Hi Everyone! A lot has been happening! My brother’s getting married, so we’ve been doing a lot of prep work to make sure we send the first child off into marriage right! Between that and my new personal endeavors in combination with warmer weather sprouting a “come out of hibernating” social life things, life has been just a teeny bit crazy.
Cue Pari! My second time in Paris was definitely more of a whirlwind of excitement. We were 6 girls, navigating through the cities subway systems and bus routes to absorb all the history, art and wine Paris had to offer all in a very short 5 days. Our final Itinerary: The Louvre,A Boat Cruise, Versailles, Mont St Michel, The Latin Quarters, one peaceful day roaming the city and lots ofBordeaux. There are a few on the list I would definitely skip;
The boat cruise for example, although a beautiful way to see the Eiffel Tower, it also second as a tour of the concrete river banks with a mediocre and overpriced meal.
The Paris Pass (pass!) is also something I would forgo. Paris is a city filled with history it would be a shame to miss out on the things that define it’s “fight in the name of love, romance filled” reputation, however, there’s no way it’s possible to see all of the things the pass has to offer in two days. Save your money and explore the city by foot and on your terms! Trust me, it’ll save you some hard earned cash and the stress of HAVING to see a specific number of places.
Go see the Eiffel Tower at night, go see it during the day, sit under it, propose, have a picnic, it’s beautiful and on my one solo day in the city, I walked to the tower from our hotel… it was 12km away.
It was a sunny spring day and I managed to find my way to the park right behind the tower where people were doing exactly what I imaged. In the most delightfully cliche way the park was fully loaded with pic -nic goers, lovers and friends drinking wine, having pic-nics and casually grass laying in the sunshine enjoying the enormous, towering view of the amazing iron structure from below. It’s STUNNING.
See the Louvre but if you can only see one museum see D’orsay. It’s showcases Matisse, and Monet, Picasso and Van Gough all presented in the inside of an old subway station. It’s a beautiful combination of wide hallways, streaming with natural sunlight from the massive glass ceilings and smaller, dark, hardwood floor finished rooms all showcasing the some of the most famous works that even non art-history buffs would recognize.
Drink wine by the bottle - Seriously, it’s much cheaper than mixed drinks and cheaper by the bottle than by the glass
Mont St Michel was BEAUTIFUL. Even though it’s 4 hours outside of the city, you can rent a tour that will take you in your own little private bus. If you are like us, you will sleep the entire way there (hello 7am departure times) and catch some pretty spectacular views of the French countryside on the way back. There you can explore the wonders of a small island, coastal commune with a population of 44, winding streets, and roman architecture; a site that pretty much looks like the backdrop for of the 2017 version of Beauty and the Beast.
The Latin Quarters became our saving grace for a little R&R after a whirlwind first day, a plane ride, a subway ride, a $50 euro fine, a broken bottle of Ciroc and 4 hours of sleep. Essentially the Latin Quarters are a combination of small bars priding themselves on Happy Hour and touristy restaurants laid out on small cobblestone streets that are bursting with people. To our surprise it was these (what looked like) tiny bars boasting happy hour that transformed into full blown night clubs after 8pm; fully equipped with dark back rooms and bumpin’ basement parties. If sweaty, skin to skin, dance filled evenings with locals and tourists alike are your thing, The Latin Quarters is the place to be on a Friday night. My two left feet put me in the hands of a bartender who kept telling me that dancing Bachata is like riding a bike and through all the knee bumping, anxiety ridden staring at my feet, awkward laughs (I was nervous!) I can almost take the dance back with me to Toronto.
Overall the trip was amazing, I mean…. it’s Paris!. I was able to make some cool shots of the city, meet and foster some old and a new relationships and get to explore the most romantic city in the world through my own rose coloured glasses and the best part is that I get to share with all of you. So check out the link below for some more action, all edited, all ready to make your space a little more colourful…(or black and white, totally up to you)