On my third day in Paris, I woke bright and early to go to Bois de Vicennes - a public park on the outskirts of east Paris. I had seen some picture of the Ile de Reuilly online and knew I had to make a stop there. I took the metro there and it took me about 45-50 minutes to get there.




When I arrived, I decided to grab some brunch first. I found a small cafe called La Place and order the salmon filet with a side of grapefruit juice. I love grapefruit juice and pretty much ordered it overtime I ate in Paris - AND it was always on the menu! I was also so surprised the meal was only around $12 total, which was a huge price change to my meals in Passy.

Salmon Filet =)

After brunch I made my way to the park, and stumbled across Chateau de Vicennes along the way. It's a giant 14th + 17th century royal fortress and it was very impressive. You can get inside the fortress for free to take a look.

From the side 

Inside the fortress

One of the structures inside the fortress

I then headed to the park, which did I mention is huge by the way? It has four lakes and the Ile de Reuilly was near the 12ha Lac Daumesnil. I got lost for about 40 minutes before finding my way. 

One of the park paths

When I finally found it I was so happy! The structure is on an island and it looked scenic from all angles. Underneath the main structure, there are actually some small caves you can walk through. Below are all unedited photos. Overall, I spent another hour there walking around and playing some Pokemon Go haha!






Caves underneath the structure

After the park, I decided to check out the Eiffel Tower. I totally forgot it was the weekend and didn't take into account the crowds. I got up until the bridge on one end and decided I couldn't go any further - there was just way too many people. I'm not sure if it's always like this, but I highly recommend to not go during the weekend.

En Route


View at sunset walking back towards to my airbnb

The next and final day I decided to go to the Arc de Triomphe and check out Champs Elysees. I walked there and discovered a cute Parisian brand, Des Petits Hauts. I've been obsessed ever since and ending up buying a cute leather pouch there. Anyways, at the arc, I didn't go down but viewed the monument along the side.


Details of the Arc


Since that didn't take much time, I went to Laduree to have lunch. I ordered the Sea Bass with pink mushrooms and was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, I got suckered into forgetting to say 'tap water' when I asked for water and got served an pricy glass bottle of Evian - lesson learned! For dessert, I ordered a Pistachio Creamed Puff Pastry, which was delicious. I definitely recommend coming here just for fun!

Sea Bass with pink mushrooms

Pistachio Cream Puff Pastry

After lunch, I headed straight to Sezane, a Parsian online brand, that fashions itself as the first online based brand. It has quite a strong following; loyal fans of the brand wait online to purchase their favorite items with each release. I've been eyeing a bag there for a bit and was so happy to be able to purchase it there! The store has a line outside and you have to wait bit to get in - unless you have a return or something.

Store Front

A service they also offer in the store is monogramming on the bags for free.  I ended up doing that to add a personal touch. 


OOTD with the new Oxford Bag

To end the afternoon, I went to try Angelina's and their famed hot chocolate. The consistency was very thick and creamy. It was delicious but a bit much for me. I also ordered a raspberry sorbet on the side which was lovely. 


Because I had to catch a very early flight the next day, I retired to my room early. One of my favorite things to watch at night from my room was the eiffel tower lighting up every night. 


My first trip to Paris was definitely an eye-opening one. I still think Paris still has many charms to it that I have yet to discover. I really didn't expect to get so sucked into shopping there, but I'm converted. One thing I learnt about myself during this trip was that the older I get the less I enjoy crowds. I definitely want to visit more of France in the future; I think the country side would be perfect.