We rode everywhere on the 'Velib' bikes, including to dinner at night!
Paris has a system of 'rental' bikes - there are racks everywhere & you swipe your credit card as a deposit, the first hour is free & after that it costs around 1 euro an hour. It ends up opting you next to nothing as nowhere you want to go would be more than a half hour easy ride, so you have racked your bike before you get charged! Some of my favourite memories are of us cruising with the parisian traffic on these bikes {including riding back to our hotel at midnight through the deserted streets after climbing the eiffel tower}
If you are in Paris don't be afraid of riding the bikes everywhere, unlike Australia the cars are very accommodating of you!
Here we are in the Place des Voges on our way to dinner one night.
One of my most loved photos {in fact ive just decided ill frame this}
I took it quickly as we were walking past a bistro we ate at in the marais a few times
Les Philosopes - menu in french only but the waiter was willing to help us out after we tried to speak French {badly!}
Our local corner cafe - the uber cool
Cafe St Regis on Ile Saint Louis
Where i discovered wine was cheaper than water or coffee! Suited me just fine! ;)
Most afternoons we had a little picnic of things we'd picked up during the day from local markets, fromagers {cheese shops}
& boulangerie {bakery} oh & lets not forget the french bubbly that was around $30aud for a bottle of Veuve!
Yep - there is the French bubbly, casually placed above the juice at the corner store!
Rue Cler is a classic Parisian foodie street to check out.
A typical parisian lunch - salmon tartar, melon & jamon & a carafe of rose!
One of our trips to the daily markets that are all over Paris.
The wine is not only beautiful, but so cheap & largely free of preservatives
{perhaps why you, and all the Parisians - can easily drink with lunch & dinner & not feel the effects!}
{tragically we got there & realised we forgot the corkscrew!}
And of course we made the pilgrimage to
Laduree!
A tiny, easy to miss place in the Marais. You walk in to a cosy/crowded bar with communal tables & an open woodier oven at the end of the room. We ate the largest, rarest & most amazing steak ive ever tasted! It was here we leant that if you usually eat your steak medium rare, its best to order medium in France, we ordered medium rare & it came out virtually blue! There was no way we were brave enough to send it back, but it melted in your mouth! Served with a simple sprinkle of sea salt, wood fired potatoes & salad leaves!
Right near the Eiffel Tower & owned by Michelin star chef Christian Constant but minus the price tag!
Always buzzing, you may have to wait but its worth it! We sat at an upstairs window & had gazpacho to start,
then sea bass with vegetables & ben had the confit duck! Trust me, don't miss it!
And then after this meal we headed over to the Eiffel Tower.
We climbed up the stairs {the lifts were broken!!} where i proceeded to have a panic attack half way up...
Turns out I'm more scared of heights & falling than i thought..embarrassing!
I waited at the first level {away from the fence haha} while ben went up to the next level.
Seeing the hourly light show almost made me die of excitement!
PS. I put on 3kgs in 6 weeks in France. As food lovers we wanted to try it all!
Don't go there expecting to be on a diet, walk & cycle your way around & it should minimise the damage!
{Michelle Bridges certainly wouldn't have approved hehe}
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