There are feelings of nostalgia that come through when flicking through travel photos almost 18 months after the trip. On this occasion, we rediscovered some unpublished photos from our last trip to Paris in July 2015. This was perhaps our 8th visit to the French capital and a place that will forever hold happy memories in our hearts. This was also the month that Olie's family came to visit and we played 'tour guide' in London and in Paris at the iconic sites. So this is it. Recapping the last night in Paris. Au Revoir.
London to Paris
The tail end of the work week was met with more enthusiasm with the knowledge that Friday was a 'half day' that involved a Canary Wharf to St Pancras commute to catch a mid-afternoon Eurostar to Paris. Mei arrived early and spent time at the famous 1920's Art Deco inspired Searcys St Pancras Champagne Bar. Excited and slightly sad that it would be our last visit to the city in a while, Olie packed a small picnic of chorizo and cheese and a bottle of Champagne emerged from the carry on bag.
Arriving in Paris
Almost two hours later (due to a delay crossing the tunnel), we arrived in Paris feeling a bit light headed and searching for food. Mei had a craving for steak tartare and pate, Olie looking for buttery escargots. And there was wine of course.
London to Paris
The tail end of the work week was met with more enthusiasm with the knowledge that Friday was a 'half day' that involved a Canary Wharf to St Pancras commute to catch a mid-afternoon Eurostar to Paris. Mei arrived early and spent time at the famous 1920's Art Deco inspired Searcys St Pancras Champagne Bar. Excited and slightly sad that it would be our last visit to the city in a while, Olie packed a small picnic of chorizo and cheese and a bottle of Champagne emerged from the carry on bag.
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| Continuing our tradition of drinking wine on the Eurostar |
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| Kicking off the journey |
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| Happy travellers |
Arriving in Paris
Almost two hours later (due to a delay crossing the tunnel), we arrived in Paris feeling a bit light headed and searching for food. Mei had a craving for steak tartare and pate, Olie looking for buttery escargots. And there was wine of course.
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| Garlicky buttery snails |
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| Pate, toast and wine |
Catching up with family
Olie's parents had booked a hotel in the north west side of Paris - Etoile. The next morning, we woke up in a search for pastries and on our wanderings found our way to the foodie street of Rue Montorgueil and the Patisserie Stohrer with its displays of pastries and cakes.
Never tired of wanting to share gourmet treats with others, we bought a bloc of foie gras, thinking this might be the last opportunity to eat it as we were unsure of its availability in Melbourne (although we have since found a few shops that stock it); and shared its wonderful creamy goodness.
Before we were due to meet the family for a night out, we took a detour to the food hall of the Galleries Lafayette. The objective was simple: find cans of foie gras to take back to London. Momentarily distracted by the displays of chocolates and cakes, we eventually found the walls of different pates and foie gras - selecting one with truffles.
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| So many foie gras to choose from! |
The stress of such a difficult decision had worn Mei out and she needed ice-cream (tempted by the long line of patrons) to provide energy for the long night ahead.
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| Can never say no to ice-cream |
In the evening, as a treat from Olie's parents, the family headed out for a night of Parisian highlights, starting with a meal in the oldest cafe in France - Cafe Procope that had commenced business in 1686.
The tour was slightly disorganised, in that we arrived at the theatre for Moulin Rouge when the crowds were queuing and there was little understanding of whether we (as part of a packaged tour) had priority entry.
Our post-show assessment was that we enjoyed the excitement, comedy, beautiful dancers but as it continued late in the night we were all pretty exhausted. At least we ticked off seeing another iconic sight - the windmill that featured in the 2001 film.
Markets in St Germain des Pres
The next morning, we took the subway to St Germain des Prés to visit Sunday market stalls selling pastries and cheeses.
Lunch was La Palette - a popular cafe-bar whose premises were once frequented by Jim Morrison, Picasso and Ernest Hemingway. We enjoyed sitting on the wicker chairs, listening to locals and savouring the Parisian atmosphere.
And no trip to Paris would be complete without a final visit to a boulangerie for a lemon meringue tart.
Au Revoir Paris - we've had some great times over the past 4.5 years.
Next blog post:
London - thank you for the memories
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