Four Days in Paris
Flying into Paris after a 24 hour flight and 2 years of Covid, we were so excited to be travelling overseas again.
We caught a taxi to our accommodation in Saint Germain right on the Seine River and only 200m from Notre Dame. We stayed at the Citadines Apartments. The accommodation was in an absolutely fabulous location.
We love walking to explore cities, and that’s exactly what we did in Paris. We both had been to Paris years ago, separately, but it felt like the first time being here together.
We walked up and down the cobbletone streets, along the Seine River and over gold encrusted bridges.
We discovered the Louvre was close to where we were staying as well and enjoyed one of our favourite coffees and croissants at Cafe Marly overlooking over the glass pyramid entrance and the plaza. It was one of those moments that will stay in our memory forever.
After the Louvre café we walked up the almost 2km stretch of the Champs-Elysees. Lined with shady trees, designer shops, bars and restaurants, we walked all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. Stupidly, we made a rash decision to go to the top, before I knew that the only way up was steep, windy stairs. That took a fair bit of energy – but was the climb worth it? Of course it was. What a view from the top.
As if that wasn’t enough walking and climbing, we decided to walk the 4km home. Luckily though, there are plenty of little bars along the Seine for a refreshing break – which of course we needed.
We found some lovely little authentic Parisian cafes and restaurants around our area for dinner, but the most lively and atmospheric area was the Latin Quarter (about 200m from our accommodation).
The next day to rest our legs we took the hop on hop off bus, which although we had already seen most of the sights on foot, was a different perspective and lots of info with the audio guide.
We jumped off the bus in the ritzy shopping precinct and checked out the fashion shops. So, imagine this, there is a huge, slick new fashion department store full of the latest in summer clothes, shoes, jewellery and accessories. The lights are colourful and bright. Every shop assistant could be Miss Paris 2022 and there is a DJ pumping the latest tunes. Then in walks Lyle and Leanne from Australia in our denim shorts, comfy T shirts and even comfier joggers, with our “obvious I’m a tourist” cross body bags and backpacks, hahahaha.
We continue on undeterred in our happy holiday state. We eventually find our way back to our apartment (not hard – just head to the river) and rest up in time for another night out. Tonight’s escapade is to go up the Eiffel Tower at sunset (how romantic). Unfortunately, it wasn’t romantic at all and in fact, I would definitely NOT recommend to go up the Eiffel Tower, but to enjoy it lit up at night from somewhere close by. We tell you all about this in our podcast, however I’ll give you a quick summary. When you buy tickets you have to chose a time and that is when you are allowed in to the queue. Lots of waiting and then they close one lift, so you have to go and line up all over again. Our ticket was for 9.30 (sunset – bought weeks ahead), by the time we got to the top it was well after 10.30 and there were soooooo many people jammed in that you couldn’t move, let alone even get to the edge to look at the view. We did a u-turn and went down as quickly as possible. To top things off, we caught a taxi for the 4km ride home it cost us 32 euro!
Another great day was a visit to the Palace of Versailles. Another WOW. Only a short distance from Paris and definitely worth a visit. The inside of the Palace was opulent and historical. The hall of mirrors was a mind-blower. Unfortunately, it was a stormy day and we only had a short time to go outside and see some of the gardens, would loved to have walked all around them, maybe next time.
Our last night in Paris we decided to walk to the Louvre at sunset. We crossed the Seine just as the sun was setting and were awestruck by the moment. If that wasn’t impressive enough, we went through the gates at the Louvre, as a solo violinist was playing under the arches which made the acoustics almost haunting. Then, we emerged into the Central square where the Pyramid is just as the sun was setting behind the glass panels. Can’t describe the overwhelming emotions I felt at that moment, but it's another point in time that will be in my memory banks forever.
We both absolutely loved Paris and we don’t think 4 days was quite enough. We would definitely recommend staying in the Saint Germain area and will definitely be going back to explore more.
There is so much more information and lots of laughs as we tell you all about our four days in Paris in our podcast. Click on the link below to listen.
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