Paris

Day 5: London to Paris

Checked out of our hostel and headed to Kings Cross/ St. Pancras station to catch our train. After getting our tickets and Oyster card refund, we met up with Kevin Blair who had just arrived in London. It was very nice to see him!

Our train left at 12:25 p.m. It was so cool/crazy to know that we were underwater for a bit!! 

We arrived in Paris around 4pm local time. It took about a minute for us to get extremely confused due to to the complete lack of English anywhere in Paris. Eventually (after finally using the map function on my phone), we found our apartment. The walk from the train station to our apartment was 15 minutes. Once we arrived, we were greeted by the owner of the apartment, Saul. A lovely man who was born in Mexico but has lived in Paris for 12 years. He told us all about our neighborhood as he walked with us to the canal which was only a three minute walk from our apartment. 

From there, we set off on an adventure to explore Paris...well we really just wanted to find the 69 bus that Rick Steves' guide book so highly recommended. EVENTUALLY, we found the bus. The picture of me eating bread from a local boulangerie and Connor drinking wine at a bus stop should help explain how long it took us to find the bus/survive finding the bus :)  Once on the bus, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. Found a cafe nearby and had dinner with more wine. After dinner, we laid in the grass by the Eiffel Tower until the sparkling lights went on. Gorgeous once they did!! Then after walking for far too long, taking a bus, and getting frustrated about not being home yet...we took an 10 euro cab ride back to the apartment. Totally worth it! 

Day 6: Paris 

We started the day by going to the local street market a block away. The problem was that most of the vendors were closed...we found out very late in the day that the reason being it was Whit Monday. However, we still bought some good bread, wine, yummy potatoes, rotisserie chicken, fruit, etc. All very cheap and good from the local market. After we ate, we took the train to Arc de Triomphe. Then we walked along champs-élysées. (PS our mission of the day was to find a fromagerie or cheese store) Tried to go to Sacre Coeur but it was pouring. So we continued our mission to find cheese. Eventually, we gave up after far too much walking and sat down at a cafe and ate an assortment of cheese and vegetable soup with a carafe of white wine. (We may or may not have snuck our own bread into the bread basket to eat with our soup and cheese. You would have too! Our bread was amazing!!) After refueling,  we visiting the Louvre. We enjoyed a lovely rest in reclining chairs in the garden with the wine we bought earlier that day. Then we walked along the River Seine. Put a lock on the Pont des Arts bridge! Then walked to Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. Took a train to Sacre Coeur. Climbed the many steps but so worth it!! Such a gorgeous view of the city! Everywhere you looked someone was selling cold Heineken beer, so we bought two to reward ourselves for making the hike. After taking in the amazing views and resting among the masses of people, we went inside Sacre Coeur to admire the church, light a candle, and say a prayer. Then we made our way down the hill and walked to Moulin Rouge. Quite the neighborhood! It was 10pm by then and we (our feet!) were EXHAUSTED! So we took the subway back to our apartment. Bought a pint of Haagen-Dazs chocolate midnight cookie (polished it off within minutes of being home) and called it a night! 

Day 7: Paris

We allowed ourselves to sleep in after a crazy day yesterday of intense walking! Went to the local market street and grabbed everything we needed for lunch plus yummy chocolate eclairs. Hopped on the subway to the RER stop. Bought our tickets to Versailles. Spent the rainy afternoon walking around the beautiful chateau and palace grounds. So glad we saw Versailles while we were in Paris! Took the train home. Stopped by the local market for a fresh, warm baguette, strawberry jam, an avocado, a tomato, and a strawberry tartette. We opened up a bottle of wine and had ourselves a great snack back at our apartment! We love the local market. Everything is so fresh and cheap! Saul told us that we are staying in a very authentic Parisian neighborhood. We love it! 

Tomorrow morning we leave very early for Brussels. Since we are only staying in Brussels for 6 hours before heading to Bruges, we booked a bus tour. Can't wait! 

JULIA FENELON, we took this picture for you!! 

Final thoughts about Paris:

Everything is beautiful in Paris! However, the language barrier can be intimidating at times (just can make it harder to get where you want to go). The weather has been very nice for the most part. Having our own apartment has been such a wonderful, relaxing break from the hostel lifestyle. And it allowed us ample time to do all of laundry! we now have clean clothes as we head off to see Brussels, Bruges, and Amsterdam at lightning speed!  Hopefully, we'll be able to do laundry at our hostel in Prague! 

Most importantly, fresh bread, good cheese, tasty desserts, and plentiful wine have been all great, enjoyable things about Paris!