July 2024

I was lucky enough to spend my 25th birthday in Paris, the city of lights, love, fashion, and carbs. I intended to immerse myself in all of these subjects with my boyfriend during our weekend away from the sweltering New York City summer. It was July, and my birthday weekend happened to line up with both French Independence Day and the 2024 Olympic Torch Relay. I was warned about the crowds and the heat, which ended up being a non-issue, but I decided the trip would be fantastic even if there was a bit of construction. Plus, I make it a point to avoid tourist traps unless absolutely necessary. 

When I woke up flying over the French countryside, I couldn’t suppress the butterflies in my stomach, and jumped in my seat a little. We landed at around 7am, and were forecasted to have a lovely 72 degree day. 

We arrived at our hotel, La Comtesse, by cab and although our room wasn’t ready yet, our concierge allowed us to store our luggage in the back room and freshen up in the gym downstairs. We were able to reserve the gym for a whole 20 minutes with a do not disturb sign. Neither of us would have used that gym beyond those 20 minutes, but the rest of the hotel was quaint and lovely. There was a nice sitting room and a cafe with pastries and the daily newspaper. The draw of the hotel, though, is the proximity to the Eiffel Tower, which is exactly where we first headed off to after a quick stop for coffee at Noir. 

I firmly believe if you’ve never seen the Eiffel Tower before, you need to. I also firmly believe you do not need to be on top of it. You’ll get the best photos from the ground, and will be able to appreciate the metal work right from under it. Maybe I’m just an American, but I would visit the Eiffel Tower every time I get to find myself in Paris. 

Next, we crossed the Seine to see the Arc de Triomphe. My philosophy applies here too. Appreciate it on the ground, with cars whizzing around it for no obvious purpose but to infuriate other drivers. It is beautiful though, and was donned with the Paralympic symbol for the games while we were there. It’s not an area we spent a ton of time in due to the heavy foot and vehicle traffic.

In need of some sort of bread and cheese, we went off to find a sandwich. We wandered over to the 8th Arrondissement and joined dozens of Parisians on their lunch break to B.B.T (Le Bon, Le Beurre & Le Truand) for a Le Parisien and a La Parissiene: two big beautiful sandwiches wrapped in newspaper. Feeling very local, we walked to the Petite Palais and ate in the garden outside, once again revealing our tourist status. The sandwiches were delicious, and kept us satiated through our tour of the Petite Palais, on the walk back to the hotel, and even into our dinner reservation. We still went to dinner, but the place was so bad we definitely didn’t regret the sandwiches. 

The next morning was my birthday, so naturally I sprung out of bed 3 hours after my boyfriend’s alarm went off at 5:30am. I excitedly got dressed and threw open the curtains to find a grey sky and puddled streets with a dull drizzle in between the two. I took it as a sign of good luck and stood by the window to admire our view of the Eiffel Tower. We grabbed a quick coffee at Terres de Cafe and started a very long walk to Batignolles, a quiet neighborhood with fun shops and cafes in the 17th Arrondissement. The walk was absolutely beautiful and we had a great time admiring the architecture and the vibe of the different neighborhoods we walked through, some with small buildings and skinny streets, and some with great white buildings decorated by black balconies and ornate facades. 

Boulangerie Baptise was first on our list when we got to Batignolles, as we absolutely needed to try what was voted best croissant of 2023. We grabbed two croissants and a huge loaf of brioche and took it to Batignolles Square, an adorable park filled with plants, ponds, and families of ducks. After all that walking, we needed a proper meal and walked into Cafe Dose across the street, which was a good resting point, but not a place I would recommend for a meal. We had a lovely time at a bookstore and in a wine shop and getting lost in the area. The people were extremely friendly here too. My boyfriend lugged the three bottles of wine we bought to Parc Monceau, which was spacious and beautiful. By this time, the sun came out, so we sat and drank and watched families picnic and play soccer. 

We had a magical boat dinner on the Seine that night. Our boat left around 8pm (it was still light out), and we were given a lovely two-person table right by the window. We paid a flat fee for our dinner, which came with two bottles of wine. We were poured a glass of champagne while we chose our appetizers and entrees from a preset menu. The food was good, but the experience is what made it so memorable. We were entertained with live music and performers, and cruised along the Seine slow enough to soak in all the sights like the Statue of Liberty replica, the Louvre, and the Musee d’Orsay. After two bottles of wine, I became quite proficient in French and had no problem stumbling into the hotel and wishing the employees a good night before I was out like a light in bed. 

We slept until noon the next day, and therefore didn’t fulfill everything on the itinerary, but it was still eventful. We walked east in search of crepes and thoroughly enjoyed passing the buzzy cafes and navigating the twisty streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres. We found Little Breizh, and each ordered a galette and a crepe. I had a traditional ham and egg galette and a traditional sugar and lemon crepe. My boyfriend had a bigger appetite and ordered something with bananas, whipped cream, and nutella. Also delicious. We then strolled over to the Louvre, not expecting to actually get in as the line on a Saturday at any given time will extend a quarter of a mile, but to see the famous courtyard and pyramids. 

Stohrer Bakery was our next goal. It was in a very chaotic area of the city, what I likened to New York City’s Little Italy during San Gennaro Feast, but the pastries were gorgeous, and we knew we would need some for later. Clutching our macarons, eclairs, and cakes, we escaped the crowd and decided to swing by the Dior Gallerie. We were able to get in without having bought tickets in advance and spent a little over an hour gawking at dresses and reading the history of Christian Dior. By this time, our hangovers had been sufficiently walked off, and we were in a rush to get ready for dinner at Terra Restaurant in the 11th Arrondissement. We took a cab to the restaurant, as we were running late, it was raining, and I was wearing very high heels. The city was preparing for both Independence Day festivities and the Olympic Torch Relay the next day, so our cab driver was very frustrated trying to get us four arrondissements over and sucked his teeth with every turn he took. Something I loved about getting a cab in Paris, though, is there are actually designated areas that empty cabs park at. It makes it so much easier than trying to hail a cab off the sidewalk. And, cabs that have riders turn their signs red to signify the car is occupied. 

Terra Restaurant, sister to Terra bar-a-vins that we also heard great things about, was a small yet stunning restaurant designed like a greenhouse. The ceiling came to a point and was transparent to let in sky light. The place was freckled with plants, and a beautiful bookshelf of wine bottles separated the main dining room from a more private room with bar tables in the back. We split a steak for two and enjoyed our bread basket and red wine. We decided to forgo dessert for the pastries we had waiting at the hotel, and slowly walked through the 11th Arrondissement where locals were coming out to enjoy the bar scene, all the way back to the much sleepier 7th. 

Our alarm went off at 7am. It was our last day in Paris, and we woke up early to catch the Independence Day Parade, which was more effort than we put in for our own Independence Day in the U.S. The parade normally takes place on the Champs-Elysees, but due to the Olympics, it was being held at the Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately, security had been beefed up, and it was impossible to actually see anything, so we headed to the Petite Palais where the relay runners were supposed to come through with the torch… in an hour. We decided we couldn’t wait that long so we tried to find some food, except nearly everything was closed. Holding on to whatever sustenance we got from our croissants that morning, we continued walking and actually stumbled upon the next torch relay handoff at the Assemblee Nationale where we had a front row view. It was awesome and so worth it. 

As if by a miracle, we found an open cafe called Zia right across from our hotel. I had the most delicious Noisette, an espresso with a touch of cream. It translates to “hazelnut” in reference to the color of the drink. We then ordered breakfast burritos of all things, which may have been the best meal we had the entire trip. Thoroughly satisfied, we decided to do some souvenir shopping, and bought some refrigerator magnets and olympic pins. We picked up a bottle of champagne for later and went back to the hotel to watch the Spain and England Euro finals until the fireworks started. 

Right at 11pm, we popped the champagne and leaned against the balcony railing waiting expectantly. The fireworks were about 20 minutes late, but finally started up with a dramatic light display on the actual tower itself. We stood there in awe for about 45 minutes at the most beautiful fireworks show I’ve ever seen. The fireworks were accompanied by drone displays depicting different olympic events, such as swimming, boxing, and gymnastics. I’ll admit, it brought me to tears. It was the most impactful and picturesque ending to my birthday trip that I could have asked for. 

We woke up at 4:30 the next morning, and ate croissants while looking over our view of the city, silently wishing Paris farewell. It felt impossible to leave, but we watched the sunrise and went downstairs to our cab, full of new memories and experiences and with a new inability to ever eat an American-made croissant again.