Finding Le Couer de France

EIFFEL TOWER

Our tour of Paris wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the famed monument along the Rive Gauche. Actually, we ended up going there twice, one for the day time view and another for the light show at night. It's a little cliche and incredibly crowded, but how could we pass up the chance to see what all the key chains, necklace pendants, t-shirt prints, etc. were all about!

A stunning view of the Eiffel Tower against a clear summer sky

We were actually considering queuing for some tickets to go up the tower but when we saw this insane mass of people waiting for a turn, we decided we were perfectly content with the ground level view. 

A ticket to use the lift to the very top costs around EUR12 and a ticket to use the lift to the second floor was around EUR7. If you're particularly fit, you can opt to buy a ticket to take the stairs (704 steps) up to the second floor for only EUR4. Needless to say, the line to that option wasn't very long. One way to beat the crowds is to reserve a table for dinner at Le Jules Verne, a restaurant at the 2nd floor by famous chef Alain Ducasse. However, be prepared to shell out EUR75 or PHP4,600 per person, per meal.

Every seven years, the tower gets a fresh coat of paint that is actually called "Eiffel Tower brown," which is a shade of bronze but actually looks chocolate brown up close.

Here's a view of the tower at night from Jardins du Trocadero, which is directly across it from the Seine. It's even more breathtaking in the evening, set against the rest of Paris' sparkling lights.

We managed to catch the light show which runs at the top of every hour for five minutes. The shot above shows the 20,000 twinkling light bulbs distributed all over the tower. It took 25 mountain climbers 5 months to install all the bulbs!

It was a great (FREE!) way to cap off our month-long date in Europe.

We were joined for the evening by this fellow who seems to be living the life! :)

SACRE COUER

Since we didn't manage to get a sweeping view of the city from the Eiffel Tower, we thought we'd go to the top of Montmartre to visit the Basilique du Sacre-Couer and the famous view of the city.

Luckily, we didn't have to climb all the way up because our metro pass allowed us to use the funicular for free.

That's one long, steep climb we didn't want to take. View after the jump!

Paris Plus

SHOPPING

Of course, Paris can't all be sights and tourist activities, shopping was also on the agenda. Our first major stop  was the vaunted Galeries Lafayette in the Opera district. And wouldn't you know it, we were just in time for their big summer sale! Galeries Lafayette is probably one of the most beautiful malls we've ever seen. Check out the stunning interiors!

None of our strip malls hold a candle to the charm of this shopping mecca!

Heaven for make-up junkies!

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes. Pick your poison!
D: I nearly fainted when I saw the brand listing on this mirrored wall!

Loved the enormous space teeming with shoes of every shape, size, and color!

Huge discounts on everything! I love it when stores don't scrimp on their markdowns! Everything from Marc Jacobs to Fendi and more were heavily discounted and you could claim tax rebates at the airport as well! I wanted to take more photos but I was already getting warning looks from the SAs so this is the extent of my shoe shots. :(

Love the styling on these mannequins! The purple Tara Jarmon jacket is adorable.

Stolen shot at one of the two Pierre Herme stores in the building, right before the lady snapped at us whoops. They really have the most interesting flavors (i.e. olive oil and vanilla, asparagus, etc).

Quick outfit details: Topshop tiger tank, SM white paperbag shorts, Topshop tights

P: D's haul. Of course, she insisted on carrying her precious cargo around.
D: Let's not forget that I also lugged those two paper bags of macaroons for our families across the globe and through three airports so I think I deserve some snaps! What's in the red paper bag?

 My tortoise-shell Dsquareds that I promise to love forever! After a bit of retail therapy, P decided it was time for us to get some culture and so off to the Louvre we went!

LOUVRE

The immensely crowded Louvre Museum. We thought the crowds would have cleared a bit because we came at the eleventh hour but obviously that wasn't the case. The museum looked like it was under siege!

The little painting everyone came to see, shot over plenty of heads and after some shoving. Everyone seemed to be in awe of the famous lady with the famous smile.

Venus di Milo

P: Found that the sculptures piqued my interest most, plus there were less tourists to contend with.

P: BKK shirt, FH denim shorts, Zara chukkas

Dressed for a sunny day in Paris.

 They say that even if you spent a whole week here you wouldn't be able to see all the exhibits so we were satisfied with the key exhibits that we got to visit.

We ended our quick tour of the Louvre with a view of the lovely courtyard outside.

After the Louvre, we did as many people suggested and visited the famous Angelina for an afternoon snack.

The incredibly rich hot chocolate "l'Africain". There's no going back from here if you're a hot chocolate lover. Spot the dollop of fresh whipped cream on the side too.

It was a little too hot for a cup of hot chocolate but you'll soon forget once you start sipping from your cup!

The Mont Blanc, a house specialty and delectably sweet. It's a soft meringue pastry topped with cream and chestnut puree. This was unlike any other pastry we've ever tried! The chestnut puree was such a great flavor!

We capped off the evening with a light dinner at Bistrot Papillon, down the street from our hotel. The magazines by the front tell us that this is one of Paris' top restaurants and we wouldn't disagree.

Started off with the prawn skewers and rice. This dish was super fresh and delicious. The rice was very flavorful on its own and had a very nice texture!

Magret de canard with roasted peach and mashed potatoes. I'm certain this is the best duck breast I've tasted. It's better than most steaks I've tried and I like my meat. The roasted peach it's paired with gave the lightly salted duck a perfect touch of sweetness.
 Day 2 showcased everything Paris had to offer! Definitely one for the books!

A Stroll Through Champs Elysees

Here's a quick photo-diary of scenes we spotted along the famed avenue!

Garnace Dore and Petit Bateau collaborate to come up with the perfect v-neck tee. Love the window!

Spotted the iconic Laduree but we didn't bother to jostle with the crowd inside since we already had our Laduree fill in London. Plus Pierre Herme macaroons were on the agenda already.

We did have to try another one of Paris' famous offerings: Berthillion ice cream. We settled into this little cafe and did as the locals/tourists do and sat al fresco and people-watched.

All the waiters wore variations of the Breton striped shirt and these adorable sailor caps.

After our delicious lasagna and mixed omelette, came the main event. We've already forgotten the name but the taste is still vivid in our memories. This dessert had scoops of divine vanilla bean ice cream, meringue hidden under the globs of whipped cream, with wafers on the side. Yes, it tastes as good as it looks.

After fueling up, we continued our walk and chanced upon this insanely long and winding line on the sidewalk. It definitely wasn't Eiffel Tower queue proportions but it was pretty random and made us wonder what museum/tourist spot we were passing.

Notice that there seems to be a lot of females in the crowd. A few more inquiring steps later, we discovered that what was before us was actually the historical...

Abercrombie & Fitch?!?

When we saw these two strapping, young lads flanking the gates, we understood fully. (D: Hubba, hubba right?!)

Abercrombie is known for their penchant for featuring half-naked men of the California-boy stock in their ads and as SAs/eye candy in their stores. Take that and add a French accent and you get a crazy line on Champs Elysees.

D: Sorry for the blurry picture, I was giggling like a silly school girl. And I think P will let me take over the blog post from this point on. :D

When we passed by a day later, the guardians of the gates had doubled and changed outfits as well. All still gorgeous, so pick your poison! Almost all the girls left with dopey grins on their faces. Also, it just so happened that there was no line when we passed so we decided to pop in to see if they were selling clothes other than hoodies and pique polos.

When we entered the store, we promptly forgot about the clothes. First, there was a shirtless doorman that greeted us (too chicken to take a photo). Then the smell of "guapo" cologne hit us like a ton of bricks. Then we entered this amazing space with David-like statues and murals of more shirtless men. Then you notice the SAs dancing and partying on ledges (including model-type girls in the tiniest of shorts and tanks) and the club music pounding from the speakers. No, this definitely was not your run-of-the-mill retailer. Sad to say, the novelty of the store wasn't convincing enough to get us to buy their merch. It was pretty much sporty gear and an eyelet mini skirt for a little less than a hundred Euros is definitely a no-go in my book.

So Abercrombie was a trip and was fun for gawking but if there's one thing that will trump any French-speaking-surfer-vibe boy, it's a gorgeous pair of shoes. We chanced upon this store with amaaaazing heels, from the latest collections to the good ole classics. They had everything!

You will be mine, YSL tribs!

Alexander McQueens are love.

 All the knock-offs in the world couldn't beat the satisfaction of owning one of these beauties. With a heavy heart, P dragged me away from the store. Little did I know, I would be having better luck at Galeries Lafayette later on. ;-) More on that later!

 We leave you with this lovely parting shot (P risked life and limb in the center of this busy street!) of Champs Elysees all decked out in preparation for Bastille Day!