TRAVEL: PARIS

Paris is truly a special place.

I’ve always been a big city guy but I wasn’t expecting to connect with the Paris city vibes as much as I did. You know when you go on a vacation and for a second, you picture yourself living there permanently, well thats exactly how I felt..repeatedly.

We checked into the Grand Pigalle Hotel. The room had a beautiful wrap-around balcony with awesome city views. It was our favourite spot to enjoy our morning coffee or evening glass of wine. Our stay came with complimentary breakfast which included fresh baked baguette & croissants. I’m pretty sure the diet went downhill at this point but it was certainly worth it.

We made a plan to wake up early each morning (regardless of how late we stayed out the night before) in order to avoid the droves of tourists. It’s hard to find a square inch to move at all the best tourist spots. We made that mistake one day at the Arc De Triomphe and the tour buses started unloading people at 9am. One after another, after another. I’m not a big fan of crowds when it comes to sightseeing, so pushing ourselves to not sleep in made it a much more enjoyable process. I was so inspired by the magnitude of the Arc!

Seeing each historical or iconic French monument was amazing. It was our first time there so of course we felt the need to see every bit of it. Instead of taking your typical tourist shot, I wanted to have fun with each location and add an element of fitness to it. I’m pretty sure that one day, I can claim to my future kids “your dad was the first to performed a superman pushup in front of the Tour De Eiffel!” Priceless, haha.

I highly recommend seeing the Louvre Museum too. This is where the Mona Lisa is housed and many other great works of art. 

My eyes were constantly being stimulated. I’m a sucker for beautiful architecture and I found every sight visually pleasing.

I don’t think I’ve ever walked around so much in my life! We really wanted to see what Paris had to offer and exploring on foot was the way to go. We came across this bridge – Pont Alexandre III and had to snap a shot. There is definitely a romantic vibe and energy in Paris.

Let me talk about the FOOD for a second. I’ve seriously never eaten so good in my life. We had some great restaurant recommendations but even the vendors on the corner had amazing baked goods. When in Paris, I highly suggest scrapping your diet and picking up a fresh baked baguette, jam, cheese and a nice wine. I’m pretty sure we lived off of these items in between meals. And the croissants are unreal. I am ruined for life and can never buy one at a North American cafe anymore. I highly recommend going to Ober Mamma for Italian, Le Lobby at The Peninsula Hotel for fine dining and Braun Notes for a quick healthy lunch.

With all the indulging, I have to admit I started to feel a bit guilty. I looked up gyms in Paris and came across the Ken Club. The facility has a sweet gym space and stunning pool area. The facility management graciously allowed me to use the space and get a few sets and reps in. Order had been restored!

This was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to experience it.