A night in Paris, France

Where to stay: Hotel Mercure Paris Centre Tour Eiffel
Transportation: Walking!
Where to eat: Aux Bons Crus, Hugo & Co, and Le Rigmarole
What to see and do: Eiffel Tower, Crazy Horse Cabaret, Arc de Triomphe, Les Invalides

Ah, Paris, La Ville Lumière! AKA The City of Lights. A city rich with history, culture, and cuisine. It’s never a bad idea to book a trip to Paris, just know what to expect prior to arrival. Having said that, Paris is one of the most beautiful, cultural cities I’ve ever visited and I would gladly go back in a heart beat.

We spent a grand total of 17 hrs in Paris on this trip, so as the title states, it was truly just a night in Paris. After spending three weeks touring around Scotland by car, it was the last hoorah of our trip prior to heading home. We planned to spend a little more money than we normally would have so we could have one fantastic night in Paris before heading back to the United States.

We arrived in Paris around 4:00p and it took a solid hour for us to vacate the airport and make our way towards the Eiffel Tower. Being our first time in Paris, we were unaccustomed to the way the Paris underground worked and had to fend for ourselves as it was nearly impossible to get help from anyone near us. (I barely speak french, like a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10) This was something we haven’t experienced in any other culture that we’ve been to. In fact, the second someone heard our American accents, it was like they were cold-shouldering us and even refused to speak to us.

Luckily, we managed, and after navigating our way through the underground, which happened to be surprisingly simple, we popped up right next to the Eiffel Tower and walked maybe 5 min with our luggage prior to arriving at the hotel, L’hotel Mercure. We made our way up to our room that just barely had a view of the Eiffel Tower, showered off the airport stink and made our way our out into the city of lights! Being so close the Eiffel Tower, we simply walked out of our hotel room and were able to snag some incredible photos of the tower sparkling as they had just turned on the evening lights. Given that it was the start of high season, it was inevitable that the streets would be packed with people so we tried to find some quiet streets and just stroll around for a bit before the show.

We grabbed a quick snack at a local cafe; a ham & cheese baguette and continued strolling along. Oh my goodness, I can’t even begin to describe the difference in quality between the United States and the Parisian marketplace. The quality of their meats, cheeses, mustards, bread, and nearly everything else are on a completely different level than ours. Needless to say, if you find yourself strolling the streets of Paris, grab yourself a ham & cheese baguette to accompany you along the walk.

We eventually crossed over the Seine and made our way towards the Arc de Triomphe for a few photos and then over to the Parc Monceau where we sat and relaxed for a bit, enjoying the park and people watching. From there it was nearly time for dinner & the show. We decided on Hugo & Co for dinner with an heirloom salad, need carpaccio, and a french take on pizza. Delicious. Our server was the sweetest girl, and was very patient with me trying to order in French and probably butchering some of the words. Remember, when in doubt, point to the menu!

After dinner the show was only a few moments from starting so we ran over to Crazy Horse, and were shown to our table. We were greeted at our table with a complementary bottle of champagne and some chocolate truffles to begin the evening. From the very beginning the show was incredible and kept us the edges of our seats the entire time. The show ranged from sexy and sultry, to comical and even theatrical, to artistic and even melancholy. It was an incredible experience through and through and I would go back in a heartbeat. Not to mention the women in the show are absolutely stunning and completely naked throughout the show. It is a burlesque after all.

After the show was over, we were gifted another bottle of champagne for the stroll home and ended up wandering around Les Invalides and sipping from our bottle of champagne along the way. By the end of the evening it was nearly 2:00a by the time we made it back to our hotel and we had to be back at the airport for our flight home to Los Angeles by 9:00a the next morning. Needless to say, it was a rather rough morning in the airport but I wouldn’t have changed the night we had for the world.