Lady in the City of Lights
Blog: A Lady in London - 7 November 2009
November was the first full month I've spent in the UK since I moved here. I'd love to say that it was because I've finally been cured of the travel bug, but the truth is that I was getting my passport renewed.
Satiated and marginally more awake, I spent the second half of my morning exploring the Christmas markets at Place Saint-Sulpice and Marché St. Germain. The smell of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts lured me through stalls filled with everything from silk scarves to Russian matryoshka dolls.
My new passport arrived in the mail at the end of November and since then I've been diligently putting it to work. First was my trip to Dusseldorf. Then came Paris for the first of two trips to the City of Lights this week.
I took the Eurostar to Paris on Wednesday morning at 5:25am. Exhausted from the Lucha Libre festivities the prior evening, I staggered off the train at Gare du Nord and headed straight for my favorite breakfast place in the city. It's a tiny little restaurant near Saint-Sulpice that serves up amazing tartines, croissants, and the best chocolat chaud in the world.
Satiated and marginally more awake, I spent the second half of my morning exploring the Christmas markets at Place Saint-Sulpice and Marché St. Germain. The smell of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts lured me through stalls filled with everything from silk scarves to Russian matryoshka dolls.
It being early and me not having gone to an ATM, I bought neither mulled wine nor other holiday goodies. Instead I made my way across the Seine to the Louvre, where I strolled through the Tuileries wishing it were lovely summer and 75 degrees instead of gray winter and bone-chilling cold.
At Concorde I threw a nostalgic glance in the direction my former place of work, then rode the metro to George V. I tried to check into my room at the Prince de Galles, but unfortunately my boyfriend hadn't been able to add my name to the reservation yet.
Undeterred, I headed up to Etoile, soaking up the Champs and the monumental Arc de Triomphe, then took the metro to the Marais. I spent the afternoon visiting my favorite boutiques (Antoine et Lili in particular), the Place des Vosges, and of course Mariage Freres. I stopped at a crowded corner bistro for a lunch of onion soup and crusty bread, then headed over to the Ile St. Louis.
I didn't stop on the island or its Notre Dame-sporting neighbor, but kept walking until I was back in St. Germain. I had to visit one of my other favorite places in Paris, Les Editeurs. I sat down amongst the book-lined walls on a bright red banquette and spent two hours reading a book and sipping my Earl Gray (at 5 euro a pop, I had to savor the stuff!). Ah, Paris. How I love thee.
I finally managed to pry my bookish rear end off the banquette around 5, and headed to the hotel to unload my bag. My boyfriend met me there shortly thereafter. At the suggestion of a good friend that I used to work with in Paris, we had a big steak frites dinner at Le Relais de l'Entrecôte.
After gorging ourselves on healthy steak, we headed to the Champs to see the Christmas lights. Just like last year, they were beautiful. Every tree was glowing with little blue lights, and the Ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde was illuminated brilliantly. No wonder it's called the City of Lights.
We walked through the Christmas market at the end of the street, then headed back to the hotel to rest before going out with my boyfriend's coworker. We never made it out. Ten minutes after we got to the hotel we were both fast asleep.
The next morning my boyfriend left for London, so I was once again flying solo in Paris. I grabbed a quick croissant for breakfast, then headed over to the Maison d'Alsace to check out the Christmas market. A bit small, but I liked that it was indoors.
I headed down the street where I used to live (there's a Starbucks there now...sad!) and up to Parc Monceau, my favorite place in Paris (even more favorite than the rest of my favorites). I got sufficiently nostalgic for the long summer evenings I spent there with my friends, then I went down to Opera for some window shopping at the Grands Magasins.
The Christmas lights and decorations were out in full force all around Opera, but the crowds were worringly thin for the holiday shopping season.
I left the Grands Magasins and headed up to Montmartre, where I had a giant gallette for lunch and walked up the butte to see the Sacre Coeur. I strolled around the hill for awhile, then pried myself away from the land of Amélie Poulin and the Passe-Muraille to head back to the Gare du Nord for the long journey back to London.
I would have left the City of Lights with a heavy heart, but I'm going back today for the rest of the weekend. At this rate, I'm going to need extra pages in my new passport even faster than I needed them in my last one!
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