Paris: Eiffel Tower + All-Star Game

Today is my final recap of our recent trip to Paris! Excited? Wait… why… that I’m recapping, or that this is the finale to the series? Ha, me too.

As much as I love sharing our whereabouts and travels with you, it will be nice to get back to normal Housewife Glamour scheduled programming. You know, like posting workouts, homemade meals, healthy recipes, beauty tips and the occasional crafting project. That is how you found this page, isn’t it? All of that is coming back at ya soon, friends! Promise.

Okay, so back to Paris. Last I left you we were changing hotels and making our way across town to stay in Bercy. In case you need to refresher…

Previous recaps include:

• Christmas in Paris: Part I

• Christmas in Paris: Part II

• Paris: Notre Dame + Lovers Bridge

• Paris: Chaud Chocolat + Moulin Rouge

• Paris: Crêpes + Château de Versailles

Exploring Paris: Final Days

Scott spent most of the next morning in meetings working on entertainment scripts for the French All-Star Game the next day. He has been working with the French league and hired to help with annual in-game entertainment since 2006, so I was excited to finally get to be a part of it with him this year.

(The All-Star Game is a French LNB annual basketball game between a team of the best foreign players against a team of the best French players and is very similar to our annual NBA All-Star Game here in the U.S.)

I was able to sneak Scott away for a lunch break and we walked over to Bercy Village, a well-known area to shop and dine. It was just warm enough to be able to sit outside, so we took advantage of it and enjoyed a nice lunch at Partie de Campagne.

I wanted to include this simple picture to show you exactly what to expect while dining in Paris. A tiny table, a glass bottle of water, and plain white bread. Rarely does sliced bread or appetizer rolls ever come with any kind of dipping sauce or oils, so we started to get used to eating it that way.

I ordered a mixed green salad with vegetables and asked to add chicken to it. I had a giggle when the meat came out on a separate dish. They probably thought I was crazy!

Scott ordered some kind of ham sandwich that looked like an inside out grilled cheese to me. It was delicious!

We didn’t have much time to doddle, so we made our way back to the hotel soon after. On our way we saw something straight out of a Christmas Carol. Can you figure it out?

C’monnn! Tell me you wouldn’t buy these just so you could say you actually had chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Scott wasn’t a big fan, but I loved them!

As soon as we got back to the hotel it was time to get back to work. Check out the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy arena that hosted the game!

I had never seen one that looks that undercover and decorated with grass before. Pretty neat!

We woke up extra early the day of the game in order to to fit in some last minute sight seeing. As some kind of crazy coincidence, a family friend from college just so happened to be visiting Paris the same time we were there. We chatted via Facebook messenger and made a plan to meet for breakfast and a quick visit to the Eiffel Tower afterwards.

(Hi Katherine!)

One of the first things we saw after stepping off of the metro was this.

I had to pinch myself for a second when I laid eyes on THE Eiffel Tower casually popping up behind the apartment buildings on our walk over.

Anddd there she is!

It took a series of tries to get a good shot with the blinding sun facing us, but somehow we managed and also got a few funny ones to laugh at later on.

We toyed with the idea of purchasing tickets to ride all the way up to the top, but got discouraged as soon as we saw the mile long lines in front of the ticket counter. If you ever plan on doing so, I suggest going online and getting your tickets ahead of time!

Just on the other side we spotted a strip of outdoor shops and tents set up next to an ice skating rink.

While I could have purchased one of everything, we kept our souvenirs to a minimum and grabbed a couple of warm headbands for myself and one hilarious warm hat for Scott.

I swear he just turned forty.

While we didn’t have time to go ice skating (once again), we left Katherine and her husband Rob to enjoy a spin on skates for us. It was such a great morning!

Not too much longer, it was time to head back to the arena for game day. I was busy running around majority of the time, so only have a handful of photos to share from the event.

My favorite part was the black out introduction with blue lights choreographed to go on and off to the music. With a sold out arena, I got chills!

(Amaris, my entertainment assistant partner in crime.)

It certainly was an event to remember and makes me want to fly down to New Orleans to attend our NBA All-Star Game next month! We’ll see.

After the event, we quickly changed at the hotel and grabbed a bite to eat back at Bercy Village. This time we ate at Chez Bruno and had a unique dining experience.

The atmosphere was fantastic! They had interesting decorations and even a secret wine cellar downstairs.

The food was good. Different, but good.

By the way, have you ever tried foie gras (left)? Ha. That appetizer somehow made it onto our table without anyone ordering it. Explain that one!

As soon as we finished dinner, we walked back over to our hotel and left with our contacts for a post-game celebration outing.

It was a great way to finish off our trip and we can only hope for another invite back overseas in the future.

Thank you all for joining this journey with me and tuning in to these Paris recaps. See you bright and early in the morning with this week’s Friday Favorites. And if you’re a blogger, don’t forget to link up too!