Paris: Honeymoon 2014
The last stop on our Eurotrip honeymoon was Paris. We left London by train on a Wednesday afternoon. We had seats at a table to ourselves where we got a cheese plate and drinks. The trip only took a little over two hours.
Once we arrived in Paris, we had to navigate the subway system to the 4th Arrondissement and our Hotel di Rivoli. We went out for a walk to see Notre Dame which was very close to our hotel. We had dinner at a restaurant that looked right at the cathedral where James tried escargot.
DAY 1
(first full day)
We walked from our hotel to The Louvre early on Thursday morning. We wanted to go before the crowds became unmanageable and fortunately there weren't that many people. The first thing we wanted to do was see the Mona Lisa before more people got there. We realized while walking through the galleries that we would have to buy one of those translator audio guides because all the information on the art was in french. The Mona Lisa was in a huge room which was crowded but I was able to move my way up to get a picture.
We wandered around to different wings of the museum. Stopping to see the Venus de Milo, Egyptian artifacts, Napoleon's Staterooms, and Marble statues.
We decided after walking around all morning that our feet would appreciate a break. We found the hop on hop off bus stop outside the museum and spend a couple hours riding through the city.
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| This is the Luxor Obelisk, in the center of the Palace de la Concorde, is 3,000 years old |
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| The Arch de Triumph |
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| Le Grand Palais Museum with it's iron/steel and glass roof |
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| The Petit Palais art museum across the street |
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| Musée de l'Armée where Napoleon is buried |
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| The bridge with all the love locks |
DAY 2
On Friday we went to Versailles. We took a train that took us 30minutes outside of Paris. We walked through town up to a grand entrance. Versailles is a french icon. The center of french power from the late 1600's to the French Revolution and known for being extremely ornate. I love stories about Marie Antoinette and french society so I was really happy to be able to take pictures inside unlike in England. This was the only Palace that allowed photography the whole trip.
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| Ceremonial bedchamber |
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| Hall of Mirrors |
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| Marie Antoinette's room and the secret door |
We walked through the gardens over to Le Petit Trianon - the chateau built for King Louis XV's mistress. King Louis XVI gave it to Marie Antoinette and she used it as an escape from Palace life. It's the size of a large house. Tiny compared to the Palace.
The land near Le Petit Trianon was called the Queen's Hamlet. A small village she had built made of a few homes, gardens and a farm that looks straight out of a fairy tale. It was rustic and charming and I had the most fun watching the animals at the farm.
After a day of walking, our feet were aching for a break. They hurt so much we paid to take a trolley back up to the Palace. When we got back to Paris, we ducked into the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore full to the brim with old and new books, alcoves for reading and old world feel. We grabbed an ice cream and wandered through the gardens of Notre Dame on the walk back to the hotel before we took a quick a nap before dinner. We ended up getting stuck in the rain trying to find a place to eat. We found a restaurant in the Sorbonne neighborhood but the food was unfortunately underwhelming.
DAY 3
Saturday was our last full day. I woke up with a sore throat and both of us has REALLY sore feet. Before we left I really wanted to see Montmartre. We took the metro it dropped us off at the bottom of a steep hill but we climbed our way up the stairs to La Basilique du Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) the large Catholic church that oversees all of Paris. We wandered through the artistic center of Montmartre soaking up the sun and warm day. We and eventually made our way back to the Metro to pick up lunch on the way back to the hotel.
Back near our hotel we picked up lunch. We stopped at a pharmacy first to pick up some medicine. Then we stopped in a bakery for bread, next to a wine store where we got a bottle of Riesling. Then we went into a cheese shop to get some stinky Brie and a market where we bought some grapes. We set ourselves up to have a very french lunch. We sat on the balcony off our hotel room and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.
Had dinner at a little Italian restaurant on the Il Saint-Louis across from the island with Notre Dame. where we had an AMAZING bottle of Bordeaux wine. We said goodbye to Europe the next morning. Paris was beautiful. Thankfully I was able to get by asking if people spoke English, I even got mistaken for a local and totally forgot how to say "I don't speak French" I just shrugged and said "American, Sorry!" The Metro was convenient to use. If only I had a marathoners feet to keep walking around the city.
