Fall in Love with Paris, Part Deux

Day 3

Stayed overnight at the Renaissance La Defense for free thanks to business travel and wedding points with Marriott. Having gold status was a huge perk too with access to the lounge, free drinks/snacks and full hot breakfast! The hotel was a bit further out from the rest of the city, but a comfy bed in a nice hotel for no cost was certainly worth it. Day 2 was so packed full with different sites and walking, we decided to take it easier on this day.

We didn't head out of the hotel until almost noon and decided to check out Notre Dame. It looked really nice from the cruise tour, so I really wanted to see it. When we got there and the line to enter the cathedral was insanely long, but fortunately was moving rather quickly.

Rose Window, Notre Dame

Selfie!

The infamous bridge of love locks - Pont de l'Archevêché - was right next to Notre Dame so we went to put our lock on. One of my colleagues had just visited Paris a few weeks before and highly recommended this spot to us, so we went prepared with a cheap padlock we bought from Poundland before we went to Paris. This bridge seemed like it was already filled to the maximum with locks dating back to the early 2000's. Some people had very intricate locks with their names engraved. We weren't so fancy and just used a Sharpie marker. No guarantees the ink will stay on there, but we locked our on a really neat huge heart lock. Maybe one day we'll come back and hopefully find it there.

We had lunch reservations at the food highlight of our trip - Les Papilles - which was one of the top rated Trip Advisor restaurants. This restaurant, though not cheap at all, had a very casual feel to it. The main dining floor was small and cramped with what seemed like more tables than the place allowed for. There was also a wine and coffee bar area where they poured the drinks. This restaurant has a set 4-course pre-selected menu that was based on what was available on that day. Everyone who came in was served exactly the same thing with no choice otherwise. It made it very easy not to have to choose.

Soup presentation before broth was added

Broth presented separately

Leek Cream Soup

Slow roasted lamb with vegetables

Served on our plates

Mouldy Stilton cheese with sweet fig

Panna Cotta

Drink up buttercup!

The hubby really wanted to see the Catacombs, but unfortunately by the time we got there it was near closing and had capped the end of the line. He was pretty bummed about it. We decided to rent some bikes and go back to Luxemburg since we didn't have time to explore the gardens after we ate at Les Papilles. We picked up some coffee and macaroons and had a nice and relaxing stroll in the park. Even enjoyed watching a hula-dance group lesson of sorts in a gazebo in the park. That was very interesting!

Macaroons in the Park 

Luxemburg 

Lux Gardens

After we were done with Luxemburg, we were both very tired so we picked up some crepes (nutella/banana for me and ham/cheese for him) from a vendor on the street and decided to head back to the hotel at La Defense early to relax a bit. We felt like we saw all of the main things on our list, so was fine to end it on this note and get a good night's rest.

New Arc at La Defense

Arch across the way

We loved Paris and really enjoyed this trip, despite it being short. We Eurostar'd it back to London Sunday morning. Not too bad - it only took 2 hours! Good times. Cheers!