Parisian Strolls & Romance, With Old & New Friends, France.

As the lush fields and vineyards rolled away we delved into Parisian traffic around 3, and headed for our air BnB in Bastille area. With a few wrong turns we still arrived in good time and found it quite easily. We were greeted by a super friendly Natashja who showed us around her two bedroom, sunlit and colourfully decorated flat. We carried all our luggage up the 4 flights of stairs, made friends with our new feline friend who lived there then headed to Gard D’Lyon to drop off our cute little Fiat. 

We caught the efficient metro back to goncourt which was only about a 10 minute walk to our Parisian flat, picking up a few snacks and wine on route. Sean then ducked out to get us coffees while I make a cheese plate to greet Bridie with on her birthday! To my excitement he came back with coffees and two smiling faces!!! I hadn’t met Tam (Bridie’s Scottish fiancée) before but immediately felt like I’d known him a lifetime as he was warm and lovely, and as for seeing Bridie, it seems no matter the distance between us she will always remain such a treasured friend and it was so lovely to see her gorgeous face!
We all sat around on the floor catching up, snacking on cheese and even popped a delicious bottle of Veuve Clicquot for the occasion! Hours went by before we realised we should head out for dinner before everything had closed! We stepped out and walked up the canal until we came to a busy little bar which offered us cheap delicious spritz and free Aperol sunglasses before we settled on a buzzing little Italian place for some hearty food and tasty wine.  Following that we found a trendy nightclub in an old factory by the canal for a beer then home to bed.

The next morning we rose slowly and set off in search of a crispy chocolate croissant from an adorable little corner patisserie. We washed this down with an overpriced ($7 Aussie dollars) bad coffee and a waiter with an attitude before hiring bikes and taking to the streets. With a little difficulty at first we finally managed to hire out 4 ‘working’ bikes, with sean in the lead we drove around crazy round-abouts and down cobbled streets along the canal. The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous morning seeing Paris by bike in the best of company! We passed the Notre damn and wheeled into luscious green gardens (not allowed to be walked on) until we stopped by the fountain to catch some sun. 

Hungry for lunch we found a little brasserie and patisserie a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower for a fresh baguette and coffee. Fuelled and feeling thirsty we all rode home in the afternoon sun, swapping up to route and delving down unknown streets and dodging traffic. Sean and I picked up a tasty white wine while Tam and Bridie brought home another cheese plate! We kicked up our heels and devoured all that we had until it was time for dinner. 
We ordered a trusty uber to take us to a trendy little area full of busy bars and tasty looking restaurants. Not being able to resist yet another happy hour we enjoyed a spritz in the sun then stumbled upon Le Restaurant Mimere au Piano for some delicious French cuisine! The boys were super satisfies with their tender steak fillets while Bride’s and I shared salmon and kingfish ceviche, with a delicious buttery mash and a wine to match.

Adamant to make it to a free concert near by to see Mika perform, we ordered another uber to take us there. We then braved the big crowed of people despite the falling rain and found ourselves a little spot. Shoulder to shoulder the square was packed with excited and rowdy fans as Mika came on stage. It was Devine eve dancing in a wet drizzle trying to work out if Infact the French speaking man onstage was actually Mika.. Which was only confirmed when ‘love me’ was performed to us! 

The four of us were swept away with smiles as we jumped on the tube and headed back towards our area. We all agreed on one last boogie and a drink at Le Tiki lounge! This is literally a bar we by chance stumbled upon as it was down an unsuspecting quiet street across the way from our apartment. As soon as we walked in I felt as if we stepped back into the 50’s. The bar was crowded with slick hair styles, black jeans and tattoos, and the ladies complete with tailored outfits and high heels! We found ourselves a empty corner, sipped away at our strong cocktails and danced to well selected rockabilly music until we couldn’t groove any longer and a step back across the street found us to our beds, smiling at our beautiful jam packed day! 

Our last morning with Bridie and Tam was far too brief as we set out on the sunny Sunday to find a nice breakfast spot. Bridie led us to the perfect place which served eggs, pancakes, real coffee and even Vegemite?!?! An unlucky 45 minute table wait and restricted by time we settled for a nice croissant and coffee down the road before they ran off for their train back to London.  
Sean and I then ventured down the canal to Bastille Sunday markets which were hundreds of little stalls selling food, drinks, crafts, jewellery and more! We found ourselves some delicious local wine and fresh produce before running back to the apartment to pack up and move to another air BnB in monmatre area. The rain started to fall and we ordered another uber to take us across the city.. Only to climb 5 flights of spiral stairs to finally reach ‘the sweet nest’.

Our new room was barley that.. It resembled a wooden sauna and was fitted with a single bed and a shower that I would barley fit a thigh in. The roof was slanted so we couldn’t stand in the room and spent most of our time in the sunny lounge area. Off that was another common shower.. Which I had great difficulty getting in (having to squat down..) so you can imagine the pain Sean’s long legs had. 
Exhausted, hungover and missing Bridie and Tam already, after a tasty and expensive Burger up the road we spent the afternoon in a deep sleep waking in the early hours of the eve. Hungry again we cooked up all our fresh veggies from the market and made tasty veggie stacks topped with delicious melty Langres cheese and wine! Spending the eve booking further travels we called it a night and headed back to our single sauna to spoon. 
The heat of our wooden shoebox room sent us out to face the day early! We jumped on the underground and headed back toward Bastille area to visit all of the opshops I had frequented at before! Picking up a smooth macchiato and croissant at a busy little cafe we set off in search of Parisian pre loved items! To my disappointment the prices of these goods had doubled so we left with fewer items than I had wished! Tired of rummaging through massive bargain bins we settled on a tasty bagel for fuel. We then headed up one of the main drags to browse some of the high street shopping on route back home.
We had previously read about secret well kept flowery streets that are open to all but tucked away behind what looks like a private gate. We took our chances and explored some of the gated communities finding adorable little pebbled streets untouched by traffic and rubbish. 

Under the summers sun and after a big day shopping (with not much to show) we followed our thirst to the Main Street in monmatre for happy hour cocktails. This area is always buzzing with tourists, street artists and next to none locals. The main attraction in the area is the moulin rouge and the sex shops that line the busy road, and of course with that comes the ‘cheap drinks’ and ‘typical’ French cuisine like escargot and frogs legs.. (However the quality of these are very questionable.)
We then stopped by the famous Le chat noir cafe for a few beers and crisps before calling it a night, heading home for left overs and a bottle of French wine. 

Another pretty day in Paris we ventured down the back streets of monmatre to find a cafe Sean had read up about. Soul kitchen served us up a delicious salad and coffee on brightly coloured tin tables. The food was organic fresh and tasty and the staff were friendly. We then climbed the steps to view Sacré-Cœur and the view over Paris. Spotting the Eiffel Tower from a far we decided to head back across the river to spend some more time with the unwanted gift. (she was originally gifted to Barcelona but they didn’t want her so Paris got her). 

We sat on the grass and sipped away at an expensive and tasteless iced coffee, refusing selfie sticks and eiffle tower key chains from hundreds of sellers and watching a bunch of suited men pop a bottle of champagne worth hundreds of dollars. After a few touristy photos and no proposals (much to the disappointment of my friends and family.. Although should it have happened here I would have rejected such a cliche thing), we went home to freshen up before dinner. 

We set off to meet Marie (who used to live with my friend Lucy, and could be described as French Lucy therefore will respond to ‘Frucy’) at a pub she chose called dirty dicks in Pigalle area which is a funky bar/cool crowd area. Unfortunately dirty dicks was closed so we headed down to street to a funky dark bar, we were welcomed with big smiles and a cocktail list. They were flavoursome, strong and unusual.. Just what we wanted to kick off our night, however the price kept us from ordering another and we headed down to a busy bar down the road for a tasty beef tatare, salmon steaks and a bottle of wine. We had one last nightcap before farewelling each other and heading back home. 

Our last full day in Paris was spent exploring by foot, we walked all the way to the other end of the city in search of pretty gardens and train tracks converted to more gardens! Like any city you really feel the change from one area to the other they change dramatically; culturally and visually! As it was a sunny summers day the parks and train walk were sprawling with people enjoying the warmth. We picked up some lunch en route and walked the entire way back but along the canal.. Which took us the good part of the afternoon. 

We headed back to Pigalle area for dinner, in search of snails we settled on a place which served us well. The snails were how I remembered.. A little chewy and taste of what they are drenched in which was a pesto like oil, they were tasty but I was happy for Sean to finish them off. Our main courses followed, my salad was generous and Sean’s tatare was bland, we washed it down with a boring bottle of white and went home to pack.