Paris Secret Treasures!

Since I know j'adore recommendations and special small places to visit when traveling, I have decided to share with all of you all my Paris favorites! These were the places that stuck out in my mind and made my experience as fantastic as it was... I hope when you visit you will go to some of these places and feel the same! And as usual, let me know what you think...

(M)= metro
*= très très bien!
Restaurants:
*L'Aubergeade= fabulous little bistro with the nicest owners and FABULOUS, inexpensive food! definitely one of my favorite meals of Paris
(M) Diderot

*Le Timbre= restaurant seats about 20 people, one chef open kitchen, delicious food! get the set menu
3 rue Saint Beuve 75006
01 45 49 10 40

*L'Argume= featured in the NYTimes, it was a gourmand experience, and relatively inexpensive... very intimate experience
(M) Les Gobelins

*Le Relais Entrecote= only serve steak frites with salad and wine! sooo good, my fav was the one in Saint Germain
(M) St Germain des Pres

Le Loire dans la Thière= direct translation, "the dormouse in the teapot", a magnificent place to stop and have tea (my fav was caramel) and a dessert (the lemon meringue tart was from heaven)
(M) St. Paul in the Marais

L'as du Falafel= the line is around the corner on Sunday's, not only b/c its so good, but b/c most places are closed on Sundays... great place to get a falafel to walk through the Marais with
(M) St. Paul

Rose Bakery= delightful experience
(M) St. Paul

Le Petit Prince= went here for my bday, very very good food and fun experience... the ambiance is classic, but the waiters are all gay with Abba playing in the background!
(M) Maubert

... there are more... but i think that is a good start... let me know if you want more...
Clubs/Bars:
*Wagg= went here for my birthday, SO FUN! music is classic stuff/ 80's-2000's all stuff you wanna sing along to, the crowd is a bit older (25-35) but a BLAST!
(M) Mabillon

*Bario Latino= beautiful bar/restaurant/club, Wednesday nights are free to get in, and everyone salsa's the night away! Even if you can't dance, watching the pros is amazing
(M) Bastille

Le Cab= fun swanky night club right next to the Louvre... good music and pretty people
(M) Louvre- Palais Royal

Dubbies= fun bar that turns into a club... good old time!
(M) George V

Frog and the Princess= a must see... the street it is on, rue de Princess is always packed and all the bars along that street including Eden Park and Chez George (they play jewish music!) are so fun
(M) Mabillon

Queen= a 'gay club' with fun atmosphere... however, most of the guys are not gay... or you can't really tell soooo you dance with them thinking they like boys, then they try and kiss you... and you get the picture. Fun but confusing. Wednesday Night= Ladies night= Free Champagne!
(M) George V

Jazz: (one of my favorite pass times in Paris)
*L'Ateiler Charonne= great jazz restaurant with gypsy jazz and young good looking people
(M) Bastille

*Tavern de Cluny= really talented group! fun on Sunday nights... not really hip but very authentic
(M) Cluny

*Le Komtoir= GREAT bar right next to the Pompidou, with jazz band downstairs in a large wine cellar... very popular hard to get a seat on Thursday nights
(M) Hotel de Ville

Museums: I literally went to them all... these were my favorites
*Baccarat Crystal Museum= amazing display of crystal everything! Its a beautiful building and very very well worth a visit
(M) Kleber

*Musee Jacquemart-Andre= beautiful mansion of art collector Edouard Andre, this art collection is impressive and makes a great afternoon event!
(M) St. Philippe- du Roule

*Pompidou= gotta give this museum a chance! and make it to the 5th floor, that is where all the magic is!
(M) Hotel de Ville

*L'Orangerie= less known than the Musee d'Orsay, but the impressionist display is impressive! This museum has all of Monet's water lilies
(M) Concorde

Just fun must do's:
-Laying on the grass in Jardin du Luxembourg
-Having a picnic on the Champs de Mars (park right next to the Eiffel Tower)
-Going to all the gourmet food shops around Place de la Madeleine (M) Madeleine
-Going shopping in the Marais (might I recommend my new favorite store L'Art du basic... I would have bought out the place if I could)
-Shakespeare & Co for a Monday night book reading-- every week at 7pm... so fun!

Voila! C'est tout!
And to quote Julie Andrews, "These are a few of my favorite things".... :)

The End of Paris, but the Begining of Something Beautiful

Things are wrapping up for me here in gay ole'Pariee. I'm making the most of every second, seeing my last sights and making my last plans. Looking back on the whole experience, I would have to say my favorite moment was a very simple one... I was walking home on a warm day after running errands, and had to cross through the plaza in front of Notre Dame. As I was weaving my way through the sea of tourists who could barley take their eyes from the ornate facade of the Cathedral, one of the street performers was playing the theme song from Amelie on his radio. In that very moment, I felt like the song was the sound track to my life... my walk was steady, confident, my direction was clear, practiced, and my mind was calm... and in that tiny instant I felt completely and utterly Parisian! It was FANTASTIC... I was (am) in Paris no longer as a tourist, but as a resident, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I have done some reflection on my life, and feel that I have really discovered myself here. Instead of trying to play a role that everyone else was playing or purse a path that was most traveled, for once I did exactly what I wanted to do. On a daily basis I followed my heart, and in the process developing into the person I have always been deep down, but too worried to embody. I have in essence accepted myself. I no longer care to waste my time pretending I like things I don't and go along with things I think are stupid. I know now I can do anything and do not need anyone else to do them; when I want to dine at a restaurant, I dine, go to a museum, I go, learn french, I learn, listen to jazz, I listen. I feel so much more confident in my choices because I am not faking anymore. For a long time I believed you could BS your way through anything, and I considered that a skill of mine. I was wrong. You can not bull shit your way through everything because if you do, you never really do anything you want or feel proud of anything you do. You never get the satisfaction of knowing you did it just the way it needed to be done. Paris has given me that gift... I have done everything, lived everyday with true intentions, and now have had 5 months practice of being true to myself! I have been completely porous to Pariee's opportunities to live life and for that I am thankful.

Now I am returning home excited to have some responsibilities, excited to have more of a purpose, and excited to apply the joys of life I have experienced here to my future. I have been mocked for the title of my blog, but I can say in all honestly, Rachel's Joie de Vivre has come to fruition. The Universe is mine for the taking and I learned here that it is my right to be greedy! :)
Au revoir Paris et franchement merci! A très bientot j'espère...

Having not written in over two months, I feel that it is time again to commence my ciber journal of events... and being jet lagged and since it is 4am having nothing better to do, j'ecris....
Today was the first day back in Paris after spending my two week Spring Break in LA, and Paris is even more enchanting than when I left! (especially since absence makes the heart grow fonder) Every tree is full of leaves and all the flowers are in bloom, all the once gray tree lined streets are now plump with color! I woke up early in the morning, which was a first in Paris for me, ha, and went to go see the YSL Exhibit at the Petit Palace which I have been eager to see. When I got there at opening there was already a huge line! I had tried to go to this exhibit before, at closing time, but the line was about two hours long so I gave up. The french love their fashion! But today I stuck it out, enduring an hour of sun, then rain, then wind, then sun again. But part of the fun of this show was observing the people standing in line and what they were wearing. People were dressed as if they were attending Fashion Week, adorned with all the accoutrement of fine French class. LOVED IT! They make everything look so effortless, when I know for a fact that it is not... like a fine ballerina that appears to not even try when floating through the air.

Anyways, once warm and inside the exhibit took you through all 40 years of Saint Laurent's career and I learned so much! All the styles that I love today (the sailor coat, the safari look, the tailored female pant suit) were all started by him! I hope one day I can also have a profound inpact on other people's lives with some kind of creation.

Then after a mid-day petit somme (nap)... that's probably why I cant sleep now... a friend of mine and I went to a Gypsy Jazz Bar near the Bastille. FABULOUS! I have decided since I only have one month left of this dream world, I am going to go out as much as possible, and to new places to soak up as much of the Parisian flair as possible! Anyways, this bar/restaurant was very chic and had a youthful, lively and good looking ;) crowd. Vanessa and I sat there for hours having drinks and listening to music... mind you the music got better and better with every glass of wine I had... but it was still great. We became friends with the players and spoke with them in French. That's the other thing; when I arrived in Paris after not speaking French for two full weeks, it immediately came to me! The first time in my life I have ever entered into a foreign country and felt confident to converse to others. Such a cool skill that I hope I can hold on to... I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day or a more perfect soiree!