I arrive in Paris at 9:30 am via LAX, jet lagged, fuzzy brained and frizzy haired, but thank God I had the forethought to arrange for “Special Services” through my hotel concierge. $150 ridiculously well spent because as brain-dead as I was, they met me at my gate, escorted me past all lines and right through the fast track at customs, swooped up my luggage and into my waiting town car- yaaaaay!!! I just have to pause here for a sec, and ask the obvious question? Why doesn’t every airport on the planet have this service??!! This is awesome sauce!
No matter how tired, I’m immediately regenerated with excitement driving into Paris. The City of Light just never gets old for me! I was even more thrilled pulling up to my hotel and home for the next three days, The Peninsula Paris. A relative newcomer to the Paris luxury 5 Star scene, the Peninsula opened in 2014 and is perfectly located within walking distance of the Champs Elysees and some of the most famous monuments, museums and luxury boutiques in the world.
The hotel is stunning and their service is phenomenal, it was 10:30 AM and not only did they check me in early to my gorgeous, contemporary Art Deco room, they upgraded me and gave me the hotel town car to drive me to my first destination. The “City of Love” is no joke, cuz after 10 mins I’m head over heals with this place.
I was determined to squeeze in as much shopping, eating and sightseeing as super humanly possible. First stop was brunch at Le Café Marly. This half modern, half Napoleon III era brasserie, occupies the ideal location that has the most exceptional view of the Louvre and its pyramids. Always sophisticated and fashionable, and a front row seat to some interesting people watching and possibly more selfie taking than the Kardashians.
I’d been to the Louvre before, so I decided to skip it this trip and focus on the Musee D’Orsay on day 3. So I then moved on to kick off some serious shopping, starting with a stop at the nearby Le Palais Royale for a stroll through the gardens and arcades to browse the specialty shops and boutiques, then onto Rue Saint Honoré for all the emblematic addresses for haute couture and Parisian chic. I had to hit Paris’s cult store Colette. An 8000 square-foot three story concept store, housing all things hip! They have an incredible selection of merchandise from clothing and jewelry to furniture, magazines and a water bar.
After a few hours of wandering the streets, I was drawn in by the beautiful window display at the famed Laduree Tea Salon and decided to make a pitstop for a rest and a sugar pick me up from some delicious, candy colored macaroons in myriad flavors with a cup of jasmine tea. Literally like being a kid in a candy store!
A quick window shopping drive by on the Champs Elysee (I don’t find it to be my favorite shopping street, because it’s a lot of the stuff I can get at home) then back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. I decided to stay close to home the first night because I knew I would be exhausted early. The Peninsula Hotel’s L’Oiseau Blanc restaurant on the rooftop with floor to ceiling windows offers stunning views of most of Paris’s landmarks including the twinkling Eiffel Tower. It was absolutely perfect! Beautiful 1920s aviation themed interiors, amazing food, and fantastic service! The cherry on top of Day 1 in arguably the most beautiful city in the world!
