Ok, once you get done laughing over my choice for the title (though it does explain the post well, we only spent one night there), head on over and read Part I: One Day in Paris so you can get the background story. Also, don’t forget to subscribe on the right by entering your email address so you never miss a post. No spam, only notifications.
After our tiring day in Paris, Hayley & I retired to the hotel to take a quick nap. Well…you know how this story usually goes from my previous posts that involved “naps”…we over-napped. Once I realized the time (1900 or 7 PM local time), I opened up the curtains to take in the beautiful sunset as Hayley & I tried to decide where we would go for dinner. It didn’t take us long to decide where to go, but we’ll get to that in a little bit. We headed downstairs out of the hotel and out onto the street, where we were met with a beautiful view…the Eiffel Tower all lit up!
It was truly a stunning site that put me back into the realm of where I was. I was in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, and night just helped prove that. It didn’t take long for the Eiffel Tower Light Show to begin, which lasts for 5 minutes and begins at the top of every hour. As we watched, we continued to walk to our restaurant of choice, which happens to be immediately adjacent to the Eiffel Tower…Brasserie de la Tour Eiffel. This restaurant is just simply amazing! From the very nice and welcoming staff right off the bat, to the atmosphere, I highly recommend this place. We got a nice window seat right at the front of the restaurant and we were ready to explore the great food and drinks they had to offer.
Now, many people think “wine” when they think of France. But, would you be surprised if I told you that microbreweries are actually really taking off in France? Knowing that I would be drinking lots of wine in Italy, I pushed forward with ordering a beer from a local microbrewery. A nice, blonde ale sounded like a good idea. So, “Blonde” from Brasserie La Parisienne was my choice.
Blonde (Brasserie La Parisienne) – First, let me say that Brasserie La Parisienne is a really prolific microbrewery in Paris. They have lots of beer to their name and that is what made this choice so hard. Knowing that we had a bit of night exploring ahead of us (well time wise, we didn’t venture far), I picked the Blonde Ale because it was only 6% ABV. The beer was an extremely refreshing, medium bodied beer. It had a great hop aroma that had some citrus notes and also had a nice bittering hop flavor that wasn’t too overpowering. All-in-all, it was a really well balanced beer that I would definitely drink again. I gave it a 3.75/5 and I do recommend giving it a chance if you can. This blonde ale paired really well with what I ordered for dinner as well (3.75/10).
Now, onto the food. The food was absolutely delicious. We started off with an appetizer, which, I’m sure anyone who knows about France can predict. We had escargots (snails). These were served with a really nice garlic butter type sauce poured on the inside as well. Truthfully, I had never had escargots before, but I absolutely just had to try them. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Once you get beyond the slimy texture (which I usually would have a problem with) and the fact you have to pick the snails out of their shell themselves, the taste, especially with the garlic butter, was just delicious. I would’ve ordered a second order if Hayley didn’t stop me. That and the bread definitely was a bit filling too
Our main courses were absolutely delicious too. I was a huge fan of mine. I had a steak that came with one of the most delicious sauces I have ever tasted. I can’t even describe it, but if I ever eat at the Brasserie again, I will have to order it. The salad and fries were good too, but that sauce on the steak really stole the show. I really enjoyed our time at the Brasserie and the service was wonderful. Make sure you eat here when in Paris, it is literally right next to the Eiffel Tower and it is a great place.
This is where the section of the blog gets short and is just filled with photos and videos. We spent the next two hours just admiring the Eiffel Tower. We walked out of the Brasserie and up the road, taking photos of the tower at night. We then crossed Pont d’lena, the bridge right in front of the tower, to make our way over to Trocadero Gardens, continuing to snap photos and just admire the view as we walked our way up to the balcony that overlooks the Gardens, with a great view the of Eiffel Tower. We were up here for another one of the Light Shows. I’ll let the photos and videos speak for themselves below.
Once we had finished with our photos, videos, and just enjoying the beautiful sight, we FaceTimed my sister. We went for a quick walk around the Place du Trocadero et du 11 Novembre, which is the road that circles the Place du Trocadero.
After this, and a few more quick photos, we made our way back across the Seine to a gelato place right at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. They were about to close, so we quickly ordered and just sat at a table right by the base of the tower and enjoyed our final Light Show of the trip. It was truly a great ending to a terrific night. (By the way, the Cookies ‘n Cream gelato was GREAT!).
But, the night wasn’t over yet. We headed back to the hotel and went to the Restaurant Le Jardin for a glass of wine. This bar/restaurant is extremely well designed/decorated and is located in our hotel (Hotel Mercure Paris Centre Tour Eiffel). I don’t remember what wine we ordered, but we each got a glass and just enjoyed sitting there. We talked about our day and what our plans were for the next day, when we would catch our flight to Rome.
After we finished the wine, it was time for bed. We had to get up early to grab breakfast and get in our final sights of the city and Eiffel Tower before calling an Uber back to the airport.
Remember, if you haven’t checked out Part I yet, make sure you do. The next travel post regarding this trip (which is still a while away as I have many more topics to cover) will cover our next morning in Paris as well as our first evening in Rome. Make sure you subscribe on the right to make sure you get notified whenever new content drops. Also, don’t forget to follow on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook. You’ll get lots of fun content there that’ll actually become subjects of upcoming posts. Also, just get it over with and subscribe on YouTube.
Until next time, bon voyage & cheers
Adventure Brett
(P.S. Sorry this was posted much later than I anticipated, I spent a lot of time tracking the storms this week. I do plan to stick to my normal schedule soon and I’ll have my posts ready to go early so they can be up on time). Remember, Social Media! Lots of big things are coming your way and that’s where you can find out about it!