Paris Honeymoon: Days 4,5,6,7,8

Day 4:

This day was a big one! We got up fairly early to catch one of the first Batobus boats. The Batobus is a bus on water where you can hop on and off at nine (I think) different hot spots just off The Seine river. It’s a really neat and affordable concept of traveling! We got to experience a side of Paris we never expected: the view from the river.

We got on the Batobus at the Louvre stop, close to our apartment. The selfie stick came out to snap a few pictures from the back of the boat, before getting off at the Champs-Elysée stop. It was another beautiful sunny day, but a cool breeze made it more comfortable walking temperature.

On our way up the C-E, we came across Ladurée; the macaroons boutique! It was “so cute” to say the least. We splurged on the decorative box filled with six assorted macaroons. I chose three and Riley chose three. My flavours were salted caramel, rose, and mint. Riley’s flavours were coffee, lemon, and raspberry. They were all so delicious, but I definitely recommend the salted caramel if you have a sweet tooth!

We kept walking all the way up the street to the Arc de Triomphe! I still couldn’t believe we were seeing all these landmarks that you only read about or see in movies.

We decided to take a pit stop and have “second breakfast” for lunch. Our feast shown below cost us next to nothing and was simply delicious. It even came with the cutest little jam jars! We ate outside, Paris-style, and faced the people walking up and down the street. It was definitely an experience! We chatted and relaxed as we digested our decadent croissants.

Of course, we did a bit of shopping on the C-E. I purchased a scarf from Zara that I’ll have to wait ’til winter to wear. I’ll forever remember our trip when I break out that scarf on chilly winter days. We waited for the Batobus to take us to our next stop, the Eiffel Tower!

The line was a little long to get in the site, especially since we didn’t stay long under the tower.

Instead of traveling to the top, we ventured off to a nice little restaurant on a side street near the tower. Our waiter was hilarious and he knew we were on our honeymoon due to how shiny Riley’s gold band was at the time. It was too new-looking for us to go unnoticed! Riley had steak-frites and I had spinach and goat cheese ravioli. MMmmm. It was so delicious. We washed it down with white wine and soaked in the new experiences some more! The couple behind us was somewhat obnoxious, but the waiter strikes again and he was cracking jokes they didn’t understand. My eavesdropping little ears picked up on this and Riley and I had some laughs.I was so full of divine pasta and half a bottle of vin blanc as we waited for the Batobus to take us home. Riley was quite the photographer at the dock!

Of course, I was feeling fancy once we got back to our apartment, so I threw on my new scarf and Riley poured me a glass of white for yet another photo opp.

We spent the rest of the evening going over the day in our head and looking at our pictures (and videos) in bed. I went through such a whirlwind of emotions as we saw the sights of Paris. It was a jam-packed day (no pun intended).

Day 5:

We had gotten into the routine of morning breakfast in the apartment and walking around to see some sights until we got hungry. For lunch, we stumbled upon a mussels restaurant! Riley and I both really enjoy seafood and we decided to give this place called Léon de Bruxelles a try. When we ordered a “large beer” we had no idea they would be almost as big as our heads! No wonder the waitress was laughing at us.

The mussels and all-you-can-eat fries were GREAT! The power randomly went out in the restaurant as we were eating. For a moment, we wondered if we’d have to abandon our meals and huge beers due to almost pitch-blackness. Lucky for us, they came back on and we were able to continue our feast. There were just enough mussels in the bucket to fill us up, but Riley kept dreaming of the mussels for the rest of the trip!

On our way back, I stopped in a Sephora for another long-anticipated activity: purchasing a Chanel red lipstick in Paris! It is so beautiful and I’ve only been wearing it on special occasions when I feel super fancy. I hope it lasts a little while so I can keep that memory for as long as possible.

Nap time once again for Riley! I tried on my new lipstick while he slept and got ready for our wine-tasting scheduled for that night at Ô Chateau. We’d both never been to a tasting before and were anxiously awaiting the activity since the beginning of our trip!

We were about 30 people at our wine tasting, mostly couples. Once we started popping bottles (literally since we started with champagne), our sommelier Gerald had us go around the table and introduce ourselves. Riley and I went dead last. Of course, Riley threw in that we were on our honeymoon, which made the table erupt in a chorus of “awwwhnnn”s and “ohhhhh”s all around. Even better, it made Gerald magically turn our glasses into bottomless ones! Every time our glasses got near empty status, he polished them off with whatever wine was open at that moment. Riley was in for a “good night” according to Gerald…

We learned how to properly taste wine, some fun facts about how it’s grown, where it’s made, and more! It was very educational, not to mention delicious. We had one champagne, one white, one rosé, and two reds. Quite the collection (and accomplishment).

The aftermath:

We left saying “Thank you” on repeat seeing that everyone congratulated us newlyweds on our way out. Since we hadn’t opted for the meat and cheese platter, we were a little hungry (and tipsy, as one should be) coming out of our tasting. We went to this 50s-inspired diner behind our apartment for some burgers and nachos. They were both better at this location!

#travel