Digital Nomad Diaries: Paris Day 5
A Hot Girl morning, a hidden antique map shop, and the humbling reality of a €250 price tag.
After a night that ended at 3am at a club on the Seine (yes, that Paris Day 4 really happened), today was always going to be a recovery day. The question was just how much Paris would let me recover.
The answer: not entirely.
A Hot Girl Walk along the Seine
Somehow I managed to peel myself out of bed and met up with Amanda and the girls for morning coffee at Café Kitsuné and a walk along the Seine. If you're going to be tired in a city, Paris is a very good city to be tired in. Everywhere you look just makes you smile.
There's something about walking along the river with good company, great coffee, and the kind of girl talk that only happens after a big group night out. The weekend had been a lot in the best possible way, and this was exactly the right way to process it.
Some goodbyes were said, as part of the Creator Academy group was heading home today. It was bittersweet, but I was lucky enough to have a few more days in Paris with some of the girls still in town.
Lunch in Le Marais at Little Café
A few of us made our way over to Le Marais for a leisurely lunch at Little Café. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Small, charming, and the perfect spot for a chill meal with an adorable waiter. It was the kind of lunch that lasts longer than planned because nobody is in a rush and the conversation is too good to cut short.
If you're spending time in Le Marais, it's worth adding to your list for a low-key afternoon meal.
Palais-Royal: the columns and the gardens
My body was telling me to go back to the hotel. My proximity to a few spots I'd been wanting to visit told me otherwise.
First stop was the Palais-Royal, home to the famous striped black and white columns by artist Daniel Buren that you've definitely seen on Instagram. In person they're more fun than the photos suggest. People of all ages climbing on them, sitting between them, using them as props. The surrounding gardens are peaceful and beautiful, a nice contrast to the more chaotic parts of central Paris.
Worth a visit even on tired legs.
The antique map shop with no sign
This was the highlight of the day, and possibly one of my favorite unexpected discoveries of the entire Paris trip.
I'd heard a rumor about an antique map shop tucked inside one of Paris's covered passages near the Palais-Royal. If you know anything about me, you know I love maps. So tired legs or not, I was going to find it.
At Galerie Vivienne I found a shop with no sign. Just a window full of antique maps, illustrations, and globes that just lit me up on the inside. It was an absolute treasure trove that I could’ve spent hours in (thought I would’ve felt guilty leaving empty-handed).
I found a stunning map from 1778. It was perfect. I wanted it desperately. The price tag was €250.
Alas, I did not buy the map. But I thought about it a lot.
A nap. Finally.
Back to the hotel in Montmartre for a nap that was, frankly, non-negotiable at this point. No further elaboration needed.
Dinner in Montmartre at Chez Marie
Thankfully, one of the girls came to my neighborhood so I didn't have to venture far for dinner. Chez Marie in Montmartre was a lovely, easy end to a day that had no business being as full as it was.
One more day in Paris tomorrow. Somehow my legs keep going.
The quick itinerary
Morning coffee at Café Kitsuné and a walk along the Seine
Lunch at Little Cafe in Le Marais
Palais-Royal and the Buren columns
Antique map hunting at Galerie Vivienne (bring your wallet or your willpower)
A very necessary nap
Dinner at Chez Marie in Montmartre
