you can do laundry
-You can stay for extended periods of time for cheaper
-If you are traveling with more than 3 people in your party, it is more economical to rent a big apartment then several hotel rooms (That’s why we went with an apartment)
-It is usually much more spacious than a hotel room

the beautiful antique oil paintings in the apartment we rented!

Apartment Downsides
-There is no concierge, which can be helpful if you need directions or reservations
-Luggage store could potentially be a problem: If you arrive early and the apartment is not available until 5pm, you will have to have somewhere to store your luggage. There are luggage storage locations in most train stations in the city, but it’s such a nuisance!
-Some apartments require you to bring your own linens, towels, and shampoo/conditioner. Go with a reputable place!
-Look to see if it’s on the 5th floor. 5th floor means its hot. And a lot of places don’t have elevators. So every time you go home, you have to hike 5 floors up to your place.

the beautiful antique oil paintings in the apartment

Things to Consider When Selecting an Apartment (or hotel, even!)
-Is there Wi-Fi?
-What floor is the apartment on?
-Is there an elevator?
-Is there a bathroom located in the apartment or is there a shared one down the hall?
-Is there air conditioning? (unlikely)
-Is there heating?
-Where is the apartment located? LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.  Before we went, I google street mapped where we were potentially going to stay to see if the neighborhood was going to be safe.
-Is the rental company reputable?
-Which way does the apartment face? If it faces the street it could be super noisy
-Is the apartment no-smoking?
-Is the requirement for length of stay?
-How many beds are there AND what size are they? It might say 3 bedroom BUT they are 3 TWIN beds.
-Is there a washer/dryer?
-Is there a kitchen?

The reason we chose to stay in apartment this time around is we were traveling in a group of 4 and it was cheaper to rent a bigger apartment then rent multiple hotel rooms (at least in the hotel-price range we were looking at). The other reason is that we wanted to be able to prep a few meals at home to save some money on dinner. We didn’t want to spend 60 Euros per person every night on dinner!

the view into the main room

Now onto the apartment we rented… We rented this very large and spacious apartment located near the Palais Royal. Our closest metro stop was a 5 minute walk and it was Pyramides.

Renting the apartment from this company was easy and done online.

To get the keys to the apartment was a little bit trickier: we had to call the management company once our plane landed from the airport in Paris. Only one problem: our phones don’t work in Europe. I know you can buy a sim card for your phone to work over there but we did not. The payphones over in Europe require a special phone card that you have to buy… they don’t take coins. Eventually the French lady at the help desk in the airport just made the phone call for us. And everyone keeps saying the French aren’t nice… I have *never* had a problem with the French. I think if you’re nice to people they’ll be nice to you, Kindergarten 101.

Then we met the lady in front of the apartment. Did a quick check in and went over the rules. Super easy!

more of the antique art!

The apartment looked into a courtyard that was quiet.

I don’t know if you can tell, but these curtains are made from Fortuny fabric!! Wow!! The old wood floors were a problem – they were so incredibly squeaky and you had to wear your socks or shoes while walking around because the wood and old nail heads would poke you a little.

Checking out was a breeze. You just… leave the keys in the door and close the door. Done.

Here are some of the professional photos of the apartment we rented:

It had a nice kitchen with a stove, oven, dishwasher, microwave, espresso maker, and refrigerator!

One of the bedrooms…

The other bedroom…

My overall review of the actual apartment we rented:
-I liked the location, it was easy to get to. It was safe. The Metro was a short walk away. The apartment was clean with new sheets and towels. They provided toilet paper, shampoo, soap. This apartment was also huge! It also felt French to us, which was important! We wanted to stay somewhere that felt French! There were also 2.5 baths here! This place could sleep 6 people!
-My dislikes were the wood floor. It was really squeaky and you couldn’t walk around at night without waking the other person up. I wish we were a little bit closer to some of the areas we preferred to shop and eat, but that’s okay, all and all this was a great location.

Would I stay in this apartment again? Yes, but I think if I were to stay in an apartment again I would want to stay somewhere in St. Germain, just to try something new!  So, yes, I do recommend this apartment if you’re headed over there. An honest unpaid review here.

Where do you stay when you go to Paris? Leave me a comment, I will need a place next time I go!

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I have found that you have been enjoying reading my Paris posts.  Today I am writing about eating in Paris.  These include things that I believe are a must-try!  I’ll tell you how to save some money while eating in Paris and I’ll give you some tips if you are a vegetarian headed to Paris!

a raspberry tart… enjoyed on my birthday!

The Croissant
Let’s start with the most obvious thing that you must try – the croissant.  The French croissant is nothing like any croissant I’ve ever had in the USA.  It’s just so much better.  To get the very best croissants, you need to enjoy it by 10AM. Why? Because the croissants are baked very early in the morning and have a short shelf-life… enjoyed in the afternoon, they will loose some of their crunch.

For half of our mornings in Paris, we would go just down the street to Eric Kayser and enjoy a cappuccino and a fresh croissant. While Eric Kayser is a chain, don’t let that fool you – he has written a book and still produces some of the best baguettes and croissants in the city!

eating at Eric Kayser

Another croissant we enjoyed… from Boulangerie Julien Paris!

Of course, if you like almonds… the croissant aux amandes is always a good choice!

Now this funny looking croissant that looks like it has 2 sunny side up eggs is actually a croissant aux abricots AKA apricot croissant. It was quite tasty!

BUT, my MOST FAVORITE croissant of all was the ispahan croissant from Pierre Herme. THIS IS THE BEST CROISSANT EVER!!! Yes, I’m shouting because it deserves that type of praise. Get there early in the morning as they sell out quickly!

The perfect croissant has a little crunch to it then filled with layers of buttery goodness.  Honestly, I have never had a bad croissant in Paris. You can look at reviews of the “best croissant” in Paris, but I find them all to be good.  In fact, my first croissant from Paris was one by Dad brought home for me… it was smashed and survived the 12 hour flight home… and I still remember proclaiming how it was the best croissant I’d ever had ever… until I met the ispahan croissant, that is!


The Baguette
Everyone knows France is famous for their baguettes.  Why? Because they are SO GOOD.  Every morning, many locals head to the local boulangerie to pick up a fresh baguette.  What’s not to love about fresh bread?  Well, besides the fact that they all taste delicious, they are only about 1.50 Euros— AKA your cheapest meal in Paris! That’s so cheap for such a good tasting product!! What I also don’t understand, is how universally good all baguettes are in France, yet in the USA we seem to screw it up.  What’s their secret???

hubby with a baguette

hubby with a baguette on a bike… so French!

Sandwiches

You know what tastes good on those baguettes? Cheese. And meat. And fresh tomatoes. For lunch, we always ate a sandwich.  Our favorite places to go to: Paul, Eric Kayser, Le Petit Vendome were our favorite places to go to! Additionally, almost every little bakery has sandwiches in the window. If you’ve never been to Paris, a favorite of many is the Croque Monsier – ham/cheese sandwich. As a vegetarian, I’ve never had it, but I’ve heard from many it is their favorite! I personally love the caprese sandwich.

Butter

Okay, so I know you’re thinking… butter, seriously?  Yes, seriously!  We all know that the French love their butter.  This butter is from happy cows in the Normandy region of France (they’re happy because Normandy is so pretty, who wouldn’t want to live there? j/k). But this butter takes 3 days to make and hours of churning and then getting hand-beaten with wooden panels. It comes in many different flavors, but it seems everyone’s favorite is the Beurre butter (salted butter) as it has flakes of salt in it…. so yummy! Seriously we would eat bread, butter, and fruit for dinner because it was THAT GOOD.  So when you’re in Paris, I recommend stopping by one of these places to get some.

oh, how i love thee!

Below is a selection of all the different types of Bordier Butter – this was at the Le Grand Epicurie!

Bordier Butter

Our finds at Le Grand Epicerie – a fresh loaf of bread, some butter, and some amazing jam! Yep, that was dinner one night – added some cheese. So good.

Macarons

Ok, y’all need to try a macaron in Paris. Just one. I recommend trying at least one of these flavors: pistachio, raspberry, or salted caramel. Then if you decide you like macarons, venture out and try some other interesting flavors!  I already wrote about my experience eating at Laduree (famous macaron shop!) and here I wrote about Pierre Herme (the other famous macaron shop!)

Macarons at Laduree

Ice Cream and Gelato

Okay ice cream lovers, this message is for you – you MUST try the ice cream in Europe! It is a bit different than the ice cream here in the states.  The most famous ice cream maker in Paris is Berthillon, located in the Il de la Cite. His ice cream was extremely smooth with NO ice crystals! It was amazing!  The flavors we tried: salted caramel (caramel beurre sale), raspberry (framboise), orange chocolate (gianduia orange). I honestly can’t pick out a favorite. Their salted caramel receives a TON of raves. The raspberry tasted really like raspberry and was delicious. And the chocolate orange? AMAZING.  Now, I read online the two must try flavors were salted caramel and fresh strawberry (fraise de bois). But the fraise de bois wasn’t available when we were there!

raspberry and salted caramel

chocolate orange and salted caramel

There is always a line at Berthillon – do not fear, it goes pretty quickly and is worth the wait. You flew to Paris – you can wait 20 minutes for the best ice cream ever.

Another place we tried the gelato at was at Laduree!  It came in these pre frozen containers – we tried lemon (citron) and raspberry (framboise). It was amazing! It included a little macaron on top too!  This was so refreshing on a hot day!

Pastries – Gateaux, Viennoiseries
When you walk through Paris (and the rest of France), you are surely to pass some window with a bunch of pastries on display!  They all sing “eat me” as you pass on by!

My absolute FAVORITE gateau (Gateau means cake) is the Fraisier! The Fraisier is basically like a strawberry short cake – only a bit more refined than the American version.  It is SO refreshing and light!  My favorite version is sold by Angelina – my most favorite pastry shop in Paris!

Oh dear, do I spy more Fraisiers in the window calling my name??  The Fraisier is only available when fresh strawberries are in season. The first days we were in Paris no one had Fraisiers – but the the last TWO days the strawberries ripened and voila! Frasier season time! I love the Fraisier so much, I actually found a European baker in San Francisco who made a Fraisier for our wedding cake!

Of course, you should always try a tart.  This one was a raspberry tart that we celebrated as my birthday cake!

Did I get another Fraisier? Oh, I guess I did.  Oh and what’s that?  a little strawberry tart!  What it nice is that the pastries are usually served in a whole bunch of different sizes – bite size, small, and then large for sharing!

Yes I know this is a crappy picture below, but doesn’t the chocolate look delicious?

Below is a raspberry financier from Eric Kayser.

And we also tried a pistachio financier which was delicious!  I recommend grabbing one of these little viennoiserries and putting it in your purse so you can have a snack during your sight seeing during the day!

Pistachio Financier

One last look at some pastries while window shopping!
Oh! Also, I had saved this website link which contains of a list of the best bakeries in Paris listed by location!

Crepes & Galettes
Another thing you must try in Paris are the crepes! They are so delicious!!!  The other thing that’s nice is that they are a relatively cheap meal!  There are creperies scattered all about the city – some are better than others. I suggest looking at trip advisor or yelp to see which creperies are good near where you want to head to. The savory crepes are actually galled Galettes (not to be confused with the free form pie version). They are served in squares and made with buckwheat flour. The sweet crepes are made with traditional “crepe” recipe that we know of. One of the creperies I do recommend eating at is here near the Louvre – a perfect lunch stop during your day at the Louvre!

a buckwheat galette with cheese, egg, fresh greens, and tomatoes! yummy!!

a raspberry crepe!

Chocolate
Yes, chocolate. You need to try some. La Maison du Chocolat has some of the best chocolate truffles in the world. Go and try one.  I remember someone telling me it was like a symphony in your mouth, as the chocolate melts you get different flavors. Enjoy it. Don’t take the truffle in one bite. Enjoy in 2-3 bites.

I forgot to take a picture of the chocolate because, um, I ate it. It was hot and it was melting and I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough.

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Alright, the next place that is even MORE famous for chocolate is Angelina’s African hot chocolate (chocolat Africain). This chocolate has 3 different types of chocolate mixed in. It is nothing like your Swiss-Mix. It is like literally drinking liquid chocolate. It is SO rich. You could share it with someone. But you need to try it, at least once. Just know though, that sitting inside Angelina’s costs an absolute fortune – I recommend the takeaway counter.  Although, the dining experience in Angelina’s tea room is really fun!

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Head to the Market
Ok, Want to know a secret to save money while dining in Paris? Head to the local market. That’s what the French do. Don’t you want to “eat like the locals”? So then eat like the locals! Here’s what you do – go to the bakery. Get a baguette for 1.50 Euros. Then head to the store. I don’t know French really well, but I learned a few things. If you want to order meats or cheese, you say “tranche, s’il vous plait” (sliced, please!). If you want like 4 slices you say  “quatre tranches, s’il vous plait”. Point to the cheese or you meat you want, as long as your playful and nice, they will help you! Try to say the French words, they will be much nicer to you! Also, don’t grab the vegetables out of the container, please point to them. The storekeeper will get it for you.

Now head back to your place and enjoy a nice French meal – fresh meats, cheese, veggies, bread, grab some wine (or Orangina if you don’t drink) and have a picnic in the park. Or in your hotel. This is how you can save a LOT of money! Also, as a vegetarian, you can really pick what you want! To save money, we brought over some plastic utensils. I highly recommend doing this so you can eat on the cheap!

The reason you want to dine at the market for a day or two, is so you can save money to eat at somewhere fancy!

Dine at fancy restaurant
C’mon. It’s Paris. You MUST eat at one nice restaurant! Now, keep in mind. Dinner starts around 8pm. It will last approx 2-3 hours. You are supposed to enjoy the experience and enjoy the food. Enjoy the whole production! It is a show, after all! So stop rushing. Stop staring at the waiter. Do not call the waiter Le garçon. It’s an insult. And don’t be loud in the restaurant, talk in soft voices. Don’t wear your ugly tennis shoes. Wear something fashionable!

Now, as a vegetarian, it is difficult to eat in French restaurants at dinner.  I also don’t speak French, so I don’t know how to politely ask for something vegetarian. The fancy restaurant we ate at that also has a nice vegetarian selection is called Maceo. It was really quite tasty! They have a selection for meat-eaters and vegetarians! It was also one of the fanciest places I’ve dined at before.

Now, there are much fancier restaurants to eat at.  If you are staying in a hotel that has a concierge, your concierge can call the fancy restaurant and request special meal requests (like vegetarian) ahead of time for you. But we stayed in an apartment so that wasn’t an option.

Some of my friends are total foodies and also went to Paris just before and just after us.  They are not vegetarian and they highly recommended trying one of these three fancy restaurants:
– Jules Verne, located on the Eiffel Tower. Has the best views of Paris, and is a Michelin star restaurant.
– Guy Savoy’s restaurant – two of my friends say this is the best food they have ever had in their entire life. I would hope so, it cost a pretty penny!
– Epicure – one of my friends has been here too. They also said this was the best restaurant, best food, and best overall dining experience. But it also the most expensive.

Some pictures of our fancy food we snuck at Maceo…

my vegetable appetizer, how cute is it!

Fish appetizer

We forgot to take a picture of the main dish – oops! Got hungry.

dessert, a deconstructed millefeiulle with fresh strawberry ice cream and a praline nougat candy

Where is your favorite place to eat in Paris? Leave me a comment!

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Let’s talk about one of my favorite things to do in Paris… Shopping!! Shopping in Paris is every girl’s dream, right?

Shopping in Paris

Shopping on Rue St. Honore

Astier de Villate
173 Rue Saint Honore
This shop is the cutest shop full of handmade porcelain.  A lot of the porcelain is in white – their signature look.  But the white is NOT boring… they have interesting motifs.

This is what I carried home in my carry-on… these two cute little bud vases! J’adore them!

Herve Chapelier

390 rue Saint Honore

Ever heard of this brand?  It used to be kind of popular in the 90s.  They make great travel bags, beach bags, school bags, and lug-around-town bags.  I used to use one of these for my books in college. Tres chic. I get a bag from here every time I go. I can’t help myself.

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Longchamp

404 Rue Saint Honore

Longchamp is a very French brand.  They make beautiful handbags and I’m sure a lot of you already own a Le Pliage bag.  But did you know they are a LOT cheaper in Paris??  For instance, the long champ le pliage large shopper is $145 in the USA.  In Paris, it costs 78 Euros which equals about 90 US dollars (Spring 2015).  If you spend over 150 Euros at this store, you can get the VAT tax back and save an extra 15%.  Just saying… this is a VERY FRENCH and VERY NICE gift for someone (or yourself)!

picture from here

Anne Fontaine

370 Rue Saint Honore

Anne Fontaine is known for making beautiful white blouses.  They are timeless and classic.  They also have trendy designs too.  I highly recommend taking one home… just know they aren’t cheap (uh, is anything in Paris?).

picture from here

Colette 

213 Rue Saint Honore

Everywhere I read on the internet before I left was about how “cool” Colette was.  Honestly, I didn’t think that this store felt very French to me AT ALL.  It reminded me exactly like Kitson, a store in LA.  They had loud music blasting full of a lot ofAmerican brands. I’m sure a lot of people will think this store is cool, but to me it did not feel Parisian at all.  If you want nice clothes you can shop here, but if you want Parisian clothes, skip it.

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 Manoush
162 Rue Saint Honore
This is the cutest clothing store.  Ironically my cousin posted a picture on instagram when she went to Paris a few weeks after I did.   I totally recognized the dress she was wearing in the dressing room… it was from this store!  While I did not buy anything here, I would’ve loved to have something from here!

picture from here

These cute dresses were in the window display when I was there:

E. Goyard

233 Rue Saint Honore

This company is famous for their luggage and hand bags as well.  They have a famous print and if you’re in to collecting suitcases or pretty bags you need to go there.

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Hermes

24 Rue de Fabourg Saint Honore
A lot doesn’t need to be said about Hermes.  If you want to have the most fashionable scarf from Paris, you go here.

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Le Petit Bateau

9 Rue du 29 Juillet

This is a clothing store for children and babies.  But is is the cutest clothing store!!!  These locations are all over Paris and is where the Parisians buy stuff for kiddos.  If you want your toddler looking tres chic, check them out! (FYI, I wore Petit Bateau when I was little, my mom had me starting out in French fashion! Is that why I love Paris?). Also a some great gift ideas you can take home easily.  These locations are all over Paris.  You can check out the location finder here.

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Near Saint Honore… either a 10-15 minute walk…

Christian Louboutin

19 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Just like the Louis Vuitton, Louboutin’s are also quite a bit cheaper to buy in Paris.  I had so much fun looking at all of the shoes… while there were quite a few pretty shoes, I didn’t see any I couldn’t live without.  I don’t wear super high heels anymore.  However, next time I go I will be on the hunt for some pretty red-soled shoes!

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E. Dehillerin

18 rue Coquilliere
This is the oldest cooking ware store in Paris!  They have so many unique items here.  This is where Julia Childs bought her copper pans!  I wrote about it in a post here.  We bought several tart pans and wooden spoons.  If you like to bake or cook, head here for your souvenirs!  Just remember, you can’t take knives or objects that could be used as weapons on the airplane!

Printemps

64 Blvd Haussman

This is a large department store in the 2nd arr in Paris.  While we were there they were decorated in Spring pink celebrating their 150th birthday.  This store is HUGE.  They have many different places to eat inside.  If you know you want to buy lots of things under 150 euros, buy them all here so they add up to over 150 euros so you get your VAT back.

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Galeries Lafayette

40 Boulevard Haussman

This department store is just across the street from Printemps.  It was a ZOO. The tour group buses have this store on their maps so EVERYONE was there. It was so crowded I couldn’t stand it.  But they did have some good deals on scarves here. If debating between the two dept stores, I would go to Printemps.  But my favorite dept store is Le Bon Marche in St. Germain.

Galeries Lafayette

Champs Elysees
Louis Vuitton
101 Avenue de Champs Elysees
Since I had last been to Paris, the shopping scene has changed.  The Champs Elysees seemed to be where all the super high end shopping was; now it seems it has moved to St. Honore.  But if you are looking to buy a LV purse, you MUST go to the headquarter store on the Champs Elysees. It’s FIVE stories!  I wrote about buying a LV in Paris here.

St. Germain des Pres

Le Bon Marche
24 Rue de Sevres
This is the best department store in Paris.  They have everything and it is not very crowded like Printemps or Galeries Lafayette.

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Le Grand Epicerie
38 Rue de Sevres
If you are a foodie, you MUST go to Le Grand Epicerie which is the next store down from Le Bon Marche.  They had FIVE ROWS of jams and jellies alone.  I stood there just staring because I couldn’t decide what jam I wanted to take home!

Check out all the different types of mini madeleine cookies! LOVE.

They have fresh fruits and veggies. It is a giant market.

I love how they have a cute little truck inside full of fresh items as if it were just hauled in on this truck!

Can I just say that I wish our strawberries were sold in these cute little containers? PLEASE oh please! Aren’t these baskets the cutest?

This store is actually full of good ideas for souvenirs to bring home – you can bring a nice French jam (keep it under 3 ounces if you want it on your carry on!).  We brought home truffle salt too which makes a nice gift. They have tons of various types of honey – another good gift!  Even those little madeleine bags would be a nice gift.  Just don’t bring home dried meats because I don’t think customs will let you.

Le Jaquard Francais

53 Rue Bonaparte

We’ve all seen the pretty tablecloths that this company makes.  They have a nice store in Paris. I highly recommend going in!

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Faconnable
174 Boulevard Saint Germain
This is a nice store that mainly sells men’s clothes.  I tried to get my husband to wear a scarf because his heritage is French – but he didn’t want to. Sigh. So we got him a really cool belt here.  Very stylish store for guys!

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I’ve already discussed these stores above, but they have locations in St. Germain as well:

Hermes 17 Rue De Sevres

Herve Chapelier 1 bis Rue de Vieux

Louis Vuitton 170 Boulevard de Saint Germain

Longchamp 21, Rue du Vieux Colombier

Now, my favorite shopping in Paris is… Window Shopping!  I wish I took more pictures of the cute window displays.

Some of my loot… I love how they wrap everything like it’s a present!

I love how pretty their wrapping is even for the simplest of items

Um. I like to shop. These are all of my goodies!

I hope you enjoyed my round-up of my favorite shops in Paris!  This is by no means bargain shopping – you don’t go to Paris to look for bargains except at the flea market!  Where do you like to shop in Paris?

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After being in the city for several days, we decided that we needed to head out and explore the country.  On our last day, we decided to make a day trip out to Chateau de Fontainebleau.

Day trip to Chateau de Fontainebleau

Have you ever heard of it?
No? Well, it is like Versailles, except… prettier! WHAT? Prettier than Versailles? Yes, it is a UNESCO world heritage site (Versailles is not).  What’s nice about it is that it has room after room of original furnishings AND it lacks crowds. The place was practically empty!

It’s only about 40 minutes away, but when you don’t speak French getting there can be a trick.  I’m going to try to make it easy for you!  My directions will be at the bottom of the post; the first part will be the pretty pictures!

Chateau de Fontainebleau had been the residence of French Monarchs from Louis VII all the way through Napoleon.

Gallery of Francis 1, made between 1533-1539!

I’m not going to do much talking… I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  Everything here is original.

the Queen’s bedroom

The Gallery of Diana, lined with bookcases

chapel

kids singing in the chapel

Napoleon really did wear a hat like the ones he was painted wearing!

the Pope’s apartment

I just love the paintings on the paneling of this wall…

the council chamber

And we’ll finish our tour with a look at Napoleon’s Throne Room…

Beautiful tapestries…

 We met a “member” of the Royal Court in the Chateau as well… (they had several people dressed up in the rooms… it was kind of fun).

There are large gardens and grounds surrounding the castle, but it was a bit chilly that day so we didn’t walk all around.  But here’s what we’re all missing…

the carp pond, from wiki

pic from wiki

I really enjoyed all of the rooms in Fontainebleau.  If you’re looking for a Chateau experience and you’re debating between Versailles and Fontainebleau, I highly recommend Chateau de Fontainebleau (unless you do the bike tour of Versailles. I loved that).  There were hardly any crowds at this chateau and the town of Fontainebleau is super cute.  Plus, there are a lot more things to look at in Fontainebleau as the rooms are all highly decorated with original furnishings.

I included a city map of Fontainebleau.  The X’s represent the bus stop, the chateau, and the crepe place that we ate at.  There are lots of cute little restaurants and shops in the town, but I recommend trying the L’Hirondelle Creperie. It’s just a short walk from the Chateau.

map of Fontainebleau.

Directions to get to Fontainebleau
The train to Fontainebleau departs from Gare de Lyon in Paris.  From the Gare de Lyon, you will need to take the RER train headed for either Montargis Sens, Montereau, or Laroche-Migennes.  Your destination however is “Fontainebleau-Avon”.  Remember, the trains will not say Fontainebleau, they will only state which direction you are headed.  The trains leave about every 30-40 minutes from Gare de Lyon.

I thought the trickiest part was navigating through Gare de Lyon. We arrived by metro and had to take several flights of stairs to get to the RER station area.  We had no clue which machine to buy tickets from, so we simply went up to the staffed window.  The lady there didn’t speak very good English, but understood we wanted round-trip tickets to Fontainebleau and back.  The ticket she sold us was good for all-day use for the metro, buses, and RER.   I believe that card is called the Mobilis (day pass).

Now once you have your ticket, it’s time to find out which platform your train leaves from.  There are two train platforms, blue and yellow.  Your train can leave from either platform.  You need to go to the departures board and look.  Make sure you’re looking at the depart board (it says Depart).  You will usually find a bunch of people staring at a tv screen somewhere and that is likely the departures board.  Look for your train. Then, once the train track line is posted, immediately start heading to the line.  The place is confusing and they will often only post the line number 5-10 minutes before departure.

destination screen, I tried to make it easy for you!

To make sure you’re at the right track line, you will see the destination name on the screens on the train.

Once you get off at the station Fontainebleau-Avon, you simply walk outside and go to bus line #1. Ligne 1 is destined for Les Lilas.  Our RER ticket day pass worked as the bus ticket.  You will get off at the Chateau stop.  We didn’t know which stop was what, but when all the tourists got off at one stop, we simply hopped off and voila! We turned the corner and we were there! I’m sure you could just tell the bus driver “Chateau, si vous plait”.  It is about a 15 minute bus ride, or if you’re adventurous, a 45 minute walk.

How to get back:
Where the bus line 1 dropped you off for the chateau, simply cross the street and pick up the bus there (it’s next to the cute little town square that has flowers and a fountain in it).  The bus is still “ligne 1” and I think it says “gare” on it but I can’t remember.

the pretty town square in Fontainebleau where you pick up the bus back to the train station

Now, once at the train station, it’s pretty simple.  Take the train back to Paris. There are only two tracks at this station, so it’s not too hard to figure out! Take any train that states “Gare de Lyon” as its destination.

The official Chateau de Fontainebleau website also has information about how to get there.

AND that concludes my trip to Paris.  A little later I’ll write about my recommendations of where I shopped, what I ate, and where I stayed, but for now I’m going to blog about some recipes and seasonal things.  Also, I’m in the process of moving and these Paris posts take a long time to put together.

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Now I’m going to talk about my FAVORITE thing we did during our trip to Paris… the Versailles Bike Tour!!

Versailles Bike Tour Review

If you’ve ever been to Versailles, you will know that this place is BIG.  In fact, like 2000 acres big.  That means you aren’t going to see *everything*.  Your feet can only walk so far though.  For instance, it’s 0.6 miles from the train station to the palace entrance alone.

Versailles is the biggest palace in the world.  This picture is from wikipedia.

I’ve been to Versailles now three times.  One time we just did the main Chateau.  The next time we walked to the Grand and Petit Trianon.  Let me tell you, that was a LONG WALK.  We ended up buying a ticket for the stupid tram to take us back to the chateau because our feet hurt.

So I present to you my favorite option of all three: a bike tour of Versailles!
We booked ours through the Fat Tire Bike Tours company.  I cannot sing enough praise. (btw, I was not paid to write about this).  Here’s how it works: you book a ticket online.  Then you all meet at their office over by the Eiffel Tower.  Then you walk over to the train station. They supply you a train ticket.  You all take the train together.  After you get off the train, you walk a short distance to an office to pick up your bikes in the town of Versailles.

Now the fun begins!  You bike down cute little streets like this and head to a French market!

streets of Versailles

Why do you go to a market first?  Because on this tour you get to have a picnic on the Grand Canal!  How awesome is that?! We had so much fun at this French market… it really is a market for the locals.  They don’t speak English very well, and I don’t speak French very well, but we managed to get the food we wanted!  We had so much fun gathering our supplies!  I seriously had the best French cheese and I have no idea what it was called.  Too bad.

the French market

After picking up your supplies, it’s time to head to the gardens.  You get to bike along the manicured trees along Marie Antoinette’s sheep…

Marie Antoinette’s sheep

Here we are biking along this beautiful path.  It was the most beautiful day in Spring.  The bike company gives you one bike basket per couple. We felt so totally French with our baguette sitting in our bike!

husband and I enjoying our trip!

First off, you park your bikes at the Petit Trianon.  The Petit Trianon was built for the Sun King’s mistress, Madame du Pompadour (heard of her?)

picture from wikipedia

I just wanted to include this bedroom from the Petit Trianon… it is SO CUTE.  The bed cornice, the little chair, the fabric, the colors, the light green and grey paneling on the walls… despite being the mistress she had some good taste!

cute French bedroom

After touring the Petit Trianon, you walk over the Marie Antoinette’s Hameau.  She loved to pretend she was farmer, so she had this little fairytale village made so she could milk cows and collect hen’s eggs.  Except the cows were cleaned and the eggs had all the chicken poop removed from them!  Imagine being poor and hearing that she had this little make believe village of a farm… no wonder the French people cut off her head!

Hameau de Marie Antoinette

However, her fairytale village is really cute.

 It is in the middle of a restoration by Christian Dior fashion house.  This hamlet wasn’t opened when I first went years ago.

 That’s why I have so many pictures of it!

After leaving the Hameau, you bike down to the Grand Trianon.  King Louis got sick of his big chateau so he built a smaller one where only the men would hang out.

The columns are made from the rarest pink marble of the time.

 After leaving the Grand Trianon, we starting biking around the Grand Canal.  It was so much fun.  You could rent row boats if you wanted and boat around in the canal!

After biking around part of the canal, we came to our spot for our picnic.  Look at how beautiful our picnic spot was!  It was really a dream come true!  Everyone enjoyed baguettes and cheese (and wine for those who drink).  We had such a nice time relaxing at this spot, watching the boaters paddle on by.

As it was my birthday, we even picked up this raspberry tart for my birthday cake!  It just barely fit in the bicycle basket but we made it work.  Doesn’t look too bad despite being jostled around in the bike all morning!

 After some time, our picnic did eventually have to come to an end.  We continued our tour and eventually dropped our bikes off at the office.  We then walked over to the entrance of Versailles.  This golden gate is incredible…

Versailles golden gate

Just look at all of the gold on the palace! It’s incredible!

Everywhere you looked inside there was gold everywhere!  This is definitely a house for a king!

 The King’s private chapel…

 A tour of Versailles wouldn’t be complete without a view of the Hall of Mirrors.  You can see below how crowded the chateau is inside.  It’s just so crazy-packed.  I hated how packed it was. You could barely stand without someone running into you.

In fact it was so crazy packed, we didn’t get any pictures of the rooms as we were being pushed and shoved by the rude Chinese tour groups.
That’s why I had to include this picture that’s not mine of Marie Antoinette’s bedroom.  It was just so incredibly opulent.  And yes, they really did have that little golden fence there because people would literally be walking through the palace and watch the royals sleep and do their daily routine. So strange!

Marie Antoinette’s bedroom, pic from wikipedia.

We literally rushed through the palace because it was so hot and crowded.  We were happy to be outside once more…

Versailles is known for its fountains.  They weren’t running when we were there.  They will put on a fabulous show at certain times.

pic from wiki

The last thing we saw was the Orangerie.  My husband stated he wanted to get “garden inspiration”.  We loved the planter boxes!

Then we headed to the train and made our way back to Paris.

I tried to include a map of the day.  This was the route that we took that day.

our route map for the day.

Final thoughts: This was the highlight of our trip to Paris.  I HIGHLY recommend going on this bike tour.  It was so much fun.  We loved going to the market and picking out our food for our picturesque picnic on the Grand Canal.  We felt like the King and Queen of France eating our raspberry tart on the chateau grounds.  I really enjoyed going to the Hameau, which wasn’t very crowded because as you can see it’s a long walk from the chateau.  Ironically, the palace itself was my least favorite part of the trip.  It was way over-crowded.  I’m not sure the picnic would be as fun if it rained, but I was told they have ponchos.  The tour group also provides cutlery and glasses for your picnic.  There were about 20 people on the tour with us, which was manageable.  Our tour guide was knowledgable and friendly.  I really cannot sing enough praise about this whole experience.  I highly recommend you do it!

On our fourth day in Paris, we put on our walking shoes and headed to the Louvre.

The Louvre is one of the largest museums in the world.  It is also the most visited museum in the world.  And it is HUGE.  I have been there FIVE times and I still see new things every time I go.

The Louvre houses the Mona Lisa along with over 35,000 objects.  I can’t explain to you how big it is until you see it for yourself.  Which is why you need to read some tips about how to survive!


1. Get a Museum Pass
The museum pass website is here.  It shows all the locations where you can purchase it.  I recommend purchasing it BEFORE you go to the Louvre, so that way you can get into the shorter museum pass line.

2. Get there early
The Louvre opens every day at 9am.  The line will be the shortest then.  You want to try to beat the tour groups.  The museum pass line on this trip was by the pyramid; we tried to enter at the Carrousel du Louvre but the workers made us go to the pyramid.  In previous years, there used to be NO LINE underground in the Carrousel.  This time there was a long long line full of Chinese tourist groups.  Many years ago there used to be a quiet side entrance but it is now a group entrance (or at least it was the day we were there!).  I recommend trying to enter at the Carrousel du Louvre first before the pyramid.

get to the Louvre at opening. And try to avoid this pyramid entrance!

3. Do NOT go on Mondays  
Mondays are the busiest day.  The museum is closed on Tuesdays.  We went on a Wednesday.  Do NOT go on the first Sunday of each month because admission is free. You might save a few bucks going, but you will be so swarmed with people it will not be enjoyable.

Venus de Milo

4. Get a map  
The Louvre is BIG.  You will get lost. Even if you have a self-guided tour book, still grab a map.  It’s so easy to wander around looking at the beautiful objects around each corner.  You could waste a day looking at things you didn’t intend to see, which leads me to #5…

big empty gallery with no one in it! Amazing!

5. Come up with a game plan  
If you can, try to plan out what you want to see first and then come up with a game plan.  I recommend seeing the most touristy things first in the day – like the Mona Lisa. If you want to see the Mona Lisa, head straight to the Italian Paintings in the 13th-15th centuries section. We went straight to the Mona Lisa at opening and there were only 15-20 other people in the room.  Also head to the Winged Victory and Venus de Milo.  They are 3 biggest attractions in the museum.  We tried to follow Rick Steves’ 2 hour tour of the Louvre – which I kind of liked.  If you have a short attention span, I recommend that self-guided tour.

The Mona Lisa. Overrated yet you still have to see it!

6.  Don’t forget to look up!  
Remember, the Louvre used to be a palace and is where the Kings of France used to live.  The palace started construction in the 12th century.

7. Pack a bottle of water
The Louvre is huge and you will do a ton of walking (miles, literally!).  It is also hot.  Even when it’s cool outside there are just so many lights and people so it gets hot.  You will get thirsty and NO there’s not a drinking fountain around.  I also suggest a small non-messy snack too.  There is a food court in the Carrousel du Louvre that sells expensive food court items, which was okay when we were super desperate.  There is also an Angelina’s cafe in the Louvre with Angelina prices.

Laduree has a stand in the Carrousel du Louvre so you could have a macaron snack…

8. Watch for pickpockets  
Yes, a pick pocketer can buy tickets to the museum and steal stuff from you when you’re busy staring at the Mona Lisa! The horror! Yes, seriously. It’s a serious problem in Europe.  We actually saw someone get pick pocketed while he was taking a picture.  Watch out!

Ancient Egyptian antiquities was cool.

9. Understand you aren’t going to see everything
It’s just too big of a museum. Oh well, guess you’ll have to come back again. and again. and again. And pretty soon you’ve been 5 times and still haven’t seen everything.

my favorite painting

10. Dress appropriately
Bring comfy shoes.  Dress in layers.  Some areas of the museum are really warm because there are a lot of bright lights and a lot of people.  Bring a zippered bag to hold your things.

Hopefully these tips will help you on your big trip.  I’m including some other pictures I took while inside the Louvre…

a giant tulipiere! It was taller than me!!

You can visit Napoleon’s apartments.

 Love the scroll work on this gate…

Don’t forget to look outside, you might have a nice view…

I have written many posts about my travels to Paris.  Click here to see them all.

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On our third day in Paris we spent most of the day shopping and dining.

We started our day off with breakfast at Laduree.  We had breakfast in their tea room at their Champs Elysees location.  You can read the full blogpost about it here.

Laduree Paris

Laduree Paris treats After our filling breakfast, we went to the Louis Vuitton store headquarters.  We spent quite some time there staring at all of the pretty purses, shoes, and accessories.  I mean, after all, it IS 5 stories tall!

Peonies & Orange Blossoms buys a LV in Paris! Ooh la la!

I was SO excited to buy a LV in Paris that I had to have a picture!  I don’t normally share pictures of myself, but I couldn’t resist!  I wrote a blogpost about buying a LV in Paris and the fact that it IS cheaper to purchase there.  Definitely a total splurge but I will have it forever!

We then strolled along the boulevard and eventually climbed up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Oh, and my Dad told me this story when we were walking along the Champs Elysees.  He was there one day in August in the 90s and there were all of these people lined up and there was a finish line… for something.  So then all of the sudden this bicyclist comes rushing through and crosses the finish line first and… no one cheered.  He thought it was SO ODD, why was no one cheering? Then another crosses, then another.  Only to be met with silence. Then all of the sudden, everyone starts yelling and cheering at someone wearing a yellow jersey who was clearly not the first to cross the finish line.  And the yellow jersey was the winner!!  He thought to himself, what a typical French sport, where the one in front is not the winner.  Turns out he was watching the end of the Tour de France!!  This was before us Americans really knew about the Tour made famous by Lance Armstrong.  How funny!

 Don’t you just love the view from up here?? This was at the top of the Arc de Triomphe.  I love the beautiful Spring green of all of the trees.

 One of my favorite things to do is to stand on the top of the Arc de Triomphe and watch the cars go around in the giant traffic circle below.  It’s amazing that no one gets hit.  Every once in a while you can find the same car going in circles ’cause they can’t figure out which way they’re going!

Paris Metro

We then strolled along the tuileries garden.  We crossed over the Locks of Love bridge.  We didn’t add any lock.  Apparently the French just cut off all of the locks and won’t be allowing people to put locks on the bridge anymore due to the weight of the locks on the structure of the bridge.

We then went to the Tuileries.  The Tuileries garden was so pretty.  The tulips were still blooming, the trees were still blooming, and then the other trees had just put on their green leaves! My friend had gone 10 days before and the trees were just blooming and none of them had leaves!  Paris at the end of April is beautiful!

I just love how manicured the trees are… all perfectly cut into rectangles.

When people ask me, “What is your favorite thing to do in Paris?” My answer is not “visit the Eiffel” or do other touristy things, it is instead: Pick up a pastry at Angelina’s and walk over to the Tuileries and have a little picnic and eat it.  The gardens are so beautiful and it is so much fun to just people watch. It’s really about just enjoying life.  Isn’t that what vacation is about?

okay, not a pastry from Angelina’s but from Laduree. Angelina’s didn’t last long enough for a picture!

That concludes day 3 of our Trip to Paris!!

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