First Visit

We have been three weeks in Paris now and it gets better every day, not only the city but its people. Although French people, especially Parisians, have a bad reputation I must confess it has been a wonderful experience. Every person has been helpful and kind to us, from my teacher Sylvia to the banker Emmanuel. We are very very happy to be here!

The best thing about this past week was my grandmother Elena’s visit and her sister Mercedes. They came to Paris "almost escaped" because the family thought it was a crazy thing, apparently they are too old to travel alone. My grandmother, who has an amazing spirit, convinced her sister; she said “this can be our last time in Paris we must go!”

 My grandmother´s 84th birthday was on this trip, September 10th, so that day they invited us to diner in a famous restaurant here in Paris called Le Soufflé. It isfamously known for its soufflés, especially the Grand Marnier, which is based on the drink. I ordered the asparagus Soufflé and for dessert, the chocolate and pistachio soufflé, both were amazing. If you come, you must try the best soufflé in town. 

A Soufflé from Le Soufflé

Address:
Le Soufflé
36 Rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Paris
Tel. 01 42 60 27 19.

After our amazing diner we left them in their hotel, they were staying at the Hotel du Louvre; which is a beautiful hotel next to the Louvre Museum. The rooms where pretty and old, the floor creaked, I must say it is the nicest hotel I´ve been in Paris. My grandmother complained because she said it was too expensive for the quality they received.So maybe it is not the best option if you come. I learned there are better hotels for the same price like the Plaza Athenee or the George V (all really expensive). We said goodbye that night with plans to meet again the next day. 

The next day we decided to walk around Paris, we took the Metro. Although we´re used to taking the metro it was challenging doing it with two old ladies, the stations are not friendly with the elderly or any disabled person. Stairs, stairs and more stairs. We arrived finally at Trocadero, which is the most famous station in Paris because from there you can see the Eiffel Tower. I mean, it is the best view of the Eiffel Tower. The day was splendid, not a cloud in the sky. It was very crowded, people from all over the world, street shows and beautiful water fountains. This is a place you MUST visit in Paris, here is where everyone takes the famous picture with the Tower. Then we walked to the river Seine and took the BateauBus. It is a little boat that takes you through the river, there are a lot of them, this one in particular works as a bus, which means you can hop on and off anytime you want. It was a great day, with an amazing weather and a beautiful sky. One of my favorites things to do in Paris is walking around the river seine, although it's a great plan they were too tired to continue so we hop off near the Louvre Museum. 

On Sunday, we made plans with my grandmother again. This time we were invited to a restaurant outside of Paris, on a lovely town called St. Germain en Laye. We took the RER A (which is a train for the outsides of Paris) for about 30 minutes, the view from the train was amazing: rivers and meadows. We arrived and there it was! A beautiful Castle from the XII century with amazing glass windows. We had to walk 5 minutes to the restaurant, which is also a hotel, is called Henri IV and has the most amazing view of Paris. Actually this town is in a mountain so that’s why you can see Paris from there. The rest. is very very old, from 1830´s and there was invented the béarnaise sauce and the pommes soufflés. The most delicious sauce I´ve ever tasted. 

I was amazed at how beautiful it was, such classic Frenchstyle, the tables with green hydrangeas and lilies. And as if it wasn't enough the history of the place is incredible, Henri IV lived in that chateau and king Louis XIV was born there. After we ate (all the food was incredible) we walked through the gardens that were made by the same designer of the Versailles Castle gardens. 

The View and My grandmother

Finally we said goodbye to my grandmother and my great aunt who continued their trip to Madrid. We are thrilled for the experience and for the time spent together, hope we can see each other again.

Bisous!