While my Mom is in town I have centered our days around a major attraction with ensuring there is time to be leisurely especially through parks. This day’s adventure started on rue St. Paul, followed by a walk through Jardins des Tuileries, down the Champs Elysees and ended at the Arc de Triomphe. It also started out sunny and warm and ended rainy and cold!
My Mom is a big fan of hot chocolate so I did some research and the blog “Eye Prefer Paris”mentioned a semi-secret spot to take her. Before I gave up dairy I was a big fan of hot chocolate avec lait so I knew what to look for. We headed to Metro St. Paul and walked down rue St. Antoine and then rue St. Paul. What an adorable little street. We went through one of the last open archways on the street and into the courtyard. Immediately to the right was a little cafe with brightly colored chairs and tables. The menu had exactly what I was searching for “grand chocolate chaud maison.” I immediately ordered it for my Maman. I don’t drink dairy anymore so I begrudgingly ordered a mint tea. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised with what they served me! Ever since I watched the World Barista Championships with my coffee aficionado husband Sean, I have paid close attention to the presentation of beverages. A lot of people focus on the presentation of food on a plate, but I think it takes a lot of effort to make something considered simple like coffee or tea to be a special experience. Our hot chocolate and tea experience was excellent – my Mom’s hot chocolate was delivered in a white porcelain pitcher accompanied by a white porcelain cup. My tea came in a tall glass tea cup with sprigs of mint reaching out the top. Little white dishes for our spoons and with sugar were neatly placed with our beverages. It was delightful. My Mom loved the hot chocolate, she said it was like a melted chocolate bar. Fantastique!
It was a bit far for us to walk to Jardins Tuileries from rue St. Paul so we opted to get back on the Metro and get off at the Tuileries stop. It dropped us of right at the entrance to the gardens. We opted to walk straight down the middle enjoying the ponds and statues. Ripley was getting hungry by this time so we found a spot, surprisingly easily, away from the rest of the sunbathers with a view of the Louvre and the Ferris Wheel.
We had a lovely picnic right up until the black clouds hovered over top of us and it started to rain. Of course this was the one day we didn’t bring any rain gear. Luckily I brought the Native sling and could wrap Ripley up. I’m originally from Vancouver and rain doesn’t bother me that much when I’m not living in it every day, so we decided to head towards the Champs Elysees.
Place de la Concorde is where the main strip of the Champs Elysees starts. Here you will find the Orangerie Museum, a little lavender garden, the Jardins Librarie, a nice view of the Eiffel Tower and some other large buildings that probably have interesting things. This is probably the area that I will attempt to watch the Tour de France on Sun., July 25th.
There were tons of bleachers and barricades setup along the Champs Elysees in prep for the Tour de France. I’ve seen pictures from previous races and can imagine that the crowds will be 5-10 people deep.
It’s easy to understand why so many love Avenue des Champs Elysees. It’s a beautiful street and has some amazing stores. If I ever decide to drop the coin on an LV bag, I think I’ll save the experience and do it at their anchor store here.
We ducked into some stores to get out of the rain but Ripley had almost enough so we made a b-line for the Arc de Triomphe. We found a bench with a great view of it and I fed Ripley (I think that’s now 5 major attractions in Paris?). It was quite amusing because it was freezing cold, windy and raining and I had blankets all over me. My Mom said I looked like a bag lady.
I had never actually been under the Arc de Triomphe so we found the tunnel that goes under Place Charles de Galle and popped out right underneath it. It’s quite a marvel, especially up close.
This had been a long day, but it was one of my favorite days – finding a special spot to enjoy a beverage with my Mom, spending time in a beautiful garden, walking along one of the most fantastic shopping streets in the world, and ending at a structure that was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon and took over 20 years to build. Fantastique!
