I wanted to take a second to give some jet lag advice. It’s definitely a factor whether you are flying cross-country or flying across the ocean. Flying during the day at high altitudes exposes the plane and you to radiation. You get dehydrated with all the changes in air pressure and lack of fluids for hours on end during your flight. Also being in close proximity to others exposes you to many more germs than usual. All of these factors contribute to jet lag. May I suggest (and this is a recommendation more than a commercial) that you give Oxylent a try. I drink one during my flight and again when I get off the plane. Then I drink one everyday on my trip and it really helps my body to cope with all the stress factors mentioned above.
If you didn’t catch the blog on our London trip, here it is. Unfortunately, cameras died at different times so I missed some opportunities to get pictures of our meals. Recharging the cameras was ill-advised because of the different voltage from european outlets. Little tip, just leave your appliances (flat iron, hair dryer, magic bullet etc) at home. I purchased a power converter that did literally nothing to stop the 220 volts from ruining my fiance’s flat iron. The computers were ok though because they come with their own special power converter (the box on your power cord).
We took the Eurostar train from London to Paris through the Chunnel. On the train ride over we had lunch in the dining car and they had a nice vegan option, a falafel wrap with roasted peppers and hummus. It was quite tasty. We then arrived in Paris at the Guar d’Nord train station where I popped the question. For all the sentimental types out there I figured I would include the proposal.
OK, so now I was engaged! Time to start our Paris experience. We went to dinner the first night at a place I found online called The Loving Hut. The dinner was amazingly good! We started out with a green salad that included butter lettuce, tomatoes, avocados and sprouts. For the main course we had the sautéed vegetables and tofu with noodles dish and the veggie kabobs. Both were so good and we didn’t have room for dessert, but would make up for that with our second trip later in the week. It was nice because they had a menu in English and the people working there spoke English so it was a bit easier to order. Our meal was around 35 Euro.
This restaurant is really cool. Not flashy, but they are really trying to promote healthier eating in Paris and their food is delicious.
Each day I woke up and did my regular morning routine. I drank a lot of water with electrolytes and my Oxylent. Then I had my super shake (although only mixed with water instead of my usual almond milk) with super greens, protein, maca and cacao. It wasn’t delicious as normal, but wasn’t bad at all. My stomach felt good and ready for the day after getting all the good nutrients in the morning. We were on vacation so it’s important to splurge, especially when you are in the culinary realm of the French. For breakfast each day we shared a baguette with apricot jam and each had a pan au raison followed by some hot tea. This was truly a delight to start out the day. If you’re going to load up on carbs, best do it in the morning before you go walk for miles around the city. You’ll burn it off better and actually your body will thank you for the fuel to power through til lunch.
I'm not sure I would eat them every day of my life for breakfast, but they are insanely delicious!
There really is nothing like fresh baked bread right out the oven at 7am in the morning in Paris.
There are a lot of places around the city that serve falafel sandwiches. Many places refer to them as the “Greek Sandwich.” A couple days for lunch we had greek falafel at different spots. One chain which has a couple locations around the city and even chain stores in the US as well called Maoz Vegetarian. This place was great and I wish they had more in the US. You can make your own sandwich. They freshly prepare your falafel balls and put in pita bread and then you top with your own veggies and sauce. They were delicious!
You could also get a freshly made salad with falafel balls instead of the pita sandwich.
We went back to The Loving Hut again for lunch later in the week and pigged out! We had the spring rolls for appetizer, again got the sautéed veggies and tofu with noodles. I switched up my main course (even though I really wanted the kabobs again) and got the spaghetti. It was not only tasty but I can honestly say it was one of the best plates of pasta I’ve had at any restaurant, even Italian places. They even brought me a dairy free parmesan cheese to shake on top. We then decided to go for the banana split dessert which came with bananas, (vegan) vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream with non-dairy whipped cream on top. It was good! The manager at the restaurant and also the chef is a trained vegan pastry chef. We decided next time we go back we’ll have to opt for the in-house made vegan cheesecake. Oh yea and Terri got a rose cappuccino as well and said it was one of the best ones she’s ever had. Like I said we splurged and it was around 50 Euro.
You wouldn't think to go to an asian-theme vegan restaurant to get a good plate of spaghetti, but you should consider it if in Paris.
The rest of our trip tomorrow. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon!
