Paris

I took a long 17-day honeymoon across Europe. Over a handful of posts, I’ll compile a bit of advice I have, assuming I can reasonably give any advice for each place. One thing that always has driven me crazy about people telling you travel advice or stories is often it’s all whipped up into a frenzy, mainly saying things like, “It was the absolute best! Do what I did or you won’t have an incredible time! You have to go see this or you’ll die!” But, I don’t buy that. Not every place one goes to is the absolute best. Some are average or even bad. That’s fine. But knowing that, I’d also like to provide information on what to avoid, so you have the chance to avoid some of the mistakes I did and make mistakes of your own.

Other places: Paris – Dublin – Ashford Castle – Rome – Florence – Venice

The Food

Juvenilles

Wonderful cute little restaurant. Lovely staff. Delightful food. I particularly enjoyed my scallops which were done perfectly.

Ellsworth

Insanely good fried chicken. And I don’t really eat meat, but DAMN. France won the fried chicken war.

Maison Hardel

Hell yea. I enjoyed the fuck out of a couple of pastries, croissants, and a cappuccino from here. We ended up having trouble getting lunch, and I wish we’d come here and gotten a nice little sandwich (they looked great). Highly recommend you try the coffee éclair. A friend Laura Amescua brought one back for us (yeah, like flew it into Los Angeles, amazing), and holy smokes it stood up. Also, if you’re gonna get croissants, get a croissant au beurre, those are the good ones.

Café Obligado

Pass. It’s a place you could go and get a glass of wine and people-watch. But you can definitely do better.

Le Hide

Can’t recommend it. Our hotel concierge recommended Le Hide, and it was the only place that didn’t seem super meat-heavy since my wife and I are pescatarians. But, man the food was so heavy, I left with an upset stomach, and honestly, it wasn’t even that good. I’d have rather had a sandwich or something. About, $30 for a main.

Louis Philippe Cafe Restaurant

It was fine. We sat on the covered patio here for some coffee when the coffee place we wanted to go to was closed. Close to Notre Dame.

The Fun

Eiffel Tower

Beautiful. We’ve regularly heard don’t go to the top, and we didn’t.

Seine River

We took a walk along the river and it was gorgeous. Warning there are some dirt paths that turn into mud in inclement weather.

Jardin des Tuileries

Beautiful park filled with statues and fountains. Good to stroll through on your way to the Louvre.

Louvre Museum

Again, we had no time. We didn’t go in, but we walked around the area at night, and it’s beautifully lit. Pretty. Glad we saw it. Only mildly upset we didn’t have the time to enjoy the GIGANTIC museum.

Notre Dame Cathedral

A sight to see. Also we had a dope crêpe in a stand nearby, so that’s great.

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

You know, it’s fine. It’s a bookstore. Reminds me of the last bookstore in some ways. If you’d travel to see that, great, check it out.

The Hotel

Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile

Good: Great hotel, high views of Paris that you wont get anywhere else.

Bonus: If you’re a Hyatt pro like me, you’ll get club access which will mean free wine, water, beer, snacks, breakfast.

Hôtel Splendid Étoile

Good: Beautiful hotel. The location’s incredible with a view of the Arc de Triomphe. The suite views are very nice. Suites were beautiful. Staff is very nice. Wifi worked well.

So-So: Staff recommendations. We went for dinner to a place they recommended, and hated it.
Bad: Expensive. Starts at like $250-300 a night. Goes up  real fast from there.
Verdict: If you’re spending the money go for it, otherwise it may be worth it to save some cash and hit up something a little more affordable.
Aside: I crashed my drone on their roof (long story) and even though it was totally lost, they found it, and gave it back, and weren’t mad at me. Love the staff there.

The Tips

• Remember, you want a croissant au beurre.
• STUFF CLOSES AFTER LUNCHTIME. If you’re the type who gets caught up in sightseeing and forgets to eat lunch, and then it’s like 3 and you’re like, “Oh, I’ll eat now.” You’re gonna be waiting until dinner, or you’re gonna eat something gross.
• Check out Le Bus for getting to and from the Airport. We used it to get to the airport, painless, easy, and the pick-up happened to be directly across the street from our hotel. Doesn’t get much better than that. And it’s cheaper than a taxi which brings me to…
• Have cash for your taxi driver if you can. We didn’t for the one out of the airport, and he didn’t take cards. But, if you get stuck like we did pop in to your hotel, and tell them you’re checking in, and you’d like to borrow cash for your taxi. They’ll probably do it. And, no ATM fees!
• It’s both very walkable, and too big to walk. Maybe plan to walk only one way? Or as far as you can, and call it with a taxi?
• Riding bikes with their equivalent of Citi-Bikes or whatever they have there was great. Felt pretty safe, and very pretty at night.
• There are a few dirt paths you’ll likely find yourself walking on, and in the rain they get very muddy and hard to walk through. Be conscious of that for footwear.
• Getting harassed by street vendors or people trying to make you a ring or whatever stupid bullshit nobody wants? Look them in the eye and say, “I just landed in Paris. I don’t have any cash, I’m sorry.” Bonus points if you say it in French. Bonus BONUS points if you say it in French with an American accent.
• Shops off the main roads will have less people who speak English.
• Seriously, have more pastries.

The Flight

WOWair WOWair went out of business very suddenly, so, who gives a shit.

Good: Affordable. Plenty of snacks available.
So-So: Had to stop in Iceland.
Bad: It’s a long flight, can get kinda cramped. Cold in Reykjavík if you have to walk the tarmac like we did. Airplane food is bad.
Verdict: All flights to Europe are long, and unless you’re flying business or first, it’s gonna get cramped. If you get a deal you like, I say go for it and enjoy yourself some Kropp.