Posts Tagged by Paris
Merci Paris!
| March 26, 2009 | Posted by Angela under My Travel Adventures |
We boarded a flight to our next destination, Paris, on Sunday morning. We decided to fly because it saved time and it was cheap. We flew EasyJet which is comparable to Southwest Airlines for Europe. They charge you for everything – extra baggage, weight. Luckily I purchased 3 baggage allotments prior. Our totaling to 40kg. It came out to 40.3kg. Phew! Good thing I hadn’t gone shopping yet.
I really have no complaints for EasyJet. The aisles were wide but the leg room was limited. Other than that, I thought the service and easy of use was great.
We landed in Paris around 1pm. We took a taxi straight to our hotel, Hotel Valadon.
The Hotel VALADON is a small town house built in the beginning of the last century. Its owners, Victor & Maria Orsenne have worked in the hospitality business for over 30 years.
They have about 12 rooms so it is imperative that you book in advance as well as pay 1 night in advance. It was located in a very nice neighborhood within a 10 min walk from the Eiffel Tower. There was also a fresh market around the corner. As soon as we arrived, the lady showed us our room, gave us the door code to the building, and let us know when breakfast was. The room was super cozy. We crashed as soon as we checked in.
We slept until right when the sun went down. We decided to take a walk to the Eiffel Tower and it was really magical at night. Our photos came out great except our lens was a bit dirty so you can see some spots. I will have to edit later.
The weather was perfect and the city was peaceful. I think it was due to it being a Sunday evening. We ate at a local cafe and Jason got the famous hamburger and fries. It didn’t have a bun. I think the Americans added the bun for the fast food convenience.
Our Paris trip was way more laid back then Rome. We kind of went with the flow and weren’t on a time line. We woke up a little late the next morning and went down stairs to the kitchen where a fresh crescent, homemade jam and orange juice were waiting for us. Victor made jam and sold it there at the hotel.
We took a walk down to the Louvre. It was so lovely outside. The streets were clean, the architecture of the buildings were so interesting and everyone just walked – no rush. I now know why it is called the City of Love. The Louvre was so amazing. Plan to get lost – even you don’t plan to get lost, you will. But it was great. Getting lost in a museum filled with historical art is fun. Every corner there was a masterpiece. We saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Cupid and Psyche, The Raft of the Medusa and many others. I was really impressed with the Mona Lisa. Although a small painting, she really does feel like she is there and staring at you. All the paintings were enormous and the sculptures were just out of this world.
I also saw this beautiful painting that had my cousin’s dog in it – Chiquita. I thought it was funny because the dog really does look like my cousin’s dog – a city dog in Chicago.
You can spend days in the Louvre but we could only afford 2 hours before our stomachs began to growl.
We stopped at a cafe where I got a crepe and Jason got a hot dog. If you ever ask for egg, remember it’s fried, not scramble. So delicious!
After a full stomach, we walked down to the Notre Dame Cathedral. The Plaza in front was full of people. This Cathedral was most amazing and beautiful inside the doors.
We strolled the streets and window shopped all the way back to our hotel.
It started to get cold later on that evening. A cold front was blowing in and some rain began to sprinkle. I think it followed us from Rome.
For dinner, we walked down our street where there were was an alley full of cafes. We chose one. We sat on the covered patio where they also had heaters. I had the best penne pasta with mushrooms. I know it was France but they made it so perfectly.
In Paris, we did a lot of observing. We watched people. Sitting next to us was this French couple. Even though we don’t speak French, you knew that they were fighting. It’s funny when you don’t know the language, you can still understand what people are saying by looking at their facial expression and hand gestures.
The next day we had tickets for the Palace of Versailles. It was so cold and windy that day. We had to catch a train and it was about 45 minutes outside of Paris. The Palace was beautiful and interesting. We saw the famous Hall of Mirrors and Hall of Battles. The Kings of France during that time (late 1600 to late 1700), specifically King Louis XII wanted all his court to live with him making this estate so grand and spacious.
The Palace is known for it’s gardens but unfortunately the colorful plants don’t come out until May. The fountains were also not running. It was so cold and windy outside that we decided not to walk the gardens. We will have to come again.
We were hungry anyways so we went searching for a place to eat. We found a Spanish restaurant – tapas, yum! I thought it had to be good because were so close to Spain. And it was.
I have to say that the French were very nice and accommodating. I know people say the French are rude to Americans but honestly, we didn’t run into that. Maybe because we weren’t there long enough.
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