Kosniks à Paris (plus Emma!)

Got home from Barcelona really early Monday morning and was sick and tired with no voice (classic).

To be honest I didn’t really do much from Monday to Wednesday except sleep, study, and in general get my life together. But that’s needed sometimes.

4 pm Thursday marked the end of our midterms week so we were all finally care free abroad-ers again woo!

Frog & Princess: We celebrated with a little walk through the gardens and happy hour at Frog & Princess. They had fun cocktails (I got a mai thai which came in a tiki cup), and American food!!!! It had been far too long since I had eaten nachos.

Bistro d’Henri: Emma arrived in Paris late Thursday night so the whole durham crew (ben, evan, and Elizabeth) + me welcomed her with a yummy classic French dinner at this restaurant Ben had been raving about since his grandma took him too it a few weeks prior. It was a cute little cozy bistro down a little street in the Odéon area. Ben, Evan, and I all wanted to get the duck, but there was only one left so we played rock paper scissors for it and Evan won L But I ended up getting grilled salmon with ratatouille which was veeery good. We also got the house wine cause it was cheaper but that was a mistake cause it was bad. Awesome ambiance though and very good food!

Then we picked up some refreshments and headed to Emma’s hotel room where we got a noise complaint (oops) and then headed to ~le mix~ (where else?). We showed up expecting the usual hopping international students night but were surprised when we were greeted with a rather empty looking mix with lots of older strange looking men dancing to techno music. But don’t worry, they soon after switched to American music and the club filled up. Can’t say the people that came were any less weird though (see selfie with my Moroccan friend)

Saturday morning I went on a quick jog and went to Snack and Chill to register for classes because the internet was down in my apartment. I got a bagel sandwich and it was actually quite good (and had avocado!)

Saturday afternoon I met up with Emma and Liz and we walked all around the 8th. Went to the top of gallery Lafayette and had lunch at la duree! For lunch we split a sampling of croque monsieurs, an omelette, and a club sandwich. We of course got macaroons for dessert in addition to this amazing framboise religeuse. I had seen religeuses in so many patisserie Windows and this one was to die for it had a rose cream and was quite delish. Then it started to sprinkle but Emma and I walked up the champs elysee passed all the Christmas markets being set up, went in to the Louis Vuitton store which was absurd, and took a selfie in front of the l'arc de triomphe! 

view from pont alexandre III

Le Coupe Chou: Friday night I had dinner with Emma Katherine, Katherine's friend from high school Lizzy, and Liv at this nice restaurant in the Latin quarter. It was cozy and traditional, but actually very spacious. My duck was alright, and the cheese was pretty good. Seemed like a good restaurant I just ordered the wrong thing. Wait staff was really night

After that we went to a few bars in the Latin quarter which was pretty happening at night with a ton of students I don't know why I hadn't gone sooner!

Student Bar: yes this place is literally called student bar. Fun environment but my caprihna had gummy fruit in it and tasted awful. There was also unknown gunk falling from the ceiling. Probably needed to be already drunk to properly enjoy this place.

L'antidote: since student bar kind of sucked we moved to this small bar and it was actually really great! They played good music and had good looking drinks with glow sticks in them. They also had a ton of different flavored vodkas. Couldn't really stomach any of that that night haha but would definitely go back.

Emma and I on a street in the Latin Quarter - christmas lights up already!

Friday night I slept over at Emma's in her big cozy hotel bed :)

Shakespeare & Co. : Saturday morning we slept in a bit and met up with katherine and Lizzy and the Shakespeare coffee shop. I really liked this place! Definitely British, not French. They speak English oops. But the coffee was good and I got a yummy granola bar thing. It was also pretty nice out so we could sit at the wooden tables outside.

Then Saturday morning the fam came!!!! I rushed over to hotel Raphael where I was greeted by my fantastic family in a luxurious hotel room straight out of Versailles with a bottle of champagne and home made cream puffs. Off to a fabulous start I would say.

Le Coq: the hotel recommended this cafe near the trocadero for lunch so of course mom hated it. Dad tried to speak French and the waiter promptly responded in perfect English "cinq." "So.. Five". However I thought the wait staff was nice, my pizza was quite good, and it was a beautiful day to sit outside.

After that we walked around the 16th a bunch near the flanagan's apartment. Then I left everyone to nap while I met my friends at the Eiffel Tower for a good old picnic with the twinkly lights. Doesn't get old.

Relais de l'entrecôte: to start the Kosnik vacation off right we had to have a massive steak for dinner. It was SO good. Waitress comes around and asks how we want our meet cooked. Dad responds with "wine list?" The steak was great, fries crispy, and genius how they save half of it to keep it warm to eat for later! They're also definitely running a business - move people through there quickly.

The rents went home after dinner al Michael Brian and I made our way to the odeon area to find a bar to get some drinks before ~le mix~. I showed them chez george and frog & princess but they were both packed so we left in favor of a fairly empty Irish pub. I think it was called o'neils. The waitress was very nice although I don't think the poor girl understood any of the drinks we asked for. Emma also stopped by and hung out for a while which was fun to see her before she left. After o'neils we Brian Michael and I hopped in a cab over to le mix. There was a short line but we didn't have to wait too long. Liv and Liz tried to sneak us under the rope cause the place was packed but the security guard got mad lol. As always the mix promised us a night of ratchet new friends, weird sippy cup drinks, fun dancing, and good music. Brian and I went down the slide, and Michael took his shirt off, so I think everyone had a good time haha :)

Michael's new friend

on top of the world... or at least the table

candid!

Pizza Pino: this is the only pizza place open late in Paris (until 5 am!) but we never go cause it's so out of the way on the champs elysee. But that was right near our hotel so it was the night! Michael Brian Liv Liz and I headed to the champs and chowed on some pizza around 430 before heading back to the hotel. We almost went to McDonald's as well but thankfully Michael and Brian dropped the idea.

Pitzman's: Sunday morning we all took the subway over to the Marais and walked around a bit before deciding to get some falafels. The lines at every falafel place were huge, l'as du falafel especially (I had never seen it that long) so we decided to go to Pitzman's. The "bible" said she actually preferred Pitzman's over L'As du Falafel and I do have to say it was really good. Though I still am loyal to L'As. Line took forever cause the guy was so slow (may have altered by opinion)

After falafel's Dad went to go do his train project thing and Mom, Michael, Brian and I walked over by Notre Dame, Le marché des fleurs, and stopped for a little coffee at Shakespeare & Co. where we ran in to Liv! We were pretty tired and very happy to sit down, so we ubered back to the hotel to chill before dinner.

Le marché des fleurs
not pictured: all the gross dog toys or whatever else they were selling next door

Sunday evening we had the most incredible picnic on the roof of the Raphael hotel. The sunset was beautiful and we had an amazing view of Paris! We had a lovely spread of cheese, baguette, crackers, nuts, and wine. My favorite "eiffel tower picnic" I've had :)

Bistro de Breteuil: Dad picked this restaurant near les Invalides for dinner on Sunday and remembered it as a great traditional very french restaurant. My oh my has it changed. The menus were on iPads and there were fireworks shooting out of the plates of oysters! Our waiter William was endearing and funny at first... until we realized he was a bit of a snobby jerk. Other than that the meal was very nice. Started out with some apératifs (a good kir royal), followed by an artichoke and smoked salmon entrée for me, then magret de canard, and a clouftis with fall fruits for dessert. My duck was alright. Mom told William I hated in while I was in the bathroom so he then proceeded to hate me. He probably spat in my clouftis (which I proceeded to order after he recommended the chocolate cake to me, whoops)

Monday morning I had class (ew), but afterwards I ran and met the fam at a bistro near the grand palais for lunch. Pretty sure it was called "Le Grand Palais". Good food and a very nice waiter.

Picasso Mania: I had been wanting to go to this exhibit for a while since my art professor had been raving about it and said how hard it was to get tickets. What I didn't realize was that it wasn't really of Picasso's work... but all the artists that have been inspired by him. Which was weird. Though I still enjoyed the exhibit. At least for the 30 minutes I got to spend in it before Dad, Michael, and Brian practically dragged Mom and I out of it.

me mom and picasso!

mésdamoiselles d'alabama

Had a nice walk home from the grand palais to the hotel where we again at wine and cheese before meeting the host family for ~apéros~! Meeting the host family was a grand old time. I think everyone really hit it off. Michael and Brian even got Pierre to pull out his hunting gun (yikes). It was really great to have both families in the same place and I'm glad everyone liked each other so much :)

La Ferme Saint-Simon: My host family recommended this restaurant for a nice occasion, so we decided to go to celebrate Dad's birthday and I'm SO glad we did. I would say it was my best meal in Paris so far. At the very least the most gourmet. We did the tasting menu (despite Michael's pickiness, thanks for sticking that one out bro) and they kept bringing course after delicious course. We got to try a bunch of crazy things I don't even know what they all were but they were good. Started with an oyster in some sort of cream sauce, then there was an artichoke and egg dish, and monkfish at one point, and lamb, and some type of soup, and so many things in between! The chef even came out to wish Dad a happy birthday. I'm so happy that I got to celebrate with you thanks for waiting for me! :)

my lighting wasn't that great so i made Brian photograph the rest of the meal (though I'm not sure he did)

Happy Birthday Dad!

the cutest little madeleines you ever did see

me and mom in front of my door!

Tuesday morning I had class again (ugh) and felt like I was going to pass out half way through so I went home and napped (lol). Then I met everyone for lunch at Aux Ducs de Borgogne where we got yummy crepes before walking to my school. I took them through the Luxembourg gardens and by Saint-Sulpice. It was a beautiful day so it was a nice walk. I was late to class and had to ditch but they got to see my school's area a little bit.

Le Coq Rico: Tuesday night we headed to Montmartre for dinner. I had been dying to go to Coq Rico and Michael and Brian were begging for chicken so it was perfect! And it was SO good. Basically you choose what type of chicken you want, which comes with a salad, and your choice of side (mac and cheese, french fries, mashed potatoes). They bring out the steaming chicken to show you before cutting it up for you in the kitchen (disclaimer: not for vegetarians). It literally made my mouth water. We also got a delicious chicken cream soup. Afterwards we grabbed gelato from Amorino and walked to Sacre Coeur to see the view of the city at night!

Wednesday was the long awaited Epérnay day! Dad took charge and led us to gare de l'est early Wednesday morning. Though we almost missed our train, we didn't, and were on our way. After a little nap on the ride over and a little Starbucks action I was much more energized.

Moet & Chandon: We started the day of right with our own private tour of the Moet et Chandon cellars! The cellars were incredible. It was cool getting to compare them to the Vouvray I saw back in September, which were nowhere near as big. Our tour guide was also really cool, very put together and pretty haha #life goals. I also learned a lot about champagne, and geez it takes a lot of time and effort no wonder it's so expensive. There are three types of grapes used in Moet & Chandon: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are red grapes! I might be dumb but I didn't know red grapes were used in champagne. Dom Perignon only uses Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in their champagnes. They have to be careful not to crush them too hard so that they don't get any of the skin in the juice and it stays white. Moet & Chandon also has two types of champagnes: an impérial and a vintage. The impérial is made every year and it's always made to the same quality, to maintain the moet & chandon taste and quality that they have had for hundreds of years. The vintages are only made in years when the creators think the harvest was especially good, so they're really special. Dom Perignon is ONLY vintage, so it's only made in years when the harvest is deemed good enough. Again, no wonder it's so expensive. I don't think my Andre is made with that much care. We finished up the tour with a tasting of the moet imperial and the moet imperial rosé. They were both delicious obviously. If I had to choose though I think I would pick the regular champagne.

where the vintages are kept ~exclusive~

plaque that talks about how napoleon visited the cellars!

Yes that number does mean there are 10,720 bottles in this alcove
the name on top is also the code name for the type of champagne before they give it a market name which is pretty cool and secretive

After the tour is when our dream trip hit a little road bump. Since it was a holiday in France basically everything was closed. Including the place that rents bikes :( after wandering around a little trying to find another option we decided to walk to lunch. However, when we arrived at the address there was no restaurant to be seen. We double and triple checked the address and we were at the right number on the right street. And then we realized that the restaurant was in "Ay" not "Epérnay".... Seriously what are the odds that two towns next to each other had streets with the exact same name? Apparently pretty high since we found out later that there are actually THREE towns in the area, all with the same street in them.

christmas decorations going up in epernay too!

So we walked the 20 minutes back to the town center, and Brian chased down the only cab in all of Epernay. It literally must have been the only cab in Eepernay because he wouldn't take all 5 of us in the 4 person car. Said his colleague would come pick my Mom and I up. And instead another 20 minutes later he returned after dropping off the boys to pick us up. Smh.

Vieux Puis: Gotta say, Dad picked a very nice place for lunch. It was in a quiet part of town, there were only two tables in the restaurant. Us and a table of four women who curiously resembled "le petit cercle". They gave us a yummy sweet potato soup taster to start and then I got a fish as my main course. I forget the type of fish but it was good. The apple tart I had for dessert was better though lol. And of course the meal was accompanied by champagne. 

We walked around Epernay for a bit after lunch but it was pretty dead so we headed back to the train station not much later to hang around for a bit before heading back to Paris. There was a beautiful sunset on our train ride home. That night mom and I just chilled in the hotel room. I got to use the gym in the hotel which was much more exciting than it should have been. And the boys had a little boys night of their own off at some café.

And so finished the end of the Kosnik vacation à Paris. Sad to see it go, but couldn't be too sad because we had Sevilla to look forward to!