Day 46: Palais Granier, Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, Moulin-Rouge, & Aux Merveilleux de Fred

Friday, October 10th

We awake and start our day with a McCafé cappuccino to share. We then venture out down Haussmann Street. This is the street we stayed on last time I was in Paris with one of my best friends Karan and her husband Drew. I remember there being so many beautiful cafes and shops around this area. We snagged another coffee and popped into a few stores. We ended up walking to the Opera house. I saw a big building to our right, and I asked Christopher to check his phone for what it was. It was the Palais Granier. A lot of it was under construction, which was a bummer, but the front was still gorgeous. I highly recommend going in if you have the time. I took a lovely photo of Karah and Drew that overlooked the city from the balcony. That’s the side under construction at the moment though.

We then venture down Haussmann Avenue. This is the road I stayed on last time. Christopher got a photo of me in front of our hotel. It was called Aparthotel. It. was a great little place to stay and lovely location. We stop by Triado Haussmann, which is one of the most beautiful cafes in my opinion. We only stopped for a photo.

All of the buildings in Paris are so beautiful. I am like a kid in a candy shop every road we walk down. Christopher laughs and tells me he loves me and says it’s so hard to get anywhere with me, because I need to look at everything and venture down every road. I’m lucky someone loves me for this, most people would be so annoyed! LOL!

We finally stop at Joyo for lunch. It’s a cool atmosphere inside. Apparently they have these all over the states. It was delicious. I got a nice Asian salad with shrimp and Christopher got a lunch special with a burger and a cookie with ice cream and whipped cream with dessert, which was AMAZING. We were in heaven. I do have to say, it definitely wasn’t as good as the homemade cookie skillets we make at home ;)

We then venture towards the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur (The Basilica of the Sacred Heart) It is a beautiful Roman church on the top of a hill that gives you a gorgeous lookout of the city.

We snag another coffee from L’arbrea cafe along our way. Finally a cafe with oat milk!  They aren’t as common here.

We stop at Le Progrès so Christopher could go to the bathroom, so we grabbed a beer and glass of wine. We also stumbled across another cute cafe that I came to with Karah and Drew in Montmarte.

We continue on our journey. We go up a certain set of steps where I got a fun picture of Drew & Karah sitting alongside the steep staircase. We asked a bartender if he could snap a photo of us recreating the picture. Christopher got a big soft pretzel from one of the food stands & a beer.

We finally make it to the Basilique! There is a big festival going on. I have never seen it so crowded in my life! We get some nice little videos including all the locks (there is a famous bridge here in France with locks that people put on it).

We then head to search for Le Refuge des Fondus. We just wanted to take a photo outside. It’s a restaurant that serves wine out of baby bottles. It’s teeny tiny. The whole restaurant just has two long tables. You make friends with the people you’re sitting next to. The entire place is covered with money from around the world. My parents came over 30 years ago and then brought us kids back over 10 years ago. I tried to go last time I was in Paris, but it was closed. It’s back open now, but they only do two dinners per night and you should make reservations in advance. If you’re in Paris, I highly recommend this one.

Next we head to Moulin-Rouge. Along our way I see my favorite dessert place of all time. Aux Merveilleux de Fred. You can get little miniature cakes that are meringue, speculoos biscuit, whipped cream coated with shaved white chocolate. This one is my favorite, and they make other flavors as well. Christopher tried a special edition flavor which was chestnut, and he liked his better than mine!

We stop in Clichy Tavern to use the bathroom (so of course we had to get a drink).

We ended up eating at a place called INDIANA for dinner (this is my hometown, where I was born and raised & went to college) so this was fun. I got a yummy salad with lobster and Christopher got fish and chips. Both were nothing special. There were so many people around us on dates, so it seemed like the hot spot for this. We love guessing how long couples have been together or what date number they’re on and if it’s going well or not. It’s a pretty fun game to play when people watching, and we will never know if we are right or wrong! Ha

We finally ventured home after being out for almost 12 hours. We walk back through Parc Monceau. It was gorgeous. We put in Christopher’s AirPods and we were dancing and singing our whole way home. We easily hit over 20,000 steps today. We watched a little of Rings of Power before bed. 

Oh yeah, we also got a loaf of chocolate brioche bread from Aux Merveilleux de Fred and ate this for dessert! Hehe Christopher said it was the best bread he’s ever had. I’m glad he agreed and was happy with where I told him we HAD to stop ;)

My highlights today were Christopher letting me drag him around to all the sentimental spots I have gone to and then of course dancing & singing our whole way home. Christopher always “sings” these funny French songs to me, not actually knowing any of the words. Christopher’s highlight was saying I love you and giving me a kiss on every corner of Paris. We didn’t skip a single one. Here’s another prime example of you can never overuse the world I love you. This never gets old, and I love being in his arms and hearing it every time he tells me. It never loses value, and I always know he means it. We are beyond blessed to have one another and be eachother’s adventure partners. He’s truly my ride or die. I couldn’t ask for a better partner to share my life with. Every day brings new adventures, and we only fall more and more in love.