We only had about 28 hours in Paris on this trip and took a leisurely walk, what the Brits might call a bimble, through Paris after a delicious brunch.

Beautiful Paris Autumn: A Photo Essay

We chose to eat at Café Kitsuné for midday brunch while waiting for our room to be cleaned at Hôtel du Louvre, located just a couple of minutes away on foot.

This may not be a café unique to Paris, but it was our first time eating in one and we quite enjoyed it. Both the coffee shop downstairs and the café upstairs were bustling. Thankfully, we did not have to wait for a table, though it did take the food quite some time to appear (we brought activities to keep the kids occupied and quiet…).

We dined family style, ordering a shakshuka, avocado toast, Turkish poached eggs with dill, and a side of smoked salmon. The food was excellent and worth the wait. There’s a reason why this café was so crowded.

The coffee (I had a flat white) was also excellent…I’ll add it to my best coffee in Paris post.

After brunch, our room was ready but we did not stay long, wanting to make the most of our day. We took a stroll around he hotel without anywhere in particular to go (it was only later that evening that we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower).

First, we walked from the hotel to the Louvre. I wanted to take the kids into the museum, but the ticketing lines were far too long…again, a little planning goes a long way. Heidi and I were in Paris around the same time a couple of years earlier and walked right into the Louvre, but that was during the pandemic and tourism to Paris has certainly rebounded. We did have to stop and do the cliche ourist folders of “holding the pyramid.” Hopefully, the kids will appreciate that some day (though my daughter Claire Marie seemed to want to pretend she was the Statue of Liberty instead, which is somewhat fitting considering it was a gift from the French to the USA).

I feel like I mentioned this before in passing, but the highlight for the kids was chasing pigeons around Jardin des Tuileries. For a good half hour, the kids ecstatically tried to catch a pigeon. Hearing them laugh and seeing them smile, other kids even joined the (ultimately fruitless) hunt.

The kids were tired now, so we stopped and rested for a bit, then took a coffee break and continued our walk.

I had to stop at a grocery store to pick up my two favorite French cookies…cookies I’ve loved since I was a kid, but cookies that are no longer sold in the USA, at least in Southern California.

By now, we decided head back to the hotel to rest up a bit before going over to the Eiffel Tower.

And perhaps this picture is my favorite of all…Augustine appreciates beauty. He’s not a baby anymore…

Paris is one of those cities that grows on me…It’s fun to return to a place over and over, do the same things, but still enjoy it. I’m quite content to be a tourist in Paris!