Walking dogs and eating baguettes. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.
Our time in Paris is coming to an end. Our five-week housesitting assignment is up on Thursday, when we’ll get back on a train and head south to Bordeaux to meet up with one of my best friends Liz and her boyfriend and drink some good wine, which I’m really excited about. Jeremy and I had been looking forward to this assignment in Paris all summer, and now it’s about to be over. We’ve spent the last week crossing off items on our list of things to do while here, and we’ve been doing a pretty good job. Here are some of our successful Paris bucket list item completions:
Run With a Running Group
This was a personal bucket list item, and I have successfully joined Let’s Run Paris for three runs so far. I did 9 miles last Saturday and then a 10k with them on Monday (which you can read about here if you’re so inclined), then this past Saturday joined them for a little over 13 miles.
How I fueled the night before.
The route took us all around Paris, and into the Bois de Boulogne, which I had been wanting to check out.
Seen on my run.
Pictures from the Let’s Run Paris Facebook page:
Post-run at the Jardin du Luxembourg.
As we got into the Bois de Boulogne and passed a water fountain, I had been having a nice conversation with a woman wearing a Surf City Half Marathon shirt (which I’m pretty sure I’m running next February), and I didn’t stop to refill my handheld water bottle that was half empty. HUGE mistake. We were only about six miles into the run, and I ran out of water with a few miles left. I don’t think I’ve ever been so thirsty. There are fountains around the city and I thought for sure we would run by one. Unfortunately we never did, and I think this affected me the day after, and I felt lightheaded and dizzy all day, despite trying to replenish my fluids immediately after finishing the run and the rest of the day. I’m still feeling a bit lightheaded today and it’s raining, so I think I may skip the 10k with the group tonight. I feel like I’m in good shape training-wise for my half in a couple weeks, and I don’t want to risk doing anything weird to my body. But other than that, the thirteen miles were great, and I never really felt all that tired. I joined the 7 min/km group this time around, which was a good decision. It was an easy pace and I could have a conversation the whole time. The group leader even complimented me after saying how well I did and how much energy I had the whole time. Hooray! And I haven’t felt any soreness or anything since.
Jeremy met me after the run with pretzels, chocolate milk, and Powerade.
Recovering with some ice block things I found in the freezer.
See the Eiffel Tower Sparkle
Jeremy and I hadn’t been to the Eiffel Tower up close at night yet, so we set out one night to do just that. We didn’t know at what time it would sparkle, but we got lucky and were at the Trocadero taking pictures right at 10pm when it happened.
Why is that video so big?!
Stand on Kilometre Zero
After dinner one night, we took a walk to Notre Dame, hoping to find the Kilometre Zero plaque on the ground, marking the center of Paris. Somehow we found it and it wasn’t covered by tourists or street performers.
Notre Dame at night.
“I’m sad because I don’t want to leave Paris. And because my hair is crazy.”
Have a Date Night
Specifically, eat the cheese plate at Restaurant Astier. With all the delicious restaurant options in Paris, it was hard to choose a place for a nice date night. But after looking at David Lebovitz‘s reviews and reading about this insane cheese spread, we had to go. It was a four-course meal, with cheese being the third. They put it on your table and you take what you want (and can fit in your stomach), then remove it and bring it to a different table. We were the first ones to receive it that night, so we had the whole plate to choose from, although I’m sure they replenish the cheese when it runs low.
C’est cheese.
All of our courses were delicious, but this cheese plate will go down in history as the most glorious thing put in front of us.
We had a second date night at a restaurant called Les Papilles, which was also an epicerie and wine shop. The four-course menu changes every night, and there are no other options than what the chef has prepared. I really love this, and wouldn’t mind if all restaurants did this.
The cute yellow Bistroy Les Papilles.
The star of the night: a green bean soup to be poured over peas, bacon, radishes, creme fraiche, and more.
Second course: pork roasted with apricots and with this insane sauce/gravy and creamy polenta on the side.
The pretty blue cheese and honey course.
Dessert was panna cotta with strawberries that was delicious, but I didn’t get a good picture.
Side note, this oceanography institute building was across the street from the restaurant and I thought it was really cool.
Sunset Picnic on the Seine
This one was at the top of my list for a while, and it was great. We brought a bottle of wine, got some sandwiches from Mozza and Co. food truck and had ourselves a sunset picnic. Even though it was chilly, there were tons of people out, and the police drove around in a tiny truck and handed all the picnickers trash bags with a big smile and a “Bon appétit!” Man, Parisians know how to picnic. I wish I could have gotten pictures of people’s food and wine spreads.
Visiting Rue Crémieux
After reading Messy Nessy Chic‘s post about it, Jeremy and I made it a point to visit this little colorful road near Gare de Lyon. It is really easy to miss. But we walked down it after having some wine and cheese at a bistro nearby, and it was really charming.
Phew, I think that’s it for now. Could I make these posts any longer? Paris is just filled with so much cool stuff that I can’t stop taking pictures!
Lily Runs the World 