Paris weekend getaway

Hey all-

During my last trip to Paris, an excersion I made while studying in London, I hit up pretty much all the major tourist attractions. As a result I wanted to do more walking in order to get a better idea or the city layout and also wanted to eat French food and hit the markets and flea markets. Katie was such a great host and we did just exactly that!!

First market on Saturday morning was La grande epicerie. Which should be on everyone's to do list when visiting Paris. The market was huge, had an amazing selection of everything, and gave out tons of samples, I left quite full!!

My unique cart, european beer and haribo :)

Have you ever seen such large asparagus?

Or so much nutella?

After we left the market we wondered around the area a bit more, and eventually worked up a decent appetite for lunch.

We first considered going to the original Cosi's, but the line was way too long.

Instead we selected a cafe with an open outdoor table and ordered a few plates to share:

More walking, passed by more amazing bakeries:

St Sulpice (action spot for the Da Vinci Code):

Gardens of Luxembourg:

The Pantheon:
Then we met up with a few of Katie's friends for a cute bar that had a menu with about 300 different kinds of cocktails. I ended up with one consisting of champagne, cognac, and orange.

Before meeting up with some of Katie's friends we stopped at the boulangerie for a baguette, I couldn't resist buying one and carrying one in my bag like a real Parisian.

I had a piece that evening but the rest in the microwave (acted as a breadbox to keep it moist) for breakfast.

Along with some goat cheese for a simple morning meal.

Since we were around Notre Dame we had to get ice cream from Le Flore en L'Ile!

I had a scoop of the white chocolate and the blood orange:

Notre Dame:
Tea time at Mariage Freres:

Such a large selection, but I ended up with the Happy Queen, a light refreshing tea with pineapple infusions:

In our walks we saw Jacque Cheraque:

Time for macarons!

Le Louvre:

Apart from the ice cream and a taste of Katie's macarons I had not eaten since breakfast but still wasn't very hungry. In the end we went to the grocery store on the way home and picked up a few things. For my final meal in Paris I kept it quite simple with some more bread, goat cheese, strawberries, and red wine:

Then I had a crazy day of travels. Up at 5:30, on the Metro by 6, then Paris to Geneva by TGV, to the Geneva airport, 2 hour wait for flight, Genva to London, run through Heathrow secruity on to my flight to JFK which was about 7 hours. The last flight was the worst, I was hot the entire time and could not hydrate myself. At last I made it to JFK and rushed home to recover.

Now it's off to work, I'm awake now but just waiting for the crash!!

Nicole