Oh, Paris. I have to say that our first day in Paris was the most perfect day of our whole European trip. Everything went smoothly. We never got lost. Can you believe it? HA. The people of Paris were kind and helpful when we looked a little perplexed (but remember....NOT lost). We were pros of the Metro. If you're in Paris, download the app and you will also be a pro! It was easy to understand and we navigated ourselves perfectly around the city!
Our perfect day started bright and early at the Louvre. We wanted to get there before a massive line formed and we basically succeeded. We still had a line but it was way better than the line was when we left. When we got inside, we booked it to the Mona Lisa. It was top priority. And we got there and were able to get pictures with her before it got SUPER crowded. We LOVED the Louvre. I'm honestly not much on museums. But this museum is amazing. There are so many wonderful things to see there but of course Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo were a couple of our favorites!
After the Louvre, we ventured over to the locks of love bridge. We engraved our lock and found a place for it with all the other locks! Sadly, all the locks have since been taken down. Big bummer. Oh well. :( Anyway, we then found our way to Notre Dame. We didn't go inside but we spent a lot of time wandering the grounds. It's magnificent.
Then we went to our first major line of the day....Sainte-Chapelle. The kids were the actual worst because they didn't want to wait in that line. If you have unruly children, it's kind-of a downer. But don't let them keep you from getting into this amazing place. UHHHHHH-mazing, I say. You've never seen stained glass like you will see inside Sainte-Chapelle. It will take your breath right away. No big deal, just 1,113 stained glass windows. Oh, and those kids of mine got in free. You can't beat that! I think maybe they were just hangry. So we finished our tour and then found lunch at the very BEST place right across the street. L'Annexe. If you're in the area....go. We had real French fries and they were delicious. We also had quiche. My mouth is watering thinking about this place! YUM!
With full bellies, we made our way to Luxembourg Gardens. Spring in Luxembourg sure is beautiful. I didn't take enough pictures there. But trust me. It's worth going. We just walked around a bit and enjoyed the beauty. Then we sat around and watched people! The kids loved and it and so did we.
After a lovely time in Luxembourg Gardens, we went to Sacred Heart Basilica. I'm telling you this. Our first day in Paris was nothing short of amazing. Everything we saw was beyond beautiful. I can't even properly describe it. Sacre-Coeur is one of those sights. The day itself was breathtaking with beautiful blue skies which only added to the wonder. We were quickly mesmerized by a soccer performer doing some pretty cool tricks (pictured below). We made our way into the church during mass. We were all in awe. We spent a lot of time there and I would love to go back again!
We were close to Moulin Rouge so we quickly passed by. It's not the best part of town...although the currency exchange rate was on point! ;) I had to go, though, because I love the movie and I just had to see that windmill! It was quick and then we wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. We didn't go up that night because we had done SO much that we just wanted to wrap it up. So we walked around the grounds and marveled at the Eiffel Tower which is a wondrous sight (much more on this tomorrow). Then we went to Champs-Elysees. Blake got a soccer ball there to prepare for a soccer camp he was doing in England. He has since lost that ball and it made me very sad. :( We finished up in that area at the Arc de Triomphe. Fun times!
As you can tell, our day was PACKED. It was fun. It was full of the best memories. I love writing this because I'm filled with the emotions I experienced there. Paris is magical. It is. If you haven't been there, I cannot tell you enough times that you NEED to go. We stayed at an Airbnb and it was kind-of sketchville. We weren't sure what part of Paris we should stay in but where we were, was not what I had envisioned. Ha ha. We were lucky in that we had access to a washer and dryer so we could do our laundry. But that's about the only positive I have for that particular place. Actually, the place itself wasn't bad, it was just the area. Alas, we had no problems and we had the BEST panini street vendors really close. Yes, we ate a lot of paninis and A LOT of crepes while in Paris.
I will stop now because this it turning into novel status. I promise (I think) that the conclusion of our Paris adventures (my blog tomorrow) will be shorter! Now I will go to bed and dream of all things Parisian. :)
Pictured below: Crepe eating, the Louvre, Locks of Love Bridge, Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, L'Annexe, Sacred Heart Basilica, Moulin Rouge, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe.
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