Welcome to Paris & the BEST roast chicken

Bonjour! Let's go to Paris! We had such a fun time in London, but we were very excited to cross the channel into France. We left our hotel in the morning and made our way to the St. Pancras train station to take the Eurostar to Paris. The train station was very similar to an airport as far as security lines, checking in, etc... There were plenty of places to grab a bit to eat or shop while you waited.

 

Once it was time to board, we rode up a long moving-walkway to the train platform. The train was super long (and of course, our car was the very last one!). When we boarded, we placed our luggage at the entrance of our car and headed to our assigned seat. You have room for a carry-on and overhead space at each seat.

We didn't know what to expect, but we were served a little breakfast on our journey. We had a croissant (welcome to Paris!), bread & jam, yogurt, juice and coffee/tea. It was lovely.

The actual ride was very smooth. It showed you where you were along the journey, so we tried to not think about being under all that water! The train goes very fast, but most times you don't feel like you are moving. 

 

Before we knew it, we were in grand ole Pareeeeeeee! We headed straight to our hotel, and we were able to check-in immediately. We opted for a much smaller boutique hotel which we'll talk about in another post. (IT IS THE BEST). 

It was a little overcast and drizzly, but we thought we'd try to get our bearings in our new 'hood. We were staying in the St. Germain-des Pres "neighborhood". It did not seem as touristy as some of the other quarters we visited. There was a school right across from our hotel, and we always saw people out shopping or going to the market. We loved the area.

In Paris, there are days of the month where certain museum visits are free! Yes, free! Unfortunately, that does mean the visit comes with more people. LOTS of people. The day we arrived the Orsay Museum (Musee d'Orsay) was free (first Sunday of the month). NO MA'AM. The line to get inside was insane. I can only image the crowds around the "hot" exhibits. We made a collective decision to go back as paying customer later in the week. If you do choose to go to one of the museums on these free days, our advice would be to go very early!? Or just know you'll have a very crowded experience. 

 

We decided to just stroll around the area and get acclimated. Everything was so Parisian! (ha) The white/cream buildings, the statues....  We made our way over toward the Seine River. What a great place to people watch! It was a Sunday when we arrived, so people were outside on their bikes and just walking around enjoying the day. 

We decided to eat a late lunch/early dinner. Our hotel had recommended a lovely cafe near our hotel, Le Nimrod. We both had taken French in high school (@mkmaddox actually minored in French in college), but it took us a few days to get into the French language mindset. Most everyone did speak English, but most all the menus were in French. 

 

It was the cutest little restaurant. You could definitely tell it was a neighborhood spot. Although this little plate may look unassuming, this was one of our favorite plates the entire week. The French know how to roast a chicken! It was so crisp yet so moist. I can still taste it! The frites (french fries) were perfection too. It was exactly how a French comfort Sunday afternoon meal should taste. Definitely one of the top meals of our trip.

We stopped by a little macaron shop for a little sweet bite before we called it a night. There was so many fun flavors to choose from! 

It was the perfect first day to welcome us to Paris. Stay tuned for a fun few days exploring the City of Lights!

Bisouxx