Once we finally got settled in Paris (and cooled off in our AC for a few minutes), we headed out to find a cafe - I was in desperate need of some coffee.

We stayed at the Paris France Hotel, near La Marais, and I found a cute looking cafe called Maison Landemaine. It was clean and had an open concept floor plan with some small tables outside. It was exactly what I was looking for, and we ended up going back the next two mornings for breakfast since it was so convenient.

The first evening we dined at Les Philosophes. Nathaniel picked this spot because he Googled “duck confit in Paris”, and this restaurant popped up. We each got a variation on the Aperol spritz that this place called the Aperol Sproutz, and we shared basil gazpacho, the duck confit, steak tartare, and a creme brûlée. The tartare was a bit mustard-y for my taste (I prefer that the meat is so good that it doesn’t require much of anything mixed in), but everything else was delicious. I even made my sister go there recently when she visited Paris!

The next day we hit Maison Landemaine again for breakfast, then, after much exploring, we decided we needed a quick drink near Notre Dame at Brasserie Les Deux Palais. We got simple crepes and Aperol Spritzes (can you tell that’s my new favorite yet?).

After a bit more sight-seeing, shopping and walking we were lured to a little crepe stand called Le Quasimodo, where we got to watch them make the crepes right in front of us, and filled them with whatever we wanted! Nathaniel got honey and cinnamon, while I got Nutella and banana. Go here if you can - I’ve been craving these ever since we left Paris. We sat by the Seine and ate them before heading back to our hotel to rinse the sweat of the hot city off of us.

For dinner that evening we went to Bouillon Racine. As we were arriving, so was someone important! There was a motorcade and a woman in a white pantsuit was escorted in. I have no idea who she was but it was fun to witness! This restaurant is super cute. The decor is Art Nouveau, and there are mirrors everywhere. The muted pastels were a dream. There was also a really cute dog at a nearby table. We got a carafe of red wine to share, and started with an appetizer of crispy angel hair, bacon, a perfect egg and micro greens. For our mains, we again got duck and tartare. This tartare was more up my alley. I’d totally order it again. For dessert we split a creme brûlée waffle. If you order anything off this menu, make it the creme brûlée waffle 🤤

Because it was our last night in Paris, we decided to get one last sidewalk cocktail at Le Malakoff near Trocadero after we went to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle. Yes I got another Aperol Spritz 😉

The next morning before catching our train to London, we got coffee and pastries at Maison Landemaine one more time. À bientôt, Paris! (I hope!!)