A Fall Day in Paris

Flanboyant Eats took a quick and brief (though probably the longest ever) break for good reason. Really.

A girl can dream of walking aimlessly, right? I never thought I’d trek to Europe for a month with no agenda other than to explore and regain that joi de vivre I think I lost earlier this year. My sparkle seemed to have been dimmed. And that’s so unacceptable. I thought Europe the was most appropriate place to reignite that fire! And so here I am. Now in Spain, recharging.

I’ve been running around Europe for 19 days now and finally had a moment to sit down; it’s been that kind of trip. First stop in Alba, Italy for the most delicious 6 days ever. If you missed what I was doing  there via my shares on Facebook or Instagram, indulge in all things fine and super luxe living and dining.

And then I hopped to Geneva, Switzerland. I can’t wait to share that short 4 day visit, but do know I fell in love with the simplicity of that small city. Clean, pretty, and simple.

And of course, Paris. My 4th visit there and still it just doesn’t get old.  I was in the city of lights, exploring all things food, style, quaint little streets and all around happy living! It’s the height of the autumn season and the weather isn’t the most ideal. It’s wet most of the time. The sun sets early, making the days super short, and it’s wet. Oh, yes, I mentioned that. But it is Paris, after all.

The Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées, Musée du Louvre, the Picasso Museum, and other notable areas and things to see… those cliché amazing sights live up to the hype. Though I only spent 5 days there, each day was perfectly filled with things I enjoy every time.

Touristy or not, these moments below are some mainstays every visitor should enjoy; In my case, a fall day was mixed with a chance meeting with a VIP in the city. And to my modest credit, a friend’s friend whom I met along the way,  indulged in things native to his country he’s not done in “years”. He strolled along with me and snapped a few of these for me.

To start, this nutella crêpe at Place de Trocadéro. It was the simplest form of goodness. A thin pancake and over-processed chocolate spread. We all love it, though. Somehow, eating a crepe outside, while the raindrops splitter and splatter on your brand new leather ankle booties, is not so bad of an idea if the Tour Eiffel staring right at you. It was quite wonderful enjoying one here, at the very spot where I last took a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower in 2006. I blogged about it here.

It’s that kind of romanticism we all want to experience at least once.

The most divine macaron at Pierre Hermé. The decadence and sheer perfection in this white truffe and noisette cookie was equivalent to that first kiss with the one who stole your heart. Eyes closed. Silence. Everything else is tuned out. It’s just you and him. And in this case, it was me and my macaron.

Oh.my.goodness.

And an unexpected nightly vantage point of the Eiffel Tower during a wet stroll across a bridge in search of said macaron.

This piece of art looks good from any direction, on any given day, no matter the weather, no matter the season. This picture may not tell it, but it was pouring and the lights on the tower were illuminated perfectly against the rain.

A history lesson inside the L’Opera Garnier is worth doing if you find yourself there. It’s 90 minutes worth your life. Sure, you can read all about it on the interwebs, but why miss out on live, dished out information from a passionate Frenchman who speaks English?

And a lovely afternoon at the recently reopened Picasso Museum (Musée Picasso) in the quaint and uber pretty Marais district is something to talk about in far more detail. I’ve never enjoyed a museum visit as much as I did this one. I’ll elaborate more in an art piece on B So Chic! but I had to share at least one of the images that stood out from the collection. No better place to exhibit this Spanish native artists’ work than Paris.

This is the original “Portrait of Dora Maar, 1937.”

This is just a peek at what I did in 5 days in that wonderful city. When I say peek, I mean these are things I could knock out in a 6 hour span (lots of train-hopping), most of it taken up by that educational tour around the Opera and the Picasso Museum. The good stuff is in exploring the city and seeing it as Parisians do. The way and where they eat.  Where they shop. Where they live. How they live.

The attractions are great, but the soul of the city is in the people. That’s why we travel!

More on Paris during the holidays!