winter in paris: day two

We started our second day in Paris in the best way possible: at Ten Belles, my favorite coffee shop in the whole world. I actually chose our airbnb based on it’s proximity to Ten Belles. It was as wonderful as I remembered and such a great way to start another day of exploring. After some coffee and pastries and wandering around the 10th arrondissement, we made our way to Notre Dame. Alyssa and I split ways for bit and I was off to Shakespeare and Co. I was pleasantly surprised to see the bookshop had opened a cafe next door, though I didn’t get to try it. After looking at books and petting the adorable cat, I started doing my favorite thing: aimlessly wandering and taking photos. I didn’t really have a plan, I just wanted to take in as much of Paris’s beauty as possible.

Eventually, I made my way to the 4th arrondissement to retrace the steps Celine and Jesse in Before Sunset, the second film in my favorite movie series. I stumbled on a little Christmas market and bought some more macaroons. After doing some shopping, I met back up with Alyssa and we went to the Musee D’Orsay. I love the Lourve but the D’Orsay will always have a special place in my heart. They were also doing an exhibit on Degas’s ballerinas which, as a former ballerina, was a definite highlight of my whole trip. After the museum, we met up with our friend Dan from DAAP who is studying in Paris and we had an amazing dinner at Rainette, a restaurant known for it’s cute decor and French delicacies like frog legs and escargot (snails). I got the asian frog legs, which were amazing but a bit strange to eat with all the tiny bones. After hours of conversation, good drinks and good food, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to our apartment.