Beautiful Paris!

This weekend I took a get-away to Paris, my third visit to that spectacular city. It never gets old.I could have stayed for three weeks.

It was a grey, cold, rainy fall weekend, and yet it was still perfect. The leaves were turning color and falling in the wind; the kind of weekend that lets you know winter is knocking on the door.

Even with a grey backdrop, Paris does not disappoint. My travel companion for the weekend was the lovely K, my cousin who is studying abroad in France this semester. We enjoyed a somewhat off the beaten path Paris trip, as both of us been-there-done-that with most of the Paris tourist sights.
Instead of set our focus on shopping, relaxing in cafes, seeing some less well known museums, and wandering through the beautiful streets stopping at the sights if we came across them. It was the perfect Paris weekend (although we could have done without the rain on Sunday, as it put a damper on our plans to visit Père Lachaise Cemetery).

I took the high-speed train from Brussels, which makes for a quick trip (just under an hour and half) with the countryside of Belgium and France zooming by the window.

We stayed at a petit hotel in the 8th, right near St. Augustin.

It was a great location, extremely close to the Madeleine, and all the major right bank sights.

On our first day in Paris we ate lunch at a brasserie, and found our way to the most important sight of our trip: Galeries Lafayette. Their food hall is not to be missed.

 

Among all the beautiful food products for sale at Galeries Lafayette was a 5kg bottle of Nutella. 5kg! Thats more than 10 pounds of nutella. For a serious nutella lover to be sure.

The stunning rotunda in the main shopping area of the Galeries Lafayette is worth the trip to the store in and of itself. The scarves that were on sale were a welcome bonus. 

Other highlights from the trip include a visit to the Musée Marmottan in the 16th, which features a large Monet exhibit. The walk there had us passing through a beautiful neighborhood park, with fall leaves littering the lawn. It was a chilly but gorgeous fall walk.

We also visited and had lunch at the Musee du Vin, a museum about, you guessed it, wine. It focused on the history of wine making in France, and was set in stone caves. An interesting hidden sight of Paris.

We are lucky we were able to find this place, as the lunch was delicious, probably the best of the weekend, but it was hidden away in a tiny corner of city, only accessible by this "street" aka. stair case:

Being in Paris, we indulged and ordered a glass of champagne to start our meal, a perfect accompaniment to the dark and cool caves.

Lunch was a Filet de bar with mashed potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and a passion fruit sauce. I was dubious about that sauce when I saw it on the menu, but it ended up being delicious.

On our last day in Paris, we decided to go out in style (and hide out from the rain) with breakfast at Laduree on the Champs Elysee. It also happens to be one of the very few places open on Sundays in Paris.

I didn't snap any photos of the breakfast, as I was too busy stuffing my face (and going completely off my usual diet). Perhaps it was the fact that until Sunday I hadn't had a croissant in years, but Laduree's almond croissant was quite nearly perfect. Crispy on the bottom, light and flaky pastry, filled with an almond hazelnut mix. I was in heaven. (And my stomach must have agreed, as it didn't protest the diet deviation).

I also somehow came home with a box of Laduree macarons...how did that happen? :)

It was the perfect Paris weekend, and just the girls-trip that I have been in need of. Thanks to K for being a great travel buddy!

Until we meet again, Paris. Cheers!