We arrived after a long day on a few different trains from Switzerland. While Switzerland was absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite places, it's not exactly the most convenient for traveling to and from. But nonetheless we made it to Paris. We found our Airbnb stay quickly, but it was an apartment building with a bunch of people and we had a hard time getting into the building because we couldn't figure out how to get someone to buzz us in. We eventually were able to walk in after some people, but then none of the doors were labelled so we didn't know which door was his! We ran into a woman and asked her if she recognized the man we were supposed to be staying with... She didn't, but we had his number so she called him for us and was able to figure out which apartment room we needed to be at! She was so helpful and we were so appreciative of her kindness!! We have encountered some very helpful and kind people on this trip which has been a big blessing. So it was almost looking like another bad Airbnb situation, but not to worry! It worked out! It turned out that it was a very small apartment that he owns and just rents out so we got the little place to ourselves! Complete with a balcony which we enjoyed.
Where we were located was in the heart of an area called Montmartre. Basically it's more of an artsy, contemporary area of Paris, and located in the middle of that at the top of the hill is the Sacre Couer Basilica. We walked up the many steps to the top for a beautiful view of Paris and also to tour the Basilica. It was very crowded in the area, but we still enjoyed the Basilica and also enjoyed walking around Montmartre. It is really cool to see all of the people walking the streets eating crepes, sitting outside the open restaurants drinking wine, and artists up and down the street, it felt very Parisian to me... Or what I imagine Paris to be anyway!
The next day we found a bakery right by our apartment for breakfast and it was amazing. The pastries were so good, it was nearly magical! Jeremiah and I were so impressed that we subsequently made that our breakfast spot for the following few days! Pastries in hand, we found another free walking tour by the same company with whom we did our last two free walking tours. It didn't disappoint! We were taken past Notre Dame, the love lock bridge, Saint Chapelle, the Louvre, The Tuileries Garden, and many more places! We've really liked these walking tours because they take us all over the city and give so many great stories and history. Plus, they're free (minus the tip)! The end of the tour left us at the end of the Champs Élysées, so we grabbed some crepes and wandered up the Champs Élysées in and out of a few shops toward the Arc de Triomph. The crepes were also amazing, by the way. The Arc de Triomphe is surrounded by one of the largest roundabouts in the world and it seems like complete chaos! So we were glad to only be looking at it, not driving in it. We got to the Arc under the street and it is massive! A very cool sight to see with a little memorial underneath it that we visited. Then we went back to Notre Dame to visit the inside. Yet another beautiful church! Notre Dame has a bit of a different feel to it though... Darker and more gothic I would say, but just as great! We ended the night back at Montmartre wandering around the area again. We just really enjoyed the atmosphere there!
The second full day we decided to visit the Chateau de Versailles. WOW. You've probably heard it mentioned before, the gaudy and gorgeous and over-the-top Versailles. Yes, it is all of those things. I had been there before, but it is still just as impressive the second time. Unfortunately it was packed that day!! The line to get in took about an hour and a half. But once we finally got into the palace we got audio guides and took our time wandering through the rooms and staring open mouthed at the gold and glass and glitter! Versailles also has very extensive gardens which we looked at but didn't wander through because apparently on Tuesdays it cost 10 extra Euro just for the garden! Other days it's free... Seriously? We were kind of annoyed, but we still enjoyed our time there. Plus we found another small nearby park to enjoy our lunch in.
Once back in Paris we went to the Eiffel Tower! And don't worry, we were extra aware of possible pick pocketers! I was extra aware our whole time in Paris actually! Anyway, we visited perhaps the most iconic part of Paris and it is very impressive! It's bigger than I remembered and Jeremiah and I spent awhile just taking pictures and admiring it. We walked slowly under and past it and then sat on a nearby bench for awhile. It was nice to just take the time to appreciate it. We decided we didn't need to go up in it because we had already gotten a great view of the city from the Sacre Couer. The rest of the day we pretty much just wandered around the city until it got dark and we went back up to that very spot at the Sacre Couer to see the Eiffel Tower lit up! While we waited for it to get dark we got to see a very nice sunset as well.
Now you'll never guess what we did our next full day! Or maybe you will if you know the two of us well... We decided to go to Disneyland Paris! At the beginning of our trip we had decided that we were definitely not going to go, because we've been to Disney so many times before that it wouldn't be worth our time in Paris. But as it got closer and closer we kept thinking about how fun and once-in-a-lifetime it would be and decided to go for it. We were very happy with our decision. We took the train out, got a park hopper ticket for the two parks there, and spent the whole day there! It was really fun to compare it to Disneyland and Disney World. We did some of our favorites like Thunder Mountain and Rock'n'Roller Coaster and tried some new rides like their Indiana Jones, Ratatouille, and Crush's Coaster. While we have of course loved every experience from our trip, this one holds a different special place in our hearts because we are just both huge Disney fans! It was a really fun day and a nice way to switch things up and add in a little piece of home into our Europe vacation!
For our last full day in Paris we first went to Sainte Chapelle. It's a church with basically wall to wall stained glass! Holy cow, it's beautiful! The stained glass is so intricate and lights up the whole chapel. Not only that, but all of the detailed stained glass is a depiction of many of the books of the Bible. It's really incredible. Then we ventured over to the Louvre to spend basically the rest of the day! I'm sure you've heard of the Louvre as well... The world's largest museum! I'm convinced you could spend weeks in there. Well, if you read everything you could spend weeks in there. We just spent a majority of the day, and I feel like we only scraped the surface. Of course we first stopped by the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Two of the classics that you basically have to see if you go there. It's pretty crazy to see the number of people crowding around the tiny Mona Lisa painting! Especially because on the opposite wall there is a massive painting that only a few people seem to pay any attention to. After we made the obligatory stops we just wandered in whichever direction we felt like going. I enjoyed the Egyptian, Greek, and Oriental Antiques the most. But really half the experience is just being in awe of the sheer number and variety of pieces they have. The museum's collection is incredible. I have no idea how they obtained quite as much as they have! We were pretty wiped out after that, but we stopped to have a nice dinner on our last night in Paris. Jeremiah's parents generously offered to pay for a nice dinner out for us! Thank you Dwights! We both have such awesome, generous parents. Our dinner was delicious and a great way to wrap up our time in France.
Very early this morning (I'm talking 4 am!!) we got up to gather our stuff and get to our plane flight back to London! I apologize if it seems like I lacked creativity in this post, but I am blaming it on the long day that I've just had! I've basically been on my feet since 4 am, so you can't blame me! Stay tuned for our wrap up in London!!
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