Thursday June 7, 2018
Our journey started mid morning at the airport. My step dad dropped us off and we connected in Atlanta. My Mom was amazed at the huge trans-Atlantic airplane that would take all of us to Paris. I forget that not everyone has traveled as much as me and to me its old news and not really even noticeable it is just a means to travel but I loved showing my mom and seeing her reaction to all that goes on....from the tiny cokes, to your eternal meal choice CHICKEN OR PASTA! We landed in Paris, France bright and early at around 7am and were ready to conquer the day!
Friday June 8, 2018
Upon arrival we got through passport control and out of the airport. My plan was to take the train into the city but we were so tired from traveling I just gave in and got a taxi. Traffic was horrible and I really suggest that you research the train to get into the city as the best means to enter. We were entering on a Friday morning at rush hour but when we left Paris the traffic was equally horrendous to the airport so I HIGHLY recommend putting forth the effort of the train. The plus to the taxi was my Mom got great first access views of Paris around every corner on our way to our hotel which was next door to the Eiffel Tower. We were able to check right into our room when we arrived at the hotel and that was awesome. We settled in, sort of unpacked, swapped clothes, and set out on our most eventful and jam packed day. We set out for our day around 10:30 am and first walked past the Eiffel Tower on our way across the river to trek up the steady hill of the Trocadero to get those iconic views.
We walked the long way to the Louvre through a couple parks/gardens and just enjoyed walking and observing. On our way to the Louvre we walked down Avenue Montaigne and window shopped all the couture stores and saw the swoon worthy Plaza Athenee hotel. We stopped for lunch at a corner cafe and had some really filling wok bowls before walking onwards.
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| Plaza Athenee hotel |
Once we entered the Jardin des Tuileries we stopped for a rest at one of the many ponds and people watched. By this time it was mid-afternoon and we were really starting to feel the side effects of being on the go for 36+ hours. I wanted to really push through though because Paris has SSOO much to see. Although I had been before and the outside of the Louvre is amazing I'm not really big on museums. I would rather visit religious sites and other cultural centers. I wanted my Mom to make up her own mind and also see the Mona Lisa and get the full experience and not feel like she was missing out so we powered on.
On our way out of the Louvre we stopped at a little sweet shop for our first macaroons of the trip and then took the metro to our hotel. I was really impressed with the public train/metro transport system in Paris. It is set up and works a lot like the tube system in London. I'm sure a lot of train systems are the same but having really worked the London system I felt way more comfortable navigating Paris. We arrived back to our room around 4pm and took a little nap so we could go to dinner and then bed later and kick jet lag before it hit. We connected with June and her husband John who were on their honeymoon for dinner. They were up at the top of the Eiffel Tower so we waited in the park below the tower, Champ de Mars, and people watched. June is from Mt. Vernon and relocated to North Carolina and had recently gotten married. My Mom new June and her kids but I had never personally met her. I got a dinner recommendation for a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower from our hotel. It was a perfect restaurant in every way. Not only was the location great, the food was SO good, and the company we shared it with was the icing on the cake or should I say crepe!
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| people watching at Champ de Mars |
We had dinner at Le Suffren and it was the best dinner all around. I loved getting to know June and her husband John and enjoying a true French meal as well. My Mom and I both had a fabulous onion soup, I had a sea bass with creamed fennel, and my Mom had the roast chicken. By the time we wrapped up dinner it was 10:30. We said our goodbyes and made the short walk back to our hotel to crash for the night.
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| Mom, June, John, and myself after dinner |
We caught the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night on our walk back and it was the perfect ending to a perfect first day in Paris. Although I had been there before I had never seen the Eiffel Tower at night and it was truly a scene from the movies. We powered through our first day and it was so worth it. When traveling "ahead" in time I always try to power through and take a short nap if any to get me through my day. At the end you're so exhausted but you are tired enough to rest fully for the entire night and you wake up the following day on your new time zone and you won't battle jet lag for the remainder of the trip. Don't get me wrong you may be tired from sightseeing and your busy days but you won't have that added tiredness that is lingering from traveling.
Saturday June 9, 2018
For our second day in Paris I had big plans of waking early and getting breakfast by 8 am to really kickstart a full day but we ended up sleeping in until 10! Once we woke up, we headed out to swing by the Eiffel Tower to see about getting tickets to the top but the line was already crazy long. We had one more full day in Paris so I promised my Mom we would get up and be the first in line on Sunday to make sure it happened. We instead took the metro to Arc de Triomphe which was crazy busy as well but manageable. We hiked to the top via....all the stairs and this was my Mom's first crazy stair experience of our 14 day trip...there are many more to come!
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| spiral staircase at the Arc |
After our trek to the top of the Arc we took in the views and then grabbed a lunch at a cafe nearby. We shared a pizza and then explored a little grocery store to grab water before getting back on the metro and heading towards our next sight. I love exploring grocery stores when I travel. You can find so many cool things for way different/cheaper prices and to me it is just fun to see how other people live their day to day lives.
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| pretty mural inside the metro stairs |
A sight I was so excited to see for the very first time was Sacre-Coeur. Sacre-Coeur is situated on top of this really big hilltop overlooking all of Paris in the 18th arrondissement. We didn't got inside the cathedral but I did love the stairs and just the views.
After I checked that off my list we took the subway to a station near Notre Dame. Notre Dame was super packed and since it is a church our skip the line feature we got with our Paris Pass is no good. I still haven't seen the inside or been to the top of Notre Dame so another trip to Paris is a must. Although we only viewed Notre Dame from the outside and explored the gardens it allowed us time to use our Paris Passes at two gems in the same neighborhood that I didn't even know about!
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| Parisians enjoying the sun down by the river! |
After we were awed by the Conciergerie Hall of Guards we continued our visit of the complex and waited in line for a bit to view Saint Chapelle. Saint Chapelle is a Gothic style royal chapel that is breathtaking. Pictures and words don't to this beautiful chapel any justice. The abundance of stained glass that surrounds you when you enter the upper chapel is unimaginable with its beauty.
We let our sense have a break as we walked around Notre Dame and sat a bit in the garden.
After catching our break and drinking some water we walked back towards our hotel along the river. We browsed the book stalls and made a detour to the Pompidou Centre. A modern art museum that is structured like an old colorful factory.
Once inside the Pompidou Centre we quickly realized that it wasn't a museum that interested us. We made our way back to our hotel as quick as possible but were about an hour past when we needed to be back. We had a dinner reservation and tickets to a show and we were VERY late to dinner. Plus we had to rush to quickly change into our dinner attire when the plan was to get back and have plenty of time. Talk about a packed day! I am glad that we visited the Pompidou simply because I was really curious and now we know!
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| one of the installations when you enter the museum |
After changing and getting a taxi to our dinner restaurant, Chez Andres, we were seated and able to relax for an enjoyable dinner. We were seated next to a couple vacationing from the US and they were nice to talk to a bit. We indulged in more onion soup at this dinner and our main courses were coincidentally reversed from the night before. Mom had a sea bass dish and I got a roast chicken plate. We also had a desert of creme brûlée for Mom and a chocolate mousse for myself. After dinner we made a short walk to the Crazy Horse cabaret house where we had VIP seats to the show. Paris is known for sexy and while there I wanted my Mom to really have all the experiences from day time sights to night time shows so I booked us this out of the box event. The Crazy Horse cabaret show is a modern take on burlesque with really fun light shows and short song routines. My Mom was very skeptical going into this as she considered it a tacky strip show but admitted after the show that although she wouldn't have picked it for herself it was fun and different than what she was expecting. We enjoyed the show and a couple glasses of Champagne.
When we left the show to catch a cab it was raining but we got our first look at the light show that takes place on the hour ever hour during nighttime hours. We had a short ride back to the hotel before taking quick showers and hurrying to bed to get well rested for our last full day in Paris the following day.
Sunday June 10, 2018
Our last full day in Paris was a day where we HAD to do two things....the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. I was sure to set my alarm and be on alert to get up, dressed, have breakfast, and get over to the Eiffel Tower so we were sure to get in line and be able to make it to the top when they opened. We made that happen but my Mom wasn't up for climbing the first two levels via stairs so we bought tickets for the elevators for the entire tower. It was still early in the morning, close to 930 by the time we made it all the way to the very top so the fog and haze was still lingering over the city but it is still amazing to see the views and analyze the actual structure of the tower that is put together with huge nuts and bolts.
After we conquered the Eiffel Tower we headed to the metro to catch the 40 minute train ride out to The Palace of Versailles. Another sight that I hadn't seen on my prior trip and I was very excited to capture all the Instagram worthy photos! Our train ride out to the palace started with a bang! As we were getting on a man stopped me to ask if I knew of a train to xxx (I don't remember) I wasn't sure really what he was asking me and was trying to spit out an answer. During this I hear my Mom say "HEY GET THE HELL OUT OF MY PURSE!" I was like OMG Mom what is the problem....apparently when she said this my man disappeared as well as the girl who was apparently in her purse. We quickly sat down so we could recap. I was completely confused at what had just gone on. After we traded stories...my Mom really flustered, we figured out the man asking me a question was a distraction at the door of the train as my Mom was almost pick-pocketed. She felt the lady in her purse and caught her in the act and thankfully she didn't get anything. This is the first and only time I've ever had any sort of negative experience like this happen to me or even come close to effecting me while traveling. Another reminder to always stay alert and aware of your surroundings when traveling. After that the rest of our day was uneventful and the perfect trip to Versailles.
When we arrived it was close to 11 am and I was under the impression that our Paris Passes allowed us to skip the line and enter the palace with no hassle. Well I was wrong we weren't allowed to skip the line it only got us in the door. The line for that matter wound through a huge courtyard back and forth probably making up a mile worth of people that consisted of close to 5000 people or more. It was literally INSANE! We opted to skip that entire ordeal and make the most of the time we had. We headed to the back of the palace to enjoy the gardens which is a day in itself.
The grounds are MASSIVE. We were only day 3 into our trip and my Mom's poor feet were bloody and she was already over walking...if only she knew what was to come LOL. Luckily the palace offers golf carts to rent that are guided by GPS trackers. They give you a map and your boundaries and we were off. You are able to park, get out, visit the sub-gardens inside the huge garden, and see plenty! The cart just allows you to really see more and enjoy it more than hoofing it over 1700 acres.
We made a couple pit stops. We stopped for water and gelato in the little village near the lake. I got a wonderful lemon gelato that was so refreshing. Our other stop was to Marie Antoinette's "she shed" or the real name Petit Trianon. If you have watched the Kirsten Dunst movie Marie Antoinette then you are familiar. There aren't many furnishings but it is restored and still beautiful to look at. The grounds around Petit Trianon are equally impressive by having an English and French garden.
We spent about 4 hours exploring the gardens and the grounds around Versailles before walking back to the main village and finding a spot to have a late lunch before catching the train back into the city. After our traditional French lunch of more onion soup and roast chicken my Mom grabbed a few souvenirs and then we took the train back to Paris. (note: when we left the palace the line still looked exactly the same, we had have wasted an entire day staining in line and barley had a chance to enjoy any of it if we wouldn't have changed our plan)
We went to the hotel for a bit to recharge an regroup while we decided what to do on our last evening in Paris. We decided to hang out in the park near the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, and just soak up the last of the city before going to dinner. We were exhausted and didn't want to think much on dinner so we decided to go back to Le Suffren, the same restaurant we ate at the first night in town. We had another wonderful meal as it rained then we made our way back to the hotel to prepare for our flight to Venice the next morning.
I enjoyed Paris the second time around just as much as the first. I was able to see it in another season, Summer. Although it was busy and warm it was still so enjoyable and we saw and did so much. There are still parts of Paris that I haven't began to touch and I really love the city. There is so much to do, see, and learn in Paris so I know another trip is in my future. I know out of all the cities we visited on this trip Paris ended up being my Mom's favorite. I'm glad I was able to show it to her and make this dream come true for her.
Next stop is Venice, Italy!
HERE for Part 2 Venice
HERE for Part 3 Florence
HERE for Part 4 Rome
HERE for Part 5 All you need to know + my custom itinerary
Loved this Megan!
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