Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts

September 21, 2016

Summer in Paris: Part 2

If you haven't read my other posts about my summer trip to Paris, you can read about our itinerary, the post I didn't want to write, and part one of my adventures in Paris!

Day 6: Our 6th day in Paris, and The Pilot's last day, was filled with awesome new-to-me experiences! We started our morning doing a self-guided tour of the Opera House. I only recently learned that this was an option, after always assuming that the only way to see the Opera House was to see a performance. Of course, I had to see the famed Opera House that inspired The Phantom of the Opera, and it didn't disappoint. Though, after spending the morning roaming the Opera House, I know that on my next trip to Paris, I'll absolutely go for a performance!





The views from the balcony offered a wonderful glimpse into morning rush hour in Paris. We left the Opera House and made our way to the famed Shakespeare and Company bookstore. While this is, arguably, the most famous English-language bookstore in the world, it wasn't until a few days before we left when The Pilot and I watched "Midnight in Paris" (which I highly recommend) for the first time, that I learned of the bookstore. 

My family had to practically pry me out of the store and I came home with a few too many books!


We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling along the Seine on our way to an unbelievable dinner at Verjus.


After dinner, we finally made our way to the Eiffel Tower at night. When my mom had first been to Paris, the tower wasn't lit at night, and, while we had seen it from afar a few times, we still hadn't made our way to see the Tower lit up at night. 


Day 7: The next day, I went for a morning run in the Luxembourg Gardens while my mom and aunt wandered the gardens. We took the rest of the day pretty easy, did some shopping, and went for a long stroll in the Marais, stumbling on some adorable hidden passages with little shops. 


Day 8: On our last day in Paris, we took the metro up to Parc de Buttes Chaumont. This park was massive and I loved exploring it! I wish I had found it earlier, as it would have been a great place to run in, although, it's very hilly! We wandered the park, had lunch in one of the park's restaurants and took in the stunning views of Montmartre. 


While we were exploring, my aunt found out that her nephew had gotten to Paris that morning, so we met up with him and his wife in the Latin Quarter for dinner and drinks before heading to a bar to watch France win the Euro Cup semi-final. It was ridiculously fun and such an awesome way to end our trip to Paris.

We got up early the next morning, headed to the airport, and made our way home. Another successful Paris trip in the books!


Does this post make you want to hop on a plane to Paris?
It definitely makes me want to go back! I'm sorry it took so long for me to recap my trip! 
It's been a busy summer, but I hope you enjoyed reliving my trip with me!
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September 12, 2016

Summer in Paris: Part 1

Ah, Paris. It's been two months since I came back from my favorite trip to Paris, and I'm finally writing about it.

I always like to go on vacation for the 4th of July, a trend I started after realizing that DC during the 4th, while awesome, is really quite insane.

When we first started planning this trip, it was going to be me, my mom, and, if he had time off, The Pilot. A few months into planning, my mom's sister decided to join (my Tia), and when The Pilot found out he was going to have 5 days off (unheard of), we knew it was going to be a great trip!

Day 1
My mom, aunt, and I landed in Paris on a very cold Friday morning. We checked into our hotel in the St. Germain des Pres (my favorite neighborhood), and then made our way to climb the Eiffel Tower.

I did this on my first trip to Paris at about 10:45 at night, just before they were closing, and I thought it was the biggest waste of money, but my mom and aunt really wanted to go up.

Well, climbing the Eiffel Tower at night is probably a waste of money, but during the day? Oh my goodness. Breathtaking. It was incredibly cold and windy, and raining while we were up there, and we were actually pretty miserable, but it was so worth it!


We spent some time wandering the Eiffel Tower grounds (it had stopped raining when we came down) and then called it a day!

What an incredible shot for wedding photos!!
We were there during the Euro Cup and Paris was definitely celebrating!
Day 2
When we started planning our trip, the first thing my mom said she wanted to do was to go on a food tour like the one The Pilot and I went on while we were on our honeymoon. I booked us the Taste of the Latin Quarter and it was every bit as wonderful as the first food tour we went on. Our guide, Emma, was brilliant and I immediately fell in love with her and her knowledge of French cheese!


After our food tour, we went to our hotel to pick up The Pilot who had arrived that morning! We immediately set off, first, making a stop at Poilane, for their famous apple tarts (imagine an apple pie baked into a croissant). We dropped my mom and Tia off at Notre Dame and The Pilot and I went to discover the Ile St. Louis. This was the best part of our trip, getting to see the usual sights while exploring a lot of new-to-me places!


Day 3
The next morning, we made our way to Montmartre. My mom, Tia, and The Pilot all went to Sacre Cour and I meandered off on my own to visit Espace Dali, a permanent collection of Salvador Dali's works. I fell in love with the artist while living in London and was really excited at the opportunity to visit this space! I highly recommend it!


Then, of course, we paid a visit to the Moulin Rouge and wandered to the Canal St. Martin.


Day 4
Another cold, rainy day in Paris. We made our way out of the city to the Palace of Versailles. We explored the palace, and then The Pilot and I left to rent row boats while my mom and Tia wandered the palace grounds.


We all met up afterward to visit Marie Antoinette's Estate, which I hadn't seen on my first trip to Versailles and explore the further edges of the palace grounds. I really love Versaille and would visit on every trip to Paris if I could, even if it was just to spend a day on the grounds! There are always tons of runners out and about and I would love to run Versailles sometime!

Day 5
The Louvre! Ok, I have a confession to make. The first time I went to Paris, I spent 20 minutes inside the Louvre. I paid, walked in, saw the Mona Lisa, and left. Of course, I knew there was much more to see, but the Louvre truly blew me away.


Most interestingly, aside from all of the art, is the history of the Louvre, which used to be a fortress. They're uncovering the basement (for lack of a better word), which used to be the moat around the fortress! We got to wander around the moat, which was so cool! No joke, I always used to say when I was a kid that I wanted a moat around my house.

We left the Louvre and made our way down the Champs d'Elysees, meandering, window shopping, exploring, before climbing the Arc du Triomphe, which I had never done before, and now tell everyone I know that it should be the very first thing they do in Paris.


Climbing the Eiffel Tower is great, but when you're in Paris and you want a view, what you really want is to actually see the Eiffel Tower. The views from the Arc du Triomphe are absolutely incredible and 100% worth the steep climb to the top. Though, if you're claustrophobic, I wouldn't recommend!


Our first five days in Paris were a perfect mix of seeing iconic can't-miss sights, as well as exploring new places in the city. I loved hearing my mom talking about what has changed since she was in Paris as a teenager, and showing my aunt around the city for the first time! It was so fun to play tour guide, and to realize that after so many trips to Paris, I'm really starting to know my way around!

I hope you've enjoyed this post about my first few days in Paris! If you follow my on Instagram, you know that I'm in Australia right now! The long haul flight over was perfect for finally putting this (and another) post about Paris together, and I hope you've enjoyed reading!





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August 29, 2016

The Paris Post I Didn't Want to Write

Since coming back from Paris, there is one thing that I haven't been able to get off my mind. Paris is one my of favorite cities. When The Pilot and I have traveled to Paris every 2 years since almost religiously since we've been together, and we will absolutely return.


I love Paris. I love the people, the food, the language, culture, and music. I fell in love with Paris the first time I went there in a way I never expected to (though I fully expected to fall for Barcelona that way and didn't enjoy it at all).

Paris is one of the oldest cities in Europe, and so much of the city has changed (like this beautiful intersection in the Latin Quarter which used to be a river...in fact, the river still flows underneath, compacted beneath 8 feet of concrete and what used to be a cemetery. (Yup). 


Yet so much of the city has remained the same, and it's absolutely wonderful.

This trip to Paris, however, there was a definite change...something new to the city that has stayed with me since coming home.

In nearly every subway station, and on several streets throughout the city, there are families of Syrian refugees. Many of them stand, holding passports or pictures of family members they are trying to be reunited with. They aren't begging for food, or money, they want to know that their family members are alive, and to be reconnected with them.

It was truly one of the most heartbreaking experiences of my life. These refugees had expressions on their faces that only the pain of not knowing what has happened to one's family can etch. Living in major cities my entire adult life, I have sadly grown accustomed to walking past homeless people on the street, only occasionally stopping to offer food or change, but in Paris, I couldn't ignore them.

I looked at them, saddled with guilt. Guilt that we have allowed their country to be leveled into a burial ground, guilt that we allow "the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII to refer to a new situation, country, or group of people every few years, guilt that despite getting a Master's degree in a field designed to protect these very people, I'm not doing that, and more importantly, guilt that I live in a country where my own parents escaped to, where the rhetoric against refugees, against everyone fleeing to this country, is so hateful and in opposition to the very freedoms that my parents fled to.

Why am I talking about this? The reality is that I can't write about Paris without thinking about the fathers holding pictures of their little girls, women holding pictures of their sons and husbands. It doesn't feel right to talk about visiting the Louvre and eating macarons when each of those experiences began with a journey where I witnessed pain that shouldn't exist in this world.

On one afternoon, we were connecting metro lines at Chatelet and I saw a young woman, probably about my age, maybe a little bit older, sitting on the floor talking to a woman sitting on a piece of cardboard by herself holding a passport in her hand. The Syrian woman was telling her story and I saw her smile and I was so grateful to the world that someone could make her smile. Had I spoken Arabic, I like to think I would have done the same thing and tried to talk to every one of them, to see if I could help in some way. That young woman, who took time out of her day, our of her busy commute, to stop and try and offer someone some compassion - she restored my faith in humanity and I pray that others in Paris, in Germany, and across the world, are doing the same.

I've struggled with writing about my trip because I didn't feel right talking about it without sharing what is happening in Paris, and an experience that will always remind me how to count my blessings and to be compassionate.


"You may choose to to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know." - William Wilburforce
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August 4, 2016

Paris: Our Itinerary

It's been a month since I was in Paris, and, as I've been sorting through my pictures for my most recent trip to Paris, I've been trying to think of the best way I want to write about them, especially since I've posted about Paris the last few times I've been there.

The first time I went to Paris was in 2007 while I was living in London. When I graduated with my Master's, The Pilot took me to Paris. We had been together for 2 years and it was our first big trip together. Two years later, we went back twice on the front and back ends of our honeymoon. This most recent trip was for my mom. She had been to Paris as a teenager and had been dying to go back ever since. With her retiring this year (last week, in fact!), I decided to take her to Paris and brought my aunt, who had never been to Paris, along for the ride.

Before diving into all of our posts, I thought I'd share our (detailed) itinerary so that you can get an idea of how we maneuvered the city and what we did. We didn't at all schedule our itinerary, this is just what we happened to do, but for those planning a trip, this might be helpful!


Day 1: Landed in Charles de Gaulle, checked into our hotel in the Saint-Germain, and made our way to the Eiffel Tower for a trip to the top. I had been to the top of the Eiffel Tower on my first trip to Paris at night and didn't think it was worth a visit to the top again, but seeing it in the daytime makes every difference in the world! I loved pinpointing different spots from the top and actually seeing the city.


We spent a few hours at the Eiffel Tower and then made our way back toward our hotel, stopping for a quick dinner at a brasserie in the neighborhood before calling it a night. We were all pretty exhausted after not sleeping on the flight over so it was a somewhat early night for us!

Day 2: Paris by Mouth Food Tour. The Pilot and I went on Paris by Mouth's Taste of the Saint-Germain on our honeymoon and my mom insisted that we include one of their tours on this trip. We opted for the Taste of the Latin Quarter, which was every bit as wonderful as the first tour The Pilot and I went on, and gave us the opportunity to explore a neighborhood that I wasn't too familiar with.


The Pilot flew in that morning and we picked him up after our Food Tour and made our way to Notre Dame. We dropped my mom and aunt off at the Cathedral, and The Pilot and I wandered down to Ile-St. Louis for crepes and then stumbled on EuroCup exhibit at the Hotel de Ville.


We made our way back to Notre Dame and picked up my mom and aunt and headed to dinner at Ellsworth. We didn't have reservations but got a table at the bar where we had great service and the food was unbelievable. I couldn't rave enough about the food and the wine at this incredible restaurant! Served small plates style, we shared delicious creamy burrata with pickled cherries, fried chicken, fresh heirloom tomatoes, and so many other things. We were all set to leave when a downpour started and we ordered another bottle of wine. This was one of my favorite nights in Paris and I would go back to Ellsworth again and again and again!

Day 3: A morning run in the Luxembourg Gardens followed by a trip to Polaine Bakery before we made our way up to Montmartre. My family went to Sacre Cour and I made my way to Espace Dali, the Salvador Dali exhibit, and then, together, we paid a visit to the Moulin Rouge. We wandered down to the Canal St. Martin and then headed back to get ready for yet another amazing dinner. This time, at Semilla in the Saint-Germain.


Day 4: Versailles!


Day 5: The Louvre, the Champs D'Elysees, a trip to the top of the Arc du Triomphe, and then another impeccable dinner at Verjus, in the Marais.


Day 6: A morning stop to Pierre Herme for macarons, The Paris Opera (just for a visit), Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, the Eiffel Tower at night.


Day 7: Shopping! Lunch in the Saint-Germain followed by Berthillon's ice cream, getting lost in the Marais, another visit to Shakespeare and Company, before yet another fabulous dinner at Freddy's.


Day 8: A morning run in the Luxembourg Gardens, a shopping trip for chocolate(which I left on the plane!) and macarons, a trip to the Parc des Butte Chaumont, dinner in the Latin Quarter, and drinks to watch the EuroCup semi-final.


There you have it! It was a wonderful trip to Paris and I'm so excited to share the rest of our trip with you! I saw and did so many things that I had never seen or known about, and it was so fun realizing how well I know my way around Paris after so many trips there!

Thanks for bearing with me while I took almost a month to get at least one post up! I promise I won't wait that long before getting my next Paris post up!

Have you been to Paris? What are some of your favorite things to do in Paris? If you haven't been, what would you like to see most in the City of Light?
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July 11, 2016

Paris is Always a Good Idea

Ah, Paris.


I don't know what is about the city but I can't get enough. After five trips to the City of Light, I can safely say that I'm hooked. 

The first time I traveled internationally by myself was in 2007. I went to Geneva. I had an incredible time and made a lot of friends. Three months later, I was living in London, and went back to Geneva to visit them. On that flight, I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed that I was going back to a place I had already visited. I was excited to see my friends and spend the weekend in Geneva, but there was so much of the world to see...why was I going back?

I loved that second trip to Geneva. I saw more of the city than I had the first time I was there and didn't feel the need to see the sights because I had already done so. The first time I went to Paris, I was traveling in a group and was stuck doing what other people wanted to do. I had an OK time but was dying to go back. The Pilot have been there together on three separate trips, each time staying in a different area, trying different things, and getting to know the city. 

This time around, I was with my mom, my aunt, and The Pilot.

It was my mom's first trip to Paris in over 40 years and my aunt's first trip. This trip was the perfect mix of seeing things I had already seen, exploring new-to-me areas of the city, listening to my mom talk about what has changed (for better and for worse), and eating some of the best food Paris has to offer. 

I can't wait to share all of the incredible details of our trip with you! First, I need to sort through the more than 400 pictures I took and recover from jet lag! In the meantime, here are just a few pictures from the trip. 


Have you been to Paris? Where's one city that you keep finding yourself traveling to?
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!
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