Travelling Toes: Let's take it from the top...

M and I landed in Paris early on a Saturday morning after a long 30-odd hours of travelling. Needless to say we were a little disoriented and in a sort of trance that can only be achieved by mixing jetlag with excitement. We had decided not to pay the 60 Euro taxi fare (about $100 Australian dollars) from Charles-de-Gaulles airport to our hotel in the centre of Paris so after much waiting around for customs and our luggage in a dilapidated and overcrowded Terminal 1, we undertook the complicated task of taking the RER train with a few too many oversized and overpacked suitcases (containing mostly my collection of shoes – M is so patient with me)!

Luckily we had help from a young very nice but creepily-helpful French guy, who went out of his way (as in took a huge metro detour) to help us with the luggage all the way to the street corner where our hotel was located. Nothing went missing so I came to the conclusion that it was all done in good heart.

My very first Paris snap...

Paris was gleaming that morning! The city was still half asleep. The streets were a little damp from a previous rainfall. The air was fresh and the sun was out. We had landed in paradise. And we would quickly learn that this paradise was cleverly equipped with the most delicious croissants and café crèmes. So here we were, 8am, in Paris, sitting on a street corner, eating breakfast, and drooling at the dreamy Parisian penthouse apartments across the road (ok maybe I was the only one drooling).

The hotel was everything and anything I (read: any woman) would dream of! Glamorous red velvet tufted headboards, chic leather and suede walls coverings, soft lighting, plush bed and pillows, an 8-stream deluxe shower, and large floor to ceiling French doors opening on the most beautiful views of endless Parisian rooftops and chimneys (I felt like I was in a Mary Poppins movie)! On top of it all, we were greeted with a selection of French macaroons and a glass of champagne. Yup, we had definitely landed in Paradise.

I clumsily forgot to take photos of the hotel except for a few iPhone shots of the view from the bathroom that I won't share... I will get better at this!

We spend the day meandering the streets, whilst making sure that M got to see all the big ticket items: Notre-Dame de Paris, le Louvres, Les Tuileries, la Place de la Concorde, Les Champs Elysees (I saw them too, obviously, but I tend to run away from tourist sites like the plague).

After having reached our quota of touristic sites, we went back to the hotel for a little rest, and to get ready to tackle dinner.

My highlight of the day? Les Jardins du Luxembourg, beautiful gardens surrounding a big gilded chateau where people go to walk, run, play sports, run around with their kids. It was magical, and a stone’s throw from our hotel! Believe me, this snap does not do it justice!

We got back out around 6pm in the bright afternoon sun, prepped up and ready to enjoy our first Parisian meal, but not before a big walk around the Tour Eiffel and a sneaky drink on a street corner somewhere. We were on vacation after all!

Can you tell I'm getting really tired from the jetlag at this point? My face says: "take the damn pic already!"

Well, this restaurant (which I had carefully booked a week in advance) did not disappoint! At 35 Euros per person for a 3-course meal, it was all we could have wished for. A delightful subtly elegant neighbourhood bistro with succulent dishes and a wine list to impress. I hope you will excuse the fact that I forgot to take pictures, but luckily for me this clever blogger hasn't:

And she had cleverly ordered the same dishes as me (minus the desert)! Below is a veloute (a cold soup that consists of a fresh cream sauce, shallots, and a flavour of the day, anything from salmon to courgettes).

I ordered the veloute and, when it came out, M looked at me like I was about to eat a tub of cream but let me tell you - I was delicious! In fact, it ranked high on the list of the best meals of my holiday.

I also had the main below, a "tete de cochon" (pig's head!) which was a bit fatty but delish! Besides, as I said many times over: "I didn't come to France to lose weight", and I didn't!

All photos of Le Clos des Gourmets via Absolutely Famished

By 10pm, we were wined and dined and ready for a long jetlag-infused sleep.