Paris
I should start by saying this is super lengthy, I just started typing and couldn't stop.
Bradley and I decided about a year ago that it was time for us to go on an adventure. We've travelled to a couple of different places together but neither of us had been out of the country (well, I went to Canada once for a few hours). We decided now was the time to do it before we decide to start the whole family thing. We had a list of about 15 places before we decided on Paris and London. I've been dying to go to Paris for as long as I can remember, and I think Bradley knew I'd be super bummed if we didn't end up there. Bradley probably told me 15 times a day that this was not a blog trip... aka he didn't want to spend 14 hours a day taking pictures of me and waiting for me to get ready... but I did my best lol.
We stayed at the Hotel Providence Paris, which I cannot recommend enough. It was absolutely beautiful, clean, and had soooo much character. We picked the smallest room because we figured we'd be spending most of our time out and about and really only needed a place to sleep and shower! It's really close to public transportation but the walk to all touristy places wasn't the worst. (Note: we walked about 12 miles a day!!). If you saw my insta story, you know I LOVED the lotion from the hotel- I will regret not buying the big bottle, but an excuse to go back amiriiite??!
Day 1 we got to the hotel around noon and decided to just change and head out- I was too excited to just sit around. We were pretty close to the Scared Heart Basilica so decided to start there. It was sooo hot but it had the most amazing view of Paris. Afterwards we grabbed lunch, and headed back to the hotel, because I needed to rest and was having some serious stomach issues. I needed to be in tip-top shape because we had the Fat Tire night bike tour that evening. The tour was probably one of the best ways to start our trip. We were in a group of about 10 people and went on a 4 hour bike ride across the city (the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, etc). The bike tour also included a night boat ride along the seine where we got to see the sunset and the Eiffel Tower lit up at night (SOOOOOOO GORG).
Day 2 I decided we needed to go to the Eiffel Tower again andddd get a crepe there! We walked around for a little bit and were debating going up the tower, but the lines were pretty long, it was reallllly hot, and I still didn't feel 100%, so we decided against it. We deemed A/C necessary and headed to Musee du Louvre! I especially loved all the history sections of the museum where they showed the moats and what it was like as a palace and not a museum! This is also the day we ate McDonalds for lunch. This was actually not Bradley's fault-- I take 100% responsibility. My stomach was still not right but I was so hungry and this was there and familiar so it seemed like a good idea. I ate 3 French fries and a Diet Coke.... womp womp. We walked around a little bit and then headed to Saint Chapelle- I HIGHLY recommend this. It had the most beautiful stained glass I've ever seen. We ended the day hanging out with one of my old coworkers who happened to be in Paris with his wife!
Day 3 started with breakfast and a trip to Musée d'Orsay. I was dying to see all the Van Gogh and Monet! Brad wasn't all that impressed with them but I thought they were beautiful! We then ventured to Arc de Triomphe and climbed the bajillion stairs up to the top- it was gorgeous up there with the best view. We decided it was cooler to go up there and see the Eiffel Tower from up high than go up in the Eiffel Tower. We then did a little shopping down Champs-Elysees: Nike, Foot Locker, Abercrombie (this is actually in an insanely beautiful building) and Louis Vuitton! We changed, headed to dinner, get Laduree for treats and strolled through the Jardin du Luxembourg.
We didn't have a real day 4, we packed up, went to breakfast and then headed to the Eurostar to go to our next stop, London! I absolutely adored every part of Paris, and can't wait to go back!
