Back in late 2022, I started searching on google flights to see what airlines were offering a direct flight from SFO to CDG. There was only 1 flight and 1 airline which was Air France. The cost was $2200 or 70k miles for the roundtrip. I have 70k miles! Texted my friend Noreen (who I met while traveling in Vietnam) and asked her if she'd be up for it? It'd be a short trip as I wanted to be around for the weekend with the kiddos. Days later, we were booked for January!
It's the first time I've used my passport since the pandemic and it was a little weird. I had been scoping out seats for a few months trying to gauge how full or not the flight was going to. I showed up to the gate a bit early and asked one of the gate agents if there was an empty row that he might be able to switch me to. He said that there would be a charge and no guarantee that the row would remain empty. I asked him how much? To my delight, his colleague than came over, switched me, waived the fee AND blocked the two seats next to me. Amazing! Tired mama appreciated the entire row.. thank you very much! The flight was short but not uneventful. The rows next to me and in front of me was empty was well and so two other passengers decided to make it their new rows. The one next to me was had a phlegmy cough the entire flight with nyquil in her bag. How I wished that she had the courtesy to put a mask on since they gave every passenger one! Her friend took the row in front of me and throughout the entire flight, his feet would be the nuisance of the flight crew. His feet would stick out across the aisle as he slept or propped up on the seat where my entertainment screen was located. I guess after the 100th time a crew member had asked his feet to not block the aisle, he got annoyed and decided to move himself to business class. Hours later, he got moved back with a lengthy talking to from the lead crew. I wonder if he got any further consequences for that?
I landed at CDG an hour before Noreen and waited for her at her flight's baggage claim. She arrived with cookies from Levain Bakery which sadly neither of us ate. We arrived at the hotel, dropped out stuff off, took a quick 20 min nap and then off we went to lunch. It's been a minute since I've been on the Paris metro .. long enough for their to be a price increase on the tickets. Thank you to the gentleman who voluntarily directed us to the terminal where we could buy tickets when he sensed that we were a bit confused. Who says all French people are rude? Day 0.5 in Paris was lunch at Chez Janou and then a walk through Le Marais as we make out way back to the hotel.
Day 1.5 in Paris was a check list day! First stop was to the newly open Bernachon Chocolate shop. Previously, you can only get their chocolates at their factory in Lyon or from this shop in Pigalle called A I'Etoile d'Or with the most charming and friendly shop owner, Madame Acabo. The guy at the Bernachon Shop had told me that Madame Acabo's shop is sadly no more. I wonder if that had meant she sold it or she closed it. She had closed and reopened it previously after a gas leak fire. I was sad to hear that and glad that the new shop exists. Next on the list was Emily In Paris...the netflix series in case you didn't know. We made our way to the location of the Boulangerie Moderne (which had subpar croissants to my slight disappointment per Parisian standards) and had breakfast there while losing count of gals taking cheesy selfies of themselves taking a bite out of a pain au chocolate like Emily. We watched enough people stick their heads inside Gabriel's restaurant (which in real life is called Terra Nova) that they closed the door and lastly, wandered outside Emily's apartment area. This entire square while large onscreen was much smaller in person. Next on the check list, the Goyard boutique on St Honore. One of the highlights of that was the manager telling all the patrons that was waiting in line that they service 7 people an hour and so he pointed to the person at the back of the line.. that's 2 hours for you. Dinner destination for the evening was Frenchie. I had been to Frenchie Au Vin on a prior visit and had one of our best meals there and this would be the first time at the restaurant. While the meal had a wow factor, the atmosphere was ruined by my developing headache that was made worse by the sharp and overpowering of the guest next to me. Noreen and I couldn't quite believe the conversation they were having and couldn't figure out whether they were colleagues or married? We weren't sure why she thought the topic of laundry and sweaty balls from running was appropriate conversation for any dinner?! Right??
Day 2.5 was strolling Paris as we were checklist light. We started at a recommended bakery called Mamiche and then took the metro to one of my Paris favorites, I'le Saint Louis. it was nostalgic to see that the same flower shop (one of my fav photos I took from 2012) was still there, as well as the Cafe St Regis where I spent awhile journaling. We passed by Berthillon where if you watch Emiy In Paris, Emily and Luc are often congregating. We saw the work in progress of restoring the Notre Dame Church, bought a few books at the Shakespeare and Company book shop, had lunch at my favorite square in Paris, Place Dauphine. We spent the rest of the day strolling along the Seine and taking in the magical air of Paris before ending up at Cafe Jacques which Noreen really wanted to show me because it had a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower without being at the Tower. Dinner that evening was at an Indian restaurant called Baranaan. Noreen couldn't stop talking about how cool the vibe was and so we went and she was right. Our waiter was hilarious.. when Noreen asked him chicken or beef, he said that it was like asking him who his favorite son was.
Day 3.5 was spent solo. Somehow, Noreen and I had a miscommunication. As we were walking the previous day, she mentioned something about having to pack already since we were flying out the next day (today) and I said no we weren't and she said yes we are. I said .. 4 nights? She said yes 4 nights.. but wait? I asked if she counted Sunday as a night (she would be on the airplane) and she said that she didn't think so. Back at the hotel.. she pulls out the text receipts.. she showed me a text that I somewhere gave her the date ending 2/2. We were cracking up.. I also said 4 nights.. you have to double check my mom brain I tell her! So, Day 3.5, she was off to Copenhagen and I continued my time in Paris. To my delight, there would be no metro disruptions today as it’s been common with the locals protesting the government wanting to raise the retirement age.
I started my morning at the one matcha cafe that I was able to find in Paris. While boba shops and poke shops are popping up all over Paris.. it seems that they're just starting with matcha. They serve it up like they di their espressos, no vanilla sweetner. No complaints.. just an observation. I then made my way to the Paris version of the NYC Highline called Promenade Plantee. I couldn't believe that a piece of Paris was still a hidden gem as I saw only 2 other travelers aside from myself. After the Paris highline, I was going to make my way back to Chez Janou but then I saw the metro stop E'cole Militaire and decided to make a stop to Rue Cler where I stayed at in 2012. Rue Cler is a little market street free of traffic and full of little shops and restaurants. The boulangerie that used to be across the street from the metro station was no longer there and poke shops, boba places and Laduree took the places of a handful of former store fronts. I suppose all things evolve but I couldn’t help but feel all the nostalgia of what it was like before. Speaking of before, take away options were everywhere. I remember a time when anything take away, even coffees were side eye’d at. After a late lunch at Chez Janou, I checked off one last thing on my list, the Wall of Love in Montmartre... "I love you" written in 250 languages. It was a fitting place to facetime my family back home. Before calling it a night, I meandered to Plaq on Rue du Nil for something that I had wanted the other night when we dined at Frenchie, a hot chocolate aka chocolat chaud. I ordered a small not knowing that a small was the size of an espresso cup but it was so decadent that it was enough.
January in Paris in this instance was ideal! We didn't see any lines for the museums, a long coat and scarf was enough for the weather. I had debated whether to bring my Uggs but I read that Parisians don't wear Uggs outdoors (witnessed many Parisians walking in them). On one of my last metro rides, I witnessed an older senior guide a younger blind gentleman to a seat. It’s been maybe 7 or so years since Noreen and I traveled together. We used to walk miles and miles with our backpacks without issue. This trip, we noticed our eye sight isn’t as clear and our knees starting to click. So, with that, merci beaucoup Paris. A quiet Paris was just the version I needed to feed the soul.
**Air France was very strict about weight parameters of carry-on luggage. I had to check my Away carry on which had me waiting longer than I wanted to at baggage claim after fast tracking with global entry through customs. Relieved to see my carry on appear on the conveyer belt, grabbed it, sped walked through the airport and made the Marin Airporter shuttle by 20 seconds! Going through customs at CDG, as well at SFO was a bit of a surprise. None of the finger printing, it was all biometrics via photo. Evolving indeed.
