A Marvel-lous Time In Paris: September 2023 trip & food report

[Wordsworth]

Our hotel check out time was 12pm, and our flight back to Edinburgh was due to leave at 4.10pm. The plan was simply to explore the surrounding area for a bit, return to check out, then get a taxi to the airport to be there in plenty of time. We’d already asked the hotel receptionist to book the taxi for us, before going out the previous evening.

At just after 10am we left the packed up bags in our room and headed to the boulangerie around the corner, for some final patisserie.

We ate our almond croissant and cinnamon swirl at one of the pavement tables. We each had a black tea too.

We timed it just right to get a table, as the place was soon very busy. I think we hit it in a brief lull.

This was our view while breakfasting.

Then we went for a little wander with no real destination in mind.

We bought some stylised Paris postcards to display at home, before finding ourselves with a familiar view.

Back to the hotel, where we got our belongings together, checked out, and waited for the taxi.

It was a good job we had plenty of time, as it was late and the receptionist had to phone to check that the company had both ours and another booking, but it arrived soon enough.

The journey to the airport was smooth and we arrived before bag drop for our flight had opened, so we found a seat and I bought some crisps and a coke for us to share.

Once bag drop opened, we checked in the suitcase, then cleared security without a problem. We checked out where we would go through passport control, which looked sparse in terms of shopping locations, and decided to spend more time on this side.

We browsed the shops for a bit, then decided to get some food. There was a sit down bar-restaurant that looked ok, so we went there.

Sadly it didn’t live up to its appearance, which is maybe to be expected. We did finally get to experience some grumpy French service, though, so it added to the holiday.

The first champagne I ordered was out of stock, so I ordered the rose fizz, which as you can see is not what I got. I still drank it; champagne in France can’t be bad, after all.

We also ordered some cheese and charcuterie to share, which was only average.

Even the bread was on the stale side.

I decided I couldn’t leave France on such a culinary downer, so made my way back to the shops to purchase some sweet treats.

Then we passed through passport control and found a seat to wait for our flight. It was a bit delayed, but when we did get on board everything was fine. We didn’t buy anything this time; we were already good to go.

I wasn’t sure if I would like either Paris or DLP before we went, but in the end both surpassed my expectations and I’ll definitely go back!

I’ve already commented on the bits I liked about DLP. Both of our hotels in Paris were good; I did prefer Hotel Monge and the area around it as a place to stay for longer. And I loved loved loved all of the food we had in the city. What a holiday.