Everyone told us that Paris is a very walkable city–and it’s true! We walked almost everywhere with a few trips on the metro. (The metro, however, is amazing. So clean and we never waited more than two minutes for a train.) Walking also took us through neighborhoods we were interested in exploring, but didn’t have a specific destination for. We walked from our flat down to Sainte-Chapelle, and on the way Dan stopped for a jambon and cornichon baguette he had spotted the day before. Cornichons are one of his favorite foods, and we’d never seen them IN a sandwich before! ^^The line to get in to the Sainte-Chapelle was intimidatingly long, and we weren’t sure we’d get in in time to make our lunch reservation at Septime. But luckily it moved quickly. I read that each column was a different biblical story, and each window frame was a moment of that story. It’s kind of like the original comic strip, you know? ^^The winding stairs leading to the stained glass.We walked from the Sainte-Chapelle to Septime, which is in the Bastille neighborhood. Septime was one of the most highly anticipated meals of our trip, and it did not disappoint. Our friends Carly and JB had gifted us this meal through our Honeyfund, and scoring a reservation had been a challenge. So we were thrilled to get in. We arrived just in time for our reservation to a completely full restaurant, and we waited briefly at the bar for our table. The restaurant was simple and beautiful, with gorgeous light. The patrons all seemed to be speaking French, and we got the sense that it was mostly locals. The staff was very welcoming, and almost all spoke English. They brought us this bowl of thinly sliced ham and fresh bread while we waited (the bread and wine were consistently great everywhere we went). One of the waitresses came over and explained the menu to us, and we decided to go for it and have the tasting menu. She asked us if there was anything we wouldn’t eat, and we said no…One of the courses was pigeon, and there was an item on our plates that we couldn’t quite identify. We asked our server what it was, and she put her hand to her heart and said “it makes you strong.” It was the heart of the pigeon! Dan couldn’t quite bring himself to eat that, so I went for it and ate mine AND his! I’m extra strong now. As we were walking back to our flat, Dan commented that he felt like it was one of the most current meals we’d had, meaning we had experienced what the modern Paris cuisine scene was like right at this moment, and potentially where it would continue to go.^^Dessert was peaches, raspberries, and lily ice cream.^^That evening (after a little post-Septime nap) we went to the Arc de Triomphe. The light was beautiful, and we walked to the top for a 360 degree view of Paris. If you look closely, you can see all the people on the top of the Arc in the photo above. ^^View of the Champs-Elysees.From there we walked down the Champs-Elysees to Laduree, a luxury French bakery, famous for their macarons. ^^I ordered rose ice cream (it really tasted like roses, in a good way!) with four mini macarons on top. And then, because we couldn’t be stopped, we headed back to the Bastille neighborhood and went to Septime’s casual sister spot, Clamato, for a romantic dinner at the bar, where we continued the culinary adventure with snails, shrimp, and the highly recommended razor clams, all served on Falconware. The place was packed! 

The next morning we tried to get to the Louvre early to beat the long lines. We entered from the underground entrance, since it was so hot out, which I think saved us some entry time.  ^^Napoleon III Apartments The Louvre is so huge! We spent hours taking it all in, then retreated to the Jardin des Tuileries to find a little shady spot after being surrounded by people in the museum. I was leaning back in one of the green park chairs, when I felt something wet drop onto my chest. A bird pooped on me!! That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me, and I know they say it’s good luck, but I’m pretty sure that’s just what they say to make you feel better (like rain on your wedding day). Luckily it didn’t land on my clothes, just skin, and Dan ran to an ice cream stand for some napkins and wiped it off because I was freaking a little. What a guy! From there we walked back to Le Marais, stopping at Berthillon for ice cream and sorbet.^^As you can see in many of these photos, Dan sweetly carried my beloved Ona camera bag whenever it started to feel heavy.

^^Cool street art.

We had a croque madame and charcuterie plate at a cute cafe around the corner from our flat, then cocktails at Candelaria, a taqueria with a speakeasy in the back. This took us a little bit north of our flat into part of Le Marais neighborhood we hadn’t explored yet. We loved seeing all the different cafes with outdoor seating. Dan pointed out that all the chairs were positioned to face out, so you ate sitting side by side and could look out to the street. This seemed to be the set up everywhere in Paris. It makes me smile to think about that evening, walking through “our” neighborhood, and taking it all in together. I have a bit more to share from Paris, then we’re off to London! Thanks for indulging me!