Stepping into the city was really cool. As with other European cities, the architecture is a bit different and you can tell the city is older than the United States (building-wise) with a lot of history.
Got an espresso and croque while waiting for check-in at the hotel on Rue Lepic (Montmartre). No pic – lived in the moment and people-watched from the café.
Caught the sunset over Paris at the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
Walked down the hill through the beautiful streets and caught dinner in SoPi (Chez Yvette). Escargot with steak and veggies. Excuse the picture of the steak – I started cutting off the fat before I remembered to take the picture. Got some bière too, of course.
Walked back to the hotel after dinner (15 min). Realized quickly that Rue Lepic must be known for strip clubs and sex stores. Interesting. Not sure how that didn’t come up before we booked the hotel but whatever. The place was still civilized; it wasn’t crazy or anything.
Next day - went on a long walk at the crack of dawn (because our sleep was messed up – not because we’re early risers) across the Seine to get to Musée d’Orsay. The sun rose throughout the duration of our walk and it was a scenic coincidence. Ending at the Seine crossing was serene.
Got some breakfast and espresso before the museum opened. It was like a yogurt parfait type of thing. A little cup with fruit in it and a bunch of tiny pellets that I really don’t know what they were. It looked like escargot, but it didn’t really taste too fishy. If I had to guess, I would say it was chia seed pudding (and I think that’s a good guess). No pics just vibes.
In Orsay - I think my favorite individual piece of artwork was Snake Charmer (Rousseau). There is something about how intricate and smooth Rousseau painted it in comparison to Monet’s, Van Gogh’s, and Renoir’s quick, flaky brushstrokes.
My favorite artist was Monet, and kind of by far. Monet’s Water Lily Pond and Rouen Cathedral are exquisite. The museum was mostly landscapes. Maybe that’s a focus of Impressionism, idek. Not looking it up to larp as an art aficionado either. There were a lot of sculptures there too though which are sick. Plaster and bronze type stuff.
Van Gogh and Renoir are obviously incredible also. Starry Night Over the Rhône is a masterpiece.
Quick coffee after at the famous Café de Flore. It was packed. Old school French feel yet touristy. Great people watching spot.
After the coffee, walked over to Rue Cler for lunch (Café du Marché). More escargot, beef bourguignon main. Beef bourguignon is an underrated dish. I had some great steak and duck throughout my time in France but I think this lunch might’ve been the best. Unfortunately for my friend, he got this steak tartare thing that he didn’t realize would be cold, and hence, was not a fan.
After lunch, we walked to the Eiffel Tower. It was not underwhelming. The view from below, and also the view from the top of the city, the Seine, and Arc de Triomphe were phenomenal.
Walked back to the hotel through Champs (long walk - hour and a halfish).
Took a long nap. Went out to dinner at 9:30 (Chez Janou - Place des Vosges). Got the ratatouille to start and duck breast as main. Took it slow on the drinks - bottle of wine each.
Early wake up the next day - Louvre at 9:30. Took about an hour of waiting in line to get in even with the timed ticket. My friend did not get in because he forgot to buy his ticket beforehand. In hindsight, he could have just started in the “no ticket” line early and gotten in that way, but we thought he’d be able to get it on his phone. There were so many people waiting outside though that he had no service. And who knows, maybe he would’ve had to wait in line for 3 hours if he went that route.
I speed ran the Louvre alone - Orsay kinda took the museums out of me, so I hit the main pieces (Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo) and walked around quickly snapping whatever I thought was cool and left. Probably took me around 40 mins total. If I could go back, I’d check out the ancient Egyptian artifacts. I tried to find the exhibit for like 5-10 mins but got lost so I left.
This is also the point in the trip where I came to the realization that snus (Zyn) is illegal in France. I’d be such a loser to let that ruin any parts of my trip though, so I utilized my mental fortitude and locked in. (I bought a vape)
Walked back to Place des Vosges for lunch since we didn’t get to see much of it in the night (that’s where Chez Janou, last night’s dinner, was). Good walk from the Louvre down Rue de Rivoli. Ate lunch on the opposite corner of Chez Janou at La Place Royale. Little underwhelming, might’ve checked out another part of the city at this time in hindsight.
Walked to Notre-Dame afterwards back down Rivoli. Notre-Dame was cool. Just another big old church with nice stained glass to me. Obviously, there’s a bunch of history to it, parts of it recently burned down and were reconstructed, and religious people love it. And I’d do it again. Wish I got to see Sainte-Chapelle though. I read the stained glass there is unmatched. Just didn’t have enough time or sleep.
Ubered from Notre-Dame back to Champs-Élysées. Bought some shoes in the Galeries Lafayette. Went into the Louis Vuitton store and almost bought more shoes till I remembered I didn’t need them. I’m trying to save for a house. The $35 dress shoes from Amazon work just fine. So, ubered home, took a nap.
How many naps did we take, one might ask? We didn’t really take any. It’s the wrong word to use. We basically slept in 2 4-hour stints per day and did not get 1 night of 7-8 hour sleep. But it worked just fine. Studies show that method is just as effective as 1 7-8 hour stint. Look it up.
Next was dinner at Temps des Cerises. We decided against the Oberkampf bar crawl I had penciled in due to the early 6-hour train to Nice, so we had a few beers at dinner and went back and slept again. To be honest, this might be the part of the itinerary that we didn’t do that I wish we did the most. Might’ve ended up being a highlight. We told ourselves that since we were in Paris Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and they aren’t the biggest going-out nights of the week, it wasn’t the biggest deal. We’re also both pushing 30, so do we really need to stay out too late and get drunk especially when we have early transport the next day? We were both down to catch up on Zs. And to answer my own question, just keep reading until you get to the last night in Nice.
We were late for the train the next morning anyways, so we spent another 100 USD on pushing the train tickets back an hour. The original train then got delayed by 20 minutes and we would’ve made it, but it was too late to change back. We used the time for some breakfast - got a Starbucks sandwich and a sugar doughnut which was honestly fire. The doughnut specifically. I don’t typically eat doughnuts or any pastries since they’re all carb calories, but I had to in France. Got a venti americano too.
The 6-hour train was long asf but the countryside was cool. And the last 90 mins was all views of the Mediterranean. After being in a crowded city for 3 days, I already knew the Riviera was going to be a completely different vibe.
I met this nice Russian woman who I talked to for around half an hour at the end of the train ride. Told her that I would love to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow, but I’m a bit afraid. She said her son went back from the states to visit his father in Moscow for some months. I said I hope they don’t scoop him up and send him off to war. She nodded in agreement and acknowledged there are rumors of a big offensive in the late fall. P.S. – If you think it is far-fetched to be snatched off the street in Russia and sent to the front lines of the war, I encourage you to do some research. Also, it may have been friendlier or whatever you would call it for me to not mention that, but I didn’t do it out of malice. I am fascinated by other cultures and current events, and she clearly has more experience with anything Russian than I do. I also like getting people to state how they feel and speak their true thoughts. It is happening less in the modern day due to caring what others think, social media, cancel culture, and government oppression.
Got to the hotel in Nice (The Jay). Place was pretty Nice. Walked right down to the promenade, sat down on the beach, and got some beers. Chilled for like 90 mins. Walked the promenade down to Old Nice and up the stairs of the destroyed castle to watch the sunset. It was beautiful. Insane change up from Paris. The Mediterranean was glistening.
Stopped for dinner on the way back at a seaside seafood terrace (Sunset Cie). Homemade petits farcis (Niçoise stuffed peppers) and some fire steak.
Walked back to the hotel, showered, and went back out to Old Nice for some fun. There was a big plaza with a bunch of different bars and outdoor seating all in one. I was tired at this point so had 1 or 2, people watched, and walked home.
Got up early (9A). Breakfast at the hotel. Went to the train station to catch the local to Èze.
Hiked up the Nietzsche Path. It was pretty steep and rocky/gravelly, but never felt unsafe. Heart rate maxed multiple times though, for perspective. Killed it in like 45 mins and surfaced at Èze. The view from the garden at the top was insane.
After Èze, caught an Uber to Monaco. Monaco was cool. Very boujee. Princes and princesses and their palace type shit. Yachts and the Yacht club. Louis Vuitton and designer everywhere. The Monte-Carlo Casino. I got lunch while my friend shopped for a new fit. Lunch was breaded chicken topped with sliced ham and cheese. I’ve had breaded chicken in the states, but not topped with the ham and cheese.
After Monaco, we got the train back to Nice. Except, we didn’t. We made a spontaneous decision to get off at Villefranche-sur-Mer and sit on the beach since we had 2-3 hours before we needed to get back for dinner. It was hands down the best impromptu decision we made on the trip. I might even call it the highlight of the entire trip. The beach was scenic. We got some beverages. I went in the water multiple times and just lounged. I can’t believe we almost didn’t do that.
We got back to Nice, took a nap, and got up in time for dinner at Le Panier. Fancy place – we got the 7-course menu. There were some charming and hilarious young women sitting next to us who were speaking English. Props to them – they started conversing with us first. I banged my head on the wine glass when I was sitting down and said to my friend “Thank god nobody saw that” (I hit it hard, it made a loud noise, and it hurt). One of the women turned around and said, “Oh, I saw it.” And then we all just started talking. We became friendly and honestly might’ve caused a bit of a ruckus at the restaurant. I got the vibe the staff was sick of us talking for forever and not eating as they were trying to bring out more courses. They started just taking our unfinished food, so the second time it happened, I said “one sec” and threw the rest of the plate down the hatch, then said “Ight you’re good”. He looked at me in shock but like bro you didn’t even ask if I was done and this place is supposed to be upscale. I’ll always finish my food. With that said, my pics of the food are crappy because I was distracted and didn’t want to look like a lame taking pics in front of the girls. See below.
After dinner, we went out for some more drinks and fun. At one point, I realized that I needed to be at the airport in 4 hours and I wasn’t even home yet, so I went back to the hotel, packed, and took a 2 hour nap. I called an Uber but ended up getting in the wrong car and this dude drove me back but then said he doesn’t take card or Venmo – only cash. My friend came out from the hotel room and was trying to help me understand and barter with the guy. I had $40 USD (no Euros) and I said take it or leave it. He took it.
Ubered to Nice airport, 9-hour flight, trip over.
In summary, it was wonderful, but way too short (5 days – 3 Paris, 2 Riviera). I also think it is important to say that I went to France for Paris, but if I go back, it will be for the Riviera. I never even really knew about the French Riviera prior to my trip research, and it is the most mindset-changing, relaxing, surreal place. Highly recommend. Paris is sick too, and I want to go back and relax there and understand more what everyday life looks like. But take it from me - the Riviera takes priority.