Paris: The Seine, Saint Germain, and Père Lachaise
// SMUDGE - Paris Part 2: The Seine, Saint Germain, and Père Lachaise //
After spending a wonderfully relaxing week in the absolutely beautiful French wine country of Bordeaux, I got on a train and headed back to Paris. These are the highlights of my second week in the city of lights and love:
- Picnic dinner and making new friends next to the Seine.
On my first evening back in Paris I was invited to a “Meet-Up by The Seine”. Basically it was around 35 people whom spoke French, English, and Italian that brought wine and food to share with intentions of making new friends! This was great fun and gorgeous ambiance with the sun setting on the Seine River. The event was posted on Meet Up.com website and I absolutely recommend it for traveling as a way to really dive into a new culture of people.
- Latest Airbnb
My Airbnb flat for this week was located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris and only 5 minutes away from the Père Lachaise Cemetery (which is where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are laid to rest , a definite must visit and truly surreal experience). The flat is on the 5th story of a classic old building with a huge balcony perfect for morning coffee and a large sunny living room made for lazing about after walking everywhere. I really enjoyed my stay here and burned some much needed croissant calories climbing up the 5 flights of stairs on the daily .
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- Lunch at Café de Flore, exploring Saint Germain, and the perfect vanilla bean ice cream.
Café de Flore is one of those special jems that despite turning into a major tourist destination is still loved dearly by Parisians as well. One of the most famous old cafés in heart of the glamours Saint Germain, Café de Flore is the perfect place to sit outside and people watch on a warm afternoon. They are famous for their ultra decadent hot chocolate that I have to say was by far the best hot chocolate I've ever had, EVER. It is alone enough to come here even though their prices are a bit on the steep side for a café. I had a perfectly cooked croque madame as well ( though I still vote Coquelicot-Montmartre as having the best one in Paris ). I walked off my super filling lunch by shopping around Saint German at fabulous can’t miss French designers such as Jerome Dreyfuss and Isabel Marant. I then strolled along the river which is extra lush and green around the ST. G area. If you start getting sick of seeing all the tourist head over to La Société and sit on their ivy hidden terrace and pretend your a celebrity. I ordered their 1-Minute Vanilla Bean Ice Cream which is made to order by using liquid nitrogen. If you are a vanilla lover like me you can’t miss this ultra creamy perfection of ice cream that is served with caramel brittle.
Stayed tuned for more of my Parisian adventures!