Day 2 in Paris

We started out the day hunting down kitchen supply stores, which took us waaaay to the other side of Paris. On our promenade there, we bought a croissant amandes au chocolat (croissant with almond paste and chocolate). I actually liked it! I thought that French croissants would be dry and flaky, but this one had so much almond filling that it made the dough soft and mushy. Yum! We ambled through the Jardin de Tuileries, a gorgeous garden commissioned by Catherine de Medici. The gravelly road is so light in color that it really gives a glowing hue to the whole garden.


We had a clear view of the Eiffel Tower on one side, and a view of Place de la Concorde on the other, which we learned was where Marie Antoinette and her king were executed, along with 1000 other people.



I.M.Pei's pyramid and the Louvre come up soon after the Concorde, and we accidentally entered through the back entrance, where there weren't that many people. Angel and I kept exclaiming how small all the monuments seem to be, given that everything is twice as big in America. I always thought the Louvre would be this monstrous palace, but it came across quite understated and elegant.

For lunch, we bought croissant au jambon (croissant with ham... and LOTS of cheese!), served piping hot, along with a noisette (rectangular macarons sandwiched with praline paste, then enrobed with chocolate and chopped toasted nuts).

C'est delicieux! Oh my god it was sooo good! The croissant was buttery and hot, the ham sliced just right so not to overwhelm but still packed with flavor, and the cheese had the perfect melting consistency! The next thing when I get back to the US is to make lots and lots of croissants! Collet, where we bought the food at, was surprisingly cheap, but we were in Rue Montorgueil, which is not a very touristy place. The avenue is blocked off from motorists, and pretty much an open market with a fromagerie (cheese shop), many patisseries and chocolate shops, and the kitchen supply stores. We didn't hear a single American while there. Charles Chocolates is also on the avenue. There were no prices listed, so we bought a pave rocher (I goaded Angel into that one ~__^) and a pave pistachio.

I thought the pave pistachio would be pistachio paste inside, but it turned out to be dark chocolate filling with some toasted pistachio inside. The chocolate itself was completely smooth and creamy, but it definitely was not worth 7.5 euros! We were stunned when the price came out (it's weighed pricing), but too sheepish to say no.


An impromptu decision had us going to the Eiffel Tower, where we waited in line for 15-20 minutes to buy tickets, only to find out that if you want to walk up the stairs instead of riding the elevator, there is a separate line & entrance for that! When we first entered the area, we did notice that 3 out of the 4 feet of the Eiffel Tower had people in line. Two of the lines had a lot of people but the 3rd had nobody waiting. We thought that was suspicious, so we waited in line with all the other people as well. Well, the line with nobody waiting? That turned out to be the only line for walking up the tower. No wonder! The price is more expensive for the elevator. There are 1,652 stairs from the bottom to the second floor. When we reached the first floor observation desk, I was panting but ok, with Angel complaining that I needed to start working out more. When we finally reached the second story, my feet wouldn't lift anymore to take me up another stair! So that was our lovely work-out of the day (Although for someone who runs 6 miles a day, SOMEONE kept complaining her legs were twitching afterwards! so very delicate...)


There were many Americans (obviously) but quite a few French people too, surprising since we thought they would have already visited the Tower before. The Eiffel is an amazing tower, with views of all of Paris and explanations on the observation deck of the historical significance of each attraction, as well as history and facts of how the Eiffel Tower came to be.



It's scary going down!

All the stair-climbing meant a big dinner for us :) We shared a baguette sandwich, with prosciutto and cheese, with a flan tart, sitting on a bench on the Champs-Elysees and watching the sun set. The sun does not set until 9pm! We were eating at 8pm, so the sky turned purple and blue with orange and pinkish hues, a very nice backdrop for the Arc de Triomphe.

We bought a couple macarons at Laduree (pistachio- eh, framboise- good, caramel- AWESOME).



On the way back to our hotel, there is a McDonald's on the Champs-Elysees, so for kicks, we went in to see what McD's sells in France. Guess what? Macarons! Crazy! And SO much cheaper than Laduree! We bought 6 for 4.6 euro versus 1.5 euro for 1 at Laduree. And suprise surprise, McD's TASTED a lot better too! Here's their window display:


McD's vanilla macaron is to die for! It reminded us of a rich, creamy vanilla bean ice cream~

McD's are a little denser, but they put in a lot more almond paste, so the flavor is bold and refreshing. Laduree is light and crisp, and subtly elegant... but too subtle at times.
So there's our first whole day in Paris. We couldn't believe how much ground we covered today... which damn, was only about 6 miles but felt like 100. Paris is a lot smaller than we expected, which makes us wonder if we allocated too much time here. We shall see! Pictures to come as soon as I figure out how to upload! Apparently I can't add more than 1 at a time? That's gonna take forever!