My Last Day in Paris

On our third and final day in Paris, we decided to make the most of it before leaving with the train back home. We sat across La Samaritaine at KONG restaurant on our first night in Paris and it looked so impressive that we Googled exactly what this building was. Turned out to be, the re-opening of Samaritaine was on our last day in Paris.

This iconic department store had been closed for renovations for 16 years. Among the grand opening was French president Macron and a spectacle of hundreds of staff members greeting and clapping upon entry shouting 'bienvenue' (welcome) to every guest. Inside the department store we couldn't believe how beautiful everything was. We felt very lucky to have attended its first day opening to the public. I already know La Samaritaine will once more become Paris' go-to landmarks, and we were there to witness everything on its first re-opening day. How special.

As we were browsing between the endless departments of fashion. pastries, and cosmetics, we were unknowingly photographed by a male photographer. Uneasy, we quikly walked away. He kept on following us however. And we didn't think much of it, until the photos appeared on LVMH's Instagram and Facebook page! (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the billion dollar company that owns everything from Dior, Vuitton, Givenchy, Bulgari, and almost every luxury brand).

Look at how beautiful these pastries look! Like little pieces of art. If I weren't leaving Paris that day, I would have bought some and eaten it at my hotel.

After our stop at Samaritaine, we walked to the other side of the Seine, the left bank (or rive gauche). And wandered around Saint-German, waiting for Ralph's to open for lunch. Ralph's Paris is the famous restaurant owned by Ralph Lauren. You might have seen it in the Netflix show 'Emily in Paris'. This restaurant has the most beautiful courtyard where you can sit. Although the restaurant inside is also very lovely - very Ralph Lauren - a style which I love.

I ate a veggie burger which was honestly the best vegetarian burger I've ever had. My friend ordered a Ceasar salad with mashed potatoes. But of course, the dessert was Queen. Ralph's favorites; a selection of smaller desserts, featuring a brownie, cheesecake and chocolate-peanut butter parfait. The tea and coffee was served with caramel popcorn, so that was a dessert in it self as well.

It was such a lovely and perfect ending of our Paris trip. I've enjoyed every minute of it. What a fitting way of ending my Paris 2021 blog series on the 14th of July, better known as Bastille Day, a national holiday in France. Of course, I couldn't leave Paris without bringing my favorite pastry, something that inspired me to start this blog 12 years ago. Macarons from Pierre Hermé.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my travels to Paris! I'd appreciate it if you follow me on my Instagram page ParisLovesPastry, where I post many more pictures and videos of Parisian pastries, or you can see ALL of my Paris photos on my Flickr account Dolce-Danielle. For now...

Au Revoir!