Bonjour Paris!

I'd heard opinions on Paris ranging from descriptions of its romantic beauty to descriptions of its dirtiness and how the "clump of metal," that's the Eiffel Tower, is disappointing. I also had my own expectations from romantic World War II novels set in Paris to the Mary Kate and Ashley movie about their trip to Paris to my favorite children's movie Anastasia, which is about her journey to Paris. Anyone that knows me well, knows how much I've wanted to go to Paris and I finally had my chance 2 weeks ago. I couldn't wait to walk along the streets surrounded by people speaking the beautiful French language, shop in the center of fashion, dine in the outdoor corner cafés, and explore the beautiful gardens around the Eiffel Tower, palace of Versailles, and louvre. Thankfully we did all these things on our 3 day trip.

First things first! Stroopwaffles and Starbucks for coffee time on the train. 

We arrived in Paris Friday afternoon and found our apartment in the north part of the city. That night we explored the area around our apartment and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city from our window! The next morning we set off for the Eiffel Tower. From a distance I agree, this metal structure may not live up to expectations, but as you walk closer to it and realize how large it is and notice the intricate designs on the metal, it's very impressive. Especially with all the souvenir models out there, it's hard to imagine how big the tower really is. In real life though, it's just majestic! We spent sometime in the gardens and then walked to an adorable corner cafe for brunch. This cafe owner had my dream job, she greeted the locals with hugs and kisses and was extremely friendly to us. The food and coffee was delicious as well!

 The rest of the afternoon we walked about to see the other tourist sites such: arch de triumph, the louvre (which is incredibly beautiful from the outside...wow!!!!!!), Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame cathedral, and Lovelock Bridge. We didn't go into the museum or into Notre Dame because of the long lines, they were beautiful from the outside though!

Gardens around Louvre

In our walking, I noticed several of our stereotypes were met: corner cafés were everyone, people did walk around eating foot long baguettes, and there were flower shops on every street.  That night we returned to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night, even more beautiful!!

Sunday we woke bright and early for the palace of Versailles. The palace had so much history and rich beauty in it, but the gardens were definitely my favorite! After our 4 hour tour of the palace, we stopped by a local market and bought a baguette, some cheese, wine, and fruit for a picnic lunch. We spent the whole afternoon laying in the grass, watching rowing races in the canal in the 60 degree weather. The extensive gardens were packed with locals and tourists alike!

Gold ornaments, crystal, huge paintings and tapestries covered the walls! The richness of the Palace was overwhelming. 

There were ceremonies for everything, such as watching the king wakeup in morning and watching the royal family eat meals.  rooms for every occasion. Entire rooms were dedicated to a past king or commander and simply held pictures or memorials of them. 

The beautiful gardens!

Feeling like locals with our baguettes! 

That night we returned to the city and walked for about an hour watching the sun set and the city lights turn on...this was one of my favorite times of the trip. We reached the Eiffel Tower and bought ice cream Nutella creep (another French speciality) and sat to enjoy the beautiful night.

Watching night fall over the city! 

Our delicious Crepes :)

Monday morning we went to city again to climb the Eiffel Tower (yes climb) but only to the second level which was 600+ steps and then took the elevator to the top. What a view! We could see the entire city, especially since none of the buildings in Paris are very tall... And since we had gotten there before they opened and were at the front of the line we got to enjoy it for about a half hour pretty much by ourselves! We spent the afternoon shopping and of course returned to our favorite corner cafe for brunch!

Excited to climb the Eiffel Tower!..

...All the way up!

The beautiful view!

Seine River 

Neither of the opinions I heard were accurate, in my opinion. Paris was dirty, not anymore than other large cities though and it was romantic, but not because of the sites such as the Eiffel Tower, which everyone talks about. It was the atmosphere of the city (not in literal terms, however, the pollution was awful there) with all the parks, outdoor cafes, and flower shops and being surrounded by people speaking French...Those are the things I fell in love with!