The best croissants in France
The last time I blogged, I had woken from sleep around 4am. As soon as I finished my blog, I got dressed and left the house with Martin still sleeping. I was on the hunt for a pastry! Because, France.
Our lovely AirBnb hosts recommended a local patisserie and I decided to take their suggestion! I crept out and returned with two freshly baked croissants and a big smile on my face. In the famous words of Oprah, "I. LOVE. BREAD."
Not bad, not bad...
Martin woke up and as we drank some tea with our croissants, I decided that it was not the best croissant that I had in the world. I really needed these French croissants to deliver more, so it suddenly became my mission to seek out the best croissant in France.
Location and croissant scouting
With Maggie still making her way to Paris, Martin and I decided to go exploring for amazing locations for the week ahead. We found a lovely path surrounded by trees in our own neighborhood. More news to follow on that, but I'm assuming we'll do some images there. Since we were feeling adventurous (as well as rested and well-fed), we decided to walk as far as we could handle to the Jardin du Luxembourg without having to take an Uber or the metro. And on the way there we walked past another patisserie and I promptly bought another croissant. And nope...still looking.
Jardin du Rain
We arrived to the gorgeous Jardin du Luxembourg and before we even had a chance to stand between the iconic rows of trees, the sky opened up and we had to run for cover. Luckily for us, there was no portrait session that day and from the looks of it, every other day that we're here will be dry!
As the rain tapered off, we started searching for the Jardin staff. I decided that I really needed to try and get the photo shoot permit, otherwise I'd never relax on the day of. As it turned out, there was a delay in response from my contact at the Jardin because the employee was on vacation (many people in France take vacation in August). The man that was there was incredibly kind and helpful in initiating the process for the permit, and even apologized for not speaking better English (the opposite of the French stereotype we are told to expect). It is still in process...I have to sign a contract...but we have penciled in the Jardin portrait session for early next week! So exciting...stay tuned!!!
Americans in Paris
By the time we left the Jardin, we were absolutely starving and soaked and so we stumbled into the closest restaurant we could find. Ok, we weren't soaked...nor did we stumble...but the three s's sounded amazing.
Anyway.
We cannot wait to eat here again!
Upon entering the restaurant, I immediately noticed somebody speaking English in an American accent. It turned out it was one of the servers...in fact, in turned out that they all spoke English and were all originally from the United States! I cannot lie...I have horrendous social anxiety. People who know me well think I'm exaggerating when I say this, until they remember when they first met me. "Oh yeah...I guess you were really, really quiet..."
But oh my God. The moment I realized that we were surrounded by Americans in Paris, it was like we were immediate and lifelong best friends.
"Oh my GOD, I cannot believe this!! Arizona is, like SOOOO close to Colorado!!!!"
"Yeah!"
"And you...where are you from?"
"South Carolina."
"Ahh!!! I have driven through there!!!! And what about YOU?"
"Chicago."
"GET. OUT. I HAVE HEARD THAT CHICAGO IS GREAT!!! THIS. IS. INSANE!!!!!!"
So, yeah. Come to Paris. You'll be shocked how exciting the U.S. can truly be.
All the cakes
We had an absolutely amazing meal (and shall return again), followed by an absurdly decadent dessert. The server pointed us towards a table of cakes and asked which one we wanted. Jokingly, I said to bring them all. Careful what you wish for.
P.S. I have mixed/complicated feelings about carrot cake, in general. But I have decided that, until further notice, I have found the best carrot cake in France. Still no word on the croissants.
On top of the world
With full bellies, we searched the city left and right for a convertor for our plugs. Although we arrived with adapters, some of our appliances wouldn't charge/turn on. This included my laptop (which delayed this blog post) and either steamer that I brought. With gowns to steam and blog post readers waiting, it was a problem in need of an urgent solution!
We ended our long day of walking at...where else...the Eiffel Tower! And not only did we see it, we went up to the top of it! Although it's not actually the highest building in the world, it certainly felt high enough!! Neither Martin or I are crazy about heights, but it was truly an experience of a lifetime...one that we could never forget.
Waiting for Maggie
As we went to bed, Maggie was on her flight from Newark to Paris. The time was finally arriving...the reason we were in Paris to begin with. To find out what Maggie's first day in Paris was like, stay tuned!
Link of the day
If you are looking for a feel good movie with footage of Paris and plenty of food porn, you need to watch the movie "Julie and Julia" like, yesterday. Check it out on Amazon here!!!
