Steamboat Springs Ski/Ride Vacation

August 21, 2019August 20, 20192 Comments

Well hello, there! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve published a post on this little blog. Before I get to posting about some updated personal things (all exciting stuff!), I wanted to share our trip experience to Steamboat Springs … back in February, lol. Plus, all of the Southern Charm episodes of them at Steamboat Springs has made me want to go back, so for now, I’ll just reminisce through this post 😉

If you’ve been following along, you know that we like to go on big ski/ride vacations out West once a year. We have done Jackson Hole, Telluride and Steamboat Springs together and RM has done many more before we became serious. Since we had just gone to France back in the fall (recaps are here and here), RM said we could only go on a ski trip if I found good deals.

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I spent some time researching easy to get to mountains and realized that JetBlue started a non-stop flight service directly to Steamboat, which was perfect since we had enough JetBlue points to cover the trip! And, the mountain is only a 30ish minute drive from the airport so it was certainly a “quick and easy” type of travel experience. The only downside was that I booked us group travel to get from the airport to our AirBNB, which ended up being a TWO HOUR ordeal … next time? paying up for a private car service because time > money (in many situations).

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Where We Stayed

Per usual, I did a ton on research on where to stay before booking anything. The nice thing about Steamboat is that the downtown area is only a 10-15 min ride from the mountain. That said, since we were not renting a car, we decided we would rather stay near the mountain since there were also plenty of restaurants in that area, too. I found a great AirBnB right at the base of the mountain – couldn’t have been in a better location for us since it was just a short 2 minute walk to the gondola and across the street from the little market. Also, there’s a free shuttle bus from the mountain to downtown that ran frequently so it was super easy to get into town.

It was clean and plenty spacious for us – we especially loved the gas fireplace and balcony to store our gear after a day on the mountain. We also used the kitchen a lot for breakfasts, packed lunched and snacks. The host was also super friendly and helpful – would definitely recommend staying there!

Where We Ate

Good food and good skiing seem to go hand in hand, at least on our trips! We had some really wonderful meals during our time in Steamboat – both mountainside and downtown!

Back Door Grill – we felt like burgers on our first night and found this place in one of the local magazines left in the AirBnB. We had gone into town to see the fireworks and ski show (both were amazing) and were able to snag seats at the bar before it got too busy. Their menu was crazy – so many exotic burgers! We opted to keep it relatively simple and both of us fully enjoyed our meal. We also loved the laid back atmosphere (perfect considering we were all bundled up from being outside for the festivities!).

Taco Beast Taco Truck – Near one of the popular lifts on the mountain (mid-mountain) was a pop-up taco truck. We stopped one afternoon and the tacos were SOOO good. As were the beers 😉

Aurum – This restaurant came highly recommended by many of the locals we met throughout the trip… and it did not disappoint! We had the most delicious meal and drinks there and loved the atmosphere. They also have outdoor seating in the summer which over looks the mountain. fun fact: some of the Southern Charm crew also went there!

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Truffle Pig – We had gotten some bad news one of the days and I wasn’t feeling up to heading into town, but did want to go out to get my mind off things so we popped over to Truffle Pig, which was right at the base of the mountain. We had had apres ski drinks there previously and knew it was a good spot and the dinner did not disappoint! The craft cocktails were incredible and the steak was cooked to perfection. We were so happy with the whole experience!

We Apres’d at a few other spots, but by now I can’t remember the name 😦 But there are lots of great stuff mountainside and at the base – all with pretty good happy hour deals!

What We Did

Skied and snowboarded, duh! But in all seriousness, when we go on these trips, that’s pretty much what we focus on doing. It would’ve been neat to visit the hot springs, but unfortunately we were not there long enough to get the chance to take advantage of it. We spent most of our time on the right side of the mountain because we loved the wide trails there. One afternoon we went off the back side of the mountain which was a little scary because it was so steep, but we found some awesome trails in doing so, not to mention awesome views.

We did head into town one afternoon to shop, walk around and get drinks which was fun. The downtown is really cute! It was nice, too, because the big town festival had recently ended so it was still decorated for that.

We agreed that Steamboat was one of our favorite trips – it was easy to get to, the mountain had awesome trails for our level and we got pounded with snow one day – can’t ask for more than that!

Questions for you

Have you done any big ski/snowboard trips out west, to Canada or Europe? Where was your favorite? Suggestions on where to go next?

New York City Weekend Getaway

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019Leave a comment

Hi there! As I look back on my most recent posts, I feel as though I should change the name of my blog to “Eat, Drink & Travel”, lol. Honestly, though, I have realized that Instagram is a much better platform for sharing my fitness “things”; whether it be new workout/fitness gear, clothes, classes or workouts, I get much better hits and responses to what I share when I share it on Instagram.

However, you can only share so much in a single Instagram post or story, and I’m not one to post multiple photos in one day or even share photos multiple days in a row, which is why having this little blog comes in handy!

I love sharing our trips and experiences on B2B because not only do I enjoy going back and reading/reliving our experiences on a later date, but I have been able to share our trips/experiences with others as they plan similar ones!

Now that we’ve cleared that up, here’s to the recap 😉 RM and I have talked about going to NYC together for so long, but for some reason or another, it never happened. Since RM’s birthday falls so close to Christmas, it often gets overshadowed by the upcoming Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities. Last year, I decided to change that – I surprised him with a trip to NYC to celebrate his birthday! I had always wanted to visit NYC for the holidays, so it all worked out so well!

Where We Stayed

Per usual, we opted for an AirBnB. We chose the West Village as it’s a super quaint part of the city, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourists and attractions in midtown. Although it was small, the one I booked was so perfect for us! The location couldn’t be beat, it was super clean, had all the amenities we would want or need and the bed was comfy. If you’re looking for a great AirBnB for your NYC weekend, I couldn’t recommend this place enough! The host was also very responsive and accommodating.

Where We Ate

Before going to NYC, I reached out to RM’s sister and BIL for recommendations as they both lived in NYC for a while and are in the food/wine industry and know good food. RM also had some places that he wanted to go to, so it worked out well.

Blind Tiger – by the time we got to NYC and checked into our AirBNB, we were starving! It had mostly stopped raining, so we decided to pop out for a walk to see if we could find someplace to get a drink and snack at. Enter: Blind Tiger. This was in the West Village and looked cool from the outside and somewhat busy on the inside, so we figured it had to be pretty good. We were pumped to see what a great beer list they had – so many fun IPA’s to try! We snacked on empenadas and curried cauliflower while sipping our way through a few beers. The vibe was great, the food was great and the beers were great. All in all, we would definitely recommend this place!

Patsy’s Pizzeria – RM had been raving about Patsy’s pizza for so long! Unfortunately, it did not live up to what he remembered it being, so it was a bit of a disappointing meal 😦 However, if you are looking for good pizza, RM’s sister recommends: Lombardis (in Soho), Motorino and Luzzo’s.
Waverly Diner – Originally, RM wanted to go to a big diner in Union Square, but when we walked there, we realized it had recently been closed. Enter his second restaurant fail of the weekend, lol. However, after a quick google search, we found Waverly Diner, just a few blocks from our AirBnB, which was exactly what we were looking for: casual diner serving good breakfast food. The banana walnut pancakes were SO good – it was a great start to the day!

Corner Bistro – While at the Observatory, we realized we were getting rather hungry and thought a burger sounded good. We were going to go to Minetta Tavern (the best burgers), but RM remembered another place he used to go to a lot called the Corner Bistro. After some googling, he found that it still existed. We joked as we made our way there that this place better be good, otherwise he was going to be 0 for 3. Luckily, it was perfect! It was small and quaint, but two seats opened up at the bar right as we walked in. The staff was super pleasant and I loved that the menu was less than 10 items. We ordered two cheeseburgers and a side of fries and within a few minutes, they were serve to us; on paper plates, nonetheless! But, that’s part of the charm and experience at Corner Bistro – just as RM remembered it. The burger was SO SO good – we would definitely recommend going there! It’s cash only, but everything was pretty cheap so it wasn’t an issue.
Murray’s Bagels – I texted my friend Kelly (who lives in NYC and who my girlfriends and I visited back in April) for bagel recommendations since it’s just not right to go to New York and not have New York Bagel, #amiright?! I’m not even really a bagel person, but it’s a fun treat when they’re really good. Murray’s was a short walk from our apartment and we really enjoyed our bagels and coffee while watching the hustle and bustle of people doing the same.

Palma – RM’s BIL was the manager at this small, beautiful Italian restaurant in the West Village before they moved to Atlanta and now back in Boston, so I knew I wanted to take RM there for his birthday dinner. I fell in love with the restaurant before we walked in, as it was this picturesque restaurant front amidst apartments on a quiet West Village street. The inside was equally as beautiful – tasteful Christmas decorations, lots of candles and flowers everywhere! We sat at the bar for a few drinks before our table was ready – I loved my rose flower drink! We were seated in the back garden room, which had a wall of flowers. It was like a city oasis! The food was incredible – we started with the fried artichoke hearts and burrata and shared a pasta dish for the main course. We finished with mini canolis for dessert. All in all, this was such a wonderful meal and experience without all the hustle and bustle of big restaurants with big crowds.

What We Did

With a short weekend in NYC, there’s really only so much you can do! While we didn’t get to everything on out list of “want to do” things, I think what we ended up doing made for a great weekend. Obviously, it’s likely no shock that by the length of our “Where We Ate” restaurants, a lot of our weekend revolved around food and drinks, but these are two of our favorite ways to explore cities and new areas!

Below are some things we did that were not just eating or drinking 😉 These were focused around Christmas in NYC because I had never experienced it before!

Walk around the West Village/Bleeker Street – we had a great time walking around, popping into little shops and envisioning what life would be like if we lived there!

Visit the tree at Rockerfeller Plaza – this has always been on my list, so I’m really happy we were able to check it out! It was busy, so we didn’t stay long, but it was beautiful!

Check out the storefronts – We only made it to Macy’s, but it was pretty cool to see how festive they get!

Visit Ground Zero – Albeit very emotional, it was also a very powerful experience. We tried to go to the Museum/Memorial, but the lines were SO long and it was freezing, so we decided next time we are in NYC we will book in advance.
One World Observatory – there was no line here, so we decided to check it out. We weren’t sure what to expect, but the whole experience far exceeded any ideas of what it would be like! It was extremely organized and we loved how they made each part and event. Even as you rode up in the elevator they had videos showing how NYC has evolved over the years. And once you get to the top – holy sh*t the views were insane!!! Not to mention the sheer fact of how high you are. It was pretty insane. We spent a while up there, sipping cocktails and checking out the views. We were so happy we did this, and would recommend it to anyone looking to do something cool in NYC.

And just like that, a whirlwind of a trip to NYC was over! Cannot wait to get back there in the warmer weather!

Questions for you – where’s your favorite weekend getaway? Are you a city person or a small town person?

Our Favorite Pasta Brand {Plus a recipe!}

February 5, 2019February 5, 2019Leave a comment

Hey there! I’m SO excited to share today’s post and recipe with you. If you know us and have been following along for a while, you know we like to have our diet mostly filled with lots of veggies, fruits, lean proteins, healthy carbs, etc. Of course, we don’t hold ourselves back from pizza, pasta, wings and ice cream, but as these foods don’t always make us feel the great or fuel us the best for our activities, they aren’t what we are eating 80% of the time. I don’t believe in cutting out foods because they are “bad”. In fact, I don’t believe that foods are inherently “good” or “bad” – they are what they are and they all have a time and place in our lives (in my opinion).

That said, we will try to make healthier swaps in our kitchen for things we eat on a more regular basis. For instance, I have a banana bread recipe we LOVE that doesn’t have any added sugar. They are still sweet and so satisfying, they just don’t come with all the extra sugar banana bread usually comes with. We tend to eat Ezekiel bread and wraps or sour dough bread as these feel better for us to digest. And, we chose Jovial pasta products instead of the traditionally Barillo or Prego brands because Jovial products have so few ingredients and are easier for us to digest.

If you’ve seen my Instagram stories, I’m sure you’ve seen my post about our love for Jovial products, which is why I can’t wait to share this recipe with you. Recently, Jovial sent us the the most wonderful package filled with all sorts of our favorite Jovial products, as well as many new-to-us products.

Over the weekend, I had to break open a box (while munching on the rosemary einkorn crackers, lol) and whip up something tasty … which is where this recipe comes from! It’s super easy and was all put together in about 30-40 mins, and that was without really rushing around. We’ve been enjoying leftovers throughout the week!

The best part, too, is that I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY over on my Instagram page. All you have to do is leave a comment saying what your favorite pasta dish is. If you follow Jovial, myself and tag a friend, leave comments for each that you do as they’ll give you extra options to win. I will be choosing TWO winners on Monday, February 4th who will each win a $25 gift certificate for Jovial products! Trust me – you want this prize!

Ingredients

Jovial Farfelle Pasta (or elbows would work great, too!) – I used half a box
1 package of pancetta
1 small/medium sweet potato
2 handfuls of Brussels sprouts
3 cloves of garlic
Parmigiano-Reggiano
EVOO
salt & pepper

Directions

Heat a large pan on the stove, add some EVOO, chop your sweet potato and Brussels sprouts and add them to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Tip – make sure to use plenty of EVOO so they don’t stick. You can also add some water throughout the cooking process.
Once the veggies are getting soft, start to bring a pot of water to boil. Add the Jovial pasta once it is boiling. Move the veggies to the edges of the pan and allow space for the pancetta and garlic in the middle. Allow the pancetta to brown and crisp up and then mix the veggies back in.
Once the pasta is ready, collect some of the pasta water in a cup and drain the rest. Add the pasta to the veggies and pancetta and stir to combine. If it’s a little dry, you can add some of the pasta water and/or olive oil into the pan. Sprinkle some Parmigiano-Reggiano over the pasta and veggie mixture and combine.
Serve with a little extra Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top.

All in all, this recipe is a relatively quick and easy dinner to put together – perfect for a busy weeknight! We absolutely loved the flavor combinations and when I say you cannot tell that the Jovial pasta is a “healthier” pasta option, I am not lying! Jovial products have become a staple in our house and I hope you love them as much as we do.

Don’t forget to head on over to my Instagram post to enter the giveaway for your chance to win a $25 gift card to Jovial!

Questions for you – What’s your favorite weeknight quickie meal to throw together? What’s your favorite “healthier” alternative to use or make in the kitchen?

France Vacation: Nice & South of France Recap

November 30, 2018November 29, 20181 Comment

Hi there! We last left off with my Paris recap. If you missed it, catch it here. After 4 nights in Paris, we headed to the airport and made our way to Nice. Originally, I had wanted to take the train, but when I realized that even the fast speed one was still over a 6 hour trip, I decided to get us flights. They were cheaper, but more than that, they gave us more time in Nice.

I did a lot of research prior to deciding on Nice as our home-base, and I ultimately chose Nice because it is kind of the hub of the French Riviera/South of France. The airport is there, there’s a train station, you can easily do day trips to many other small towns, there are many hotels (and nice ones!) and it’s big enough to offer a lot. Nice ended up not being our favorite part of the last leg of the trip (it was a bit too big and too touristy for our liking, making it feel like some of the charm had been lost), but we are still happy that we opted to stay there since it was so easy to bop all around the French Riviera. We even ended up spending a day in a small Italian town, which was just an hour train ride away from Nice – it was pretty cool!

Where We Stayed

While we chose an AirBnB for the Paris portion of the trip, I wanted to do a hotel for the last part. I wanted to be in a great location and have great amenities, and the Hyatt Regency Nice Palais se la Méditerranée was a perfect option for us. Prior to booking at the Hyatt, we booked at Le Meridian, but as I read more Trip Advisor bad reviews, I knew we had change hotels. After our sub par hotel experience in Sorrento, we have agreed it’s worth spending a little more to ensure a comfortable stay. The Hyatt was perfect for us! We opted for a partial sea view (how could you not when you’re staying on the water?!) and it was well worth it! We also loved the balcony and spent lots of time out there. The room, bed, closets and bathroom were all so spacious – not something you generally find in European hotels!

There was a beautiful pool, small – but nice – gym, lounge areas and a spa. Not to mention the location couldn’t be beat!

The only downside was the breakfast was not included and was rather pricey, so we only did it once (28 euros each!). The drinks were also pricey, but we ended up getting beer and wine at local stores which was a great way to save a little money.

What We Did

As I mentioned, our intent during our time in the south of France was to visit some of the small towns along the coast. Luckily the train station was a less than a 10 minute walk from our hotel so it made for easy day and half day trips. We weren’t able to hit all of the towns we wanted to, but we laughed because after seeing a few, we figured they were all pretty similar 😉

Villafranche-sur-Mer – I think this was literally a 10 minute train ride from Nice! We spent the afternoon walking around the cute streets, seeing some of the sites, having lunch and relaxing by the water. I also picked up a super cute dress at a little boutique. We both loved this little town.

Monaco – Did you know that Monaco is a COUNTRY? It’s the second smallest country, with the Vatican as the first smallest. Unfortunately, we went on a Sunday, when most things were closed. We had wanted to rent a scooter to get around because it was so hilly and it was so hot and humid, so we were bummed when all the shops were closed. Roberto also forgot his license so we were not able to get into the casino {insert palm to forehead emoji}. We weren’t really sure what to do with ourselves so we ended up hopping on one of those hop on-hop off buses and were brought to some beautiful parts of Monaco! We totally enjoyed our afternoon there and learning about how the Formula 1 racing came to be. What a wealthy, wealthy little country – the yacht scene was unbelievable!

Ventimiglia – This was a small Italian town right on the border of France. Roberto was so happy to be there because he was able to communicate with everyone, unlike when we were in France. We had the BEST day in this amazing little town. We walked all through the old part of the town and it was so neat to be walking through all the tiny streets and interacting with all the locals. We saw some beautiful churches, walked through an incredible farmers market, napped on the beach and frolicked in the warm water. It was one of our favorite days of the trip!

Walked along the Promenade des Anglais – this is the big street along the water in Nice. Our hotel was on this street, so we did lots of walking along it.

Explore Nice – there’s a “new” part and an “old” part, so it was interesting to see how they differed. We found a really big market one day and enjoyed seeing all that people were trying to sell! Due to all of our little day trips, we didn’t get the chance to spend too much time really exploring Nice, but we did enjoy walking around the old part and seeing all the different shops, architecture and charm!

Drinks at Hotel Negresco – this is supposed to be one of the oldest/nicest hotels in Nice. It’s has beautiful architecture and I’ve heard the restaurants are quite an experience. We opted to pop in one evening for a glass of champagne on their patio – it was really nice!

Swim! We swam so much during this part of the trip. The water was incredible! A few times we even picked up sandwiches and wine and sat on the beach while the sun set. It was so relaxing.

Where To Eat

I don’t have too many recommendations here – unfortunately, I don’t remember all of the places we ate at!

Le 3e Restaurant Terrace at the Hyatt – we had lunch here and ordered room service once night and both experiences were great! The only thing about eating at hotels is that the prices tend to be higher than elsewhere.

Villa RINA – One afternoon RM was in the mood for a beer and watching some soccer so we popped into Villa RINA, which was right near our hotel. We ended up grabbing a burger (how French, right?!) and it was SO good! We had breakfast there one morning, too, which was nothing special.

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Les Pecheurs – We were in the mood for fish one night so I did some googling and stumbled upon Les Pecheurs, which had high reviews on multiple sights. It was a little ways from the hotel and therefore away from all the crowds. We enjoyed a great dinner outside in the harbor area – definitely worth the cab ride there!

Le Plongeoir – When we were buying my bag in Paris, we were chatting with the woman working there and it turns out she was from Nice. I asked her where she would recommend going for a non-touristy, cool place and her suggestion for Le Plongeoir couldn’t have been more perfect! We didn’t get a reservation so we didn’t get to sit up top, but we enjoyed cocktails and snacks in the lower level. We were able to see the sunset which was beautiful!

L’Antica – We were looking for a good steak frites basically our entire trip, so finally on the last night we asked the hotel concierge and they recommended L’Antica. I loved that it was not in the midst of the touristy hustle and bustle of Nice – it was a hidden gem! The food was incredible, too! As was the wine 😉

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And that does it for the French Riviera/South of France recap! Overall, we really enjoyed our time here, but it didn’t have the same charm we experience in our Amalfi Coast honeymoon which kind of bummed us out. That said, I had always wanted to go to the South of France so I’m very grateful we had the opportunity to do so. We saw some beautiful little towns and really enjoyed the experience!

France Vacation: Paris Recap

October 31, 20184 Comments

Well hello there! It’s been a while. Life happens, ya know?! But, since we recently got back from a wonderful vacation in France, I wanted to pop in and recap it for you (but also for me, as I love to have the trip documented to look back on!).

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The past few European vacations we have taken have been to Italy, so we decided to change things up this time. We have both been to Paris years ago, but I’ll say, going as a 33 year old married “adult” vs a 20 year old poor college studying abroad student create for two very different experiences 😉 Nice and the French Riviera were new to both of us, but I’ll share that recap in a separate post. For now, enjoy our time in Paris!

How We Got There

We flew AirFrance and flew direct to Paris on the way there and then from Nice to Paris to Boston on the way home. We lucked out and got tickets for about $600, while still having meal & drink amenities and baggage check included. When we got to Paris, I had arranged for a car service to pick us up. The AirBnB hosts suggested A1 Transfers and we were happy with our decision. After a long flight and not really any sleep, it was nice knowing we had a car waiting for us to take us right to our apartment. it was 60 euros and well worth it.

Where We Stayed

We opted for an AirBnB for the first part of our trip. While in a big city, an AirBnB is fun because it allows you to really immerse yourself in the culture, and “live like a Parisian”, as I said probably 100 times throughout our trip 😉 I did a LOT of research on where to stay for our type of trip and being that we like to be walking distance to restaurants, but not too much in the thick of touristy areas. We wound up staying in Saint Germain, or the 6th Arr., which ended up being perfect for us. It was not too far of a walk from all of the things we were looking to do and it really felt like we were able to immerse ourselves in the neighborhood and “live like a Parisian”, lol 😉 Here’s the link to the AirBnB we used and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking to go to Paris. The hosts were very responsive, the apartment was very clean and safe and it was close to restaurants, the metro, grocery store, shopping, etc. The only thing I’d say is that we had to sleep with the windows shut since the noise from the street seemed excessively loud at night. It wasn’t a hugely busy street so the noise must’ve just traveled up. No biggie, though!

Being able to make breakfast in the mornings and pack snacks and lunches on some days was a great way to save some money and save from always eating out (something we aren’t used to doing). It was also nice to have a “home base” to come back to and relax after a long day of walking around.

What We Did/What I Would Recommend Doing

Since we had both been to Paris before and had done all of the touristy “must see’s”, we weren’t too concerned with doing them again. I hate lines and didn’t want to commit to things before we got there in terms of buying tickets in advance, so we did a lot of “see from the outside” and kept walking. It worked for us!

Louvre – We both wanted to go back to the Louvre, but the day we chose to go it was closed – go figure! Instead, we took some photos in front of it, walked around the grounds and continued on to the next.

Musee d’Orsay – I had wanted to visit this museum again and it was so close to our apartment, but the lines were always soooo long.
La Tour Eiffel – of course this was on our list! In fact, it was the first thing we did when we got to Paris. It was about a 2 mile walk from our apartment, but it was a great way to get movement in after a long flight and to get acclimated to the city. I know a lot of Parisians don’t like the Eiffel Tour, but I love it. We even went back at night to see it lit up, and even sparkle!

Arc de Triomphe – From the Eiffel Tour we headed to the Place Charles de Gaulle to see the Arc de Triomphe.
Montmartre & La Basilique du Sacre Coeur – we took the Metro to this part of the city and fell in love with it! The Basilica was incredible and the views from the area were insane! Luckily it was a picture perfect blue sky day so we were able to see everything. We loved walking around the small streets, popping into little stores and sipping Aperol Spritz’s while people watching. This was actually one of RM’s favorite days and favorite parts of Paris.

Notre Dame – We weren’t able to go in the church, but that was OK since I’ve already been to mass there before and we went into hundreds of other churches during our trip. I love churches, though, and go most weeks, so this was really a special pit-stop for me.

Churches, in general – I loved checking out all of the churches throughout our trip! this one was in Saint Germain Square right near our apartment.

Jardin du Luxembourg – this was a short 5 minute walk from our apartment. One morning I jogged there and did a park bench workout that I shared on my instagram. There were so many others doing workouts in the park, too- it was awesome! One afternoon we also grabbed wine, packed up snacks and a blanket and sat and ate, read and relaxed for a few hours. It was awesome!

Siene River Tour – This was one of the things I reallyyyy wanted to do and was so glad we did. We took an evening cruise and it was cool to see the city at dusk. We had time before the cruise so we bought some vino and sat on the water and ate our snacks – so many people do this in Paris and I absolutely love it. They seem to take the time to relax and enjoy each other’s company, something American’s don’t do enough of ….

Shopping – There were a few big purchases I wanted to make in Paris, and we had no problem finding places to make these purchases! There are so many high end stores all over the city. One day we walked up and down Rue Saint Honore and enjoyed popping into lots of stores and finishing with a little midday Moet!

Walking around – We love walking around new cities as it’s the best way to really get a feel for the city vibe, surroundings, restaurants, shops, etc. We walked about 10+ miles every day!

Where We Ate/Drank

While we had some great meals during our time in France, I’ll say nothing really compared to the food we ate while in Italy! We laughed when we came back saying we probably hit our cheese quota for 2018 after that trip, haha, but cheese does make everything better 😉 The pain au chocolats were incredible, and consumed daily, and the wine was always great. Here are some places that I remember during our time in Paris.

Le Quebec – This was the first place we went to when we got to Paris as it was just down the street from our AirBnB. We popped in there quite often throughout our time in Paris.

Bistrot Le Champ de Mars – We were quite hungry after we walked to the Eiffel Tour and were kicking ourselves for not finding a little shop to get a sandwich and a bottle of wine to enjoy on the grass around the park. We knew popping into a restaurant near the Eiffel Tour would be touristy, but we ended up being happy with the food at this bistro. It was incredibly expensive, but it did the trick!
Le Bonaparte – On our first night in Paris, we were quite tired (obviously), so we took a quick walk around the neighborhood and popped into Le Bonaparte because they had some outdoor space available. We kept it simple with a salad & French onion soup for myself and a salad with salmon for RM. It totally hit the spot!

Tiger – On our second night we opted to head in the other direction out of our apartment and stumbled upon a fun street filled will lots of bars, restaurants and Parisians (rather than tourists!). We popped into Tiger Prawn for a pre-dinner drink and it was a blast.

Le Machon D’Henri – Around the corner from Tiger was a cute little restaurant that just happened to have a table open up outside as we got to it. The food was incredible! We started with the toast with warm goat cheese and honey, bone marrow and each got an entry (Beef Burgundy for me!). We totally loved our meal there!

Pizza Di Gio – We were in the mood for pizza one night and googled “Neopolitan style pizza” and found this restaurant. It was unassuming from the outside and on a quiet street, but it ended up being a fantastic meal! RM was able to speak Italian to the waiter, which was also a welcomed change from me stumbling my way through French 😉 The wine, pasta and pizza were so good – we loved it!

Cafe des Beaux Arts – One morning it was raining and gross, so we opted to sleep in before heading out. We were supposed to go to Versailles, but with our late start, it just didn’t make sense. Instead, we popped into the cutest little Parisian cafe and had a leisurely brunch and lots of coffee. It was fantastic!

Picnic Lunches/snacks – as we had an AirBNB and a grocery store right around the corner, we enjoyed eating breakfast at “home” and packing up lunches and snacks some days. I got quite good at making pretty darn tasty sandwiches!

There you go! Paris was such an incredible city to visit together; I keep saying I wish that we were still there! There’s just something about renting an apartment and immersing yourself in a culture that makes it feel like you really got to fully experience a city. With it being such an easy trip, I can most definitely see us doing it again!