Paris, Party of One

A few years ago, I was desperately needing a break from life and decided to book a solo trip to Palm Springs, hoping for a quiet, relaxing, and rejuvenating trip. It turned out being a terrible idea. Unbeknownst to me when I made my plans, Dinah Shore was happening (google it) and my hotel was Party central. And no offense to Dinah Shore Weekend whatsoever, but I didn’t enjoy being propositioned and wasn’t looking for a girlfriend... On top of that, I developed a terrible rash after swimming in the pool and had to go to the hospital when I got home. Sigh. I knew if I ever booked a solo trip again, I was going to make it the most girly, Serena style trip I possibly could. Cue Paris.

In my opinion, the best time to visit Paris is in August because many residents leave for vacation and it’s not crowded at all. I booked the shortest flight time possible, Spokane - Seattle - Paris in 11 hours. I left Spokane in the early afternoon and arrived in Paris around 8am. I made it to my hotel, The Peninsula, in about 45 minutes and was greeted with perfect touches in my room.

Minutes later, the doorbell rang and I was presented with a beautiful floral arrangement for my room. What a perfect start to my trip!

To avoid jetlag, I always force myself to stay awake until bedtime, rather than taking a nap upon arrival. To help with this, I booked a chocolate and pastry tasting tour for the afternoon. I took the 45 minute walk to the meeting point for the tour, making my way all along the Seine and stopping for a nutritious lunch before indulging on treats.

My simple tomato, burrata and greens salad was one of the tastiest I’ve ever had. Exquisite!

We started our tasting tour at the oldest chocolate shop in Paris, which was Marie Antoinette’s chocolatier and we hopped all around to taste a variety of modern and old-fashioned treats for about two and a half hours. Chocolates! Macaroons! Eclairs! Mousse! And so on... My favorite new-to-me treat were traditional chouquettes, which I’d describe as mini, squishy cream puffs without the filling. Perfection!

When I returned to my hotel, chilled champagne was waiting for me, a treat from The Peninsula. What a nice surprise!

Tomorrow, there’s more Serena style plans in the works.

Notes:

- This is the first post in my Paris Party of One series. There will be more posts to follow.

- I’ve noticed when I travel without Colin, I get messages asking if everything is ok. I’m happy to say YES! I love my husband and he loves me and we are as happy as can be.

- You can follow along with my travels on Instagram where I share stories of some of the things I’m doing.

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Between posts on my website, and all year long, I'm preparing for The Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair. You can read alI about it here. I also document my life on Instagram. You can follow along with me there.

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Comments

[Anna]

Sounds lovely - and something I may want to do! Just concerned about the language do you speak French or was English spoken in the area you visited?

[Heidi]

Hi - I will be alone in Paris for two days in early September - would you mind sharing the vendor for your delicious sounding chocolate tour? Thanks so much! will be following along with your blog this week!

[Debbie S.]

What a lovely idea, Serena. My husband and I a traveling to Paris next month; it will be my first visit. We, too, are traveling from Spokane through Seattle. Enjoy every minute!

[Serena]

Hi Debbie! I'm so excited for you. It's such a wonderful place to visit with the one you love! I hope you have the best time.

[Serena]

Hi Heidi! It was Context. I think Context Travel is the full business name. The tour was called the Chocolates and Pastry Tour.

[Serena]

Hi Anna! I speak just the very basics. I've learned a few things about communicating here that seems to really make things go more smoothly:

As I understand it, it's rude to not acknowledge an employee when you enter a business, so you should always make sure to have a greeting like Bonjour, Madame! Or Bonjour, Monsieur! And when exiting, Something like Merci. Or Au Revoir or Merci Au Revoir. Most often, once I say that, the person can tell I don't speak French and then quickly speak English to me. I've found that most shopkeepers and restaurant staff in Paris speak English, but I've never encountered a taxi driver who speaks English.

I have an app that helps me remember basic French words and I try to take a look at it each day before setting out to refresh my memory. It does help. Being able to ask "Do you speak English?" is helpful, etc. Just basic stuff like that.

I talk about the subject on my blog post today too...

[Sabrina]

Good for you for taking a trip all for you! I love Paris! It's been years since I've been there, but I'm hoping to go back in the next few years Enjoy your time!