I Heart Paris


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Europe » France » Île-de-France » Paris
May 24th 2011
Published: May 24th 2011
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Wednesday 5-4 to Sunday 5-8
Salut Mon Amour! I am back in Paris – city that I love!! Since this is the one city Nick and I have been to before (I first brought him here in the winter of 2003 – bad idea, it was freezing and the weather was miserable), we are looking forward to slowing down the tourist train and taking it easy. Strolling through the streets, enjoying the cafes, maybe taking in a museum here or there, but definitely not feeling rushed or pressured to get up and go and see everything – which is an incredibly welcomed break, considering how fast we just sped through three cities in Eastern Europe. I was a little nervous about my French skills (or lack thereof) since it’s been so long since I spoke it, but thankfully, my brain is smarter than I am and remembered enough to get us around town. It was fun to speak it again and, aside from the occasional word in Spanish instead of French, I think I did OK.

We pretty much spent each day roaming through the city and making the required café pit stops ;o) (My god, I forgot how absolutely delicious mille feuille are!) Our first day was spent walking along the Seine and through Place St. Michel (one of my favorite spots in the city), ending up at the Luxembourg Gardens where Nick got to experience the free-standing French toilets. We reveled in the flavors of savory crepes and buttery croissants before ending the night at Place St. Denis to watch the Champion’s League semi-finals.

The next day, we followed another one of Rick Steves’ audio guides and took a walking tour through the city. We hit the Hotel de Ville, Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, Place St. Michel, St. Chapelle Cathedral (such beautiful stained glass!), the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette and many others were held before being beheaded), the Pont Neuf (Paris’ oldest bridge), Tuileries Gardens, Place de la Concorde (former home of the guillotine), and finished the night with a delicious meal of raclette (mmm, potatoes and cheese!) and watching the “Life of Brian” back at the hotel ;o)

Last time we were here, we never made it to the Arc de Triomphe , so we made sure to go this time and take the opportunity to climb to the top for a view of the city. I was amazed at how much air pollution there is in Paris – I don’t remember the yellow layer of smog hanging over the city the last time I was here. Also, the last time we were here, we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and couldn’t see a thing due to the cloudy, overcast weather. So back to the tower we went! We had a lovely picnic on the Champs de Mars underneath the tower and had just enough time to catch a movie (“Source Code” was so-so) before climbing up the tower after sunset to see the city lights at night. It was unbelievably crowded, but we still got some great views!

I wanted Nick to see a little more than just Paris, so we grabbed a train and headed east to Giverny to see Monet’s Gardens. Last time I took this trip, we were able to rent a bike and it was a beautiful ride through the countryside. Unfortunately, 10 years later, bike rentals are enormously expensive and we chose to walk it instead. One thing I don’t understand about many of the museums we go to now is that they ban all photography. Why is this? Museums are tourist destinations; people want to take pictures. I can understand not allowing flash photography – that’s fine. But no cameras at all? I just feel like they’re scamming you to buy postcards instead. Anyway, sadly, we were not able to take any pictures in Monet’s house, which is a beautiful time capsule of an 18th century country cottage. But we did get to stroll through the gardens (sadly, only on the outside – another change from before that baffles me – why not let people walk along the garden paths?!) and see his famous Japanese gardens features in so many of his later paintings. We hitch-hiked back to the train station and treated ourselves to a delicious Moroccan restaurant that gave us complimentary kir with our couscous dinner – I was in heaven!

Our last day in Paris (also Mother’s Day – so, happy Mother’s Day ladies!) was spent trying to take in the last remaining pleasures of the city. We stuffed ourselves with crepes for lunch and then headed to the Louvre for the rest of the day. Sadly, the Louvre is just too massive of a museum to take in all in one day, so we hit the highlights and got lost in the maze of art. :o) Nick then treated me to coffee and ice cream at my favorite café, overlooking Notre Dame before stuffing ourselves with a final French meal of French onion soup and boeuf bourguignon. Bon appétit!


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29th May 2011

AMAZING
Sounds amazing PARIS is my dream trip I can't wait to go one day don't know while Rome is Paul's dream trip soe we will have to 'compromise' somewhere.....Beautiful pics...

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