Paris, Take 2

My family in Paris, December 2005

I visited Paris a few years ago with my family and I was disappointed.  It just wasn't all the hype that I expected it would be.  I told myself that I would come back one day for a re-do and to fully immerse myself in the city, but next time it would be with my husband.  I thought that maybe there was this romance-aspect of the city that I was missing.

Our first night in Paris was actually quite perfect.  We enjoyed a long walk downtown and enjoyed our sunset picnic dinner in front of the Eiffel Tower.  The weather was perfect, it wasn't nearly as crowded as I had expected, and it was a very relaxing and enjoyable time together.

 

We stayed until it was dark and the lights turned on, and we walked to the other side of the tower at night.  Maybe I had missed the romance-aspect before, Paris was definitely bringing out the romance in us!

Food- The food in Paris was delicious.  From crepes, quiche, and onion soup to escarcot, beef tartare, and "head cheese"-it was all delicious.  We always enjoy a food tour in a different city and this one was booked through Viator.com, the "Taste of Montmartre Food Tour". This was a great walking tour with a history of the area and an abundance of food; baquettes, various cheeses, meat from the butcher shop, crepes, eclair, chocolates, macaroons, and a nice sampling of French wines.

Sights- This time around I was glad that I booked a tour of The Louvre, as opposed to going on my own.  Neither of us are big into art museums, and I knew it would be a waste of money and time without a tour.  The "Welcome to The Louvre" tour was 1.5 hours and it was guided to the most famous and noteworthy pieces of art.  It was the perfect tour for us and we ended up staying about an hour afterwards to explore on our own.  The Notre Dame Cathedral is spectacular and my favorite part was climbing to the top! In my opinion, this is the best view of Paris!  You have to get tickets ahead of time at a kiosk outside of the cathedral, so I recommend checking this out on day 1 to allow yourself plenty of flexibility.

Inside the Louvre

 Notre Dame Cathedral

 Climbing the 400 steps to the top of the cathedral

The BEST view of Paris!

Day Trips- There are many day trips that are offered from Paris; visiting the Champagne region, Mont St. Michel, Versailles just to name a few.  We opted for the "Normandy/D-Day Day Tour from Paris" that was booked through Viator.com as we are both interested in WWII history.  Once we added up the cost of 2 train rides, a car rental, museum entry fees, lunch and coupled with the fact that we wouldn't get lost or argue over directions, our decision was easy.  I am so glad that we booked this tour through a company as I didn't realize how spread out all the museums and beaches were.  The drive from Paris was about 3 hours in a double-decker bus with our tour guide explaining a lot about the events leading up to D-Day and all the artifacts we were passing (all of Normandy is covered with old war artifacts). We enjoyed the Caen Memorial and a traditional French lunch, and visited Point du Hoc, the American and Canadian Memorials.

 Point du Hoc

Such a serene place today, it is hard to imagine the blood bath this was on June 6, 1944, and the 100 days that followed.

The courage of those who fought and their ultimate sacrifice contributed to the Allied victory and the greater good.

We ate a lot, we walked a lot, we enjoyed the cafes, a park, three main attractions, and we stayed up late exploring the Moulin Rouge district.  My favorite moments were the first night by the Eiffel Tower and also each night we enjoyed a bottle of wine by the Seine River.

 I do feel I enjoyed Paris more than I did the first time and I am glad that I came back but for some reason this city just isn't for me.  I don't know if it's the crowds or the high expectations, or if I am missing something that everyone else seems to love about this city?  We enjoyed ourselves however we both felt like we had seen and done enough.  If I ever have the chance to go back to Paris, I would definitely go, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit this city again.

            Au revoir Paris!