Bonjour!

For my 31st birthday, I decided that aging gracefully could be done better in Paris than LA.  And I was right.  I spent a couple of days in Paris exploring on my own to be joined by the beau for the rest of the week.  For whatever reason, I had never been enamored with Western Europe.  Well, it's official - I should have been.  As cliche as it is, Paris is my new favorite city.  So, to capture as much as I can, what follows will be a series of posts - enjoy!

Day One: Land at CDG at 7:30 a.m. Check in to adorable and highly recommended hotel in St. Germain/Latin Quarter, Hotel Des Academies et des Arts.

Walk a few minutes to the nearby Luxembourg Gardens (one of my favorite stops).

Admire the fact that locals actually take time to sit in the garden and sketch.

Sit. Drink a cafe creme. And enjoy a baguette with jamon and cheese.  So Parisian.  Best part?  I did so at Les Deux Magots - once the "rendezvous of the literary and intellectual élite of the city," and where intellects (Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre), writers (Hemmingway), and artists gathered.

Wander the hidden alleys and streets.

Visit Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Continue cathedral hopping to Saint-Chapelle (small but worth it in terms of beauty).

Grab crepe from street vendor. Eat while browsing various bookstores including Shakespeare and Company (as featured in one of my favorite movies, Midnight in Paris). 

End the night at another De Beauvoir and Sarte haunt, Cafe Flore (where an English philocafe was actually in action).