I’m going, going, back, back to…Paris! It was a whirlwind weekend but I enjoyed every minute of it. Here is the recap and how you can fit it all in.
My flight was on a Thursday evening leaving at 5:45pm. Both check in and security was a breeze (thank you TSA-Precheck!). Status on American Airlines (actually any airlines!) doesn’t get you much nowadays so I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get my upgrade. It was a very full flight but arrived promptly at 7am the next morning. Interestingly, I went through immigration electronically but my passport was stamped afterwards (very odd).
I had a packed agenda for the day so needed to hit the ground running! I followed the signs in the airport and walked about 5 minutes to the train, bought a ticket, and caught the next one headed to Paris. Everything was going smoothly until I got off the train at Gare du Nord train station…which was super confusing. I underestimated how long it would take me to navigate the station and after 30 minutes of walking aimlessly through the station, I finally found a sign that indicated that I had to go to the upper level for the Thalys train to Brussels. Thank goodness I didn’t buy a ticket ahead of time because I would’ve missed my train. The downside of buying the ticket last minute is that I had to take what was available: a first-class ticket for 160 euros one way! A bit steeper than I had seen online weeks prior. Strangely enough, the return ticket first-class was “only” 99 euros but cheaper than the 2nd class. I was running out of time so quickly bought my tickets and made it onto the 10:15am train. I saw a sign for the luggage lockers but it was downstairs and didn’t want to chance missing my train so brought my bags on the train with me.
The train ride was about an hour and a half and went by fast (probably because I set my alarm and slept through most of the ride). Of course, I made sure to be awake for the meal which consisted of a sandwich and tea.
Once I arrived at the Brussels station (which was the first stop on the train), I found the luggage station and stored my bags in an XL locker. I could’ve probably gotten away with a L but didn’t want to take any chances in case it was too small.
I was now ready to explore the city! Getting to downtown was only a 30-minute walk and it was a nice, fall weather day so I laced up my sneakers and made my way to my first stop: Mannekin Pis (Dutch for “Little Pissing Man”). The bronze fountain statue was of a naked little boy urinating into the fountain’s basin. It is regularly dressed up and has a wardrobe of more than a thousand different costumes so you never know what it will be wearing!
Just a short walk away was the Grand-Place (not to be confused with the Royal Palace). Also known as Grote Markt in Dutch, the Grand-Place is the central square in Brussels and surrounded by guild houses, City Hall, and the Maison du Roi (a building that houses a museum). It is considered one of the most beautiful places in the world and I can see why (despite the overcast day).
I was on the hunt for the best fries and had a couple of places on my list but when I bumped into Friterie Tabora and saw the long line, I knew I would get my fries from there! Although the line was somewhat long, it actually moved pretty quickly. There were SO many different sauces to choose from (including curry, truffle, BBQ, and more) but I took their recommendation and chose the andalouse sauce (which consisted of a mix of mayo, tomato paste, and peppers). It was a tiny bit spicy but really good.
I continued to wander through the streets just soaking in all of the sights, smells, and sounds. There were tons of super cute shops everywhere I turned.
One place that was on my list was the Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. Filled with renowned shops, chocolatiers, and unique installations, it was fun to window shop. The most breathtaking part was the beautiful glass ceiling. The architecture was absolutely stunning.
At this point, I was close to the Royal Palace so I headed there. When I arrived, I was disappointed to see scaffolding enveloping one side of the building. The construction combined with the drizzle that had just started made for a pretty quick visit.
To escape the rain, I ducked into Laurent Gerbaud, a chocolatier that was on my list. I am not a huge fan of chocolate so don’t have much of a discerning palate when it comes to what is good vs. not, but I chose a few treats to take home as a souvenir.
I kept passing waffle shops on every street so figured it was time to try one! It was really hard to decide because they all (e.g., Maison Dandoy, Los Churros and Waffles, The Waffle Factory) had tempting waffles covered with the most delicious-looking toppings to try but I finally decided on Le Funambule and ended up with a simple waffle with just powdered sugar. It was soooo good that I almost ordered another one!
I had to save a tiny bit of room in my appetite to try a Belgian meatball. I stopped at Ballekes which is known for their meatballs and ordered a pork/beef meatball with the lapin sauce (made of apples, pears, and dates syrup with onions and raisins). The meatball was moist but HUGE (seriously, it was the size of my fist!) and while I had my doubts about how the sauce would taste, it actually turned out to be the perfect pairing with the meatball.
I wanted to try the mussels at The Lobster House as well as visit the Atomium (an odd-looking structure that looks like an atom and was located at least 20-30 minutes away by car). However, at this point, I was beyond full, and I was running low on time. I booked a 4:21pm return and that was perfect. Four hours was the perfect amount of time to explore downtown Brussels.
After arriving back to Gare du Nord station in Paris, I grabbed an Uber and met the girls at Hotel Gustave (I did not feel like trying to navigate the Paris subway with all of my luggage when there would be a couple of train connections).
Hotels in Europe are typically small so it was a challenge to find a room that could accommodate four people, but Hotel Gustave had one with connecting rooms. It had a boutique feel to it, beautiful decor, and located close to the subway (although we never ended up using it!). After settling in a bit, we got ready for dinner. Since a standard car in Europe was too small for the 4 of us, we had to specify a van on Uber. When it arrived, we were so surprised because it looked like a whole party bus (complete with neon lights inside)! Needless to say, there was more than enough room for us all.
We had dinner reservations at Le Procope which opened in 1686 and is considered the oldest café in Paris (if you ignore the period of time in the 19th century when it was closed). I absolutely loved this restaurant when I first dined there (see post about my 2019 trip to Paris and Amsterdam) so it was definitely on the list to come back. The traditional, old world, opulent style decor gives off a very bourgeois vibe but is breathtaking. Although we made 8:45pm reservations and arrived ahead of time, Le Procope was incredibly busy that night and we ended up waiting another 20-30 minutes for our table. And, by the time the waiter came around after we were seated, it was another 20-minute wait to put in our order. To start, we ordered a bottle of French wine as well as the risotto and snails. The risotto melted in my mouth and I still think about how good it was! I also had the prix fixe menu which consisted of ravioli to start (a bit too cheesy for my liking), duck for the entree, and a dessert of iced soufflé. A couple of the girls also had the coq au vin and the trout. While everything was good, it wasn’t as memorable as the first time I dined there.
By the time we finished, it was after midnight so we headed over to Wanderlust for a jerk x jollof party. The venue was a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces so was spacious but it was packed with people. Honestly, I had never seen so many Black people in Europe in one place! Unfortunately, the drinks were terrible, half of the liquor on the bar menu was out of stock, and the DJs played the same 10 songs all night. None of that stopped us from hitting the dance floor and having a great time though!
The next day, we headed to Versailles! Although I had been to Paris a few times before, I had never been to Versailles so was very excited about it. Versailles is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. It is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV and consists of the palace, the park, the gardens, and the estate of trianon.
There are tons of early morning, skip the line tours but given our late night, I’m glad we booked a tour that was later in the morning at 11am. We met our tour guide near our hotel, then walked to the nearby train station to catch the train to Versailles. It was a short, 30-minute train ride.
First, we took a tour of the palace. With 60,000 artworks, the collections illustrate five centuries of French history.
The palace is beautiful but make sure you have on your walking shoes because it is HUGE and gets super crowded (as this photo shows!).
Next, we visited the gardens and fountains which were breathtaking but HUMONGOUS. Even though we had a map, it was overwhelming thinking about how big the grounds were and knowing that we could never cover it all. There was also a place to grab a bite to eat in the gardens, so we had a quick lunch there.
After walking the grounds for hours, we still hadn’t put a dent into all there was to see but we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We stopped by the Eiffel Tower to take pictures before going the restaurant and we made sure we were there on the hour to catch it sparkling! Note: it sparkles on the hour for five minutes from nightfall until 11pm.
As many times as I had seen the Eiffel Tower before, I still get mesmerized by its beauty at night.
We had 9:45pm reservations at Pink Mamma restaurant but still had to wait outside awhile for our table (about 20-30 minutes). When we finally were seated, I was so excited that the hostess was taking us to the rooftop as it is supposed to be the most photogenic floor in the restaurant. The cuisine was heavily Italian with a variety of pizzas from which to choose. However, I’m a sucker for truffle so when I saw the truffle pasta on the menu, I knew that was what I would get. It was actually very good, though a bit more al dente than I typically like.
Once again, we closed down the restaurant (it was literally empty when we left!). That is what happens when you have good food, even better company, and in an amazing location 😉 We noticed the Moulin Rouge (a famous cabaret and nightclub in Paris known for its over-the-top shows and costumes since 1889) nearby but what was even more interesting, was that we also noticed a bunch of people (literally HUNRDREDS of people) in green shirts and very drunk. We were so confused by what we had blindly walked into…and desperately tried to escape! We eventually found out that there had been a rugby game between Ireland and South Africa earlier and Ireland won. At first, I thought it was crazy that these Irish visitors had travelled all this way for a rugby game, then I remembered I just travelled even farther for a concert so who am I to judge! While it took us forever to get an Uber, the weirdest thing we saw were men using open-air urinals positioned in the middle of the sidewalk (no doors, no partitions, NOTHING but the urinal itself). I didn’t take any pictures for obvious reasons 😉 On one hand, it was pretty smart of the government to anticipate the need for urinals in that area to try and reduce the smell and damage associated with public urination. On the other hand, passers-by could still see everything…and there was nothing for the women to use!
On our last full day in Paris, we went to LV Dream, a one-year pop-up exhibition and café by Louis Vuitton. There were nine exhibition rooms and several interactive experiences taking you through the history of Louis Vuitton which was founded in 1854. The exhibits showcased his various inventions and creations through time, including the flat trunk.
There is also a gift store right next door with all of the signature LV items you would expect to find but also a number of items that were surprising, including a LV vase, plant holder, and bicycle! I needed to purchase a wallet for my friend Natalie so while we waited, we were served mimosas 🙂
There is also a café and a chocolaterie by the gift shop that featured a wide selection of LV monogrammed pastries. We indulged in a couple of the beautifully constructed (and just as tasty!) cakes paired with deliciously refreshing iced hibiscus tea.
Next, we went to Reyna for brunch. A super small but incredibly cute and contemporary Filipino restaurant. The waiters were so much fun, had great food recommendations, and made the experience even that much more memorable. We ordered a few different items to share, including the oysters, burrata (with chili), steak, pork belly, fried chicken wings, cauliflower, and side of rice. Everything was absolutely incredible! The flavors of each item burst in your mouth (even the cauliflower!) making each bite as heavenly as the last. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Paris looking for something different.
The last event of the day was what we had all been waiting for…the Usher concert at Le Seine Musicale. It was scheduled to start at 8:30pm but no one minded that it began after 9pm. The DJ was on point spinning some classic R&B hits, the champagne was flowing, and we were amped up after swag surfing with some folks we just met. Everyone was dressed to impress, and the energy was through the roof. Once Usher hit the stage, we didn’t sit down until the concert was over. Even the celebrities in the audience seated by us (Gabrielle Union, Dwayne Wade, LA Reid, and Christina Milian) were mesmerized by Usher’s performance. Everyone sang along to all of his songs, tried to catch the Usher bucks that were sprayed into the crowd, and danced to every single hit he ever made. It was definitely a night to remember!
Afterwards, we were starving so we grabbed pizza and salad at a restaurant nearby. The service was terrible, the food was forgettable, and we waited an incredibly long time for a table but we were hungry and didn’t see anything else so we settled for that.
The next morning, we took an Uber to the airport which took about an hour because of traffic. Check in was smooth and in no time, I was back in New York picking up the kids from school. It was a whirlwind weekend but worth every minute! Until next time Paris!
Also, here are some restaurants that we didn’t get a chance to fit in on this trip but looked promising:
– Belisaire According to the Seasons | Restaurant Bélisaire – Paris 15 (restaurant-belisaire.paris)
– Dans Le Noir Restaurant (danslenoir.com)
– Qui Plume La Lune Who Feathers the Moon (quiplumelalune.fr)
– Granite Home Granite – Tom Meyer – 1 star Michelin Guide 2022 – Paris
– Le Train Bleu The Blue Train | Restaurant Bar Au Cœur de la Gare de Lyon | Paris 12 (le-train-bleu.com)
– Bus Toque The Bus Toqué menu: unique menu, drinks list, wine list (bustoque.fr)
– Kube Ice Bar Ice Kube Paris – The Only Ice Bar in Paris – Experience Paris (kubehotel-paris.com)
Toya's Travels 