Paris, The City of Love: Grand art, restauration rapide elegant et salon de thes

Loving the City of Love. Having tea along with a tasty masterpiece, a Napolean,  at the Louvre.

 

In our countdown to Valentine's Day, we at BTS are focusing on love.

Our last blog featured chocolate truffles infused with tea and potato chips. While that's a high bar to top, we meet that challenge with a new story on Paris, the "City of Love" which also has teas that we love.

Chris outside our Paris hotel

Standing near "The Symbol of Love"

While we need no convincing, there are many sources that support Paris' claim to the "City of Love", including an article last fall on MSN.com, "Why is Paris called the City of Love?".

Among the reasons cited for Paris to own the love city title is its early involvement and influence of the Romanticism era and its abundance of museums dedicated to art, including the Louvre and Musee D'orsay.  Other qualities on the "pro -love" side are its beautiful buildings, the many charming bridges that straddle the Seine, the Eiffel Tower (aka "The Symbol of Love"), the gourmet dining and the glitzy nightlife.

Visiting Notre Dame in City of Love

And, per the MSN article, we also believe one of Paris' most endearing attributes is its language. It can elevate even the most mundane terms to something of grandeur. When any tearoom is referred to as a Salon du The, all we can say is, magnifique!

Celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary in France. Tres bien, mes amies!

My first trip to Paris was in 2008.  My husband, Chris and I traveled there to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We visited all the places you need to when in Paris:  the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre.  At the latter, we took in the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and tea time with another delicious masterpiece of France, a Napolean.

We also took a stroll down the Champs Elysees and, being stereotypical Americans, had to stop at a MacDonald's along the way - one of the most elegant and beautiful fast food stops we've ever encountered. In addition to the Paris sites, we took a side trip to Giverny, home of master painter, Monet, and an excursion to the Palace of Versailles, the lavish former home to French royals, including Marie Antoinette.

One of the most beautiful MacDonald's, fast food along the Champs Elysees

But, when one loves tea, one must also take tea in the City of Love - and, most assuredly, we did. Along with all the little cafes and bakeries near our hotel, we had tea at:

Angelina 

Mariage Frere and 

Ritz Paris

In our next blog, we'll talk about the three above -from our favorite cup of Earl Grey to our most delicious cup of tea ever.