Happily Ewers After....Part 1: Paris

This story begins where most end....with Happily "Ewers" After. On September 2nd, less than two weeks ago now, I married my best friend and my love, Mike Ewers (pronounces Evers... I suppose I better get used to clarifying that!). We had a magical celebration near our home in Georgia, and we have been traveling around France on an incredible honeymoon ever since. My travels are normally quite public. I love to share my discoveries and adventures along the way, but I have kept this one to myself, avoiding social media and savoring our solitude. Until now, that is! I've been stockpiling pictures and commentary along the way and thought I would compile it all into several blog posts. Bear with me; this could take a while, but if a voyage through France has ever been on your bucket list, you might find this to be a useful resource.

The morning after our wedding, bags already packed and loaded into the car, we headed straight for the airport on a 3 o'clock flight to Paris. We were exhausted from the festivities, and I slept easily on the plane for a good four hours before we arrived at Charles de Gaulle. Fortunately, we were able to breeze through the normally overcrowded and inefficient airport quickly and hop on the train towards our AirBnb. Some of the most beautiful hotels in the world are located in Paris, but I have found that renting a flat provides considerably more space and brings you much closer to an authentic experience. Our host was waiting for us on the sidewalk and escorted us up the 118 steps to our eclectic and beautiful garret apartment in the 4th arrondissement. She had decorated it for our honeymoon and left us a bottle of champagne and chocolate croissants along with many other thoughtful touches. If you can manage the steps, I highly recommend this rental. It had views that took our breath away and was in an ideal location for navigating the city. Max and Sylvie were incredible hosts. Click here for rental info

The Apartment:

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This was Mike's first trip to Paris, so we occupied ourselves with he usual must-see attractions, starting easy on day one with lunch along the Seine and a ride on a bateau-bus.

     

The weather, as you can see in the pictures, was cold and gloomy, but even in the rain, Paris is the most beautiful city in the world, inspiring awe at every turn, and when the sun came out over the next few days, it made for perfect photo ops and lovely lunches in outdoor cafes.

              

Our three nights in Paris ended with three incredible dining experiences. We began with Le Train Bleu inside the Gare de Lyon for a very traditional, typical French prix fixe meal, complete with Mike's first taste of foie gras. It met all expectations and was the perfect way to dive into the gastronomie that defines the culture here.

Le Train Bleu:

The second night we opted for a completely different kind of experience and dined on sushi at the ultra-chic, trendy Buddha Bar. We may have been the oldest and least cool patrons there, but that didn't prevent us from accessing the hidden speakeasy behind a bookcase at the entrance. We had to solve a riddle and whisper a secret password to gain entry, and once we did, we were rewarded with astonishingly beautiful cocktails and a very quiet little hideaway with just a handful of other people.

Buddha Bar:

  

For our final dinner  we traveled a bit beyond the main city into the Bois de Boulogne for Le Grande Cascade, unfortunately, this was our least favorite of the three, and though the food was absolutely delicious and creative, the atmosphere felt dated and stuffy. To be fair, though, anything would have felt dated and stuffy after  Buddha Bar!

   

My top 5 favorite things about Paris this trip were these:

1. The street player/ violinist playing La Vie en Rose over and over again a block from our apartment

2. The View from the top of Notre Dame (especially the gargoyles!)...to be honest, this is consistently my favorite!!! 

3. The ease of public transportation...we took the RER everywhere! 

4. The secret room at the Buddha Bar

5. The amuse bouche that begins every meal, and the extra dessert that always comes with the check.

Stay tuned for Part 2....Our ride from Paris to Borgogne and all that we learned about wine country!