How To Pretend You’re Not Like Other Tourists in Paris

With an immeasurable amount of disturbances to local life around the globe, tourism has rightfully earned a bad rap. Xenophobia and a lack of regard for any destructive behaviors that foreigners might carry with them on their yearly trips overseas is hard to testify against. And with tourism, there exists culture ignorance and an inconsideration for the local delicacies to be indulged in while exploring the other side of the world. Yet, as long as travel is done respectfully, I see no issue in yielding to tourist-catered attractions and existing in homelike comforts around the world. But in the case of both disrespect and  a lack of curiosity, I would beg that’s hardly travel at all. 

To be a tourist is a gift that many will never have the pleasure of experiencing —from taking in alternative ways of grocery shopping, spending long afternoons, or pretending not to catch extra glimpses of new outfit combinations on the public transit, it’s a title I want to be conscious of, not ashamed of. My inner being calls for a reverence to the unknown worlds, and to prove it with detail to all of my traces left behind and to mimic the behaviors of their residents. Inevitably, I will flock with fellow travelers to see the sights and pay overpriced fees just to say that I did it. But when I tire of long lines and hearing everything in my native language, here’s where I would go to pretend I’m not like other tourists in Paris.

Foods To Eat

Early June

The doors of Early June transport you to a dining roulette and an unreplicable menu. Its uniqueness stems from the nature of the pop-up style restaurant where a rotation of chefs from around the world take over the kitchen and serve contemporary small plates alongside funky wines coating farmhouse-style tables. The open kitchen  reveals trendy chefs sautéing, chopping, and plating while electronica echoes to the beat of the stove. Blessed by the Parisian gods, I was lucky to be whisked to an unreserved table by Early June’s co-founder who served the Portuguese chef in residence’s razor clams and romanesco while seamlessly appearing every few minutes to top off my wine, in the thick of weaving through the floor in inches of designer heels.

Things To Buy

Marché Bastille

Twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir  is overtaken by never-ending rows and rows of every street wanderer’s greatest delights. Drool over every color, texture, flavor and sight you could think of to exist on a ripe 7 AM morning under the market tent. Each stall pumps out aromatics from the edible and non-edible worlds, some of which seem unlawful after a night of too much wine. Rich street foods live happily amongst the organic vegetables waiting to cure you of all ailments and send you off into a shopper’s frenzy. The vibrant hues of Parisian tomatoes and boxes of European knick knacks are equitably fun to look at as they are to buy! Personally, I like to commit my daily faux pas by looming over the flower vendors ’ booths too long and taking photos of the lavender bunches. 

Wine To Sip

La Buvette

In Paris’s 11th arrondissement, La Buvette flashes its delicately lined wine-bottle walls practically begging to be sipped with a traveler’s thirst. Inside the shop a woman I can only describe as someone I would deeply trust governs the almost non-existent counter space with vigor as the owner of La Buvette. Her influence runs deep in that minuscule “kitchen”, with the most popular dish “Camille Fourmont’s Famous Giant Beans” named after none other than herself. 

“The beans! You would kill me if I did not have the beans”, she proclaimed after a timid order.  And commit a crime I would, because their garlicky wash and lemon-olive oil are flavors I would never in my dreams think to place upon a giant white bean. But there I was, pacing myself over the beans’ side of three slices of sourdough bread yet powering through her generous pours. The tiny interiors make for an awkward dilly-dally at the standing bar, unsure of the level at which my American-ness is showing, but an ideal spot to meet newcomers and share the dollhouse-sized table with them in international friendship.

Places To Sit

Parc Monceau

When you tire over the  famous green chairs overlooking the fountain in the Jardin des Tuileries   (unlikely, but possible), the 8th arrondissement awaits with Parc Monceau’s picture perfected greenery. The Weeping Green Shower Trees rest in the pond offering a fairytale escape among renaissance archways and follies. Homages to Egypt and a funerary monument designed by Catherine de Médici make for an educational stroll as well as a quiet escape from the streets beyond. Spending an afternoon in an English-style garden in the middle of Paris just feels so wrongfully right. 

Continue reading here to see where else HBTT clients have gone this year!