First Europe trip contd, - when in Paris
I probably covered everything I learnt about travelling to Paris in previous posts here and here. However, would like to write in detail about my first trip.
Day 1 (Thursday): our flight was in the afternoon, so we started bit leisurely and got the currency exchanged before taking the train to Stratford. From there we took another train to Stansted airport. After getting some lunch from airport cafe, it was time to board.
By the time we reached Charles de Gaulle airport, it was almost evening. A friendly lady at the travel assistance counter guided us how to reach our accommodation. We could even buy the tickets from the counter. we took a train to Gare du Nord and local train from there (Gare du Nord have attractive stores but I couldn't stop there 😥).
I booked an apartahotel away from the center. When we got off at the stop mentioned, we were totally lost. A bunch of people chatting gave a short answer when we asked for directions. However, looking at our confused expressions, one of them explained we were a stop away and came with us to show the right stop (as we learnt later, the hotel is also near to the previous stop we initially got down).
After waiting for about an hour, we got checked in (there was only one person before us, but our super sweet receptionist wasn't ready to let us in until she did everything she could to help him😁). We took some time settling in, before getting ready and headed out to visit Eiffel tower.
Summer was about to begin and day time started increasing. So, even though we reached around 8, it wasn't dark yet. Around 9, they started the lighting and we headed up the tower.
It got 2 exits - top exit costs bit more than the lower option. We took the higher option, initially stopped and spent a while in the first exit and then headed to the top.
I kinda liked the lower story as it was more open and spacious.
We spent there almost till closing time and reached hotel way past midnight.
Day 2 (Friday): interestingly I didn't come across many French restaurants. There is one cafe near our hotel where I went for breakfast. For the amount of walking they do, French seems to have very little breakfast 😐. Maybe I went in late but only option I got is bread and coffee.
Though, with the collection of yummy marmalades, I wouldn't complain😋.
This day was mostly dedicated to Louvre.
I was so looking forward to seeing the master pieces of famous artists and thought I could take time to appreciate instead of rushing.
Started with Egyptian antiques, which took more than an hour.
After a while, I started feeling tired and figured my way wouldn't work out. So I changed the plan - rule out the popular pieces and resume my exploration.
Then I headed to Mona Lisa checking few art pieces along the way.
After spending some time with the paintings, I went to the sculptures. I thought Michaelangelo's David is in Louvre and searched a lot for it 😶 only to find out later it's in Florence not Paris.
By evening we got extremely tired and relaxed for a while in nearby park but not before picking up some chocolate powder and Chestnut cream from Maxim's😜.
Next we started exploring nearby streets leading to institute of music. That place is like a shopping heaven. I got quite a few skin care products and cookies. Sadly, by the time I reached clothes stores, it's almost closing time and couldn't do any shopping. Instead we explored a supermarket and headed back to the hotel.
Day 3 (Saturday): I went to the same cafe, this time a bit earlier and got breakfast combo which wasn't much either - pan de chocolate with orange juice and coffee.
Our original plan to visit Versailles fell apart and, while others decided to visit Arc de Triumph, I wanted to go for shopping in and around galleries de la Fayette. We planned to meet up at Champs Elysees at 3 and go for Notre Dame.
Galleries de la Fayette is a massive Royal looking mall which seemed to house every luxury fashion label.
After roaming for about an hour, I came across my beloved Espirit (sadly I couldn't find that brand in London). It is also the only brand I could afford there and bought myself a tee.
From there I went to Promod and bought a blouse and Blazer. The Blazer seemed oversized but the SAs there showed me how to wear it 😍. By then it was almost 3 and I didn't even been to Mango and Sephora and other chocolatiers.
I rushed to Champs Elysees but no sign of anyone. My phone wasn't working due to the bundle plan and with no way to reach them, I headed to Notre Dame thinking they might be waiting there but couldn't find them there either ( they thought meeting point was la Fayette and were waiting there 😶)
Anyway, I went in to the famous church which seemed quite normal from outside but the candlelit interiors took me into a different world.
Later I walked around the parks surrounding the church and, just when I thought of heading back to hotel, noticed the cruise boats flowing by.
I followed down the river Seine and found the ticket counter. That turned out to be hop on hop off bato bus. I took single day ticket and took a round tour. It was the best part of the trip - I just love everything about water ⚓🛥.
After about an hour and half of an amazing boat ride, watching Paris from Seine in the cloudy evening, I returned to Notre Dame and took the train back to hotel. The train station is a bit away and wasn't easy to find either - it looked like a parking lot until I went close (maybe I missed the closer station 🤔)
Day 4 (Sunday): we checked out early and went to visit Sacre Coeur. It was a steep walk up the road and more stairs.
There were few people on the way trying to tie some threads and my friend lost 20£ to them 😡.
Anyway, we continued up and there it is -famous view of Paris from Sacre Coeur.
We spent a couple of hours in the church and went back down in cable car.
From there, others went to another photo shoot near Eifel tower and the boat ride. I went back to la Fayette to continue my shopping 🤓 after deciding to meet at Notre Dame.
To my surprise, the whole place near (including) la Fayette was closed. I walked around trying to find a place to eat if not to shop. There is a provisional store open where I bought some juice to keep me energized - all I had is the tiny croissant near our hotel 😥. Finally I found an Italian restaurant with WiFi. I ordered a sandwich and crepes and messaged my friend I would be reaching earlier than intended. This was when I changed my order of crepes to creme brulee and finished off the meal with a latte.
I walked back to institute of music and found few shops open - a chocolatier where I bought few chocolates and macaroons, a pharmacy where I picked few more skin care products. Then I went to Notre Dame and with few hours to kill started walking around the place. Behind the church, there is a memorial area for French soldiers who lost their lives during some war.
There weren't any visitors here, but had a brief conversation with non-english speaking gentleman who gestured how much he likes Gandhi 😃.
After a while, I returned to Notre Dame where I met others and we headed to Bercy to catch our bus to London.
Day 1 (Thursday): our flight was in the afternoon, so we started bit leisurely and got the currency exchanged before taking the train to Stratford. From there we took another train to Stansted airport. After getting some lunch from airport cafe, it was time to board.
By the time we reached Charles de Gaulle airport, it was almost evening. A friendly lady at the travel assistance counter guided us how to reach our accommodation. We could even buy the tickets from the counter. we took a train to Gare du Nord and local train from there (Gare du Nord have attractive stores but I couldn't stop there 😥).
I booked an apartahotel away from the center. When we got off at the stop mentioned, we were totally lost. A bunch of people chatting gave a short answer when we asked for directions. However, looking at our confused expressions, one of them explained we were a stop away and came with us to show the right stop (as we learnt later, the hotel is also near to the previous stop we initially got down).
After waiting for about an hour, we got checked in (there was only one person before us, but our super sweet receptionist wasn't ready to let us in until she did everything she could to help him😁). We took some time settling in, before getting ready and headed out to visit Eiffel tower.
Summer was about to begin and day time started increasing. So, even though we reached around 8, it wasn't dark yet. Around 9, they started the lighting and we headed up the tower.
It got 2 exits - top exit costs bit more than the lower option. We took the higher option, initially stopped and spent a while in the first exit and then headed to the top.
I kinda liked the lower story as it was more open and spacious.
We spent there almost till closing time and reached hotel way past midnight.
Day 2 (Friday): interestingly I didn't come across many French restaurants. There is one cafe near our hotel where I went for breakfast. For the amount of walking they do, French seems to have very little breakfast 😐. Maybe I went in late but only option I got is bread and coffee.
Though, with the collection of yummy marmalades, I wouldn't complain😋.
I was so looking forward to seeing the master pieces of famous artists and thought I could take time to appreciate instead of rushing.
Started with Egyptian antiques, which took more than an hour.
After a while, I started feeling tired and figured my way wouldn't work out. So I changed the plan - rule out the popular pieces and resume my exploration.
Then I headed to Mona Lisa checking few art pieces along the way.
After spending some time with the paintings, I went to the sculptures. I thought Michaelangelo's David is in Louvre and searched a lot for it 😶 only to find out later it's in Florence not Paris.
By evening we got extremely tired and relaxed for a while in nearby park but not before picking up some chocolate powder and Chestnut cream from Maxim's😜.
Next we started exploring nearby streets leading to institute of music. That place is like a shopping heaven. I got quite a few skin care products and cookies. Sadly, by the time I reached clothes stores, it's almost closing time and couldn't do any shopping. Instead we explored a supermarket and headed back to the hotel.
Day 3 (Saturday): I went to the same cafe, this time a bit earlier and got breakfast combo which wasn't much either - pan de chocolate with orange juice and coffee.
Our original plan to visit Versailles fell apart and, while others decided to visit Arc de Triumph, I wanted to go for shopping in and around galleries de la Fayette. We planned to meet up at Champs Elysees at 3 and go for Notre Dame.
Galleries de la Fayette is a massive Royal looking mall which seemed to house every luxury fashion label.
After roaming for about an hour, I came across my beloved Espirit (sadly I couldn't find that brand in London). It is also the only brand I could afford there and bought myself a tee.
From there I went to Promod and bought a blouse and Blazer. The Blazer seemed oversized but the SAs there showed me how to wear it 😍. By then it was almost 3 and I didn't even been to Mango and Sephora and other chocolatiers.
I rushed to Champs Elysees but no sign of anyone. My phone wasn't working due to the bundle plan and with no way to reach them, I headed to Notre Dame thinking they might be waiting there but couldn't find them there either ( they thought meeting point was la Fayette and were waiting there 😶)
Anyway, I went in to the famous church which seemed quite normal from outside but the candlelit interiors took me into a different world.
Later I walked around the parks surrounding the church and, just when I thought of heading back to hotel, noticed the cruise boats flowing by.
I followed down the river Seine and found the ticket counter. That turned out to be hop on hop off bato bus. I took single day ticket and took a round tour. It was the best part of the trip - I just love everything about water ⚓🛥.
After about an hour and half of an amazing boat ride, watching Paris from Seine in the cloudy evening, I returned to Notre Dame and took the train back to hotel. The train station is a bit away and wasn't easy to find either - it looked like a parking lot until I went close (maybe I missed the closer station 🤔)
Day 4 (Sunday): we checked out early and went to visit Sacre Coeur. It was a steep walk up the road and more stairs.
There were few people on the way trying to tie some threads and my friend lost 20£ to them 😡.
Anyway, we continued up and there it is -famous view of Paris from Sacre Coeur.
We spent a couple of hours in the church and went back down in cable car.
From there, others went to another photo shoot near Eifel tower and the boat ride. I went back to la Fayette to continue my shopping 🤓 after deciding to meet at Notre Dame.
To my surprise, the whole place near (including) la Fayette was closed. I walked around trying to find a place to eat if not to shop. There is a provisional store open where I bought some juice to keep me energized - all I had is the tiny croissant near our hotel 😥. Finally I found an Italian restaurant with WiFi. I ordered a sandwich and crepes and messaged my friend I would be reaching earlier than intended. This was when I changed my order of crepes to creme brulee and finished off the meal with a latte.
I walked back to institute of music and found few shops open - a chocolatier where I bought few chocolates and macaroons, a pharmacy where I picked few more skin care products. Then I went to Notre Dame and with few hours to kill started walking around the place. Behind the church, there is a memorial area for French soldiers who lost their lives during some war.
There weren't any visitors here, but had a brief conversation with non-english speaking gentleman who gestured how much he likes Gandhi 😃.
After a while, I returned to Notre Dame where I met others and we headed to Bercy to catch our bus to London.
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