Paris is Always a Good Idea

Welcome to the first installment of my amazing Christmas adventure!

I have borrowed today's title from the timeless Audrey Hepburn, and it's true! Paris is just...magical!

Shakespeare & Co.

The first part of our Christmas vacation of epic proportions was a  2 ½ day séjour in Paris. I took the train from Tours to Gare d’Austerlitz and my mom flew from Toronto, to New York, to Reykjavík, to Paris and by pure coincidence we ended up at our hotel in the Latin Quarter at the exact same time! We spent Friday afternoon walking around and stumbled across the Sorbonne, the Panthéon and Notre Dame. We also found the exact stairs on which Owen Wilson’s character sat in Midnight In Paris! (a very cute movie if you haven't already seen it). For dinner we indulged in a glorious pot of cheese fondue, which was absolutely delicious, and Amorino gelato (the same as we had in Amboise, incredible!), which we in fact ate before our dinner. Life is too short to eat dessert last!

Hall of Mirrors, Château de Versailles!

Saturday morning we took the metro to the Château de Versailles just outside Paris. This was a dream come true and something I have always wanted to see! I have seen plenty of castles during my time abroad but never one as spectacular and ornate as Versailles; pictures cannot do it justice. The chapel was astounding and the Hall of Mirrors was everything I thought it would be. All that glitters is gold! However, we didn’t go too much around the grounds since it’s a dreary time of year (read: no flowers, copious amounts of drizzle). The best part was that it was absolutely free (for me)! So long as you flash your French student card (and passport, if required), you can get into all the museums free of charge, which is fabulous.

In the afternoon we strolled along the Boulevard Haussmann into the shopping district, where the giant Galeries Lafayette is located. All the hustle and bustle reminded me a bit of being at Times Square in NYC. I also can't say I've ever seen a department store so massive.

Sunday morning we went into the Panthéon which was much more than I thought it would be! It’s a massive and beautiful building and the crypts below are seemingly endless. A number of celebrities of French history rest there such as Pierre and Marie Curie, Voltaire, Emile Zola and Victor Hugo.

Later that morning we went to the Musée de Louvre (which, in addition to the Panthéon, was also free for me!). We, of course, saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo but I was really most impressed by the the Louvre Palace, itself, which is massive. I can’t imagine what someone ever did with that many rooms! It is difficult to appreciate all the art on the walls when the building itself is a masterpiece.

From there we walked through the Tuileries to the Place de la Concorde and up the Champs d’Elysées, upon which there was a splendid Christmas market. We stopped for some refreshments- vin chaud, sausage and a Nutella crêpe before trekking up to the l’Arc de Triomphe, where we stayed briefly to let the sight sink in. We headed up towards the Eiffel Tower and went all the way to the top! Surprisingly the wait wasn’t too long (maybe an hour fifteen total) and the view was unbelievable- I now understand why Paris is called the City of Lights- the lights went on for miles, the city is endless. I’ve been up both the CN Tower in Toronto and the Empire State Building in NYC and I’d say the summit of the Eiffel Tower just might be my favourite. It is certainly worth going up- all the way up- there is no view quite like it! From the ground you really don’t appreciate how tall of a structure it really is, I was actually a tad frightened to look down.  If that all sounds like a lot to do in one day, it was! We walked the entire route as well, which was over eleven kilometers on foot!

Paris is an astounding place to be in the days before Christmas. Paris is captivating and dynamic, everything you think it ought to be. Fortunately for me, we will be taking one last whirlwind trip through the City of Love at the end of our vacation, but alas, not yet! There is still so much to see! 

So there you have it, Christmas adventure part one, stay tuned for Strasbourg & Switzerland!

Z <3