The Paris Diaries Winter Day 3

The morning started out rainy as usual. I took a walk on île st louis and headed toward the Bastille market. This is tradition for me and I was really looking forward to seeing my favorite vendors. Sadly, the rain was too much and half of the market was empty and it was missing my flower guy and my regular cheese monger. I made my way towards 28 Beaumarchais where I picked up a croissant. This is one of my favorite spots. It did not disappoint! 

I had a meeting with Sapphire from Paris shopping at Merci. The store opens at 10 am and since I am a pretty early riser I was able to get in a good stroll before meeting her. I have been working via skype and email for months now so it was good to finally meet her in person for a coffee. Merci is an adorable used book shop that also serves food, tea, and coffee. It is the perfect spot on a rainy day. We also explored the store before since Sapphire has never been inside. I have my eyes on the linen set for my bed, but I still can’t decide between pink, grey, or white. 

After our coffee chat, I set out to explore a little of the Marais. This is where I have stayed a lot in the past and I was missing my old neighborhood. I passed through Place des Vosges down rue de Bretagne and back again. I stopped for a quick coffee at Boot café on the way to my next meeting. Boot is very small but the coffee is pretty fabulous. You can take away or drink it there. 

I have been keeping organized with these Rifle Paper journals. I still write everything down on paper. 

My lunch meeting was with my friend Nina of Insidr Paris. We are brainstorming some future ideas so we met to discuss over lunch. Insidr is a phone service which I use to stay connected in Paris. They also know all the best spots to eat, drink, and explore in the city. I let Nina choose the lunch spot. It was an adorable restaurant (see floors) Coup d’oueil is located in the 11th arrondisement not too far from Bastille. Lunch was 44 euros total. 16 euros for the special of the day and we each had wine.

After lunch, I made a quick stop at Alain Ducasse to pick up some chocolate. If you have the chance to visit, I highly recommend it. I picked up a few bars for research purposes. By now you should know, I think chocolate is a food group. You can find his chocolates at café de flore and there is a small shop right next door in St Germain if you can’t make it to the other shop.

The evening finished with a hotel stay at Adèle & Jules 

I can’t wait to share more details about my stay but I will leave it for a full post. I loved my time here and I really hope I can get back again soon. 

The hotel is just a few minutes from Sézane, so I stopped by for a visit. I have had my eye on a few sweaters so I wanted to try them on in person. 

Staying in a hotel for the night gave me a little time to unplug from the craziness and I took myself out for dinner. The hotel made a great recommendation but after having a heavy lunch I was just looking for a cheese plate and a glass of wine. I ended up at Au Loup just around the corner from the hotel. I was the only English speaking person, which was really nice. I just listened to everyone around me and I slowly sipped my wine. I was about to leave when I started talking to a group of gentlemen that came in for a quick drink. So instead of one glass, I had one and a half. Not a bad way to end the evening. 

I made the short walk back to the hotel and crawled into the most comfortable bed. I had a breakfast menu to mark up for the next morning and unplugged anticipating the next full day in Paris. 

To catch up on the other Paris diaries: You can read Day 1 here and Day 2 here.