P A R I S
Getting to Paris...
Sweet Economy!
No question about it...Air France had some delicious Airplane food! It was good even at 4 AM.
Arrival day in Paris!
It's no wonder that Paris is considered the "City of Love". We stepped out of the car, and I instantly was drawn to this city; instantly drawn to see what the city held for us! The people exuded a feeling of freedom; a feeling of I do what I want because I know what feels right, I know what looks beautiful, I know what makes my heart shine with delight! These first few hours in Paris, we were tired, but we were filled with a sense of lightness and an exploratory spirit that I have never felt anywhere else in the world...Oh Paris, how you stole my heart! Is this what Édith Piaf meant when she sang "La Vie en Rose"?
~Lexi
Smiling ear to ear because it was my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower
Our Uber driver was so excited that I spoke some French with him that he said he would take us past the Arc de Triomphe on the way to our first hotel!
Our 1st view of French architecture!
The Arc de Triomphe became more and more beautiful the closer we got to it!
We were OBSESSED with the architecture in Paris!
"Big Ugly" as my high school French teacher lovingly referred to it!
Our first time seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle!
So excited, but so loopy at this point from being so tired!
Our 1st Full Day!
T-minus 1 day until our tour starts
Our itinerary for the day was FULL! First, we got up early to go on a walk to get some morning views of the Eiffel Tower, or shall I say Tour Eiffel...this is where Boot PROPOSED to me! What a DREAM come true! I will never forget this day! Next, we had our tickets to go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower because YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE! Once at the top we toasted champagne for our engagement! The whole morning felt like a Hallmark movie!
We loved the mechanics of the Eiffel Tower! We found it RIVETING...haha I got that from Rick's Paris episode!
After the Eiffel Tower, we headed for La Madeleine! This was a must see for me because my name was Madeleine in French class (plus I heard La Madeleine was amazing)! Let me just tell you...it did not disappoint! In my opinion, La Madeleine is severely underrated!
"Madeleine" in front of La Madeleine - in case you missed it Madeleine was my name in French class!
La Madeleine
Montmartre
Finally, to wrap up the afternoon, we headed to Montmartre for some artistic inspiration! I have a confession to make about Montmartre. We wanted to get our portrait drawn, and we knew ALL of the rules about not getting scammed. We knew the most important rule was to choose an artist that was drawing a portrait in front of you, so you could observe their skill and discern if they were legit, but we were so tired and the lines were sooooo long for some of the artists, so we ignored the rule. Let me just tell you that there are travel rules for reasons...our portrait ended up looking much more like a caricature than a portrait...so please learn from our mistakes, and wait in the line for an artist you know is good if you want a nice portrait drawn! Other than that, Montmartre was gorgeous and the vibes were truly unmatched anywhere else with the artistic energy of this area!
For the evening, we booked a Seine river cruise to get some good views of the City of Lights and experience the true magic of Paris after dark!
