Opera

Can you spot my beloved Molière hiding somewhere?

There I am!

After becoming familiar myself with the metro and the whereabouts of the main sites, I helped my roommate navigate maps and adopted the role of mother goose. She was a snazzy partner, reason being that I’ve never met anyone who enjoyed taking so many photos of oneself. Nevertheless, she was quite the character and we had a great time.

We started at the Galeries Lafayette and walked to Le Louvre, and continued past the Jardin des Tuileries to la Place de la Concorde, walking across the Champs-Élysées to l’Arc de Triomphe and then to the Trocadéro, and finally, to the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars. A long walk, to be sure!

Ladurée @ 75 Ave. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris

Eating macarons from Ladurée was one activity I had set to accomplish in Paris. The second time I walked along the Champs-Élysées, I actively sought out this maison classique and purchased a box of six macarons, which cost 17.10€. The six flavours I chose were caramel lemon, orange blossom, iced mint, pecan vanilla, rose petal, and either pistachio or tonka (I forget the last one!).

My initial plan was to take a bite of each flavour and save the rest for the next day, but knowing me, that wasn’t going to happen; and so, I ate all six in one sitting. (In reality it was half on a bench in front of the store and the rest under the Eiffel Tower later that evening.) After all, I’m in Paris and the gods of glutton are in my favour.

I’m no macaron connoisseur, but I must rave a little and say they were divine; the flavouring was edgy and light, with seemingly a hint of parfum. I wish I could bring some home for loved ones, but I’ll be travelling for quite some time.

My camera battery died just as I tried snapping a photo of the macarons, but luckily, it held on to its breath long enough to allow me a final photo at the Trocadéro. I returned home later to grab another spare battery, and I’m glad I did, because Le Jardin du Luxembourg was a heavenly sight — one of my most loved spots in Paris, thus far.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro

Palais du Luxembourg, Jardin du Luxembourg

Le Panthéon