When I left you we were heading back to our little apartment in the third after our first full day in the beautiful city of Paris. We had plans to go for dinner & we desperately needed to freshen up (we also had some macarons to eat & half a bottle of wine to work on, so maybe it was more about that!). Normally, I don’t travel with many nice clothes when I’m in Europe, but this was our honeymoon & we decided to step things up a little for our first real date as husband & wife. (Thank you, Rennes, for teaching me how to wear heels on cobblestones. Valuable life lessons, guys.)

There are so many incredible restaurants in Paris so it was hard to choose just one. After many hours of research, we finally settled on Le Mary Celeste for that evening. The fact that we’d accidentally stumbled upon it the previous night & it was only a 15 minute walk were contributing factors in the decision. But, I’d also read about it online & their constantly changing sharing menu sounded right up our alley. It turns out the vast majority of my favourite restaurants have sharing menus, tapas, or small plates. (Are those just three ways of saying essentially the same thing?)

In front of our apartment before dinner

We arrived to a bit of a line outside. Since we’d anticipated this (it is Paris, after all & we had no reservations anywhere), we weren’t put off. We sought out one of the servers to put our name on the waiting list, but they had space for two right away though so we didn’t have to wait at all. Perfect!

Le Mary Celeste is known for fun cocktails so we figured we should start the night out there & ordered a couple that sounded fun. Mine was girly & sweet, without being overbearing. I couldn’t tell you the exact components of it now, but there was some cucumber & raspberry. N’s turned out a little bit more on the bitter side (can you tell we don’t frequently order cocktails?), but he enjoyed it as he muddled the mint & it released its flavour.

We ordered an assortment of things from the day’s menu. I’d read about the smoked The devilled eggs so I knew I had to try them – they had an asian twist to them with fried rice, green onion, & fresh ginger. Honestly, they were amazing & I’d highly recommend you try them if they’re on the menu. We also tried the foie gras tostada & the grilled aubergines at the recommendation of the couple beside us. Both were great. My favourite dish, though, was the braised pork tacos. Although they didn’t really look like typical tacos, they delivered in the flavour department. I almost asked N if he wanted to order a second plate – I was that happy with them.

Instead, we finished off the wine & beer we’d ordered with dinner, enjoying the lively atmosphere in the restaurant. We watched diners wrapping up their meals so the next wave could snag a table. It’s a really cool (see: Hipster) spot & I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. Everything we saw come out of the kitchen looked delicious, the cocktails were creative, & they had a concise beer & wine list. Nailed it. (I’m confident that the dessert would have been great if we’d had room.)

iPhone Photos don’t do these deviled eggs justice.
Foie Gras Tostada
Best Tacos
Friday Night Menu

Our waitress had been great all night, speaking perfect English for N while letting me speak French. At the end of the night, she noticed our RBC credit card & told us she was Canadian as well. She had moved to Paris four years ago. I always love hearing about Canadians living abroad since I’ve done the same. Although mine was a much shorter timeframe, I have such fond memories.

Great little restaurant

Anyway, we thanked her for her contribution to our wonderful evening & headed out in search of a pub for a drink – we weren’t quite ready to pack it in.

It was beautiful evening so we grabbed a demi on a terrace so we could enjoy the perfect late summer weather. There’s something great about a bustling night in Paris. I love the cobblestones & the hustle & the people enjoying a drink. In summer, the bars spread out into the streets to accommodate a little extra carousing. I love this about France (& Montreal). It just goes to show that our lack of patios has more to do with regulations than lack of space.

After our drinks we headed back to our lovely little apartment to enjoy the bottle of Champagne from our host with the last of the macarons. Not a bad nightcap.

As I was planning our trip, I’d been anxious to try some of the new coffee shops & breakfast places that have recently popped up in Paris. Unfortunately, August isn’t the best time for testing out restaurants as most of Paris takes the month for vacation. A little bit of Twitter research revealed that Fondation Café was open so we headed there for some great coffee & carrot cake (I can’t vouch for this as I don’t truly like carrot cake, but N enjoyed it).

Afterwards, we jumped back on the métro & headed to the train station. It took us less than 15 minutes to get to the Gare where grabbed some lunch for the ride & boarded our train. Train travel in France so simple; You really can’t go wrong. I know it’s not like this everywhere, but France has it figured out. I can’t recommend it enough. Most stations are significantly more convenient to access than the airport too. You’ll likely leave from the city center & arrive in the city center – a big selling feature for me, personally.

Off to Lyon

Thanks for the wonderful couple days, Paris! Next stop: Lyon.