Hello!
Oh man, did my body throw a hissy fit when I went to bed last night. It was all kinds of confused and I was starring at the ceiling for a good 3 hours before I fell asleep, waking almost every hour or two. I am sure tonight will go much better; the first day or two is always a big adjustment!
I also was able to find a power converter for my laptop! I called the front desk and they brought up this huge honking converter that would convert a horse into a pony I am pretty sure.
Last night, we set out for dinner.
Sadly, not on this beauty…
Vroom vroom! I think I want one. ;) People in Paris ride in STYLE! Oh la la.
Last night we found a cozy restaurant with a ton of atmosphere (sorry I forgot the name, I blame lack of sleep!) and we settled down for some food.
I love this display of customer’s notes!
Oops Kristi was looking down (at her food?) ;)
I asked the server for something vegan and he laughed. Never good. ;) Luckily he was charming!
We started with bread and balsamic + oil. No wine tonight. After having a bit too much wine on the plane, we decided to be on our best behaviour tonight and stick to water so we can rest up for a fresh start today!
Tonight shall be a wine night don’t you worry.
I was quite disappointed when I was brought yet another salad because I was hangry! Ahhhhh.
However with that being said, my fig and melon salad was one of the best I have ever had.
What the servers/chef lack in creativity they make up for in charm, let me tell you! ;)
The oil based dressing was so rich and luxurious.
After my second salad in Paris on Day 1, I have a new game plan:
My previous game plan for Paris was to ‘wing it’ and let the server + chef surprise me with a vegan dish. I’m all crazy and spontaneous like that.
However, my new game plan is…well, to plan a bit more.
Thanks to all of your suggestions I have some awesome restaurants to check out! I am determined to find more filling and satisfying vegan fare. I know it is out there, I just need to get a sense of the city first. I can’t expect to have all perfect meals on day 1 after all!
My mom had the beef tenderloin which was VERY rare and she didn’t care for it that much and my sister had sea bass fish which she loved, loved, loved.
Decaf espresso for dessert (with chocolate!). This was my first time drinking espresso- well, decaf if that counts? ;)
Ok decaf espresso doesn’t count. ;)
It was very strong and bitter, but I drank it like a champ (aka, with sugar). ;)
and some of the most delicious dark chocolate beans ever:
Many handfuls ensued which might explain why I could not sleep until 1am.
Then we headed out for a walk to find a grocery store to pick up some water and snacks.
Macaroon tower on display!!
I’m not going to lie, I am probably going to have to try a macaroon at some point, vegan or not. I have to know what it tastes like so I can make a vegan one at home, right?
I had a high protein Renew Glo Bar and a banana to satisfy my lingering hunger.
My mom tells me this is the most expensive perfume in the world???? Anyone know how much it is?
This morning my sister and I got up and hit the gym in our hotel. It is a pretty sweet gym!!! Treadmills, ellipticals, weights, bikes, stairmaster, etc.
My sis and I ran about 6-7k on the treadmill. Felt SO good to sweat!
After showering quickly, it was time to head run down to breakfast. Our breakfast is included every morning with the hotel and we were thrilled to see that they offered a HUGE selection. Probably the biggest hotel breakfast I have ever seen!! :)
Needless to say, I stuffed my face and then some. ;)
I had breakfast tea with a mix of my Matcha powder for some zing, zing, zing!
and delicious mango juice!
Whole wheat toast with strawberry jam:
‘Vegan Overnight Oats’ with soy milk!!!!
So so so good.
Their granola was unsweetened so I added some fruit and mango juice to sweeten it up a bit. I also added a ton of nuts!
I was in pure heaven, pure heaven.
My sis wanted to share her meal too! We all enjoyed everything so much and I am so grateful I have this selection to start the day off right.
Perhaps tomorrow I will take pictures of the spread of food offered. I felt a bit like a camera creeper today and was a bit shy! ;)
We are off to hop onto the ‘hop on hop off’ bus to get a sense of the city and where everything is. We are hoping to check out a veg friendly restaurant that comes highly recommended in Paris. I am excited.
Have a great day! :)
Whew, double take! For a moment I thought your sister in white was you! :)
I’m glad you’re having a wonderful time and can’t wait to see the diverse vegan eats you discover during the rest of your trip. xo
Looks like you’re having a wonderful time! I’m sure you’ll find some decent vegan food soon – it’s a city, it has to be there!
Have a great time today :D
Paris looks beautiful! I hope you find more food :) Have a wonderful time!
Hey, Glad you’re having a good time. I should have told you that the vegan diet is not that popular in France :( The food looks yummy. I miss French food a lot. The perfume is about 90€, which would be about 120$ I think.
And YES, you have to try a macaron.They are so delicious. My favourite flavour is “Caramel Beurre Salé”. Not sure how to translate that. Basically made from salty butter. Doesnt sound good but it is!
I’ve been curious how eating vegan in Paris would go. Have you check out vegan backpacker’s site? I wonder if they have recommendations?
Pics look great! Seems like your having a fabulous time. I have a pretty hard time ordering food here, if you don’t eat meat I am always served a croissant covered in cheese….not my favorite meal staple. Surprisingly I have been served a lot of lentils here, though. It is probably one of the dishes I have the most: lentils cooked with eggplant, onions, and spices. ;)
I am adoring all of your Parisian photos!!! Now I reallllly want to go back! :)
That is so great to know that at least you’ll be able to have a fantastic and filling vegan breakfast every morning. And yes, you need a scooter! :)
LOL, horse into a pony… you are too funny!
Glad to see they have a good breakfast buffet at the hotel! I hate when its all white carbs or meat and maybe some soggy fruit salad. Lots of fruits and and granola is key!
Have fun today and hopefully you find some better vegan options!
I love reading your adventures Angela! If you guys want a fun dinner out I recommend Le 404, a very charming Moroccan restaurant. They do fabulous mojitos and a great vegan tanjine with couscous and vegetables!!
You’d best warn your mum that in Paris even if you ask for a steak well done it will still likely be a bit pink, they realy don’t approve of anything being well done. My daughter ordered a hamburger once in a restaurant at Disneyland Paris and it was pink in the middle. I nearly sent it back and was panicking about food poisoning until someone reassured me that’s just how they like it over there and presumably they use steak mincee so it won’t do you harm but it’s just not what we’re used to I guess.
Hi Angela, I hope your hunt for vegan fare goes well!! I’ve always wondered – how is chocolate considered vegan though? I’m not judging, just have always been genuinely curious – even dark chocolate usually includes some amount of cow’s milk right? Can anyone else advise? Have a great rest of the trip!!
Hey Christine, Dark chocolate can sometimes have dairy in it and it also can be dairy free. The server said it didnt have dairy in it. :) yay
Good luck with hunting for vegan food! Despite there not being many options, what you are eating is absolutely beautiful. Ahh, Paris….hope you ladies have a fun time and thanks for keeping us updated! I love living vicariously through blogger’s travels :)
Hi! So glad you are posting so fast! I am so happy you are there, I am dying to go.
I say: GO FOR A MACAROON!!! If anyone judges you, forget em!
Live it up!
Hey. you only live once! You can’t go to Paris and not have a macaroon! :)
Looks like you are having a wonderful time! My mom is in France too right now, and I am sure she is loving it too. You will be able to find vegan food eventually, you just have to explore around, which makes it exciting! That pink vespa is the cutest thing ever by the way… I kind of want one. It would be so much easier to whiz around traffic in and to find parking!
:)
bonjour! are the parisians really as snobby as people say? I’m picturing you, your mom, & sis exploring Paris like Blair and Serena from Gossip Girl, haha. Hope yall are having a blast :)
Thank you for the pictures! I am still a bit nervous to take out my DLSR in public all the time because I live in someplace that no one would want to take pictures of :P ….. I really notice the color difference between your normal pictures and Paris!
And I applaud you for eating healthy on your vacation! That sea bass looks so good…. I want to copy…
Le Grenier de Notre Dame is a fantastic vegetarian/vegan restaurant that I would recommend! Its address is 18, Rue De La Bûcherie, a little side street just across the river from Notre Dame. Bonne journée!
Beautiful! Everything- the food, the scenery, the restaurant. :) I’d def. want a lil moped, too! There’d be no better way to ride in style! ;)
It is definitely frustrating when the only vegan/vegetarian option is a salad.
I am going to a Crab Fest that benefits the Shriners (and my Grandpa!) and the last time I went the ONLY thing they offered other than the crab was a salad. I was not prepared for that and was STARVING! This year I’m eating beforehand!