24 Hours: Paris (PhFArt Tour Day 3)
Paris: day three: Terri and Adam’s Philosophy, Food, and Art (PhFArt)Tour 2023.
Accommodations: Ibis Styles Paris Gare de l’Est TGV (do not recommend)
Restaurant(s): Saint-Andre, Apero Square, Musee d’Orsay restaurant, Cafe Corcorde
Highlight(s): Louis Vuitton art installations by Yayoi Kusama, Saule Pleureur de la Pointe, Square du Vert Galant, Place Vendome, Park Monceau, Musee d’Orsay
Transportation: Metro
Ahh, Paris! Despite our fatigue, we joined the throngs of people also exploring Paris in the middle of the afternoon. We left our terrible hotel in the 10th Arr. and walked toward the Seine to absorb all of the Parisian goodness.
We walked past the Conciergerie, one of our favorite places to go when it’s hot and crowded in Paris. The interior is cool and it’s not as big of a tourist attraction as other nearby places. We continued on past the Cour d’Appel de Paris (shown above with Sainte-Chapelle behind it).
I practiced my French as we ordered champagne and escargots at Saint-Andre. Initially our waiter simply tolerated us but as we both attempted to speak French, he warmed up to us. I love that we raised adventurous foodies (although it can get quite expensive) and they are willing to be good guests in foreign countries. Being gracious and humble guests has always opened up the hearts of people we meet and unexpected opportunities.
We spent about an hour people watching and mentally preparing to continue our adventure in Paris. It was definitely more crowded than the previous summer when I was there with Finn, my youngest child.
Notre Dame is still under construction after the fire a few years ago but it’s still worth walking by. Gotta love our smiling and friendly looking photobomber!
It was a gorgeous Saturday to enjoy a picnic or a boat ride along the Seine. We walked past people, young and old, enjoying the sunshine with some wine or beer and possibly tasty snacks.
When we did our first home exchange in Paris in 2013, my neighbor Joelle was also in Paris and took me out to a pop up party at the Saule Pleureur (weeping willow) de la Pointe, at the tip of Square du Vert Galant. We met up with her friend Karina (who has since become my friend and I hope to see her this May in Paris). This has become one of my favorite spots in Paris to visit, whether with a picnic or just to enjoy the view, day or night.
There are multiple Louis Vuitton stores in Paris although I am familiar with only two of them, one at Pont Neuf across the river from Square du Vert Galant (shown above) and the one in Place Vendome. The Pont Neuf store was decorated with paint splotches and this four story tall artist by Yayoi Kusama.
In the past few years, each time I’ve been to Paris, the buildings have had these incredible art installations which I absolutely love. I never go in but I truly appreciate this kind of thing and can’t wait to see what they have to offer this May.
I also plan to visit Fondation Louis Vuitton to see their latest exhibitions and permanent collections. When we were there in 2015, shortly after it opened in October 2014, we were with the kids and we weren’t able to truly appreciate the collections.
Sadly, we didn’t have time to visit the interior of the Louvre but we were able to enjoy the architecture of the exterior.
I continued to be astounded by the number of people we encountered. Neither of us were in the mood for the crowds so we walked toward the Tuilleries only to see even more people which prompted us to search for another beverage away from all the people.
This was as close to the Tuilleries that we got before heading toward Rue de Rivoli. I was hoping to stop at Le Meurice for a glass of champagne in their bar, but it was closed. They also made it very clear we were not welcome. The previous year, Finn and I attempted to go and we were also turned away so I think this is now off my list of go-to places in Paris. This makes me sad as it used to be where I would go when I arrived and departed in Paris.
We walked toward Place Vendome and saw the second Louis Vuitton store with these amazing flowers, which I liked even more than the 4 story tall artist over by Pont Neuf.
As a philosopher, Adam studied Roman and Etruscan art and loved that the column at Place Vendome is modeled after Trajan’s Column which we later saw while in Rome.
We attempted to go to the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz for a drink and were turned away because Adam was wearing shorts. Taking that one off of our list too. Ugh!
Fortunately, we found Aperol Square which was empty, had a nice bathroom, a decent wine list with snacks, and no dress code. Service was great, too.
Adam wanted to visit the 17th Arr. where we stayed in 2013 so we took the Metro to Park Monceau and wandered around, reliving some of our moments from our first home exchange.
One of our favorite places to get ice cream on Rue de Levis in the 17th arr. is Jeff de Bruges. They have a super fraise (strawberry) soft serve ice cream that is incredible. When my husband and I were in Montreal last year, we came across a Jeff de Bruges store but, sadly, they didn’t have ice cream. And, also sadly, during this trip, it was closed so no super fraise for us!
We stopped for a drink at a place we lunched at when we arrived in 2013 and started chatting with Charlotte, the gal next to us, after she complimented me on my French. During our engaging conversation, we learned that she too is an IT consultant. It was so random to talk shop in a Paris cafe in French and English. We continued to chat when her friend arrived departing only when we realized we really needed dinner.
No trip to Paris is complete without steak frites and after leaving the cafe at 9:30 PM (it stays light late in the summer), we struggled to find an open restaurant and eventually found a small place without a name on the building. The dinner and service were great and I was so disappointed to not be able to find the name so I could leave a 5 star Google review.
After a 22,000 step day, we took the Metro back to our crappy hotel and totally crashed.
I do like the French breakfasts at the Accor Hotels which reminds me that I need to get my husband Zeke to peel and segment grapefruit for me every morning.
Adam’s favorite museum in Paris is Musee d’Orsay and that’s how we started our day. Our reservation was for 11 AM because I knew we would be jetlagged, would have trouble sleeping, and would appreciate having some extra time in the morming to doze.
Adam could not get enough of the sculptures in the center of the main floor. He spent time scrutinizing each one.
I highly recommend wandering around the museum until noon and then taking lunch at the restaurant, not the cafe. When we arrived, there was no line but as we were leaving, about 45 minutes later, there was a considerable line. Lunch was good and it’s a pretty crazy and opulent setting.
I first went to the d’Orsay in 1988, shortly after it opened as a museum in 1986. It’s a beautiful building with some extraordinary art. If you don’t have time for the Louvre, this is the place to go.
There was a special Manet and Degas exhibit which was really lovely.
At one point I got tired and sat on a bench and may or may not have taken a little nap in this corner while Adam continued to look at the sculptures.
We worked up a thirst after absorbing incredible art and walked down the street along the Seine to a place called Cafe Concorde. We enjoyed some chablis (we drank a lot of chablis in Paris) as we people watched and rested our legs before our next stop, l’Orangerie to see Monet’s water lillies.
Next up: Day Four: Paris-Venice
For the trip overview, check out Terri and Adam’s Philosophy, Food, and Art (PhFArt) Tour (May/June 2023).
Original IG posts: May 28, 2023 and May 27, 2023
Have questions? Send me an email at pilotingyourlife@gmail.com
About the Author
Terri Hanson Mead is the multi-award winning author of Piloting Your Life, Managing Partner of Solutions2Projects, LLC, and an advocate for women through all of her platforms including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and this blog. Terri is the mother of two (one in college and one who just graduated!), is based in Redwood City, CA and in her spare time, loves to travel, cook, play tennis, and fly helicopters around the San Francisco Bay Area, especially under the Golden Gate Bridge.
