Bonjour, from Paris!
What an incredible weekend in a magical city with a beautiful friend! My newest and dearest friend Emily and I had the blessing and privilege of being able to journey to Paris for our very first weekend at school. We left Thursday evening, went to sleep on the coach and woke up the next morning in Paris! Not a bad gig for two travelling college girls :)
For two foodies, we were both excited to experience Paris through our stomachs and endeavored to navigate the city via metro and by foot, stopping at every Patisserie, Brasserie and Cafe that looked inviting! With our both our tummies full of delightful Parisan goodies, our eyes filled with Paris' breathtaking architecture, and our souls filled with endless hours of sweet time spent in bonding conversations of God's incredible goodness, we both left the weekend praising the Lord for His blessings! He provided for us in so many ways: safety in traveling, shining moments of sunshine, a display of His glory in the beauty of Paris, delights in the taste buds He has given us to enjoy the amazing food of the world He has created, and especially in the wonderful gift of friendship in the blossoming kinship that Emily and I have been given--- I am so thankful!
I now understand why Paris is called the "city of love" because fall in love I did!
It was love at first sight and love at first bite.
The pictures almost do justice to how amazing the weekend actually was.
I split the photographs into the two most predominant sections of our trip: experiencing
Paris through its Food and Paris through its Beauty.
Tres Magnifique, indeed!
j'aime la nourriture
There's nothing that says "French" like a crusty, delightfully crackly yet soft, creamy interior than a baguette. Oh, the joy of purchasing one of God's gifts to mankind for only one euro! The French know how to do it right--almost everyone you see is walking with one, two, three or more baguettes, all at least 1.5 meters long, sticking out of the top of their bag or halfway finished in their hands.
Emily and I decided that our first meal in Paris must consist of nothing less.
Uncle Julian recommended the delightful Rue de Montorgueil as a necessary stop for these two foodies and I might say that this was the BEST part of the whole trip! A whole lane FILLED with patisseries, brasseries, fromageries and the like: I was in heaven!
And the people were so friendly and sweet--being two cute college girls has its perks when you want to get free samples ;)
From cheese samples to chocolate, Emily and I ate our way through the street, finally ending at the Saint-Eustache church at the end of the street with our lunch, pictured above: french baguette, red cherries, anchovy stuffed olives, and a delicious cheese sampler (hands down, some of the BEST cheese I have ever tasted!)
Bon appetit, indeed!
Fun little story behind this. Emily and I, both contenders for the world's biggest sweet tooth, found ourselves in L'atelier du chocolat (aka chocolate workshop....say what?!).
The man working in there was just the sweetest, allowing us to sample ALL the different kinds of chocolate they had in giant slabs (see below).
The best deal, though, was the chocolate chaud, for which you "pick your poison," they rip off a giant hunk of chocolate, and melt it down into pure hot chocolate. It was heavenly, to say the least.
I had the gingembre (ginger hot chocolate....oh so delicious!) and
Emily had the pimente (red peppers---spicy and delightful!)
Our sweet new friend even gifted us each with a miniature slab of his favorite, pictured above, as a dipping instrument for our melted chocolate.
The pink sprinkles are raspberry :)
Later that evening, we met our sweet and wonderful host Yasmeen, who took us to the favorite local crepe place that is famous among native Parisans. Creperie Josselin definitely lived up to its name. All three of us got the salmon crepes with limon and creme fraiche on the side.....
and yes, it was as good and better than it sounds!
We waited 20 minutes outside the doors to get in at 10:30pm = the sign of a really great place!
Definitely adding this to my "Paris Must-Do's" for next time!
For dessert, we headed to St. Michel for local street crepes, made warm and fresh on the spot!
Pictured below is Emily's nutella coconut crepe :)
Yasmeen was such a sweetheart, she woke up early before we did to bring in fresh croissants and pain au chocolat (what we, apparently silly, Americans call "chocolate croissants"....come to find out, that's not the correct name for this favorite pastry!) Microwaved warm with fresh strawberry jam, nutella and a glass of juice, this was the start of a beautiful day in Paris!
First things first, we headed straight for Champs-Elysees to hit up Uncle Julian's recommendation: Laduree (forgive my spellings, I can't add the French accents here!). I enjoyed the
Isaphan (rose flavored soft macaron biscuit, rose petal cream, raspberries and lychees) and Emily had the Plaisirs Sucres (dacquoise cake with crushed hazelnuts, crispy praline, milk chocolate thin leaves, chocolate ganache, chantilly whipped cream).
It only took one bite to understand why this famous Parisan institution has earned its title as the leader in crafting Macarons and incredible desserts!
The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets of Paris, stopping in every Patisserie to gaze in awe at the beautiful desserts and creations. One of the highlights was my wasabi macaron.
Okay, I know what you're thinking... "that sounds absolutely disgusting"
but before you start questioning my edible decisions, I can vouch that it was AMAZING! Hands down, one of the best macarons I've ever had (And after this trip, I've had a whole lot). The cookie itself was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just as a macaron should be. And the filling....oh the filling....it was everything sweet and spicy you ever though a sweet version of wasabi should be! It was thick and mochi-like, and had a perfectly gooey consistency without being overpowering!
This Japanese-French hybrid shop also boasted of green tea macha croissants, bamboo desserts, and all kinds of other neat macaron flavors (see below)
Let the record stand that wasabi is stellar as a dessert!
Spicy, sweet, and incredibly unique, this cookie gets five stars in my book
Food photography at its finest
J'aime la ville
Now, you're probably wondering....all you did in Paris is eat?!?
Well, yes!
But don't worry, we stopped to smell the roses along the way too.
Paris itself took my breath away. I simply could not get over the architecture: the amazing attention to detail of every single little window, complete with wrought iron banisters with window boxes of beautiful florals, details along the sides of the buildings, rooftops crafted to perfection...even the street signs were simply perfect!
I hope that Paris never changes--- you feel like you're transported in time to another world.
I probably looked like the ultimate Asian tourist: big camera around my neck, snapping pictures of every single cute building I saw (which was almost all of them). But how can you resist when it everything is so stunning?!?!
And to think, if Paris--a small city in a small country in a small world-- is this beautiful, I can't even imagine what HEAVEN is going to be like! Oh, to walk those streets of gold one day!
Speaking of God's glory, the museums in Paris were incredible! Uncle Julian wonderfully recommended the Musee Marmottan--a delightful little museum in a townhouse displaying several of Monet's original pieces. I don't know anyone who doesn't love Monet, and today was no exception. The way in which all of these artists captured the beauty of the world and the beauty of the people around them was spectacular!
We had the blessing of visiting the Louvre in the evening (a hot tip I highly recommend--less crowds and more leisurely!) and had a ball taking pictures with all of the statues ;)
And of course, the Mona Lisa!
One cannot visit the Louvre without a picture in front of the pyramid!
No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, Hotel de Ville, the River Seine, and other favorites
I was first introduced to the "Play Me, I'm Yours" project by my roomie Sarah Pierce-- an incredibly talented and lovely pianist! Dozens of these pianos are placed all over the world in public places, open to anyone with any sort of inclination towards music to sit down and play for the world!
Though not exactly possessing strong musical talent, I gave it a whirl--- how often are you in France in a park playing the piano?! (in case you were wondering, Canon in D was the song of choice)
Finally, to end our day, Emily and I snagged a beautiful dessert from Angelina's (missed the famous hot chocolate by just a few minutes-- just another reason to come back, I guess!) and went to the Parc des Tuileries...one of the most beautiful, breathtaking parks I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying!
As we sat in the evening sun, enjoying a chestnut cream dark chocolate dessert and people watching amidst the bubbling fountains, towering statues, and florals of all different colors, with the Louvre to our left, Rue de Rivoli behind us, and the Eiffel Tower in our distant view, I felt like God was blowing kisses to us!
What an incredible memory :)
Emily and I shared sweet conversation and bonding moments and just enjoyed being.
If I have ever obeyed the Lord's command to "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10), it was in this moment.
Ahhhhh.....our God is so faithful in providing shining moments like these to
remind us of HIS goodness!
Thank you Lord for this beautiful day and this beautiful trip!
Love this sweet sweet friend :)
Look at that figure skater's arch!!!!
"I've got a river of life flowing out of me!
Makes the lame to walk, and the blind to see.
Opens prison doors, sets the captives free!
I've got a river of life flowing out of me!
Spring up, O well, within my soul!
Spring up, O well, and make me whole!"
And so concludes a weekend that will never be forgotten.
Thanks so much for joining me on this journey!
Au revoir, dear friends and family, until next time......
