Last tuesday I went to Paris, I could get train tickets for 20 euros – amazing price! – and a cheap hotel. My dear friend Esther works at Disneyland and it was the last week before she would go back to Holland, so it was great that we could spend her last free day together in Paris! I arrived early in the morning and went to a shopping mall where I would meet her at Pret a Manger. I love Pret a Manger Val d’Europe so much! The people working there are really kind and enthusiastic. When I entered, almost all of the staff were smiling and yelling ‘bonjour!’ from behind the counter. Perfect start of the weekend. I took a latte and a vegetarian hot wrap. I used these days as my cheat meal days, to boost my metabolism again. I knew that I would move a lot, so I allowed myself to enjoy lovely food.
After a short shopping session – in which I bought the most amazing boots – we took the train to go to Paris. We decided to first do our check-in at the hotel, which was located in a somewhat dodgy neighborhood. Apparently they recently renovated the rooms, so the interior looked good. Only thing was that our glass shower was placed directly in the room and the toilets were situated behind small doors in the middle of the spiral staircase. But, for the price we paid it was good!
We were close to Montmartre, the neighborhood with the Sacré Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. We wanted to do some walking to a few of the highlights of Paris, so we went to the Moulin Rouge first. After that, we walked down in the direction of Galerie Lafayette. On our way there, we crossed a brasserie where Esther took a chocolate pie and I had a mi-cuit chocolate, a chocolate cake with is only baked for a short amount of time, so that the inside is still warm and moisty. OH MY GOD! I was in heaven.
After our moment of chocolate love, we continued to Opéra, where we walked into some staff members of Starbucks who were handing out free, warm Colombian coffee and a small piece of lemon cake. This must be our lucky day! The hot coffee was very welcome, it was freezing in Paris and we were both really cold. Thank you Starbucks, the coffee brought us another small moment of pure joy!
We crossed the most beautiful stores and hotels in this neighborhood, oh how much I would love to spend my money and time here! We came all the way to Place du Trocadero, had a nice view on the Eiffel tower which was having it’s light show at that moment. Then we were getting really tired, made another short round and decided to take the subway to go to the other side, close to the Notre Dame. Here, we wanted to have our dinner. We didn’t really know what to eat, but while exploring the menu cards of different restaurants we both found out that cheese fondue would be perfect, so we entered a cozy restaurant, without lots of people inside.
The cheese fondue was perfect! It got served with pieces of bread, potatoes and Esther got charcuterie, while I got a green salad. We took a small can of wine and enjoyed the cheese until we – okay, I – scraped the last bit out of the fondue. We were stuffed! And after our long walk also very tired, so we went back to the hotel after our dinner.
The next morning we had to wake up early, because Esther had to work that day. We had breakfast – crepes with nutella! – with the view of the Sacré Coeur and a beautiful blue sky. At the subway station we said goodbye, I hate goodbyes.. and we went each our own way. Mine went to the Arc de Triomphe, a walk over the Champs Elysees, back to a subway station, all of a sudden I found myself close to the Eiffel tower, so I went to check it out. The sun was shining and in the sun it was kind of okay, so I decided to read a book, with the view on the Eiffel tower and the sunrays kissing my face. Another moment of pure happiness!
After this I crashed, outside of the sun it was very cold and I was really tired, because I didn’t sleep a lot the days before. I went to the shopping mall at La Défense and spent a few hours drinking coffee and giving my eyes a bit of rest.
Before taking the train back home, I would meet Manon, another friend who works at Disney. We were planning on having dinner together, so decided to go to Disney Village. It’s close to the train station and has a nice Disney atmosphere. We went to Annette’s Diner, an American diner. We both had the same dish, the classic veggie burger. Burger buns, with a slice of tofu, Portobello mushroom, aubergine, courgette, tomato confit, garlic pickles and avocado, served with wasabi mayonnaise, coleslaw and fries. Delicious! It was a short meeting, but it was great to see her again, both of them actually!
Paris, we will see each other soon. With more energy and a better temperature!
