Riads and Restaurants in Fes, Morocco

Trip date: September 2023 

In Fes, we were staying at Riad Tizwa which has a great location, right in the medina. Since there are no cars allowed in these old towns, our driver Madhi stopped at the end of the street and then helped us quickly with our bags half a block to the riad. It's very rare to be in the medina but still close to car access which was great! We'd see Madhi again in a few days when we would continue traveling to the desert. 

In Morocco, a riad is generally a renovated traditional home or mansion that is now a guesthouse. Whether a riad or a private home, the exteriors are very plain and rarely have external windows while the interiors are beautifully decorated with leaded glass, tiles and wood. We entered into Tizwa's traditional central courtyard which was bright and airy and had an open ceiling covered by a retractable awning. We were brought tea as one of the staff checked us in and showed us to our rooms. There are 7 rooms on 3 floors, as well as a sitting room, and a beautiful rooftop terrace. 

Originally I was checked into Room 7, which was fine but the bathroom had a shower/toilet combo that I didn't love and the room felt really basic. Luckily they were able to move me to the wonderful Grand Suite 5 the next day. The was a huge room with a massive four-poster bed, sitting area, big tiled bathroom, and double wood doors that opened right to the courtyard. They even moved all my stuff to the new room for me while we were out exploring!

Red tassels adorned bathrobes, lampshades, and the lids of bathroom apothecary jars. Traditional leather Moroccan sandals were also in each room.  

In the morning, the riad will make you breakfast any time you like. You can also choose to have it in the courtyard or on the rooftop. We did both!

We also paid for them to do our laundry and it was returned the next day impeccably folded and wrinkle free. 

And as with our hotel in Tangier, Riad Tizwa does not serve any alcohol but they stored our gin & wine in their fridge and we were able to get glasses and ice anytime. We had our own drinks up on the roof or in the sitting area of my room at the end of the day. 

We were all really happy with Riad Tizwa and would absolutely recommend it (they also have a location in Marrakech but it was booked for our dates). However, if you are looking for a riad that is a bit posher, you may want to check into the Relais & Châteaux Riad Fes, an absolutely gorgeous restored 14th century palace.

We stopped in for some rosé in their courtyard one afternoon and just fell in love. Our waiter invited us to check out their huge rooftop terrace and we ended up spending the remainder of the day up there taking in the dramatic views of Fes with our cold drinks. 

Fes has a lot of really good restaurants to choose from and we had some lovely meals in the city. The Ruined Garden is a popular one, it's part of Riad Idrissy The riad and the garden were left abandoned in 1912, like many in the medina, when the capital moved to Rabat. For over 40 years the ruins of the garden became an unofficial garbage dump. It was all purchased in 2006 and underwent 6 years of clearing, hauling, and major renovations until opening in 2012. They've left the garden just the right amount of wild, turning it into a wonderful setting for a restaurant.

Unfortunately, the evening we were booked the weather turned quite bad so we couldn't sit in the garden. Fortunately, the garden also has a refurbished stone building with a fireplace and big glass doors. They serve mainly Fassi specialties, and are known for their slow-cooked mechoui lamb, which you have to order a day in advance. Mine came with a side of vegetable tagine and was super tender and delicious.

It only rains on average 9 days in September and on this night it really stormed! After dinner we had gone back to the roof at Riad Fes (I mean we really liked it!) and minutes after getting my martini the sky opened up and diluted it!

We quickly moved downstairs to the interior courtyard, but not before all of us were drenched! The staff was very nice about not mentioning that we were soaking the couches with our wet clothes. Highly recommend that even if you aren't staying at Riad Fes, stop in for a drink!

The next day we were off to another riad in the medina. We were going to be spending the afternoon at Riad Laaroussa, having lunch in the rooftop restaurant and having a traditional hammam experience in their spa! We were all very excited!

The guest house is in a 17th century palace and is gorgeous!  The 3-story building is built around a large, completely open garden/courtyard with lovely planters and fountains and even a turtle! We went up and checked out the rooftop, the restaurant resembles a greenhouse with lots of windows looking out. And the menu was filled with lots of delicious traditional Moroccan choices. The spa can only take 2 at a time, so Caitlin decided to relax over lunch and a book while Gail and I took the first appointments.

Hammams are very typical public baths that are found in most neighborhoods throughout Morocco. Some days and/or times would be specifically for the men or women to use. Now there are also spas that have hammam experiences. This palace had a private hammam for the owners, so after changing into robes and slippers, we were led to the original 17th century steam room!

It is a small domed room with L-shaped marble benches. We each laid on one of the benches and relaxed in the warm steam for a while before the therapists came in and washed us with soap and warm water. Then they applied a clay masks to our faces before putting on loofah gloves and scrubbed every inch with eucalyptus soap! I felt like a baby's ass when the woman was done with me! 

After showering and sitting for a bit with some water, tea, and dried fruits, we were taken for a 45-minute massage with argan oil and orange blossom essential oils. 1 ½ hours of bliss for about $77!! Highly recommend!

We traded spots with Caitlin and enjoyed some wine and delicious snacks while she got pampered! 

On our last night in the city, we chose to go to Fez Café for drinks and dinner. Inside the riad Jardin des Biehn, which were formerly the ruined outbuildings of the Pasha El Mokri’s palace (he was once Minister of Finance of Morocco and Mayor of Casablanca). We started with cocktails up on their rooftop before moving to the courtyard garden dining room for dinner. 

As this riad is owned by a French couple, the menu was a great mix of French and Moroccan cuisine. It was all quite delicious and the ambiance was really lovely!

We chose mainly to stick to traditional places for eating and drinking in Fes, however on our first night in town we did stop into the British Saloon, a sports bar housed in the old British Consulate. We were so tired from our full day drive from Tangier, that we just laughed at this very odd place as we ate frozen pizzas and drank cheap gin & tonics. Sometimes it's not all Moroccan design but it is close to your riad!

All photos of Fes here. 

Other posts from Morocco:
2 Nights in Tangier, Morocco 
Tétouan and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco

Tétouan and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco

Trip date: September 2023

Gail, Caitlin, and I were picked up from our hotel in Tangier at 8am by our private driver Madhi who I had booked thru Fes Authentic Tours. Madhi would be driving us to check out Tétouan and Chefchaouen on our way to our next Moroccan destination of Fes. He would also be our driver from Fes to Marrakech with an overnight in the Sahara Desert. This was a great arrangement as I really didn't want us ladies to be driving around Morocco on our own, and although there are trains to Fes and Marrakech, it's harder to get to these small mountain towns. 

It was just over an hour to Tétouan, at the base of the Rif Mountains, and Madhi's car comfortably fit us all and our luggage, always a plus! It was similar to a Rav4 compact SUV. As we drove into town we could see that every streetlight had a huge stork nest on the top, it looked like the light posts were made for them! We must have driven past 20 storks!

We parked and walked into the medina of this 2000 year old city, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town is heavily influenced by the Spanish who came here from Granada so a lot of signage is in Spanish as well as Arabic. We were told that besides Arabic, most Moroccans also speak Spanish in the North and French in the West, but I found French widely spoken in every city so got to continue to practice (unfortunately for them!).

Mahdi walked us through the ancient medina and explained that they really don't get a lot of tourists here, so there aren't the usual street hustlers and crowds. The market is lined with shuttered stalls, the town is known for its high quality crafts, which the owners reveal each day when they open up the doors. I loved walking past them closed, not knowing if gold or beans would be displayed!

We also walked to the Royal Palace which King Mohammed VI still is known to visit in the summer even though his main residence is in Fes now. The square in front was set up for a crowd so he was possibly due to arrive that weekend.

Outside of the Grand Mosque, Madhi pointed out a board with a lot of Arabic writing. Turns out this is the town's real estate listings! Places for sale and for rent are advertised, but without photos. I mean that is very old school! 

We all loved Tétouan, it's very pretty, easy to walk around, and has one of the best small souks of the cities we visited. It was also quite early, so not a lot was open, but that made it even more charming for us. 

I thought of getting one of the popular drinks that was said to be invented here, called the za3za3, but Madhi told me that the smoothies, made with avocado, dates, almonds, milk, and a lot of honey, is a huge sugar bomb that the locals love when they are coming off a fast or are otherwise needing an energy boost. Since I was going to be mainly sitting in a car all day, I didn't think a sugar high was such a good idea. We stopped on the way out of town for a mint tea though.

It was another hour and a half to Chefchaouen, and a beautiful drive through some very hilly terrain in the Rif Mountains. Unfortunately for Madhi, there was a lot of road work so he had to navigate the graded road and patches of old asphalt. 

We parked outside of the old town when we arrived in Chefchaouen, and walked up the narrow steep lanes to the medina. 

It's all blue, but not in the sweet dreamy way I thought it would be. It's blue because of social media and tourism. Originally the town was thought to have been painted blue by Jewish refugees during WWII to remind them of Heaven. So before the early 1900's the city was just another typical Moroccan city.

But why has the tradition been kept alive? You need only to walk around and see all the tourists for you answer. The city has realized it could draw visitors to it if it had a hook (we have Leavenworth in WA state). And each year the city gets together and repaints the entire town blue which keeps the tourism dollars flowing. 

Some adorable nooks, courtyards, and doorways actually had signs letting you know you had to pay them to take a photo!

We strolled around and then went to Sofia for lunch, the first female-owned restaurant in town, so you know we were there to support! My tagine of chicken and vegetables was excellent! It was also funny that Madhi felt that he should eat with a fork and knife around us, and slopped some food on his pants. He was frustrated and said that like most Moroccans he was use to eating with his hands. We assured him that we didn't mind at all!

After lunch we continued along the blue streets (no cars or scooters allowed here luckily) until we reached the Oued el Kebir river. Here is where the local women wash their clothes, beating them against the rocks. Unfortunately the water was very low so there wasn't a lot going on.

Originally we thought of staying in Chefchaouen, but I'm very glad we just did it as a day trip. Don't get me wrong, it is still very pretty, but too touristy for me. I know my pictures make it look like it wasn't crowded, but it was! I'm just good at getting shots, haha! I'm very glad we all got to see The Blue City. 

We left Chefchaouen and continued our drive to to Fes, another 4 hours. This part was a bit less interesting, scenery wise, but it was also a lot less twisty since we were now out of the Rif Mountains. There were a lot of trucks stacked sky high with hay bales that I was sure would topple over!

On our drive we mainly just listened to Madhi's Moroccan music, ate nougat, and I watched an F1 race I had downloaded to my phone. Our last stop to stretch was at a viewpoint overlooking Sidi Chahed Lake where 200+ species of birds are said to winter, and the water's color looks like Chefchaouen!  It was a very relaxing day!

And then we drove into Fes...

All photos from Tétouan and Chefchaouen here.

Other posts from Morocco:
2 Nights in Tangier, Morocco 
Riads and Restaurants in Fes, Morocco

2 Nights in Tangier, Morocco

Trip date: September 2023

It was early when I left my friend's apartment in Paris after just 36 hours. My Uber stopped by Gail's hotel to pick up her and Caitlin, then we were on our way to Paris-Orly airport. And more excitingly to Morocco, my 54th country! We arrived at the airport at 8am for our 11am flight and had more than enough time to check bags, go through security, get breakfast, and shop.

The 3-hour flight and passport/customs in Tangier (or Tanger in French) was easy. I had made arrangements with our hotel, Palais Zahia, to pick us up at the airport, and they were waiting for us when we walked out. The hotel is in the old town, or medina, which is closed to auto traffic, so we did have to walk up from the parking lot. Luckily the driver took a few of our bags!

The hotel welcomed us with mint tea and little almond cookies, all served on beautiful dishware. Since we arrived at 1pm, our rooms were still being made up, so we decided to have lunch in the hotel's beautiful courtyard restaurant. We hadn't even been in the country for an hour, and already everything looked exactly like it was out of a design magazine!

After lunch, we checked into our rooms and did a bit of unpacking. I had the Suite Zahia, which didn't have any kind of view but was large and decorated in various shades of green. It was great!

As Morocco is a Muslim country, there are many regulations around alcohol, since the religion prohibits it. Even our hotel here in Tangier did not serve any alcohol. I had done my research on each of the cities we would be in so that we had options for drinks at various hotels and restaurants (and even a couple of actual bars!)

We set out with our Google maps to find Dar Nour, a guest house with a rooftop bar I had read about. The map looked pretty straightforward but the minute we were out of site of our hotel the passageways became smaller and twistier. But it was also really beautiful!

We had all read about locals taking advantage of lost tourists by offering them directions in exchange for money, so everytime someone pointed us down a road we brushed them off. But they were right! We found ourselves down a tiny lane that was a dead end and also a small neighborhood of local homes. We finally realized that everyone really was trying to be helpful, and we got on the right track to our destination. YMMV.

I don't think any of us realized how absolutely gorgeous Tangier was! The buildings in the medina are all white washed with interesting and intricate doors. It's a hilltop city and as you make your way up you will find amazing views of Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar from the walls of the old fort, or Kasbah. It's also one of the oldest cities in Morocco, dating back 2,500 years!

It took us 40 minutes to walk to the guest house in what should have taken 10, but we'd made our way through our first medina in Morocco! Once we climbed the four flights to the rooftop, our reward was cold drinks and an absolutely stunning 360 degree view. 

Feeling much better about traversing the old city after a couple of drinks, we made our way to Le Saveur de Poisson, which is located where the medina ends and city starts. They don't take reservations so expect to wait a bit. We were very lucky and only had 2 other parties in front of us. There are no menus, everyone gets 4-courses served family style, and the specialty is whatever has been fresh caught that day, prepared with lots of herbs from the nearby Rif mountains. 

After being seated we were served bowls of a delicious fish soup along with bread, olives, and condiments. Next came a huge tagine of baby shark, calamari, and monkfish. Everything was super tender and scorching hot! 

Four whole grilled fish arrived for our main. Oh my gosh we were all so stuffed by this point and couldn't believe they served us more than a whole fish each! I don't remember what kind each were but they were delicious. All 4 bites I was able to take!

Throughout the meal we drank fresh juice made from figs and for dessert there were bowls of fresh pomegranate seeds and roasted walnuts. The restaurant was hot, filled with delicious smoky scents, and busy! Our server was the owner and he never stopped moving. It was a great meal and all for just 250 dirham each ($25USD)! Pro tip, it's cash only!

Breakfast was included in our hotel rate and the next morning we tried to make sense of the seemingly 50 different types of bread product on the buffet! All good too!

The hotel also offered us a free walking tour of the medina which was fantastic as we had planned to do a self-guided one. Our guide Lena met us in the courtyard after breakfast and led us to the old city gate. She was great at answering all of our questions, and we had a lot of them!

We made our way up the hill on Rue de la Kasbah, just on the outside of the city wall, before passing through a gate and into the tiny alleyways we had been in the night before. We were near Dar Nour but the labyrinth was hard to decipher.  

 

Not every ally looked the same though, Lena led us to a couple of really pretty ones to check out. These are all local's homes and everyone pitches in to take care of the street. We wouldn't have seen most of the ones she led us through on our own, unless we were lost!

Lena is just out of college and has taken courses in tourism and business. She explained to us that tourism is the 3rd largest industry in Morocco, and it's competitive especially as she is a woman, so it's important to her to get in and established right away. We were very happy to be supporting!

We then walked past The Grand Mosque and Lena explained that unlike in other Muslim countries, you have to be Muslim in order to enter mosques in Morocco. Also there are separate entrances for women and men. Most women in Morocco don't cover their hair, unless they are going to the Mosque, but they are expected to dress conservatively, which we did also (no bare shoulders, cleavage, or above the knee clothing). It was quite hot, and it would have been great to wear a little sundress, but my friends and I try to be respectful of cultures when we travel. 

She brought us to Macondo, a super cute cafe with an amazing rooftop terrace, for a cold drink and to continue talking with Lena about life as a woman in Morocco. It was really interesting; she is very smart and very positive about her future. And the views were just amazing!

You really can't walk more than a few steps anywhere in Morocco without coming across a kitten or a cat or 3. Lena explained that Muslims consider cats holy and they are allowed to go most anyplace. They are revered for their cleanliness and are said to have blissful energy. We saw people all over the country setting out food and comfy sleeping boxes for cats. We even saw some in the mosques! 

We stopped to take in the views of Europe across the Strait at Bab Al Bahr or Gate of the Sea. It was such a stunning day!

It was also a Friday, and Friday in Morocco is the day you eat couscous, so back at Palais Zahia we had lunch again in the courtyard. The traditional dish, mine with stewed lamb and chickpeas, also had a topping called tfaya, which is a caramelized onion and raisin mixture, as well as toasted almonds. It was delicious!

We walked off our lunch by exploring more of Tangier outside of the medina. We walked about 10 minutes, past the Grand Socco and through a small souq with vendors selling bread, olives, meat, etc, to the El Minzah Hotel. This hotel, built in 1930, is considered the grandest in Tangier. The walls are lined with photos of famous celebrities who have stayed, there's a pretty tiled courtyard restaurant (but was closed when we arrived), and there are views of the Strait. 

We were there for a glass of wine at their piano bar that was supposed to be open all day, but it wasn't. So we sat in one of the big main restaurants which honestly didn't have a lot of ambiance. The hotel felt a little past its prime. 

We continued exploring and passed the famous Grand Paris Cafe, but as it was mainly empty and smelled heavily of cigarettes, we didn't stop in. Back in the medina we did stop at Nougat de Tanger for some absolutely delish nougat. We'd find the confection all over Morocco, but none that ever looked this good again. 

Back at the hotel, Gail's room had a little balcony (it's the one right above the intricate hotel door in the photo below), so we hung out there for a bit with our duty free wine and checked out all the restaurant rooftops around us. 

That evening we headed back up to the Kasbah, but this time we knew our way, and found Hotel Nord Pinus where we had reservations for dinner. What a stunning property this is! We headed up to the rooftop and enjoyed drinks with an absolutely spectacular view of the Strait of Gibraltar. 

Looking down on the many rooftops in this area you can see that some have gorgeous terraces while others are in ruins. You could also see the massive construction project going on at the marina, which was being redeveloped for the ferry, cruise ships, yachting, etc. So lots of highs and lows going on here in the North Africa, as in so many places around the world. 

We moved inside for dinner which was excellent. I ordered the pastilla, which is very common all around Morocco, and is a chicken (or pidgeon) pie of flaky pastry dough seasoned with cinnamon and powdered sugar. It's got that sweet savory thing like a monte cristo sandwich. 

Right next door is El Morocco Club, which was perfect for nightcaps. It's a restaurant upstairs and a cocktail lounge below. And I was able to get an actual martini!

We had a very early pick up the next morning as we were heading to Fes with a few stops along the way. When our private driver arrived at the hotel, the streets were empty except for a few women selling bread and this trio of adorable kittens.

I am so glad that we started our Moroccan trip in Tangier! It gave us a chance to navigate a smaller and calmer medina before experiencing the much, MUCH bigger ones to come. Also it is so beautiful!  I would highly recommend this city as a weekend destination if you are in the south of Spain as there is an hour long ferry from Algeciras to Tangier that I bet would be stunning, or just grab a cheap flight. 

All Tangier photos here. 

Other posts from Morocco:

Tétouan and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco

Riads and Restaurants in Fes, Morocco

36 Hours in Paris

Trip date: September 2023

After a relaxing long weekend out in the Le Perche countryside, Forest, Thibault, and I returned back to Paris by train. My friends do this weekly in order to spend weekends in the country. It's easy and relatively quick, just long enough of a ride to listen to an hour podcast. 

This was going to be a fairly short stopover in Paris, but I had a lot planned, as always! And after relaxing and repacking in the apartment, Forest and I headed out for cocktails at the Hotel Lutetia. 

The stunning Art Nouveau building, taking up an entire city block of the Saint Germain area, was built in 1910, by the owners of the Bon Marche department store, for wealthy clients and designers. The name Lutetia is the name of the 1st century BC settlement that was located where modern day Paris is now built. It's well worth your time to visit the nearby Musee Moyen Age just under a mile away for an indepth look at this period of the city. There's also a lot of history around the hotel from World War II and the Nazi invasion of Paris. It's an interesting and gorgeous place for sure!

We were there to enjoy a cocktail at the stunning Le Bar Josephine, named after singer/dancer Josephine Baker who reportedly stayed there. We sat up at the bar and had a great view of the entire room. It's swanky and comfortable, historic and modern. All things, all at once! And our drinks were wonderful too. 

There's a speakeasy in the hotel too; we didn't have time on this night but I've got it on my list for my next visit. Highly recommend a stop in at the Lutetia!

Just across the street was our dinner destination, 2 Michelin star, Marsan by Helen Darroze. 

From the minute you enter, you know you are in for something slightly different, slightly better. Checking in on the ground floor we were escorted past the communal table room, up the stairs, and smack into the kitchen! We were immediately greeted and introduced to the chefs. It was quiet, but not in a tense way, and immaculate! There's a chef's table you can reserve right there also.

Then we were led into the dining room, which felt a bit modern Danish design. Also a very comfortable room with round marble dining tables and cushy leather chairs. As soon as we sat down the waiter rolled the champagne trolly over, truly the signal of a great night to come!

After choosing our champagne, and being served a few lovely amuse bouche, we decided on the 6-course tasting menu (the other choice is 9-courses). There were options throughout to upgrade with supplements, and for my first course I chose to upgrade to the "iconic oyster with Kristal caviar". An entire tin of caviar was brought out in an ornate pewter crab dish, and then generous scoops of caviar were added to the oyster nestled in a cold bean velouté. It was very decadent and delicious!

There was a lovely foie gras dish with French Charentais melon and also red mullet, in a light tempura batter, from the French Basque region with zucchini flower and a traditional Basque sauce called ttoro which was excellent!

My main was "a chicken from les Landes and the corn used to feed him". Brilliant!

The chicken breast had a stuffing under the skin and was painted with a corn miso. There was also a "row" of grilled corn and zucchini with a corn and cocoa bean cream. A chicken wing was served on the side as "finger food". It was so good (and I also thought it looked a bit like an American BBQ). Forest supplemented the Grade 5 Japanese Wagyu beef which was an incredible cut!

To start the finishing courses we had an unpasteurized 6-month aged hard sheep's cheese grated over house-made crackers with a jam made of black cherries from the Basque region. It was so unique and absolutely delicious.  A cheese trolly followed, that also had a lovely selection of Basque cheeses. 

The next trolly to arrive was carrying a selection of Darroze Armagnac. Helen Darroze's family has been producing Armagnac in the town of Roquefort for 50 years. I had chosen their signature dessert, the baba, and was invited to choose one of the armagnacs to have poured onto the split open cake. Our waiter kindly left the rest of the armagnac on the table for us to enjoy. The dessert was excellent, served with fresh and cooked peach and chantilly cream. 

One of the chefs then arrived at our table with a final dessert, an ice cream made with the leftover house baked bread from the day. I'd never had anything like it, and really loved that they were creating a dish out of something that otherwise would just be tossed out. 

We were handed little pastry boxes on our way out and after 3 ½ hours of really exceptional food and service we headed home. It's been a long time since Forest and I chose to do a Michelin star dinner since the cost can be very high, the dishes aren't always better than what we can have during lunch, and often they just go on too long and we've left exhausted. But I'm so happy we did this dinner at Marsan as it was so enjoyable and delicious! It's now no surprise to me that Darroze has 6 Michelin stars and 3 restaurants!! 

The next morning I visited the Bourdelle Museum which is just a short walk from my friend's apartment. Sculpture Antoine Bourdelle was a student of Auguste Rodin. After he left he opened his own studio, working in wood, bronze, marble, etc., and exhibited at a number of shows. He then went on to teach other artists such as Giacometti and Henri Matisse. 

The museum is filled with Bourdelle's work and his studies. Photos, sketches, and of course sculpture fill interior spaces as well as gardens. Some of the pieces are huge! It's really a beautiful setting and I saw quite a few locals just enjoying the gardens with their books, surrounded by these amazing sculptures. 

For lunch, I met up with my friend Albert, who was also just transitioning through Paris. He and his friend were on their way home from Morocco, which is where I was heading to next! It was a very fun coincidence!

Albert wanted to try Le Recamier which is known for their soufflés (and their terrace). The 3 of us ordered both savory soufflés and dessert soufflés and everything was delicious- as you can clearly see by how happy Albert was!

I will say the prices were quite high compared to if you had a very similar dish in a classic bistro. The restaurant is in the 7th, which is pretty affluent and also has a lot of tourists. But if you are looking for a fun splashy lunch I'd recommend it!

One of the things I was very interested in seeing was the Yayoi Kusama temporary exhibit, which was suppose to be up until the end of September. A HUGE statue of Kusama, seemingly painting polka dots on the Louis Vuitton HQ! Albert and his friend were both up for seeing it so we crossed Pont Neuf and headed to the space between LV and La Samaritaine department store. 

Foiled! Even though it was only the 13th of the month, the installation was gone. Well none of us had been into La Samaritaine since it reopened so we went in for a look. It's such a stunning space!

They were heading back out to the airport and I needed to get back to Forest's to get ready for drinks and dinner that night, so we said goodbye. I took a quick metro to the Opera Garnier to check out the art of JR which was covering the scaffolding of the building.

Wow!! So cool!! 

As I mentioned, Paris was a stop on my way to Morocco, and that trip would be spent with friends Caitlin from London and Gail from Seattle. They both decided to meet me on my last night in town so we could all fly into Tangier together! Together with Forest, we've been in a book club together for the last 4 years or so, but we've never been all together in real life!

Paris is always the answer, right? We all had a great evening of drinks at the Novotel in the 15th (pro tip- this bar has fantastic views of the Eiffel Tower) before meeting some more of the Paris friends for dinner.

Dinner was at Procope, which Forest and I had both been very interested in checking out as it is the oldest restaurant in Paris, founded in 1686! Unfortunately the service was awful, it was unbearably hot in the dining room and the food was just ok. I'd say give this place a pass, there are many many many better choices out there. 

And with that, my 3rd stop on my month long vacation came to an end. I think this was my 21st visit to Paris and it's still my fave city 💖.

All photos from Paris here. 

Also on this trip:

Le Perche Country; Living Just Outside of Paris