Hello all! I am so sorry for the delay on my Paris post, my family and I have been dealing with the effects of Hurricane Harvey. However I am very excited to share how we saw almost ALL of Paris in four days! The city of love, and we LOVED this city. This was the second destination on our European adventure in August and we took the train there from Bern, Switzerland. The train took about 4.5 hours and was not the most comfortable ride but it was cheaper than a plane!
Day 1
We checked into our Hotel Peyris Opera. It was a cute boutique hotel about 3 blocks from the Opera house. The concierge here was awesome! They were super helpful and helped us get around town and book excursions! After we checked in, we headed to explore downtown a little! We ate our first Parisian meal in a cute little café. The streets are full of these and it is always easy to find something to eat in this town! We tried to go to Notre Dam, but it was the Assumption Feast Day. Paris has very much Catholic influence so be sure to check local holidays when planning. One of the coolest and most humbling sites was the flame of the Statue of Liberty which also has a Princess Diana memorial around the location she died. We walked down Champs de Elysses, which I would compare to a Rodeo Drive or mini Times Square with shops. We walked around the Eiffel Tower and went under it. Then we sat on the green for the light display that happens every night at Sunset. If you forget your champagne or Kronenberg French beer, no fear! There are tons of people selling them. After watching the lights we decided to take the Subway back and call it an early night. The Subway is very easy to use and very affordable way of getting around Paris.
Day 2-Giverny
This was one of my favorite days of the entire trip. When I was in kindergarten, they showed us a documentary about the gardens and home of Claude Monet and I have been obsessed with visiting ever since. We booked the tour through a tour company and the bus ride was about an hour and a half from Paris. The gardens were phenomenal. There was every type of flower imaginable and the colors were so vibrant, pictures just do not begin to do it justice. His home is absolutely adorable, the famous yellow kitchen and blue dining room were full of life and I loved every second of being there.
We then went to the Water lily section and we got to walk across the famous bridge captured in so many of his paintings. The lilies were still in season! They bloom in the summer months and we got to catch the end of their bloom. I will say this attraction was very packed and it was difficult to capture pictures. However I would recommend this to everyone! Especially impressionism fans. To finish off the day I tried a Famous Parisian crepe with chocolate, strawberries and bananas. YUM. Once we got back to France we made an appearance at Notre Dam and the Louvre. The Louvre is a no brainer and if you go in the evening crowds are very low. The Louvre was Chris' favorite part. We literally could have spent a week in there. It is fantastic. If you have a chance to go make sure you visit the lower floor that has the actual base of the original Louvre building which was a military fort, then a castle!
Day 3-DISNEYLAND
This was my other favorite day of the trip! On my (and now Chris' too) bucket list is to visit every Disney park in the world ( am visiting Florida's in October and Hong Kong's in April so stay tuned ;) ) Once I am finished I will eventually make a blog comparing the parks! This day was so fun! We got to ride every single ride in the park, due to its smaller size. We ran around like kids and pretty sure we were having more fun than the actual children. I would definitely recommend this day trip from Paris. Disney offers a ticket where they pick you and bring you back from downtown Paris for about 100 USD. I would recommend riding the Rataouille ride early as the lines get crazy long! And you HAVE to see the Dragon under the castle its a phenomenal walk through attraction. If you do not want to buy the ticket with the pickup there is a subway stops that literally goes to the parks gates.
Day 4-Versailles
The Infamous Royal Palace of Versailles. This is also a day trip from Paris, you can go by yourself with a cheap train ticket or you can go with a group however if you go alone be prepared for a line. We waited more in line here than combined at Disney Paris. The palace is definitely a site to see and plays a huge role in the French Revolution history. You can tour the palace and also all the grounds. One site that was very neat was Marie Antoinette's little get away house she had. There was also another small chateau that was further back on the grounds that we heard was awesome but our feet were spunt by then. The grounds is way bigger than the map lets on so I would recommend renting one of the golf carts they have for rent on the grounds. I would recommened researching a little about the history of this palace before visiting, it will make you appreciate the sites more. For example Benjamen Franklin was one of the royal guests at a time, so that was a neat fact!.
Once we got back to Paris we decided to go to a little island where the famous painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte was painted. The island is pretty eroded and nothing like the beautiful painting. It was a little off the beaten path so I do not know if I would recommend this. However they do have a walk through of the famous impressionism paintings done there!
Paris is a beautiful amazing town, but be prepared to walk, smell cigarette smoke, and see some poverty. But I would definitely recommend the city of love as an add to your Bucket List.
