Following our too-short of a stay in Normandy, we were on a train headed to beautiful Paris! Arriving fairly late, we ate our first meal in the French capital at the one and only McDonald’s. I know, how very pathetically American of us. The next morning began a full day of touring. We took the metro (not as difficult as I had imagined!) to Notre Dame. The cathedral was amazing, especially considering it is approaching its 850th birthday! There was a service going on, which added to the experience. Afterwards we headed behind the cathedral to the Holocaust Memorial. Unfortunately it was closed, so I’ll have to save that for my next trip to Paris. We then headed across the river to Shakespeare & Company Bookstore. Featured on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson during his week of Paris shows, I figured if it was cool enough for Craig, it was certainly cool enough for me! We then joined a hop-on hop-off bus tour, a great way to see even more of the city that we probably wouldn’t have gotten to on our own.
After taking in some great sites on the bus, we got off at the Arc de Triomphe. Located at the center of a roundabout where several major streets intersect, climbing to the top provided a great viewpoint of the city (and a nice work out!). Following the Arc, we made our way (via the bus) over to the Eiffel Tower! Because it was cheaper (and you got more picture opportunities), we decided to walk halfway up the tower, and then take the elevator from there. Even with my fear of heights it was still really cool, and definitely my favorite thing we visited in the city! Afterward the Eiffel Tower we took a river cruise on the Seine. It worked out perfectly because the sun was beginning to set, so as we made our way from the tower to Notre Dame and back, the views of the tower were incredible! Following dinner at Subway (which included a less-than pleasant encounter with a Frenchman, unfortunately not the only rude Parisian we came across in the city), we headed back to the hotel.
The following day consisted of one magical place: Disneyland! You’re probably thinking “three days in Paris and you spend one of them at Disney? Crazy!” but let me tell you, it was my second favorite thing of our entire trip, behind the Band of Brothers tour of course. Disneyland Paris consists of two parks: Magic Kingdom (like our Disneyland) and Walt Disney Studios (similar to California Adventure). The entire experience was almost exactly what you’d get in California or Florida, just throw in some French signs. The majority of rides were very similar, and I only noticed a few that were missing (Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn). Aerosmith’s Rock n’ Rollercoaster (which is sadly still missing from California Adventure), Crush’s Coaster, and the Toy Story Playland in Walt Disney Studios were my favorites, along with Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railway in the Magic Kingdom. Right before the park closed, a light, music, and water show took place around the castle. It was similar to World of Color at California Adventure, but on a much smaller scale. The weather had been great all day, but of course as soon as the show began it started to pour. It didn’t faze us though, we were in the happiest place on earth after all! J
Our last day in Paris began at the Louvre museum. We didn’t go inside, but had plenty of fun taking pictures around its beautiful grounds anyway. Afterwards we took the metro to Moulin Rouge! I really enjoyed the movie, so it was cool to see where it was set (it was also much smaller than I imagined it would be). Next we walked to the Sacre Coeur, a beautiful basilica built on a hill. Along the way we were walking through what appeared to be the red light district, an interesting part of town to say the least. Once at the basilica, we climbed a good deal of stairs and were rewarded with a fabulous view of the city. Our final stop in Paris was the Du Pere Lachaise Cemetery (no pun intended). The final resting place of many famous individuals (Jim Morrison, Voltaire, etc), this very old cemetery was pretty creepy! It didn’t help that a drizzle began to fall upon our arrival, which certainly added to the ambiance. After spending some time there, we returned to our hotel to grab our bags and head to the train station. Because we were taking the Chunnel to London, we had to go through customs before leaving Paris. Just like at an airport, we got our passports checked and have our bags inspected by security. The train itself was pretty standard, and because it was dark outside I didn’t get to actually see us go into the tunnel. The total journey took about two hours, but only 20 minutes or so of that was actually in the Chunnel. Soon enough, and we had arrived in London!
Overall I had a great time I Paris. There was so much to see and do that it was a bit overwhelming at first, but that just means I’ll have to go back at some point! Thanks for reading!
Click here for pictures from Paris
Click here for pictures from Disneyland
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