I’d never really been to the 10th Arrondismont before. But Nikki swore that this was the place to be – so that’s where we booked our Airbnb. It’s a bit out of the main tourist areas, but after spending a few days here I’d like to think that if I was young and living in Paris – this is where I would be. The 10th seems to be where the millenial Parisian’s hang out and it looks fun. The streets – and canal – are pretty lively, covered with colorful murals and lined with an assortment of great, non-touristy restaurants and shops.
Our Airbnb is a funky two bedroom, one bath flat [https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/19598488?bev_ref=&eal_exp=1531475408&eal_sig=18843bd1ed5d9e993f075ee6bd29c2a10bddb0d6767c5467a63f7bab56362e7c&eal_uid=119799281&euid=1e38d90e-2db0-8ae0-4311-527e7ec5752e&photo=&s=&user_id=]. Was a bit of a weird floor plan, requiring a trip through the bathroom to get to the second bedroom, but the cool neighborhood made up for the shortcomings of the lodging.
Shawn and I were both pretty sick which dampened a bit of the Paris fun, but we did manage a cool bike trip to Versailles – a place we’d never been in our prior trips. We signed up with Fat Tire Tours, a great recommendation from Linda Rosen [https://www.fattiretours.com/paris/tours/Versailles-Bike-Tour]. Rather than spend the majority of the day with the immense plodding crowds or tourists at the Versailles Palace, the Fat Tire trip is spent mainly in the 2000 acres of Versailles open space. It’s a beautiful and surprisingly uncrowded day.
After taking the 30 minute train from Paris to Versailles, we pick up bikes and head to the local markets to purchase food for a picnic lunch. Then we’re back on the bikes for a trip to the grand canals behind the Palace to eat. Afterwards, we ride to another great part of Versailles called the Petit Trianon – which actually looks like a movie set. We’re told that Marie Antoinette had this place created to be like a local French hamlet so she could get some sense of “normalcy” – away from the pomp and circumstance of Versailles. In any case, it’s beautiful, interesting and also surprisingly uncrowded. After that, we headed to the Palace which was totally mobbed, and in my opinion, while spectacular, not nearly as cool as the other less visited parts of Versailles.
In France, the government sets two certain times of year when stores can put their merchandise on sale (Soldes). If a shop wants to put their products on sale any other time, it would require way more paperwork that anyone would consider reasonable. So they just don’t do it. Instead, pretty much all stores slash their prices during the two “approved” sale periods – July and January. Since we happened to be in Paris in July – there was a bit of shopping. Our shopping excursions started in the opulent Galleries Lafayette and then to the boutiques that fill La Marais. Notwithstanding, some of the best shopping was found in the little boutiques right near our flat in the 10th.
We’ve been trying to have more “cultural experiences” as we travel. So Shawn signed up for for a jewelry making class. We had no idea what to expect. But it was really cool. We met at the jewelry designer’s home, near the Eiffel Tower (16th arrondisment). We spent the first hour with Mona, getting to know each other over a wonderful lunch that she’d prepared. Afterward, we looked at her jewelry collections [https://www.justart.paris] and began to collaborate on our designs. My design was a bit more involved, so Mona sent me to the courtyard to whittle a model out of a small piece of wood. Sounds worse that it was – it was actually quite nice. Shawn and Nikki spent most of their time designing and putting together some necklaces. We ran out of time so Mona is going to finish our creations – likely with a bit more expertise. I’m sure this is a good thing since she seems really talented and professional! In any case, we had a really nice time getting to know Mona – who is super interesting and involved in all kinds of cool non-profit activities – and spending a day in a real Parisian home.
We also had some great meals in Paris. They just know food here. Clamato is perhaps the very best restaurant that we’ve been to on our entire trip [http://clamato-charonne.fr/en/]. They create a fantastic mix of the freshest vegetables and fish – mostly sashimi – with a bit of an Asian flair. In any case, if you are in Paris, you absolutely must make the effort to get there. Additionally, we also found a fantastic vegan restaurant ( in the 10th – Sol Semilla [https://www.sol-semilla.fr/content/7-decouvrez-notre-restaurant] – which was right around the corner from our apartment. So tasty.
I think we all felt like we should have done a bit more while we were here in Paris, but we were sick – and we definitely will be back!