It has been a dream of mine to visit Paris ever since I was in the 2nd grade. My elementary offered Foreign Language classes before school started each day. I was lucky enough to take French from 2nd-9th grade. Looking back now I wish I would have continued taking French past the age of 14. Luckily I did remember some key phrases and words!
March of 2014 I decided to surprise Sean with our Anniversary trip! I went and booked the flight, hotel, transportation, etc with a travel agent one afternoon. Afterwards I went and purchased a few items to give him as a gift that evening. I bought a globe and placed a star sticker on Paris, a baguette from the grocery store, a map book of a Paris, and a French language book. I positioned the camera on our china hutch so he wouldn't know I was filming him. That night I handed him the envelope that had our flight and hotel information. He later opened the gifts and spun the globe to find out where we were going! He was so surprised and taken back, he had no idea! I loved surprising him! Below is a short video of his reaction.
During March-September we prepared for our exciting Anniversary trip! We talked to friends and family who had previously visited the country to get all the information we could. My friend Amanda was so amazingly helpful! She was lucky enough to work at a French Pastry shop in the heart of Paris for a few months! I am so envious and happy for her. We met up for coffee one day and she told me all the amazing restaurants, bakeries, tea shops, and museums to see. Shout out to Amanda Anderson! She also owns a darling baking business called Sprinkle and Dash! So delicious! Check it out!
Soon enough it was September 24th, 2014 and we were off to the Airport! We were lucky to get a non stop flight from SLC to Paris! 11 hour flight here we come!
When we landed we walked through the airport and found our luggage, then waited outside for our scheduled transport to our hotel! I'm grateful that our travel agent highly suggested this instead of us just figuring out our own way to our hotel. Since neither of us have ever been to France we were quite confused at the airport transportation pick up area. The car driver picked us up and headed out towards our hotel. The car ride was about 1 hr and 30 min. The airport in Paris is a bit outside the main city. I wanted to stay awake the whole ride to our hotel so I could observe the scenery, but I was completely exhausted from the long plane ride and time change, as I do not sleep well on planes due to my knee and back problems.
We arrived at our hotel which was located in the Montmartre District. We were about 2 hour early for check in, so we left our bags in locked closet with the hotel manager and walked around our hotel area. We were only about a block away from Saint-Pierre de Montmartre. Which is the oldest surviving church in Paris. We went and bought a crepe and walked up the hill into the church. If you have seen the French movie Amelie, many scenes were filmed her. I suggest watching it before going to Paris because it features "real life" Paris on a day to day.
Here are a few pictures of Sean and I walking up the hill and around the church. You are not allowed to take photos inside the church.
Afterwards we went and took a short nap at the hotel to recover and then took the metro down to get dinner. After dinner we just walked around and observed the night life while waiting for our reservation we had for the Seine River cruise. I highly suggest to take the cruise right before the sun sets so you can see all the lights and beautiful architecture along the Seine. We purchased our boat ride tickets at Vedettes of Pont Neuf for a sunset cruise!
DAY 2
Breakfast in Paris at a local café down the street from our hotel.
The next day we took an hour train ride out to Versailles. I almost debated on whether Versailles should get its own individual post because its astonishing! It was a fun train ride to see the country side of Paris. When we exited the train station we walked around the block to the grand entrance into the Palace of Versailles!!!
It is a royal château with hundreds of rooms and buildings in a suburb of Paris. There are hundreds upon hundreds of gardens! This place is massive. We spent about 9 hours there and still did not go into every room, building, or garden. If you have the time, DEFINILTY spend 2 days here! After walking through the main building we stepped outside to walk through the gardens, ponds, and down to Marie Antoinettes cottage. Her place is still on the property but a few miles away. Sean and I rented a golf cart to drive around the estate. There were two restaurants inside the palace grounds, so we stopped for a bite to eat and then got gelato afterwards and relaxed by the pond.
Here's a bit of history knowledge I learned about Versailles; Louis XIV had it expanded into one of the largest palaces in the world. In 1678, he moved the court to Versailles. The court was established there in May 1682. My favorite part was Marie Antoinettes estate ( the queens residence). From the Petit Trianon to the Queen’s Gardens, passing by the Hamlet, the Estate, reveals Marie-Antoinette’s private life. Louis XVI’s wife loved this place where she could return to the pleasures of simple, rural pursuits, away from the pomp of Versailles.
She is the only queen to have imposed her personal taste on Versailles. Sweeping away the old court and its traditions, she insisted on living as she wished like in England. In her Trianon domain, which Louis XVI gave her in 1774, she found the heaven of privacy that enabled her to escape from the rigours of court etiquette. Nobody could come there without her invitation.
ENTRANCE OF VERSAILLES
ENTRANCE OF VERSAILLES
INSIDE|| BEDROOMS
HALL OF MIRRORS
OUTSIDE
MARIE'S ESTATE!
It was amazing! You walked around the gardens and behind many ponds and tall trees magically appeared her estate. It reminded me of Snow Whites and Sleeping Beauty's cottage! It was so dreamy! I squealed when we stumbled upon it because it is so hidden! There was a main cottage her for and multiple small cottages for her gardener, cooks, maids, etc. A beautiful pond surrounded her estate. There was one cottage that was fenced off and had rabbits, ducks and chickens frolicking around! I scared Sean because I gasped so loudly! I am a huge animal lover and have always had many rabbits! It was a dream yard for them! Sean made a cruel joke and said, "You know what they use them for right!?" Anyways, it was so dreamy and I did not want to leave. I told Sean, this is where Disney gets its ideas!!
THE ORANGE GARDEN
On the way back up to the palace we almost missed this beautiful garden! They grow limes and oranges in it! The also had fresh OJ juice stands around the grounds where you could purchase a drink.
The next day was the busiest filled day we had on our trip. We tried to fit so much in!
First stop was - Laduree... A must for tea and macaron lovers!
Second- Notre Dome.... This was my favorite building in all of Paris!
Third- Eiffel Tower
Fourth -Musee de Orsay museum
Fifth- Louvre museum
Sixth- dinner at our fancy restaurant- Le Petti Prince
Laduree !!! Started our day off with a delicious breakfast
Next stop was the love lock bridge! Making our love known! Locked it on and tossed our key into the Seine!
We walked from the bridge over to the Notre Dame! By far my favorite building in Paris! I just loved the amazing detail and architecture! The gardens surrounding it were just as beautiful!
The hustling of the day continued as we took a bike ride over to the Eiffel Tower!
The views of Paris were spectacular! We observed all 3 decks of the tower.
Next stop was the Musee d'Orsay
The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh.
We continued our day with heading over to The Louvre Museum. This museum was such an amazing experience to walk through. If you have the time I would dedicate an entire day or two just to be able to walk through everything. With our tight schedule we only had 4 hours there and only walked through one wing of the museum! The Louvre is one of the world's largest museums and a historic monument in Paris, France. Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres!!!
Venus De Milo
Mona Lisa.. but first let me take a selfie...
The Coronation of Napoleon was one of my favorite pieces, so I bought a mini one to take home!
After hours upon hours of walking we were off to our exciting dinner reservations! Its up behind an alley on a hill. The buildings are covered in vines and it looks dreamy!
This place was decadent! We ordered a bottle of wine, a platter of assorted cheeses, and I ordered salmon and Sean ordered a seafood assorted dish. We couldn't forget dessert! We ordered a delicious sampler platter that had flaming crème brulee, fudge, and pastries!
Part 2 of Belgium and our last few days in Paris coming soon....
