The last couple of weeks since we spoke have been VERY eventful! So much to catch you up on. First off, 40 happened. I have to say I feel… normal again. I think the feelings I was having leading up to my birthday were just a total scare tactic my mind was playing on me. Because, as it turns out, we can still just jump on a plane to Europe and it is still VERY adventurous! This was Clay’s first time in Paris - and our first time together in Europe! The very first time I went to Paris was back in 2008 with my dear friend Lukka who grew up bopping around the city.
2008 was also my first time around with Clay, and I remember missing him SO much and wishing he was there the whole time, so this trip really was full circle. I had so much to show him and experience with him and also got to enjoy my feelings of being there with my love so many years later.
We arrived the day before my birthday and forced ourselves to get outside and walk off our jet lag until our (very early) dinner at Bistro Des Tournelles which, food-wise, was the perfect landing pad. Get the Eggs with Black Truffles and the Homemade Foie Gras. We stayed the first few nights at a great “residence” in the 9th, which was a new area for me to explore. I loved these little apartment-style rooms, where you can wake up in the middle of the night or early morning and make yourself a little coffee if you need to. It helps ease some jet lag and also allows you to bring back all the cheese and bread for snacks.
The next morning we missed our alarms and slept in (until 10am), jumped out of bed and ran to meet Jonny (Jenn Streicher’s husband), we cafe’d, then got ready for my birthday lunch at La Poule Au Pot. Bourgeois inspired cuisine set in a very Wes Anderson time and color scape. It was a warm and classic French meal with escargot, champagne, and what they are known for, chicken in a pot. It was possibly the best meal we had.
Because it’s Paris in mid-January, everything was easy to get into, although I still would recommend making reservations. We were able to do a quick museum hop that involved the Louvre museum to see the Mona Lisa (truly nobody there, was so nice to see her in peace!) and a quick run-through of the other masterpieces (otherwise you could be there for 3 days, no joke). After, we bopped over to see the Musee d’Orsay to see Van Gogh.
Then we cocktailed at Lutetia — if you want to really do it top, stay here for a couple of nights, it’s incredible and the history is just as grand. We had no dinner plans and it was nearing 10pm at this point so we decided to hoof it to Chez Janou, an absolute classic and nostalgic bistro that never disappoints. This is the patio that I’m sitting at with my dear friend Lukka from 2008, and I’ve never had a Paris trip where I don’t come here for a meal. I should add, it’s VERY hard to get a table here these days, but because it was late and we were tipsy and needed the long walk we decided to take a chance. It was my lucky day after all, they let the three of us squeeze in at the bar and eat there (that never happens), and this is when we met our new French bestie, Andre Fredrick. He showed us the BEST time, snuck a birthday candle into a giant pot of chocolate mousse (IYKYK), and had the entire packed restaurant sing to me in French. Ooh la la this day was perfect…
Andre Fredrick told us to meet him at Marche Couvert des Enfants Rouges. If this is the ONE takeaway from this very long-winded wrap-up, please, take this one. The oldest food market in Paris (1615!!) and set in the Marais, it was the best food, wine, and snacks that we ate in the city. We came back several times and really fell in love with the Butcher of Paris where Andre Fredrick’s love works as one of the chefs. Licia was rad and also had many good food recs. She poured us insane natural French wines and fed us all the things!
Next, we had tickets to the Rothko show at Fondation Louis Vuitton, this was an incredible exhibition, but I highly recommend seeing anything is this building designed by Frank Gehry, definitely worth the trek.
OK GUYS, HERE’S WHERE THINGS GET JUICY…
The Fondation Louis Vuitton is on the outskirts of the city, a drive away from pretty much everything. So we decided to jump on some electric bikes (they’re everywhere all over the city, and so easy to use) to get to the Eiffel Tower by sunset. Clay still hadn’t seen it yet. We made it right in time and again, there was nobody there! We had the place to ourselves…