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The Travel Section – Paris

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When Michael and I were planning our trip to Europe, Paris wasn’t even on the top of our list.  We knew we really wanted to go to Italy and Germany so we were really focused over there.  So when we started looking at flights, we had sticker shock at flights going into Rome and Frankfurt.  So just for fun, we started putting in random destinations.  When Michael put in Paris we couldn’t believe our eyes.  The price for a round trip flight to Paris was almost HALF the price! So we started mapping out our trip and everything just started falling into place.  What’s ironic is that Michael never had a desire to visit Paris.  Now it’s our favorite city in the entire world.  I’m ready to go back and Michael is ready to live there. Scratch that.  We’re both ready to live there!!

Our trip was kind of sandwhiched in-between Paris.  We were there for two days at the beginning and two days at the end of our trip since we were flying out of Paris.  When we booked our trip, we were really looking at the days that were cheapest to fly.  It just so happened to be around our 5 year anniversary so that was a no brainer.  What we DIDN’T realize was that the beginning of the trip landed on Bastille Day.  Michael just happened to stumble on that little piece of information when he was googling around for places to eat and things to do in Paris.  So we researched what happens in Paris on Bastille Day and we got more and more excited.  They have a parade in the morning with the French military (this year it was lead by American Armed Forces and Donald Trump), several fly overs by the French Air Force, a live symphony concert under the Eiffel Tower followed by an *epic* fireworks show.

We attempted to go to the parade but ran into HORDES of people and nowhere to stand or even see the parade.  Even Michael being 6’4″ couldn’t see anything. People were standing on fences and climbing trees! We decided to leave and ended up going to Rue Cler and found the tastiest croissants ever! We learned from the parade that if we really wanted to see the symphony concert and fireworks show, we needed to get there early. I mean REALLY early.  So, we packed our backpack with tons of baguettes, croissants, and cheese and got to the lawn of the Eiffel Tower FOUR HOURS early. We got the BEST seats (complete with a jumbo tron screen next to us so we could see the performers) and just waited.  And waited.  We were there SO early that we got to listen (and watch!) the dress rehearsal.  You’d think that sitting there for hours would have been boring and we would be missing out on seeing and doing other things but Michael and I would both tell you it was the BEST part of our trip. We just sat there (and laid there) listening to opera singers practicing Duo Des Fleurs while relaxing in front of the Eiffel Tower eating cheese and croissants.  It was so incredibly wonderful that I actually tear up just thinking about it.

I could go on forever about our wonderful trip to Paris.  If you are thinking about going- GO.  It’s the best city in the world. And we’ve been to a lot of cities.  Here’s a list of our top 10 favorite things for Paris! (Listed in no particular oder). Or if you just want to scroll past and look at the pictures, you can do that too. 🙂

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1. Bastille Day

Whenever we go back to Paris, you can be we’ll be there on Bastille Day (July 14th)! It was the most fun day ever! Just wait till you see the fireworks show photos (and video!) at the end of this post!

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2. Crepes from Chez Maxence

They’re not just your ordinary nutella and banana crepes.  These are full on cheese, chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, beef, bacon..these are dinner crepes! This restaurant was close to our hotel and we ate there several times because the food was so good!

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3. Walking Around the Louvre

We didn’t go inside the Louvre but we walked around the courtyard and the gardens. It was so gorgeous and so relaxing!

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4. Croissants from Rue Cler

The most flaky, buttery, soft croissants that really do melt in your mouth.  No other croissants compare. Not even close.

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5. Emmental Cheese

I can honestly say that I’ve NEVER heard of this cheese until we visited the Chez Maxine creperie. We had to google what it was (no shame!). Y’all.  It’s the best cheese. The dinner crepes were full of it and we couldn’t get enough! When we were in Germany and Italy, we were STILL seeking out Emmental cheese because it was THAT good.

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6. Strawberry and Coconut Macaroons from Lenotre

Never in our life had we eaten something so fruity,  flakey and amazing! We should have gotten an entire case of these things.

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7. Versailles

We went to Versailles on our first day and loved it! I blogged about it HERE. If you go, we highly suggest renting bicycles and riding around to see more! Also, we toured the GARDENS first before going inside as the line to get in was a two hour wait (not even kidding.)

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8. The Trocadero

Hands down, the BEST view of the Eiffel Tower and where we took our 5 year anniversary sunrise portraits!

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9. La Maison Du Chocolat

We found the best chocolate ever in the underground mall at The Louvre. We brought back two boxes for both our parents and they loved it!

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10. Onion Soup

We found the most amazing *French* onion soup at Au Pied de Cochon. In France, they just call it onion soup.

 

I did something new on this trip.  I vlogged! That’s blogging but in video format.  I took videos throughout the day and then put the all together to create a memory of each day of our trip.  I told Michael that one of my regrets on past trips is not taking enough video. I’m SO glad I did this! These memories are so precious to me.  I go back and watch these all the time.  You can watch ALL of our Europe trip vlogs on YouTube HERE! Enjoy these favorites from our Paris trip! This post is so special to me.

Our tiny hotel room complete with the most Parisian view.

We arrived at the Eiffel Tower FOUR hours early to get a good seat for the fireworks show.  So glad we got this spot! There was literally half a million people crammed in to watch the show. Funny fact: this guy in the red sweater never sat down.  Ever. Thankfully everybody stood for the fireworks show!

This is when everybody stood and sang the French National Anthem.  Such an awesome moment! I really wished I could speak French at this point.  I wanted to sing too!

And then the fireworks started.  It was the BEST show we’ve ever seen!! I’m SO glad Michael set up the tripod for me!

Here’s a short video I took of the beginning of the fireworks show.  This was the most epic part!

Click HERE to view our Europe Vlogs on YouTube!