Day 5: Sunny Boulevard

They always say, ‘they save the best ’til last’. And just like that, the hottest day of the year marked the last leg of my time here in Paris. ☀️☀️ Since my train was scheduled for the evening, I decided to not to head out early this morning, and instead enjoyed every last bits of air con in my hotel room until I needed to check out at midday. 😂❄️ (Though I did took a brief stroll around the neighbourhood at around 9am and got a sandwich for breakfast from a supermarket nearby.)

With the intense heat, I refused to stay outdoor for any longer than necessary. Therefore, after leaving my luggage at the hotel’s locker, I headed to some major department stores on the Boulevard Haussmann. I first stopped by Galeries Lafayette, where the building was well known for its stained glass dome. It even has a extended path called ‘glasswalk’ on the 3rd floor that allows visitors to walk out and look right underneath the dome. But I was a little too scared to try due to my fear of height… 😅 (At least the Eiffel Tower wasn’t transparent!)

Like many high-end department stores, the place are filled with expensive brands. Now, I got to say I don’t have a particular interest in shopping in general. (Let alone ones that are this expensive!) So, my main focus was on the food available here. The place has restaurants and cafes dotted around each floor of the building. (The place was massive, since, in addition to the main building, there were two other separate buildings that were also part of Galeries Lafayette.) I initially wanted to visit the rooftop restaurant until I discovered it was outdoor… 🔥🔥😓 Not a chance I was going to stay!

So instead, I went to an Asian restaurant called Panasia on the floor below which turned out to be quite decent. Though I was more interested in trying their ice creams afterwards. 😋 (A quick side story: the place was absolutely packed, so I was sat facing the sun by the window and sharing a table with a kind old lady. She was very gracious in letting me sit directly opposite to avoid the sun and be her brief lunch date lol. 😊)

I then moved on to visit the Printemps, another top department store a few blocks down along the Boulevard Haussmann. Similarly, it also has a beautiful stained glass ceiling in its dining area. ❤️

Felt like the hot weather really made me craved for something cold, so I was instantly drawn to an ice cream mochi stand in the store. (For those of you who may not know, mochi is a Japanese treat made from glutinous rice and has a soft yet slightly chewy texture – a bit like marshmallows.) They were popular sweet treats in Hong Kong and my family used to fight over them. 😂

I decided to go for less conventional flavours, and chose the mojito (top) and Sakura (bottom). Sakura is Japanese for cherry blossoms, and this had a subtle floral flavour which was pleasant but not too overpowering to eat. 😊 I absolutely loved the mojito one since I am a big fan of lime and I could definitely taste the alcohol! 😂 (If you eat too many, would you end up drunk lol?)

However, with that, I wrapped up my final activity in Paris and headed back to collect my luggage from the hotel. Learning from my mistake on the first day, I made sure I arrived way earlier at the train station this time!😂 (I actually almost missed the train since I didn’t realise at first that the way we entered the platform was via a different route to others because we needed to pass through passport control and customs! 😓) These past few days almost felt it went too quick. 😕 But I definitely will be coming back to Paris another time! 😁

(P.S. our train was delayed in our journey because of technical issues down the track. I am still on the train now as I write this! 😂)