I’ve only been to Paris once, and it was for a super short period of time. 36 hours max. And 24 of those I think I was asleep. It wasn’t the best planned out trip, but I still got to see the Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa, eat a crepe, croissant and my weight in bread. It was still an amazing experience despite my jet lag, lack of itinerary and overall disorganization before popping over to London to meet Camp Leader Joe, aka my Dad. I don’t regret my time there, in fact I think spending that short amount of time there made me more eager to go back to give the city the time of day it deserves. There’s just too much history and beauty to cram into 36 hours regardless of a seamless itinerary.
There’s something just magical about Paris and the streets, the balconies, the food, the culture. It has a feel to it. A very true Parisian feel that everyone talks about. It’s there, it’s everywhere from the way people dress, move through the city and spend their time. Something I loved most about the french was their sense of style. The style was feminine, proper, not over the top and most of all, super chic. They wore mini dresses with flats, trenches everywhere, and there were usually lots of hats. So when Maison Jules, a lovely french inspired line available at Macy’s, asked me to find my favorite french inspired spots in Atlanta I knew exactly where I wanted to go. First up, was lunch at Le Bilboquet. It’s a new spot in town at Buckhead Atlanta and they serve up the most amazing food (and service). Their patio mimics the beautiful sidewalk cafes in Paris where you can grab an espresso and sit to people watch. Some of my favorite dishes here are the crab salad (pictured below) and also the mussels. I’m sort of obsessed with mussels if you didn’t know that already and their’s are amazing!
Once we stuffed our faces with croque monsieur and frites (french fries people!) we hopped over to Corso Coffee for a cappuccino and croissant. The BEST croissant I ever had was obviously in Paris. You could grab a warm croissant on just about every street corner. Bakeries are a dime a dozen in Paris and for my sweet tooth, that was the greatest thing ever. Ever since my trip, I’ve been trying to find a good one in Atlanta. Corso has one of the best in the city and their patio also doesn’t disappoint.
Lastly, L’OCCITANE for their south of France feel. I hosted an event here a couple weeks ago and I couldn’t not include it here. You can hit all three of my favorite spots right at Buckhead Atlanta for a truly Parisian afternoon.
All photos by JNelly
All outfits provided by Maison Jules available at Macys.
