Sunday, February 18, 2018

Parisian Getaway



Last month I had the incredible opportunity to go to Paris for a week! It all started in late November when I came across an amazing Black Friday deal that Icelandair was offering - round trip tickets from Denver to Paris for $335! I always see these deals and wonder how people can just "go" on a spur of the moment trip...but here I was thinking, "why not?!" You had to travel in January, which was a mere 6 weeks away, but thankfully my passport was still valid and good to go and I had a friend who wanted to join - so that's it, I was set!

The 6 weeks went by crazy fast and before I knew it the trip had arrived! It wasn't a long trip, but at 3 1/2 days (after travel time), we figured it was enough time to see all of the major sites in the city! And I wasn't wrong - yes it was a quick trip, but I feel very happy with everything we got to see and do in a short time. Weather also wasn't ideal - it rained every day but 1 (and that 1 day was super windy!), but with less than ideal weather comes less tourists, which made visiting all of the sites a breeze - we didn't have to wait in any lines which was awesome! So without further ado - pictures from this awesome trip!

Day 1 - Arrival / Louvre


We got into Paris around 12pm on Monday. The original plan was to head to our Airbnb that we rented, and then walk down to the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard and at a 20 minute walk we weren't sure we wanted to endure the rain, so we decided to switch our plans and head to the Louvre instead. By the time we figured out the train system, got to our flat, and then walked to the Louvre, it was already after 3 - but that still left us with several hours to explore the museum which closed at 6. After the museum we walked around for awhile exploring before calling it a night.

Musee du Louvre


Had to get a picture of the Mona Lisa!




Day 2 - Versailles & Eiffel Tower at Night


We took the train out to Versailles for Day 2. I knew to plan for a full day at Versailles, and we weren't wrong - touring this place took forever (but in a good way). There's the main palace, the Grand Trianon, The Petit Trianon, plus all of the gardens and the Queen's Hamlet. To say it was extravagant would be an understatement! After our full day in Versailles, we took the train back but got off one stop early so we could see the Eiffel Tower at night before walking back and getting dinner.

The Palace of Versailles


Looking out at the gardens.



Hall of Mirrors











Day 3 - Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Notre Dame at Night

Wednesday was the only day it wasn't supposed to rain so we spent it walking EVERYWHERE. We started the day off with some delicious crepes for breakfast before walking to the Eiffel Tower again - but this time to see it in the day and head to the top. After a leisurely stroll with a few detours to explore side streets, we finally made it to the Eiffel Tower! Much to my dismay, the very top was closed, so we could only go as far as the second story. The views were still excellent from here though - we decided to walk the stairs rather than take the elevator which was kind of fun. After leisurely exploring we had a nice lunch on the first level of the tower before heading back down and making our way to the Arc de Triomphe. Once we made it here we also walked the stairs to the top of this one as well which made for some more great views.  After the Arc de Triomphe, we walked the Champs-Elysees back to the Louvre and then on towards Notre Dame, so we could see it lit up at night. This was our first time on the "ile de la cite" - the island in the Siene River which houses Notre Dame. After this we headed back to the Louvre again to see a few areas we missed on Day 1 (this was the day it was open late), before heading back to our flat for bread, cheese and wine for dinner.













Stairwell going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe



Sunset over the Ile de la Cite'

Notre dame at Night (everything here was so pretty at night!)





Well earned bread, cheese, and wine after a long day of walking!

Day 4 - Notre Dame and Exploring

I was glad we had packed Day 3 pretty full because that left us with time to just explore and enjoy the city for our last full day. Our only "must" was the inside of Notre Dame and Musee D'Orsay - other than that, we could just explore and enjoy. We started the day off walking down to the Ile de la Cite again where we had breakfast at one of the cute cafe's we had seen the night before, before heading into Notre Dame to see the interior. After that we  made our way over to Sainte Chappelle - which is famous for it's stained glass. Unfortunately we found out it was closed, so weren't able to go in, but instead found some cute little areas to walk around and enjoy. As we started looking for a lunch spot we ended up stumbling upon the Latin Quarter which was a really unique street with a ton of restaurants. After lunch we headed back down the Latin Quarter and found a few other unique and quirky places (such as the skinniest flat in Paris (the width of a door), before heading onto Musee' D'Orsay. We spent several hours in Musee D'Orsay checking out all of the great impressionist's before having dinner to end our last night in Paris!

Paris Love Locks



Inside Notre Dame




Sainte Chapelle (famous for its Stained Glass, but the inside was unfortunately closed!)



Point Zero - where all places in Paris are measured from.


The Latin Quarter




Musee D'Orsay


Loved seeing all of the Van Gogh and Monet pieces!




Macaroons & Wine to celebrate our last night in Paris!

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