Paris – Day 1

origamiunicorn ♦ February 14, 2020

I got to the airport a few hours before my 7:30 pm flight. After a couple of glasses of wine at Vino Volo I was hoping to be able to sleep on the flight, but ended up just getting a few 20 minute naps. I landed in Paris around 8:15 am on Friday morning and took the RER B train to Cite Universitaire stop where Eve met me. I hadn’t seen her in a month and a half so instantly it became a great day.

We went up to her dorm room so I could drop off my bags and change out of my travel clothes and then we walked around the campus a bit. It was sunny and about 45 degrees out. Not bad for February when you are used to New Hampshire weather. The trees were bare, but the lawns were green. That plus beautiful architecture made for a lovely walk.

We got breakfast at the campus cafeteria: Cappuccino and a hearty slice of vegetable quiche. After that we did more walking around campus followed by a stop at the crepe stand outside the dorm so we could say hello to one of the chefs there who had befriended Eve. Eve had asked me to bring him a Boston magnet from Logan because he collects city magnets from his customers and he didn’t have a Boston one. I picked one with clam chowder, beer, the state house and Paul Revere on it — seemed to cover the bases.

After retrieving my bags, we hopped on the train and went into the heart of Paris to my hotel, which was not far from where Eve has classes. Our room was on the 7th floor with a lovely view. We threw our bags down and left to walk around the area. One block away is the Ecole Militaire (military training facility) and across from it, the Wall of Peace and the Eiffel Tower. While the neighborhood around the university is recognizably European, the area around the Eiffel Tower is recognizably Parisian. Every corner has a Brasserie with seats outside, next to boulangeries (bakeries), flower shops and small cafes.

I was sleepy and wanted caffeine but my stomach hurt from traveling so we stopped at a cafe and I got green tea with fresh mint and Eve got a double espresso. We bought a baguette at a bakery Eve likes and got some Camembert cheese. Back at the hotel we had our snack and I took a much needed nap to get some energy before heading out again. At this point I had logged about 15,000 steps and with only a few hours of sleep on the plane I needed to recuperate.

I got my second wind and we headed back out. Now it was dark and the bars and restaurant signs were illuminated, the outdoor seats still full, the streets still bustling and the Eiffel Tower lit up. We stopped at the bar/restaurant across the street, Le Commanderie, and sat outside and had a glass of champagne. After that we walked past the Eiffel Tower again, visited a few shops, and went to an Italian restaurant, Tasca, where we had made a reservation.

Tasca is a gluten-free Italian restaurant, an admittedly odd choice for a dinner out in Paris, but the menu looked great, it had good reviews and lots of vegetarian options. We had wine and bread (delicious on its own, not just as a gluten free substitute). There was a plate with ricotta cheese for the bread plus olive oil for dipping. Eve ordered artichoke stuffed gnocchi and I got a 4 cheese pizza. We shared and it was delicious. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for gelato at a popular shop and split chocolate and cerise (cherry) gelato topped with a macaron.