Un merveilleux séjour à Paris

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23rd January - 25th January 2016



Un merveilleux séjour à Paris - A wonderful time in Paris.

The capital of France is the capital of Culture, with a taste of art, music, theatre, festival, fashion and entertainment to excite and engross the many Parisians and tourists that occupy the multi-dimensional city. The famous world renowned icons attract millions of visitors with the Eiffel Tower receiving 6 million visitors a year and 250 million since it opened in 1889. The Parisian streets and wide boulevards are filled with shoppers on the weekend even in winter, visiting the top fashion designers and of course the local bakery/ cafe for the most fresh and divine baguettes and croissants in the world which you can smell a mile away. The architecture is beautifully designed in an Art Nouveau style as many areas were reconstructed in the 19th century, so there are many multi-level buildings with elegant and old fashion designs and floral, rhythmic decorations. It amazes me that people actually grew up surrounded by the beauty and extraordinary style and class of Paris as a normality, when it is such a foreign, fascinating and delightful sight to most.

We made the absolute most out of our 3 day weekend in Paris - seeing, feeling and experiencing as much as possible. My broken foot no doubt slowed us down but it definitely did not stop us seeing what we wanted to see, and the time lost with me hobbling around was made up in skipping long queues at the famous tourist attractions.

When we arrived on Saturday morning we caught the train from Charles de Gaulle to the city centre where we dropped off our bags and made our first stop the famous cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris. This is one of the largest Churches in the world and was built over 700 years ago in a very French-Gothic Architecture style. It is an absolutely extravagant building inside and out! We skipped the queue due to my 'disability' and went straight in, to be blown away by the size and beauty of the Cathedral. The stained glass is so detailed and meaningful with each segment telling a story, and the archways and pillars extraordinarily large and impressive. The vibe inside is so peaceful and relaxing but also very thought-provoking and eye opening at the same time - with how much history and knowledge there is behind the stained glass and sculptured walls, as well as how much blood, sweat and tears went into constructing the cathedral.

As we stepped outside and thought about what to do next and how we would get there, a french man on a tuk-tuk (touristy tour bike) ran up to us and said 'free tour for you with the broken foot and discounted for him', so we thought, 'why not! Its the perfect way of seeing the bits of Paris we would otherwise not be able to see and experience' (as wandering around the streets was not an option). So we scrambled into the back and our 'tour guide' plopped a big blanket on us (which was definitely needed as the wind was freezing), and he cycled off towards the river. He cycled us passed luxury apartments where famous people stay, as well as the more impressive, historic apartments of the Queen Marie Antoinette which were along the river Seine. We flew through the tiny cobbled streets in between fancy restaurants and delicious smelling bakeries, which were taken over by pedestrians (who were not impressed by our tourist intrusion), and cycled by the Centre Georges Pompidou - a very large multicultural complex with very modern architecture. We passed The Louvre, Muse de Orsay, the ferris wheel at Place de la Concord, went half way down Champs Elysees and saw a glimpse of Arc de Triomphe when we turned off to see the Grand Palais and travel down towards the Eiffel Tower where we ended our fun and unique tour of Paris.

By the time we got back to the small Parisian apartment from our long day out (starting at 4.30am to catch our flight) we were absolutely exhausted so decided to order food in. Matt some how managed to order for us: 1 burger, 1 chips, and no not 1 can of coke, but 3 - which turned to be one of the nicest (half) burgers we have ever had!

The following day (a Sunday) we thought we would go to a cute cafe/bakery for breakfast and get coffee and fresh croissants. This was not an option - as almost everything is shut on a Sunday - which, admittedly we were warned about but completely forgot - so we headed straight to our first destination of the day, The Louvre (where we were able to get delicious coffee and foccassia sandwiches). We firstly took some selfies with the pyramid, and got an American couple to take a photo of us with our Polaroid camera, and then headed down to find me a wheelchair. With The Louvre being one of the largest museums in the world, we spent almost 5 hours in the magnificent building, and probably didn't see half of it. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which was a 12th century fortress of Philip II, and there are historic remnants still held in the museum from this time. King Louis XIV however, decided he preferred the Palace of Versailles for his home in 1682, and The Louvre would be kept as his gallery for his Royal collection - fair enough I guess?

I thoroughly enjoyed being pushed around to see some of the most famous artworks in the world, it was rather relaxing (I think Matt enjoyed it too?). It was fascinating for the both of us as we had both studied Art History in High School so there were many art works which we knew so much about, and so many artists that we recognised, which made the experience so much more personal. We were able to sit right in front of The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Di Vinci - as everyone else was behind a barrier trying to take photos (another perk of a wheelchair) - Mona was very cool to see in person. I also enjoyed seeing the Winged Victory (190 BC), Venus de Milo (100-130BC), Leonardo De Vinci's Madonna on the Rocks, and one of my favourites was going through Napoleons apartments which are truly remarkable and excessively large for one man. The dazzling decor and detail, and the amount of gold is just over-the-top and really grabs at your eye, but all the same fits in with everything else in the room. The enormous chandeliers are competing with all the other details in the room for your attention - like the rich, vibrant and royal colours which cover the walls, furniture and ornaments. Well I could keep going on about how mind-blowing and body-tingling The Louvre is, but there are other amazing things we did too..

We managed to find a restaurant open on a Sunday for dinner, where I was treated to some delicious wine, food, and even better, company. We had a wonderful night in this french restaurant, eating deliciously fresh baguettes with equally mouthwatering cheese and meats, and of course Escargot (Snails) which were covered in garlic-herb butter. I told Matt we should only get 6 snails because I would definitely only have one.. I finished my 3 in no time and tried to eat his last one but he caught me..

We had a bright and early start to our last day in Paris as we made our way across to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris) to watch the sunrise over the city. For those who have been there - you will realise I was lucky the cable car up the hill was working (the highest point in Paris), as I would've completely missed the sunrise trying to get up all the steps with my crutches. We weren't the only ones up there, many locals on their morning run stopped to take photos as the sun started peeping over the horizon on this very clear, and very brisk morning, as we sat there eating our freshly made croissants and pan au chocolates. It was a beautiful, picturesque view, and if it wasn't so cold we would have sat there for another hour, but we rushed inside the Basilica to not only get warm but also to take in its significance to the city.

We were all about nice views on this day with our next stop - to go up the Eiffel Tower, as it was such a beautifully clear day, with no clouds in the sky, we would be crazy not to. But of course thats what everyone else in Paris thought... Not that it affected us - we got to skip the hour+ long line and head straight up (I think I'll hold on to this moon boot for our next trip). The 360 views from the second level were, needless to say, incredible.. It was a great feeling being up the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, the most Romantic city in the world, with Matt on such a stunner day. This day made me fall in-love with the city even more and made me want to go back when we can wander around and see more of the non-touristy parts of Paris! We also had a lovely picnic in the gardens in the sun, witnessing a proposal (she said yes) and wedding photos being taken which was lovely.

The last stop was Les Invalides to visit the Musee de L'Armee to learn about the French Military History. I didn't know too much about the military history, so found it very interesting, until I fell asleep in the wheelchair - which Matt of course didn't realise for a while, until he wondered why I wasn't answering him - so classic!! I decided I'd bare the pain of the crutches to wake me up a bit and we went across to see the Tomb of Napoleon before we jumped on a train out to the airport.

To say we had an amazing weekend would be an understatement. Of course it would have been easier and less painful (for everyone) if I hadn't broken my foot on my birthday the day before departing, but there were most definitely some perks, and I wouldn't change anything because it was perfect. Paris is so intriguing and so classy, I absolutely loved the city, and every iconic feature which makes the city so great. Its not only a Culture Capital of art, music and history, but a capital of romance too!

Je serai de retour a Paris.

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