Monday, July 29th
We engineered a pause in our Olympic events for a few days and arranged tickets to the Orangerie, including the galleries specifically meant to house Monet’s Water Lilies paintings. The museum was situated just STEPS from the Concorde Urban Project venues, so close we had to go through Olympic security protocols. Since we were a few of the first people inside the museum, it was nice and calm and a bit more like it was meant to be enjoyed, for that I was grateful for our timing.
After a year and a half of research, I had zeroed in on a restaurant so storied and authentic that it barely has an online presence and the only large amount of information I found on it was a blog post about where the workers go for quality food in the les Halles area. The restaurant that some call Chez Denise, some others call La Tour Montlhery, is a restaurant that does NOT cater to tourists as they do not have a website, and they don’t even present you with menus as their only menu is on a chalkboard written only in French.
Plenty of tourists find their way there though from the local voices who suggest a visit here. Upon our first approach, we were 5 minutes early and didn’t want to embarrass ourselves trying to walk into a closed restaurant, so we wandered the nearby park and arrived a few minutes after noon so see that to French speaking groups were just as eager as we were and had already been seated.
We sat outside and luckily the chalkboard menu was close enough for us to study the swirly writing and seek out the French words we did know, like beef, chicken, fries, and green beans. It wasn’t until almost an hour into our meal that we heard any other English being spoken, so I was proud of our choice!
I ordered for the third time this trip some form of boeuf bourguignon (and I realized I still don’t love French food; I can tolerate it more though!) and Casey had roasted chicken. I can tell you that they serve very classic French cuisine and if you are in the Louvre or les Halles area, you need to go.
After lunch, we scoped out the Olympic Superstore again, because after 3 days of Olympic events we had zeroed in on items we were searching for but were overwhelmed with the amount of people and aborted that mission.
We then hopped over to the Coca Cola Food Fest to meet up with some pin people and I scored a Paralympic Opening Ceremony pin!
Then off to the 9th Arrondissement to tour the grand Palais Garnier, the famed Paris Opera House. As we walked in, my eyes were drawn along the walls up the stairs to the gilded fixtures and the marble all around. As we got to explore the hallways and galleries where the elite went to “see and be seen” in the Belle Epoque era, I was amazed at the décor that rivals the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
On our tour, we got to sit inside the theatre and imagine how it would be during a performance both then and now (they still hold performances here!). I couldn’t stop taking pictures of all the amazing views and intricate designs.
We even peeked into the “Phantom’s Box” from where the supposed Phantom of the Opera always watched the performances (it’s not a good view? Maybe he liked it to be mysterious and hidden?) and learned that the musical is not that famous in France!
We admired the gift shop offerings and went outside to explore the EXPANSIVE Galeries Lafayette, and I used my “Ice Cream Radar”, (Casey coined the term and I agree with it) my ability to be able to find all the ice cream within my immediate area, and spotted people walking out of the Galeries Lafayette Food Hall with GIGANTIC MOUNDS of ice cream covered in crushed pistachios and topped with a generous helping of whipped cream from the Lebanese ice cream shop Bachir, and I knew I had to taste one, no matter how close it was to dinnertime. It was everything I hoped it would be, with the traditional Lebanese flavors perfectly complimented by the nuts and cream. It was so big it almost felt like dinner!
We finally made it to the ACTUAL department store section of the flagship Galeries Lafayette and marveled at the Neo-Byzantine dome, popped up to the rooftop for an amazing view of the city, and certainly got lost in the snacks and souvenirs department to pick up even MORE Olympics souvenirs.
One of the classic experiences you need to have when you are in Paris is a visit to a “bouillon”, a restaurant once frequented by busy workers who didn’t have much time nor money to spare for meals, but now a favorite quick meal for many kinds of French people. The prices are very low, with some dishes starting at 1 euro! One of the best ones was nearby, so we headed to Bouillon Chartier for this rite of passage with an entrance tucked away seemingly in an alley behind some non-descript storefronts. As soon as we stepped in the door, we were greeted with the noise of one of the largest restaurants we saw on our travels, and we wondered how they could ever manage everything that was happening all throughout the establishment.
We were quickly greeted and shown to a table that we shared with another couple against a low wall with another table practically joined with ours on the other side. As soon as we sat down, a waiter came over and took our order (I accidentally ordered a carafe of water in Italian!). Within 3 minutes at the MOST, our food arrived (but not our water, so I asked to share the carafe of the French couple sitting next to us, in French!) and we dug in. I HAD to get the steak frites in such a classic place and it did NOT disappoint. I even remembered how to ask for “medium rare” instead of “well done” (which was my steak frites sandwich failure)!
We headed home and off to do one of the tourist rites of passage in Paris, a sunset cruise along the Seine! We wanted to see the city in a bit of daylight and darkness, so we scooted onto the close by Vedettes du Pont Neuf for a late evening sail.
Then off to bed to get ready for our…..
DISNEY DAY! (Tuesday, the 30th)
We needed to get on the RER for the hour-long trip to Disneyland Paris, as we wanted to “rope drop” for offsite guests to be able to make the most of the 9:30am-10pm park hours. We had purchased the 1-day park hopper as well as the Premier Pass (the same thing they just announced for the US parks) for about $350 total. Yes, it was expensive, but we also only had one day to get everything done. It did end up saving us probably at least 2-3 hours of waiting in line, it also allowed us to ride a few rides twice (once with the pass and once when the line was tolerable) and gave us time to spend eating a nice dinner! Get ready for ALL of the pictures!
As we had researched Disneyland before this, we had some priorities to hit, multiple times if possible. We made a beeline for Big Thunder Mountain, as we had heard it was the best there is. It definitely lives up to the hype! It starts along the main thoroughfare in Frontierland, and you GO UNDERNEATH THE WATER to get to the island where most of the rollercoaster is. It is an amazing ride!
We did the Phantom Manor which has a very neat approach, and is more….creepy than other versions I have been in? It wasn’t my favorite. Casey braved the Temple of Peril with Indiana Jones while I waited as I refused because of my bad experience from my first visit.
Making our way through Fantasyland we made a VERY necessary stop to see the DRAGON underneath the spectacular Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Yes, a DRAGON. It moves and breathes and is all around amazing! It was very fun to see the rides that are the same and the rides that are different between the Magic Kingdom and Parc Disneyland.
We then had to “click and collect” our Casey’s Hot Dogs, because it is tradition, watched the parade go by, and then headed out to the Walt Disney Studios Park to explore.
Walt Disney Studios Park is going through a MAJOR renovation (I seem to visit so many parks right before they open new things! Already happened to me twice at Disneyland in California!) and will soon be called Disney Adventure World. I braved the Tower or Terror without Casey, and then we went to see a GREAT show, Mickey and the Magician. It was in both English and French, with many conversations by characters speaking in one language and the responding character in the other, but everyone in the audience understood what was going on and we all LOVED it. The costumes were gorgeous, and it included some of Disney’s most iconic scenes and characters.
We jumped on Crush’s Coaster (the Premier Pass saved us a TON of time on this slow loading coaster) and the ORIGINAL Ratatouille and then headed to join with the other superheroes and rode Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, the old Rock n Roller Coaster that has been rethemed.
We then rode a new-to-us ride, Spider Man WEB Adventure, and WOAH MY GOODNESS. SUCH A FUN RIDE! It’s most likely the same ride that is in Disney’s California Adventure and interactive like Toy Story Midway Mania, but instead of using guns to shoot things, you sling your Spider Man webs with your arms! My arms absolutely wanted to fall out after that game, but it was AMAZING.
We then headed back to Parc Disneyland and went to “discover” Discoveryland where you can pick up the Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters guns on the ride! It doesn’t help with your aim though, sadly, our scores were still abysmal.
As this was a rare chance to be at Disneyland Paris, I snagged a reservation to dine with Cinderella at Auberge de Cendrillon and her friends! We got to meet Cinderella, Aurora, and the mice Suzy and Perla (Perla wears purple, just so you can tell them apart by the way) and have some classic French food!
After letting our food settle, we blasted into Star Wars HyperSpace Mountain which was SO powerful and the most impressive Space Mountain I have experienced. They tell you to keep your head back, but NO. Unless you have the neck muscles of Thor, there is no power that can keep your head from rattling around, so even though it is harder, keep your head just a tad bit forward and you will enjoy your trip into hyperspace even more.
We did some more wandering through the magic, like through Alice’s Labyrinth to the top of the tower overlooking Fantasyland and it was almost time for our day to end. We did manage to squeeze in one more Phantom Manor ride as well as a ride on Big Thunder Mountain close to sunset which was PERFECTION. Everyone should ride it then; I can’t imagine how awesome it would be at nighttime!
We then positioned ourselves down Main Street to be able to see the castle projections and the famous drone show. They did NOT disappoint, even the short drone show was so unbelievable! It was a perfect way to end our magical day at Disneyland Paris.
Off to the RER for the hour-long ride home, and then to bed for more Parisian fun the next day!
Wednesday, July 31st
The last “must do” for me was a visit to the historic train station turned into museum, the Musee d’Orsay, where the impressionist collections from the Louvre were moved to be able to display them to their advantage. On my previous two visits to Paris, I hadn’t been able to squeeze in a visit. We had signed up for a tour in advance to be able to learn about the highlights and it was well worth being able to get the big picture of the era of the Impressionists before diving into each particular work.
My favorite painter is Degas, so this museum was a must for me. We did mainly the top floor of the museum with the tour, including the gorgeous overlooks over the main building, and then after our brains were filled, our guide turned us loose to conquer the rest of the museum. We almost missed the rooms on the bottom floor completely dedicated to Degas! I am glad we finally stumbled upon them, and now Blue Dancers by Degas is my FAVORITE.
We met my friend for lunch at a bistro for lunch and a wander around the left bank, mainly to find some dessert. Don’t worry, we ended up at Grom for their delicious gelato!
We had some more time to kill so on her recommendation we visited La Samaritaine Department Store which was GORGEOUS and had some great souvenirs. Next, we were off to Bercy Arena again for the Men’s Gymnastics All Around final!
Seeing 6 events all happening at once was even more exciting than the 4 we saw for women’s gymnastics, especially since it was the top gymnasts in the world performing seemingly unreal feats of strength, agility, and athleticism. The showdown between Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka and the 2 gymnasts from China Zhang Boheng and Xiao Ruoteng was down to the wire when the top gymnasts’ last rotation was right in front of us on the horizontal bar. Each release move had the whole arena holding their breath until the men grabbed the bar again in their awe-inspiring routines. The medalists were truly glad for one another when the final scores were announced.
A quick dash out of the arena across Paris had us getting to the Eiffel Tower for our evening view across the City of Light.
After some confusion about lines, we made it up to the top to view the Olympic city and the revelry on the ground from 906 feet above the Eiffel Tower Stadium. Our views of the parties and events below that we could see from our spot left me with ATMS (Afraid to Miss Something) syndrome from the beach volleyball match we could hear being contested on the ground below us.
We headed home to get some rest and get ready for the next three days of NON-STOP OLYMPICS.
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