So I decided to get married in Paris in 2013. It made sense since I had already been to Paris and had absolutely fallen in love with it. My parents and brother came, along with my best friend from high school, Elizabeth. We had a few days to adjust from the jet lag, and the celebration was held on a Friday. Everyone left a few days later, and I had another week ahead of me to do anything I wanted. While the first week was jam packed with sightseeing, the second week was much more relaxed.
Keep on reading for my day-by-day adventures!
Day 0: Travel
Can there be a day 0? So here’s the story behind that… we all left on June 1 and we were all supposed to arrive in Paris on June 2 (due to the time change). There was a delay at our connection in Charlotte, NC and we were all given a hotel for the night. That’s one less day in France! The next day, the airline split us all apart. Let’s just say that on June 3, I arrived in Paris only to find out that the rest of my group was delayed another day! They didn’t arrive until June 4. Talk about precious days lost! We were all so disappointed!
Day 1, June 3: We’re Here
Our first day of adventuring (for me anyways)! I got off the plane and took a taxi to the apartment. I had booked a 3 bedroom apartment with 3 bathrooms, a living room, a dining room and a kitchen. Two of the bedrooms had en suites while the third bedroom (with twin beds for Elizabeth and Kyle) had the bathroom across the hall. I took a little nap to offset the jet lag and woke up a few hours later, very groggy and tired. But I forced myself up and went exploring. The first thing I got to eat was a jambon et fromage (ham and cheese sandwich) from a little stand near the apartment. I kept walking until I stumbled across the Eiffel Tower. I walked around a little more and stopped at a grocery store to get some ingredients for cooking dinner in the apartment and some breakfast for the next day. After dinner in the apartment (spaghetti of course), I went out and stopped at a nearby crêpe shop near the apartment to eat the first (of many) crêpes. A banana and Nutella crêpe. It was delicious. And it was time for bed. At last I made it to Paris and it was finally time to sleep.
Day 2, June 4: Moulin Rouge, Sacré-Cœur, Arc de Trimophe
Everyone finally arrived! My parents were exhausted and just wanted to rest. Kyle was up for doing something after he landed, so we explored the area outside of our apartment with him and Elizabeth and stopped at a grocery store to buy some baguettes. Kyle was pretty exhausted at this point, but Elizabeth was still up for exploring. Our goal was to make it to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica (Sacred Heart). Our very first stop? Pastries.
After eating our pastries, we stopped to see the Moulin Rouge, which is a cabaret in Paris. Since it’s quite iconic, we had to see it. We didn’t have time to see a show (in the evenings) and I opted out going the following week as well, since there were too many other things to see and do, and since it’s in a pretty questionable neighborhood, I didn’t want to be stuck somewhere that I wasn’t too familiar with late at night.
We then had to climb the stairs of Montmartre, the highest point in the city and where the Sacré-Cœur is located. I’m not sure how many stairs we climbed, but there were more than 300. I really loved Montmartre, and came back a few different times throughout my stay. While it can be a little touristy, it is known for its art, its nightclubs, the Sacré-Cœur, and of course the views from the top. On our way to the Sacré-Cœur, we stopped at a little church, Église St. Jean (Church of Saint Jean of Monmartre), just to see what it was like inside. We went in for a quick look and then headed over to Église St. Pierre (Church of Saint Peter of Montmartre) which was right next to the Sacré-Cœur. Église St. Pierre and the Sacré-Cœur are two of the oldest churches in Paris. However, I really wanted to visit Église St. Pierre because this church was the location where the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was formed by Ignatius of Loyola. This was important since I attended Loyola University Chicago, the largest Catholic University in the nation, founded by Jesuits. Finally we made it to the Sacré-Cœur! Known as a Roman Catholic Church and dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is a political and cultural landmark located in Paris. We then took a tour of the inside, which included walking up to the tall dome. We were able to see so much! After the Sacré-Cœur, we all headed back to the apartment to meet up with the family. I’m not exactly sure how Elizabeth wasn’t dead from exhaustion but she was still up for adventuring! She had been up since the day before, and didn’t sleep at all on the 8 hour flight! Plus France is 7 hours ahead of us so with the time difference,I was really puzzled at her determination to keep going!
After getting back to the apartment, we all decided to take a 3 mile walk there and back to the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile (Triumphal Arch of the Star), known to many as just the “Arc de Triomphe.” Before we were able to get to the Arc de Triomphe, we stopped at the Place de la Concorde, a major public square in Paris. Due to its popularity, it was the perfect place to guillotine people including Marie Antoinette. There are two fountains and they are the most famous fountains built in Paris. We continued to walk, passing by the Eiffel Tower and stopping to take some of the first pictures of us in Paris. We hadn't even walked that much but we were all in need of a snack: more crêpes (for me anyways, the first for everyone else). Can I keep saying that they were delicious? We walked down the Champs-Élysées, heading toward the west end where the Arc de Triomphe is is located. Sitting at the Center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, it is the home to 12 avenues extending from its center. We walked up to the Arc, getting there by going underground and using a pedestrian passageway to avoid having to walk through the traffic. We saw the Arc up close, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI, located beneath the Arc. There is actually a lot of information engraved and sculpted onto the Arc, but too much for us to remember all of that! The family was tired after our three hour walk, and the jet lag probably didn't help anything. However, tomorrow would prove to be one of the longest days in our lives!
Day 3, June 5: Versailles
This was was one of the most tiring days I’ve had. I’m pretty sure I have never walked so much or walked so far in one day. We first started at the train station that took us out to the Château de Versailles (Palace of Versailles). On the positive side, Elizabeth and I had Nutella coffee, which was good but mainly just a spoonful of Nutella inside of a cup of coffee. Anyways, Versailles was originally an old hunting pavilion of Louis XIII. After Louis XVI was forced to leave Versailles during the French Revolution, it became the Museum of the History of France in 1837. Versailles is full of history, and contains over 2300 rooms, each with its own descriptions and histories. One of the more popular rooms at Versailles is the Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors) which is over 230 feet long. We spent all day going through Versailles and strolling through the gardens. We also toured the Grand Trianon (a retreat for King Louis XIV and a place where he could invite guests) as well as the Petit Trianon (a château given to Queen Marie Antoinette by Louis XVI in 1774). Marie Antoinette also had an estate on the grounds of Versailles that Elizabeth and I visited called the Queen’s Hamlet. My family was too exhausted and needed a break to visit the Queen's Hamlet, but Elizabeth and I were glad that we kept going. The Queen's Hamlet was a charming little village that included a windmill and a pond, designed in the architecture of Normandy. There were farm animals as well, which completed the charming village feel.
Day 4, June 6: Louvre
Happy Birthday Elizabeth! Today we were scheduled for visiting the Louvre. The Louvre is the largest art museum in the world! There are paintings, sculptures, decorative art, Near Eastern Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Islamic Art, East Mediterranean in Roman Empire Collection and Prints. Each year about 8 million visitors come to the Louvre and many come to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. We were also able to see Venus de Milo, Liberty Leading the People, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. There are so many pieces of art here and we had a lot of fun posing along with the art. It just makes for fun pictures and a fun time seeing the art. We stopped at a café in the museum for lunch and even ordered some wine with lunch. After we toured the inside, we had to see the Grand Louvre Pyramids which stands over one of the entrances to the Louvre in the main courtyard.
Day 5, June 7: The Wedding
I started the day off with the best thing I could think of… pastries! Then I went to order my flowers from a flower shop (Carte Bancaire EMV) and was pretty proud of myself for ordering exactly what I wanted in French! Back to the pastries. They were huge… and delicious (do I keep saying that!?) We hung out in the apartment that day until late afternoon. Our plan was to meet our celebrant, Sue Ward, along with our photographer at the south leg of the Eiffel Tower at 5:45pm. We had a small ceremony on the north east side of the Eiffel Tower and had a fun photo shoot the rest of the day.
Day 6, June 8: Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, and Conceriergie
Today we all decided to check out The Notre-Dame. The Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) is one of the best known churches in the Catholic Church. The Notre-Dame is designed in French Gothic architecture both inside and out. We all took a tour of the Church at ground level, but when we tried to go to the top to tour the upper levels and see the bells and gargoyles up close, the line was way too long and wasn’t moving at all. We figured that this is what happens when we try to visit a popular Church on a Saturday. We decided that we’d rather keep on seeing other things than to stand in line all day.
Our next stop after the Notre-Dame: the Sainte-Chapelle (Holy Chapel), which is one of the prettiest churches in my opinion. It is primarily built with stained glass windows and houses the most extensive stained glass window collection in the world. There are 15 windows, each almost 50 feet high that depict 1,113 scenes from the Bible. The day was sunny and we could see all of the colors through the stained glass windows. It was very tall and we had to look up high to see all of the windows. It was hard to find few scenes from the Bible, let alone all 1,113 scenes that were present. The Sainte-Chapelle was built to house relics, including the Crown of Thorns acquired by the then king, later deemed Saint Louis. Following a tour of the Sainte-Chapelle, we continued to the Conciergerie, the prison during the time of the Revolutionary War. The most famous prisoner? Marie-Antoinette.
The rest of the day we just walked along the river near the Notre-Dame and looked at some of the artists and sale booths along the water. Late afternoon, we decided to check out the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Garden). It is owned by the French Senate and is one of the most popular gardens in France. It is even the place where Marius meets Cosette… (Les Misérables anyone?) There are maps of the Garden which we used to locate almost 100 monuments, statues, and fountains. We even decided to take a break near the Medicic Fountain. The Garden was very busy and full of people going about their day. There were choirs singing in the Garden as well as kids on ponies and kids racing on bicycles. Of course Elizabeth and Kyle raced one another, although we’re not sure who won. Our day ended with a nice dinner and shall we mention it? Pastries, crêpe, and crème brûlée. Yum.
Day 7, June 9: Catacombs and the Eiffel Tower
Today is the last day that everyone is in Paris together. We first started the dreary day at the Catacombs. The Catacombs of Paris is an underground ossuary that holds over 6 million people. Since there are so many underground tunnels that house the dead, most buildings in Paris cannot be very tall or they would cave into the ground. There isn’t much else to say about the Catacombs really. It was very interesting to see.
Did we ever mention that food was a major part of this trip? My parents and Kyle went back to the apartment to rest for a while while Elizabeth and I checked out another cafe. We ate outside and got some coffee, sandwiches, pastries, and crème brûlée. This food is worth the trip!
After our break at the café, went met up with everyone else at the Eiffel Tower. Of course we were saving this for the last day, and of course it was sprinkling and dreary so the view from the top was far from spectacular. At least we were able to see a little, we just couldn't see very far. Do we even need to say much about the Eiffel Tower? It was built in 1887 by Gustave Eiffel as part of the 1889 World’s Fair. It is 1,063 feet tall and is the tallest structure in all of Paris. After we toured the Eiffel Tower, we saw it light up in gold lights and sparkle with white lights all around the Eiffel Tower. It was time to call it a night, and it was time for everyone else to pack up.
Day 8, June 10: Our First Day Alone
I said my goodbyes to my parents, my brother and Elizabeth as they headed back to the airport. I also said goodbye to the apartment, as I was moving into a smaller studio. I sent a few bags home with the family, but still had a few large bags that I had to lug around with me until my new check in time. Lunch was at a local restaurant where I got a Croque-monsieur, some French onion soup (just called onion soup there) and an apple pastry with ice cream on top. I walked around some, although felt limited with all of the luggage. I finally headed over to a small garden near the new apartment where I basically just spent the afternoon in the sun reading a book. I finally got checked into the apartment. It was small but just what was needed. That night, I walked around the area to see what was around, stopped at a grocery store, and grabbed some food for dinner. It was a pretty relaxing day after a busy week of sightseeing.
Day 9, June 11: Notre Dame
I really wanted to go up the Notre Dame and figured that a Tuesday would be better. It was. I was able to see the bells of the Notre Dame as well as the gargoyles. Apparently one was eating an animal (the top image). I thought it was eating a baguette.
That evening I decided to spend the evening in Monmartre. I was able to see the Sacré-Cœur lit up, which was right around the corner from the restaurant I ate at. I tried escargot! It was actually pretty good, but that might just be because the escargot was covered in butter and garlic. I spent the rest of the night going into the shops until it was late enough to see the Eiffel Tower light up. I found a bench on the hilltops of Monmartre and just watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle in silver lights from atop the hill. It was a beautifully warm evening with just a slight breeze. It was the perfect way to end an evening.
Day 10, June 12: Musée de L’Orangerie and Palais Garnier
I could stay at the Musée de L’Orangerie all day just to look at one painting: Water Lillies. While the museum is full of impressionism and post-impressionism paintings, two rooms are home to eight large Water Lilies murals (known as Nymphéas) by Claude Monet. Staff was all over the two rooms to prevent people from being too close or taking any photographs. One wouldn’t even be able to take a photograph of the eight murals that surround two different rooms considering how large the paintings are. After spending most of the morning at the museum, I took a walk around the Tuileries Gardens located next to the museum. It was nice to get some fresh air after being inside all morning. My second stop of the day was the Palais Garnier. It is beautiful. The Palais Garnier has been called “the most famous opera house in the world” (Hanser, 2006). The inside opens to the Grand Staircase built with white, red and green marble. Inside, the Palais Garnier consists of corridors, stairwells, and alcoves spread out throughout the building. One large room, the Grand Foyer, is 59 feet tall, 505 feet long, and 42 feet wide. I walked through it, admiring all of the gold that surrounded me. The auditorium, which I was able to walk into, seats almost 2,000 people. Many other buildings and theaters have been based off of the Palais Garnier. That evening, I walked around again, and saw the Seine at night as well as the Notre-Dame, among other buildings. Before heading back to the apartment, another crêpe was in order.
Day 11, June 13: Victor Hugo’s Home and the Parthenon
Today was a busy day full of sightseeing, although I mainly just walked around the town and observed different monuments and buildings. The first sight I walked by was La Galeries Lafayette, a French department store. They had some interesting store fronts and window displays but I just kept on walking past. The next stop (that I just passed) was the Centre Georges Pompidou, a complex built with high tech architecture. All of the colored pipes are color-coded due to functionality. The green pipes are used for plumbing while the blue pipes are for climate control. The yellow pipes are electrical and the red are for safety, such as fire extinguishers.
The next stop was Maison de Victor Hugo, the home where Hugo lived between 1832-1848. Is there anything more French than visiting the home of Victor Hugo? To this day, one of my lifetime goals is to read Les Misérables in French (perhaps the greatest French book written?) but until then... Victor Hugo is a French author who my be considered the best known writer in France. He is currently buried in the Panthéon in Paris, which was the next stop, since I had to visit his grave. The Panthéon was originally built for St. Genevieve’s relics but soon became a mausoleum. The Panthéon was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome and I figured I might as well see this one, because who knows how long it’ll be before I get to see the Pantheon in Rome. The inside was huge. The walls were about 10 times taller than me and the murals seemed massive. It had a very open feeling. In the basement I was able to see those who were buried in the Panthéon including: Victor Hugo, Louis Braile, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Marie Curie. I then walked by some random statues, L'Hôtel des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids) which is a museum relating to all of France's military history and a retirement home/hospital for war veterans. It is also the burial place for Napoleon Bonaparte. If I had more time, I probably would have stopped in for a tour, but I had other things on our list to do that seemed more interesting to me. Before I went home, I had to see the home of Nicolas Flamel and Pernelle Flamel. Flamel was a French writer who is believed to have discovered the Philosopher's Stone. I really only wanted to see this because Flamel was featured in one of my favorite books: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Day 12, June 14: Monet’s Garden in Giverny
One of my favorite places to visit was Monet’s Garden in Giverny, France. My favorite art is Impressionism. My favorite artist is Claude Monet. Monet was the founder of French Impressionist art and loved painting the countryside and water lilies. In 1883, Monet purchased a house in Giverny that included large gardens and ponds full of water lilies. Some of his most famous work includes views with a Japanese bridge, which is still standing today. It was quite the trip to get there. I first had to take the train out of the city which took about an hour. I was still about 4 miles away from the Garden so I had to take a shuttle bus that took me right to where I needed to be. Of course, walking would be involved, so I walked by some of the garden to get to the ticketing booth and to Monet's home. I purchased the tickets which included a small gallery of paintings (by many painters) inside of the museum. I walked through the gallery and then headed off to Monet's home. Monet’s home has been recreated to look as if he were still living in it, with his paintings and art supplies placed in the home as if he were working on something. I toured the home with a tour guide who provided all of the information about the rooms, Monet, his family, and the day to day lives of the people who lived and worked in the home. After grabbing a quick lunch at the café on the Garden’s grounds, I started to walk the gardens. It was beautiful. There were rows and rows of flowers of all kinds. There were flower bushes and hanging flowers and flowers all around. It was a bright and sunny day and I could smell the sweet nectar coming from the flowers. I continued to walk the path, looking at the trees and the ponds until I finally reached the Japanese bridge. It was just like the paintings (aside from all of the people on it!) After I finished walking around the Gardens, I headed back to the bus pick up/drop off. I grabbed some homemade ice cream from a truck near the bus stop and waited for the bus ride back to the train station.
Day 13, June 15: Rodin’s Garden
Time to see “The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin, as today’s agenda was the Musée Rodin. Dedicated to Rodin, a rose garden surrounds the many sculptures of Rodin: The Thinker, The Kiss, and the Gates of Hell. Inside a small museum, the Marble Gallery, smaller sculptures of Rodin’s work can be viewed. Some of these works have not been completed but it was nice to see sculptures in different stages of completion. While this was a small museum, it was really a pleasure to explore. While I were there, I tried some violet ice cream. It was delicious and the first thing that came to mind was that it tasted...purple! I know that sounds strange but if only I could share it with you, I’m sure that you would say it tasted purple too! Whatever the case, purple tasted delicious!
I did a little bit of walking around today after visiting Rodin. I stopped at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, a bookstore that was originally opened in 1919. It was the gathering place for aspiring writers including Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce. In 1941, the bookstore closed during the German occupation and was never re-opened. The second bookstore opened in 1951 and is still open today. While it is a first and second hand book store, it is a free library open to the public. One of the things about this bookstore is that writers can sleep in the building in beds tucked between the bookshelves. I also walked across some of the bridges, notably the Pont Alexandre III. This bridge is regarded as the most romantic and ornate bridge in Paris and connects the Champs-Élysées to the Eiffel Tower.
Day 14, June 16: Eiffel Tower and Boat Cruise
My last full in day France. I spent the afternoon in Monmartre shopping, eating, and saying good-bye. I decided that for my last night, I would take a boat cruise down the Seine. I walked down to the Eiffel Tower and saw it as dusk was approaching. These pictures of the Eiffel Tower were beautiful and looked very peaceful for being a man-made sculpture. On the cruise, I saw some of the buildings I had visited lit up at night, and finally saw the Eiffel Tower light up in multiple colors: red, blue and green. It was beautiful, and a perfect way to end the trip. The Eiffel Tower continued to sparkle as I walked across the Seine and watched it some more. Eventually I left, leaving the glittering lights behind me.
Day 15, June 17: Go Home
All good trips have an end, and my time in Paris had come to an end. I was excited to come back home but knew that I was going to miss everything Paris had to offer. It was wonderful to be able to spend my first week with my family and Elizabeth, and amazing that I had the time to spend another week just relaxing and exploring some of the smaller museums and sights.