As you can imagine by the rising Seine, my Paris trip was filled with a lot of rain and not a lot of sun. I am not complaining, but I now understand why some Parisians don’t smile as much as I do. I
Typically when I travel abroad, if I push myself late and don’t take a nap, I will sleep like a baby and I will wake up a bit disoriented. I am known to forget which country I am in when I first wake up. This first night sleep is my favorite. Since you now know I am not the best sleeper you can see why I love this first night so much. Sadly, this didn’t happen this trip and I was wide awake at 4:30 am. I powered through with lots of coffee.
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I met my friend Katie Donnelly on the left bank at the new Claus location. She has done all of my photographs in the last year, and it was fun to catch up over cappuccinos. This trip was so short we didn’t shoot anything, but I hope we can do something again soon.
After breakfast, I set out to do a little exploring and catch up on some work back on Ʈle st louis. I had an impromptu invitation to meet my friend Jane from La Cuisine Paris, at the new Printemps Gourmet Food Hall.
Exploring the champagne section with my SĆ©zane jumper.
The view from the terrace is stunning! If you have the chance to visit, it is worth the view alone.
We each had salads with a glass of wine, but the stand out winner of the meal was the Paris Brest from Michalak.
After lunch, we both had to get back to work. I had an appointment to make my own perfume in The Marais. I made a quick stop to my favorite cafĆ© and then to Mariage FrĆØres for tea.
If you want to purchase this tea in the states you can get it here. I love the Marco Polo and the Casablanca.
Creating my own perfume has been on my bucket list for a while now. I was so excited when Le Studio des Parfums reached out to invite me to make my own. There was a lot more work involved than I originally thought and it is a process. But I had such a great time and I was able to come home with my own Every Day Parisian scent. I will share more about what I chose in a future post.
After perfume making, I walked back to Ʈle st louis. Walking is the best way to see the city and Le Marais and Ʈle st louis are pretty close by foot. I picked up a few groceries and some cheese at the local fromagerie on the island and checked in for the day. I was lucky to have a phone from Insidr Paris that kept me connected. I needed to check work emails and plan for the next day.
My friend Jane and I had planned to meet at the Ritz for a cocktail. This has also been on my list since the renovation took years to complete. The hotel was stunning and I still have a stay here on my bucket list. The service was great all around as there are four bars to choose from. I ended up at The Hemingway Bar because it just felt right after all of the Hemingway crossovers in my life lately.
One drink will set you back 30 euros ($37) It is a splurge and an experience for sure. We did have a celebrity sighting but I will leave that between us.
This was the last night they kept the lights on for Christmas on Ʈle st louis and I am glad I caught the last sparkle.