We recently took the trip of a lifetime and accidentally spent two months traveling all over Europe. The hubs had a two month job in London so Ella and I decided to go with him stay tuned for that blog post soon. Then his job got extended a few times and then he got sent to Dublin as well (Remind me to thank his job).
For our anniversary weekend, since we were already in London the hubs surprised me with train tickets to Paris! We got four days to just chill out and explore the city of love! Ahh he's the best, I know.
Anyways, since we only had a few days to see as much as we possibly could I asked all of you what we absolutely had to do and you guys blew me away with advice and recommendations, so thank you! We took a lot of your suggestions and we also asked the locals for theirs as well and here's where we ended up!
1. Take photos in front of ALL the doors and sip coffee at ALL the cafes: I became a little bit obsessed with the craftsmanship behind the amazing giant doors all over the place. I also drank way too much coffee. People recommended a bunch of different places but honestly every single place we went was amazing so it really doesn't matter where you go. The worst coffee in Paris is better than the best coffee in the states.
2. Pretend to be art snobs: We committed the sin of skipping the lines and cost of The Louvre and we hit up the Musee de l'Orangerie instead. We absolutely did not regret it! Especially since we got lucky and went on the first Sunday of the month when they open the doors to everyone for free. We saw Monet's Water Lilies (which was breathtaking) and plenty of Picassos and we didn't pay a dime or stand in line. I'd call that a win.
3. Snack on the best macarons in the world: We asked several locals if Lauderee really did have the best Macarons and every person we spoke to encouraged us to go to Pierre Herme' instead. We took their advice and again, we did not regret our decision. They were truly life changing and we went back multiple times for more.
4. Visit Shakespeare & Company and get a book stamped: This was definitely one of my favorite stops. You aren't allowed to take photos inside but the walls are stacked from floor to ceiling with so many books. We picked up a beautiful book of nursery rhymes for Ella and of course got it stamped!
5. Walk along the river to see the sights: Since we didn't have a lot of time but we wanted to see as much as possible. We decided to spend a day just walking to all of the most famous spots. Just seeing the architecture of Notre Dame, The Louvre, and of course the Eiffel Tower. We did end up getting exhausted and taking an Uber back to the hotel once we were done but it was so worth it.
6. Eat all the bread and drink all the wine you possible can: It won't ever be the same when you get back home. I'm seriously contemplating moving to Europe just for the food.
I'm honestly SO glad we went even though it was only for a few days. I feel like a lot of the time we put off taking trips because we don't have "enough time or money" but truly, we spent almost no money (aside from the massive macaron budget). It was so amazing just to BE there. Just to see all of the architecture and history. If Paris is on your list of things to do "someday" I encourage you to go for it! The only agenda you need is to eat a lot.
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