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Sunday, January 12, 2014

Paris, je t'aime


Paris. Love at first sight. This was the last city on our European jaunt. We arrived in the morning via an overnight train (which was actually kind of terrible, but I don’t want to spoil this post with those details… just avoid Thello overnight trains if you can). We stayed in a charming neighborhood, walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, in the ultra-modern Hotel Du Cadran on rue du Champ de Mars. Tons of little cafés, meat and cheese markets, produce stands, and bakeries lined the streets. We didn’t even realize how good we planned our location. The only gripe was the noise level at night (Parisians never sleep!), and in the morning when the delivery trucks came to fill the markets. But I look back and just think it added to the experience and energy of staying in the city. 



Since we couldn’t check in to our hotel for a few hours, we walked straight to the Eiffel Tower like any other tourist would do. I remember walking down the street, excited as all get out, and Cameron spotted it first, “Look, there it is,” and I grab his arm in amazement that we were really there in person. You see so many pictures of the tower over your lifetime, and then to actually see it is surreal. It was beautiful.

After freshening up at our hotel, we decided to go see the Arc de Triomphe and took the spiral staircase all the way to the top. The views of Paris were stunning from there, and it was a much shorter line than the Eiffel Tower. Afterward, we took a stroll on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees where I went into the biggest Sephora store I had ever seen! 









More after the jump....



Notre Dame


Sainte-Chapelle


Love lock bridge

Day two we visited Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, walked over to the Left Bank and saw the Pantheon, and strolled through the Jardin du Luxembourg. Cameron and I loved the Sainte-Chapelle because of its amazing stained glass windows throughout. It was our major highlight of the day, and we even liked it more than Notre Dame. Stained glass experts were in the process of restoring the old glass pieces, which has taken several years to complete. After dinner we walked along the Siene River and waited for the light show on the Eiffel Tower. It sparkles for five minutes every hour at night. I absolutely loved it.

Inside the Pantheon


Jardin du Luxembourg








Day three we woke up early to visit the Louvre Museum, and of course saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus Milo. It started to rain when we left the museum, but we walked over to the Latin Quarter so I could buy some Laduree macarons, which are said to be the very best in Paris. Since it was raining and cold, Cameron and I headed back to our hotel to relax, and eat our Laduree treats. We went to dinner that night at Les Cocottes, which is a Christian Constant restaurant and it was delicious! I was feeling rundown from catching a cold, so we called it a night and walked back to the hotel.

The Louvre

The Mona Lisa craze

Venus Milo





Many people have asked if we encountered rude Parisians, and for the most part everyone was friendly and had no issue speaking English. I made an effort to learn a few phrases in French, which I think was appreciated. We only encountered a few arrogant people who were rude to us, but most were friendly and happy to help. Hopefully the bad French reputation is on its way out with the new generation. 



Day four we took a train to Versailles to tour the palace, which was unbelievable. It was Cameron’s favorite. The Hall of Mirrors was so cool to see, and the gardens of the palace were the most massive and beautiful I have ever seen. That day I was just trying to pull through because I was feeling really tired from my cold, but Versailles is a must-see in my opinion. 

Versailles




Hall of Mirrors


Marie Antoinette's bedroom









Our last day in Paris we visited the catacombs which were extremely creepy. We needed something happy after seeing that so we headed over to Ile St-Louis to treat ourselves to the most delectable ice cream at Berthillon. 

Catacombs - don't go here if you're claustrophobic 





The last thing on our list was to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower...


View from the first level

View from the top... much higher up!


 It was a trip to remember forever, and we had the best time together. Paris was my favorite city of them all, and they had the best food (no surprise there!). Everywhere you walked the city gleamed of romance and French architecture. The language is lovely, the food is out of this world, and culture is in abundance. What an incredible way to conclude our trip.

P.S. RomeChianti, and Venice