Paris Without Kids

Last week, my husband and I took our first holiday alone after having kids. We spent four days in Paris and it was too short and too long at the same time and I thought I would take you through it.

First of all – I’d like to make a little note of how our traveling style has changed. For example, before kids, hotels were a big deal. I always wanted to stay in a very nice place, because I’m a priss and pretentious like that. After kids, for family vacations I still focused a lot on hotels, simply because the amenities can be so useful, but on this trip, after having two kids…just having a bed and no designated wake up time was heaven enough. Though our hotel was still great (more on that later).

Second – All photos you will see are via the iPhone. Yes, before kids I lugged a DSLR but Paris was in a heat wave up to 95 degrees while we were there and I really didn’t want to carry a giant camera. And since this was the sort of trip people encourage you to take to “strengthen your marriage” I didn’t think forcing my husband to lug my electronic equipment around would be the sort of Relationship Building Activity we were after. But I think the photo quality is not bad, no? Let me know your thoughts.

Third – Everywhere we went we’d already been before, with the exception of dining. Before we always wanted to go to almost entirely new places – hotel, restaurants, etc. This time…just wanted to do as little thinking as possible, and know that we would be happy with the result. So this is definitely a lazier person’s Paris itinerary (but one I think all but the most picky of travelers would be happy with). All right- let’s go!

Transport:

First of all, I cried five times before we even left. I was very very upset to leave my kids and especially my baby daughter, since she had just turned one and to me that just seemed so very small. I did calm down by the time we got on the plane, we flew United business which was completely fine, and there is now a great new Polaris lounge at the airport. Admittedly my standards for US carriers are much lower than international ones but honestly it is SO much better than the old lounge and they have now combined the first and business class together.

Hotel:

We stayed at the Esprit Saint Germain and it was great! We first stayed at this property five years ago (see my original review here) and I had stayed there a few times after for work, and I also knew that this trip, I wanted to stay on the Left Bank again. Even though a lot of my preferred shopping is on the right – aka the mothership, Hermes, and all the other goodies, I love the left for its proximity to food, the walking, the scenery. Most of the “grand” hotels – George V, Mandarin Oriental, Le Meurice, etc etc are all on the right. But on the left are lots of fantastic boutique options and the Esprit in my opinion definitely ranks high. Complimentary breakfast, comfortable rooms, Diptyque toiletries, and the pricing is very fair. AND they give you this awesome little pocket wifi that lets you access the internet from your phone without roaming. The only issue is the rooms are small – if I was traveling with young kids I might opt for one of the big hotels where there’s a pool and lots of amenities – but for a couple, it’s completely fine.

Dining:

Komatsubaki: We went here our first night with friends and it was delicious. Actually one of my favorite meals of the trip. Amazing omakase. I had told my friend who we were meeting, a local who is a very picky, that I wanted Japanese and he picked this place and it was so, so good! Usually in Europe after a few days I’m craving Asian food – I just have to have it, no matter how many other great local options are around, so I’m sharing this one for my fellow Asian food addicts. We were there for dinner but the lunch menu also looked great and much more affordable as well.

Septime: I had been given a recommendation for this place, and then in the booking process, realized it was the “hardest to get reservation in Paris” thus amply fueling my desire. I tried multiple days and never found any slots. We finally got in to the credit of the wonderful concierge at our hotel and I was really excited..

..and honestly, it was kind of overrated, at least in my opinion. Set tasting menu, no choices. The service was nice but absentminded (had to ask for my drink four times, to the point where I was embarrassed for the server that I kept asking for it), the bathroom was out of hand towels and had a broken lock to boot, so that when I used it I had to keep announcing “I’m peeing!” in case someone walked in. The food was fine, but not out of this world, and I didn’t really “get” the huge hype. But I’m just one data point out of many, many positive ones.

Frenchie: The best meal of our trip. I had last tried to get in here around 2013/2014 and couldn’t get in and thus decided to try four years later and finally made it. This was one of the last meals of our trip and by the time the reservation came around I was already feeling fat and wanted to cancel, but it was too late to do so without a charge (48 hours cancellation policy, by the way). So we went and it was SO GOOD. The entire restaurant was filled with Americans which I think was disappointing for both the waitstaff and the other Americans but maybe the French were all on holiday. Super duper A+.

Le Comptoir/Avec Comptoir: The series of restaurants everyone goes to because of Anthony Bourdain, and the crowd is always a mix of native Parisians, excited Americans trying out Bourdain’s recommendations for the first time, and the other Americans/Brits/etc who have been a few times before and thus would like to distinguish themselves from the newbie tourists, all while being roundly snubbed and having smoke blown on them by the locals. I put myself in the middle group, I’m happy in my role as an American tourist (well, as happy as I can be given the current circumstances) and the staff are always happy to give recommendations. I always sit inside because I’m from California and grouchy about smoke. No reservations required and I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes for a table. What more could you ask for?

Il Gelato del Marchese: A new place for me! Right across from Le Comptoir, super convenient, the best gelato I’ve had in Paris. Dear lord this place was so good. I was upset I discovered it the last evening because otherwise I’d have gone back a ton. Passionfruit sorbet and pistachio gelato are their specialties but everything (I had the tasting, plus two full scoops) was wonderful. Pricing was very fair, it’s less if you take it out but if you dine in, you get to sit in fancy chairs and feel grand, and plus it’s a wonderful place to have a break.

Pierre Herme: I think macarons in Paris have been roundly covered in the blogosphere so I’ll just include two notes – first, that there’s a Pierre Herme super close to the Hotel Esprit, so keep that in mind as a plus for the hotel. And, Pierre Herme no longer gives you paper bags. You either have to pay for one of their boxes/adorable tins or take the macarons out the door on a napkin. And honestly I have SO many of the cute Laduree/Pierre Herme boxes at home that I just throw them away now, so I always ended up taking them out with a napkin. If I had brought one, I think I would have asked them to put it in Tupperware. How do the French feel about that I wonder?

Shopping:

Honestly, I didn’t do very much, which was surprising! I thought I would shop shop shop but as it turns out I have such a backlog of clothes I bought when pregnant that I still haven’t worn that it’s almost overwhelming. I pretty much only had one wishlist item, of course Hermes, which I didn’t land (a black box Birkin, size 30). This bag is my Hermes white whale. I’ve caught sightings of it in the past (a 35 size with guilloche hardware, which I kind of still regret not taking, but I really want the 30). But the exact item never comes within reach. The main FSH shop has a new reservation system, where you make an appointment with your phone (www.hermesfaubourg.com) – note, it’s only accessible by mobile. You make the appointment during the day (French time) and by the evening, you’re informed whether you’ve been “granted” an appointment or not. Much more civilized than the old way in my opinion! I was fortunate enough to visit FSH twice and also checked Sevres (there you just sign up the same day and meet with a salesperson). I have to say there were some decent goodies offered, but honestly not as much as I was expecting, maybe because it was August. And anyway, I was very, very determined to only get exactly what I wanted. So in the end my souvenir was very nice pair of Oasis sandals (runs true to size to a little larger than the Orans – but honestly like most Hermes shoes you have to try them on based on the leather)…and for the first time in a LONG while I didn’t even have to declare anything at customs, which was a great feeling! So…

There’s my little trip report. For any of you with little babies who are maybe a little nervous about traveling without them – my opinion is – do it! I was so nervous before we left (literally hysterically researching what sort of psychological damage would be visited on my baby by not seeing me for five days) – I was crying, I was stressed, and in the end, it was completely fine. I kind of knew it would be because everyone told me so, but I had to experience it for myself. It’s funny, because I really never thought I’d be this sort of mother…I was completely the “I’ll do what I need to do and the kids will just DEAL” philosophy. “I won’t lose myself after kids,” is what I’d say. I swore I would never let kids take over my life. But somehow I ended up this way and while I’m not ashamed, it was wonderful to find a little bit of my way “back” to myself. To return to a familiar place where I had spent so much of my time, for work, for pleasure, back when it was just me. We visited in late July/early August which was terribly hot but the plus side was that it was empty, but either way, Paris is wonderful at any time of year.