Un jour à Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Café Cassettes, ironically not named for the bygone technology
Bonjour de Paris! I made it into France without much issue aside from some extreme and unexpected turbulence over Canada. Sadly, since my flight got in at 6:30am, I ended up on the train and metro during rush hour, juggling cumulatively 40lbs of luggage and running on so little sleep that any French I may speak had completely left my brain. Thankfully my hotel (Hotel Pas de Calais in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, highly recommend) let me check in a full 6 hours early and I was so grateful I could have cried.
After a shower and nap, I ventured out for a savory crepe that I had been craving for the last four years followed by a long wander around my neighborhood for the night. I ended up at Saint Sulpice, then took metro line 6 to the Eiffel Tower—obligatory at this point. The sun was just setting by then, so I took a nice walk through some quieter streets back to St. Germain. I meant to look for somewhere small to have dinner but, still fighting jet lag, I found myself all the way at Cafe de Flore and decided to stop for a glass of wine that turned into onion soup to help warm me up and three different forms of baguette. An expensive yet lovely way to end my first day.
Now it’s day two and I’ve been up since 3:30, still struggling to adjust to the time difference when for once I have plenty of time to do so. I’ve moved from the aforementioned hotel to an apartment in Montmartre for the next five days and it remains my favorite quartier. Wouldn’t recommend hauling that much luggage up the impossible number of stairs at the Abbesses metro station, but if that’s what it takes to stay in such a disgustingly charming place then so be it.
Enjoy a few photos from yesterday and today while I decide what to do for dinner. Next time: Cimetière de Montmartre. À bientôt!
