Arrival in Paris

Travel Day - Amsterdam —> Paris - Wednesday, July 13

We had all gone to sleep quite early the night before, and despite taking a sleeping pill, for some reason, we all awoke at 4:30 AM. We all tried to fall back asleep, but Gavin was the only one who was successful. Ewan and I tossed and turned until we finally gave up around 6:30 and pulled out our respective devices to read. We got up and headed to breakfast early, which was a successful attempt to avoid the crowds we had encountered the day before. After breakfast we headed back up to pack and be on our way to catch our train to Paris! We took a taxi to the train station (after a failed Uber attempt) and boarded our train. We had reserved seats in the comfort cabin, and we shared a table with a nice business man from Arizona. 

The three hours passed quickly, and we were soon in Paris. We took a rather harrowing taxi ride to our hotel. We had quite an impassioned, aggressive and vociferous driver who adeptly navigated the crazy Parisian traffic and brought us safely (shockingly) to our hotel, the Westin Vendôme, with only one near collision. Our room wasn’t quite ready, and so the receptionist kindly escorted us to the bar where they served us complimentary beverages while we waited. Twenty or so minutes later, the receptionist returned and let us know that our room was ready. He told us that we were very lucky, as we had secured the upgraded suite (with a view) that Gavin put in for (yet another perk of his China travel), despite the fact that the hotel was fully booked due to the national holiday (Bastille Day). He led us up to the 4th floor, and down a long and winding hallway until we reached our room. The room was nothing special; quite worn and not particularly large, but elegant and stately. But then he led us to one of the two windows and opened it to reveal a spectacular, 180° panoramic view. 

We were perched directly above the Tuileries Gardens, looking south toward the Left Bank we could see everything: the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Hôtel des Invalides, Place de la Concorde, and of course, the majestic Eiffel Tower. It was incredible! We settled in and decided to take a nap, after waking up so early, and then headed out to dinner.

Gavin and I had each received separate recommendations from different people to try a restaurant called Relais de l’Entrecôte. We had read reviews and our mouths were watering. This place is unique in that it does a set menu. One meal. That’s it. They serve steak-frites, and they do it so well. They do not take reservations, and so we prepared ourselves to wait in line. We left our hotel around 8:00 PM after we had freshened up after our evening naps. The closest restaurant (there are 3 locations in Paris, one in Geneva) was across the river, about a mile away. We set out on foot, cutting through the Tuileries garden and over a pedestrian bridge crossing the Seine right next to the Orsay Museum. It was a beautiful evening, cool, and the clouds were puffy and in the most interesting formations in the sky. 

We walked along the Rue de l’Université until we reached the restaurant, and we could see the people lined up from a block away! We took our spot at the end of the queue, fearing we would be there for a while, but we were pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of the waitresses, all clad smartly in fitted black dresses with contrasting stark white aprons. 

We only had to wait for ten minutes before we were seated at a table outside on the sidewalk. The waitress brought us our bread and salads first. The bread was perfectly French: crusty, chewy and delicious. The salads were very simple: several leaves of green leaf lettuce, coated in a rather spicy, dijon dressing, and sprinkled with chopped walnuts. 

And then she took our order: “How would you like your steak cooked?” They don’t do medium-rare here, so it was either rare, or medium. I went for rare, the boys opted for medium. She soon brought out our three small plates of perfectly cooked slices of sirloin steak, covered in a delicious herb-butter sauce, topped with a mound of golden, skinny, crispy French fries. 

The servings were small, but then ten minutes later or so the waitress came around with family style platters piled with more potatoes and steak and filled our plates with a second helping. We of course saved room for one of the multitude of dessert offerings, opting to split the classic creme brûlée, which was perfectly prepared, the creme speckled with flecks of vanilla bean, and the sugar topping, perfectly caramelized. 

Feeling more than satiated, we walked back to our hotel along a different route, walking past the entrance to the Louvre, the glowing pyramid entrance looking absolutely grand in the twilight. 

The size of the Louvre is simply astounding, and the surrounding buildings and architecture are absolutely breathtaking. It felt simply divine walking past this incredible complex, and then once again through the beautiful tree-lined Tuileries Gardens. My heart was just bursting to be in one of my most favorite cities in the world!