Bonjour Paris! So nice to see you again...

Will & I have both been to Paris before so we had already gotten all of the siteseeing out of the way during out past trips.
*If you want more info on that, look for old posts under the "Paris" label.

We considered going to some new places via day trips like Mont St. Michel but ultimately, we used this time to just relax and enjoy the city. While we revisited some tourist spots just to take a new quick pic, we spent most of the time eating, shopping, exploring neighborhoods and doing more eating!  The only main difference was the time of year we went.  Since I'm a teacher, we typically travel in the dead of summer where Paris (and most places) are in the midst of their busiest and hottest time of the year.  It was pretty amazing to get to go over Thanksgiving and during the fall.  We both commented several times at how great it was not to be sweaty and have your hair in a ponytail dripping from the heat and humidity.  We found that we actually liked wearing jackets and fall clothes.  Also, since it is towards the end of November, it's officially Christmas season and everything was so fun!  They have tons of fun Christmas markets everywhere and there are lots of festive lights and Christmas decor.  We loved it and highly recommend going to Paris this time of year! Since there's nothing super noteworthy to remember in terms of where to go, I'm combining our entire 4 days in Paris in one MEGA post with lots of pictures and more simple captions. Prepare yourself!

Our AirBnB was tiny but in the best location in Marais!  You just go out the big blue doors and they were tons of restaurants, high end stores, ice cream places, etc.  It was the perfect location near the metro but also walking distance to almost everything!  There was even a huge Paris subway map on the wallpaper which made for helpful planning. :)

 

 

 

First, some revisits of some of the famous sites...

 Notre-Dame Cathedral

 Sainte Chapelle Chapel

 

The Eiffel Tower

Sacre-Coeur Basilica

 

Last day in Paris

So today is our last day in Paris. We got up early to check out Notre Dame Cathedral. I wanted to check out Berthillion ice cream on the Isle but there wasn't time. Oh well. God knows I have had plenty of desserts and other treats.

Then, we went back to the apartment to check out. Since we weren't leaving until the evening, we had to take all of our stuff to Gare d'Austerlitz where we'd be departing for Barcelona later at night. We locked up all of our back packs in big lockers and then headed to the Champs Élysées area for lunch. We had lunch at a place known for steak frites which was pretty darn delicious!

Museums Galore!!

So today we got up early to go to the Louvre. The last time I went to
Europe, I don't remember having to wait in any lines for museums but for this trip, everything has had a long wait. We got there "early" and there was already a 4 hour wait! It probably didn't help that being the first Sunday of the month, admission was free. Luckily, I had read online about a Southeast entrance that was less popular and after going there, we only had to wait about 45 minutes. And while we were waiting, I got to pet a sweet little pug that was running around the grounds. He was so sweet and made me miss my little Thug-a-lug!!! I have officially become one of the crazy pug people at approach us when we have Thugsley at the airport.
Anyways, once in the Louvre, we went and saw all the major works of art. The museum is super long so we could stay there all day but we had other sites to see!

 

 

 

 

Bones, the Eiffel Tower, and Wolverine

Unlike Amsterdam, a lot of things (not stores but restaurants and cafes) are open really late. Our apartment is in an awesome location right in the thick of Chatelet Le Halles but this combined with Paris' up all night attitude sure makes for some interesting noises and sounds as my slumber soundtrack. Luckily, I am so exhausted, that the sound of clubbers cracking up at 4am hardly bothers me.

This morning we all woke up and made our way to the Catacombs. We had to wait for about 2 hours but it was really cool. Basically, it is where 6 million Parisiens have their bones neatly lined up in storage deep, under ground in the limestone tunnels. They were once buried in the Cemetery of the Innocents back in the day but the decaying bodies became a health hazard so they moved them underground.

After that, we had a quick lunch of moules frites which were delicious! The portions were huge and quite tasty!

From there, we went to the Eiffel Tower. We hung out for a bit and took some pictures before making our way to the Arch d'Triomphe and the Champs Élysées.

An itchy goodbye from Amsterdam- Bonjour Paris!!

So last night, we all got the worst night's sleep!! It was super hot and having the windows open (after having rained) left us open and vulnerable to an attack of mosquitos!!! These are super stealth, Dutch mosquitos that leave the itchiest, biggest, red welts I have ever had. I'm pretty sure we each have about 30-40 bites each! We look like lepers. I even awoke to the sound of Will swatting some of them with an old issue of my US Weekly magazine. It was a losing battle. While I loved Amsterdam, we sure did get an itchy goodbye. With all of our bites and our lack of sleep, we were a little bit ragged this morning. Luckily, we got itch cream and got to catch up on sleep on the train to Paris.

Once we got to Paris, we checked in to our apartment which is in the perfect location, right in Chatelet Les Halles. Here's our AirBnB apartment: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/903250
It's cute and roomy and has normal size bathrooms. :)


Since traveling and checking in already took much of the day today, we just roamed around the Latin Quarter and St. Germain neighborhoods, took in some sights from a distance, and had a delicious dinner.

 

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Location:Rue des Lombards,Paris,France