So I had a chat with the wilderbeest last night, & he's actually quite nice really…for a wilderbeest! :P He's actually a sweet, rather nerdy computer programmer from Toronto, who (thankfully for us) is leaving Paris today!! :D Less snoring last night…although perhaps that's just because I had "spring rain" on max volume…haha

Yesterday morning Esther & I made an early start out to the Sacre Coeur, which is just a short walk away from our hostel. It was gorgeous in the morning light, & was the perfect time to be there before all the crowds arrived! It also provides the most amazing view over Paris's windy streets & beautiful, old architecture. It's definitely one of my favourite buildings in Paris & I would happily sit in there marveling at the amazing stain glass windows for hours.

We then wandered down to Lafayette, the famous French department store, for some ogling of pretty, sparkly, unaffordable things. The entire retail world of Perth would easily fit inside this place, & then some! My favourite part was the gourmet food hall - think the David Jones food court in the city (for those of you who know is) times 100!! There I discovered Pierre Herme macaroons :D Bliss! Actually I cheated & bought a box of the "off cuts" - the biscuits pieces that weren't 100% perfect for display. But as opposed to 1.50 euro for 1 macaroon, I got a whole box for 6!! :D And they still taste just as good!

We ate lunch outside in the sunshine in a beautiful park nearby where a lot of people seem to go to take a leisurely lunch hour each day. Particularly because Spring is really just getting going & the weather is so warm right now, the French people really seem to make good use of their local paths & outdoor areas, & can be seen crammed into tables lining the sidewalk outside little bistros & brasseries for hours until the sun goes down late in the evening.

We took some time to rest in the afternoon, having been robbed of several hours sleep the night before, which led us, rather fortunately, to meet a lovely local Frenchman who was in doing work on our shower when we arrived back at the hostel. As we discussed our plans for the next few days he would regularly pop his head out the door & emphatically recommend various restaurants & places we just HAD to visit! He pointed out several locations on the map & wrote some instructions down, although a lot of the specifics were lost in translation…

Later that night we set out on a mission to find what he described as "The best bistro in Paris" - coming from a true French local I figured it must be pretty good! Dressed in our best at an hour that was really far too early by Parisian standards to be so dressed up on a Friday, clearly, we took the metro all the way across town to the mystery location. Armed with only a circled metro station, the number 122, and the description that the bistro was 120 years old we searched the streets for the elusive bistro…never did find it! Haha

Considering there were about 100 such bistros on the street & numbered properties are scarce here I'm not entirely sure how we were planning on pulling that off! But nonetheless we stumbled across a lovely little pub where we enjoyed a traditional French croque-monsieur (a sort of fancy, grilled ham & cheese sandwich) & a pitcher of wine. So although the original mission went a little awry, we still had a wonderful evening, which is kinda the way it goes here in Paris - all you have to do is wander along & enjoy the atmosphere, & you'll be sure to stumble across a wonderful gem no matter where you go :)