J'adore Paris! Pt. 1

Ah, Paris! I had only dreamed of visiting the city of lights for years, so when the idea of traveling to Europe was first brought up, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Flying in to the Charles de Gaulle airport was even a thrill for me; I was fortunate enough to get a window seat on the plane so I searched and scowered the horizon until at last I saw it: the Eiffel Tower! But we'll get to that later :)

Paris was such an incredible experience that I've decided to split it into three different blog posts. One post simply wouldn't do it any justice! So, we'll start at the very beginning. 

Our drive into the city was long and not as pretty as I was expecting it to be. As the cab driver turned corners and pulled on to different streets, I was pleading in the back of my mind that we hadn't arrived at our flat because the streets were loud and full of traffic; not the romantic scene I was dreaming of. At last he pulled over and let us out because traffic was so bad that we would need to walk to our street. Once we had arrived at our flat I didn't think much about the location until I looked out the window. The view was incredible and exactly what I had imagined it to be! Pastry shoppes lined the tiny cobblestone streets as high-fashion men and women walked their dogs or rode their scooters past. It was perfect. 

Our first stop after we settled in was the Paris Opera House, but much to our disappointment, tours were not available the day we were visiting. Don't be too disappointed, though. Our next destination was equally as incredible. Sainte-Chapelle in Paris contains one of the most spectacular displays of stained glass in the world. Every picture we took does not do the windows justice. Between the windows and the star studded ceiling, Sainte-Chapelle very well could be my favorite chapel of the 15+ churches we visited on this trip. 

Once we had taken in every last bit of stained glass brilliance, we made our way to the incredible Notre Dame Cathedral. The rain had been pouring all day up until then, but a break in the clouds allowed us to enjoy the views of this stunning structure for a few minutes. There are also all sorts of street vendors just past the bridge from Notre Dame, so we returned there a few times to enjoy looking through each shop and picking out our favorite painting of the Eiffel Tower. 

The inside of Notre Dame is truly spectacular, if not a bit overwhelming. If I had to describe the cathedral in one word, I would choose the cliché "Gothic", because that is exactly how it looks and how it feels, aside from being utterly massive. No detail was overlooked in the design of this building (it's French, duh), and they even have a display in the back of the chapel to give its visitors an idea of exactly how long it took to build the place. This was the first church of many we visited that requested silence as we walked through, so the feeling of reverence made me question whether or not it was okay to take photos inside, especially because there was a service being held as we walked through. After seeing everyone else holding their cameras, I determined that it was permitted so I went crazy with the pictures! Obviously, Notre Dame is a must-see for any first-time traveler to Paris. 

If you've been on Pinterest or have ever Googled images of Paris, you've most likely seen pictures of a so-called "Lover's Bridge" in Paris. Couples come from all over the world to immortalize their love by securing a lock on the bridge and throwing the key in the Seine River, never to be found again. Guess what? That tradition is totally real, and it's not just one bridge in Paris. Bridges all over the city are covered in rows upon rows of locks, and I can only imagine what the bottom of the river looks like!

I decided long before this trip was ever planned that leaving a lock on the Lover's Bridge in Paris was something that I had to do in my lifetime. So, a few days before we left, I purchased a golden lock and key, wrote our initials in permanent marker on the face of the lock and kept them with me all through Paris until we found the right bridge. On our way to the Musée d'Orsay, in the middle of an unyielding rainstorm, we found a semi-empty bridge upon which we decided to leave our lock.

The lock "ceremony" was quick because we were freezing and the rest of our family had left us behind. We snapped the lock on, took a few pictures, tossed the keys into the Seine and gave each other a big kiss for good measure. It was an adorably romantic moment in time that I will never forget!

The next stop for us was the Musée d'Orsay. Fair warning: it was the middle of the day and everyone was trying to get out of the rain so even the line for those who had a Paris Pass was incredibly long, at least an hour! I've heard the guideline somewhere that best time to visit a museum in Paris is at the time they open because the lines are shorter, so keep that in mind if you ever plan on visiting museums in Paris. It could have been the poor weather that attracted the people inside, though. 

The Musée d'Orsay didn't allow photography of any of the artwork, so I'll just have to tell you what I saw and loved. First of all, the gold clock on the wall above the entrance was stunning! I enjoyed looking at that thing for quite some time when I was feeling overwhelmed, as I often feel in museums. 

I was thrilled to find out that there was a painting by Edgar Degas in this museum. I loved dancing Ballet and attending performances as a little girl, so every painting of dancers by Degas is a favorite of mine. There are multiple pieces by Degas in the Musée d'Orsay, but my favorite was his The Ballet Class, located on the top level and to the left of the museum, if I remember correctly. There are nearly a dozen other famous paintings in the Musée that are noteworthy such as Manet's

Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) and Whistler's Mother. I recommend exploring the Musée d'Orsay's website before going to get an idea of what you'd like to see while you're there, although it doesn't require too much time to go through the entire museum to see it all. 

As we explored the top level of the museum, we found two gorgeous windows with working clock faces overlooking the river and the city outside. Another picture I've seen many times on Pinterest is of a couple kissing in front of one of these picturesque clocks and it is even more breathtaking in person. The view of these window clocks and of the city behind them are almost equally as incredible as any of the artworks located in the museum, so you don't miss out on this scene. Everyone who visits likes to take pictures so be patient and don't feel too bad if it's a crowded "exhibit"!

Our second to last stop for the day provided a bit of an adventure and required some navigating through the city. As I researched the many things to see, to do, and to eat in Paris, I came across a blog post from Ever in Transit sharing their findings after they had researched, tasted, and selected the best macaron in Paris. I read through the article and determined that I absolutely had to visit a Pierre Hermé macaron shoppe while we were in the city. The nearest location was a bit of a walk away from us, but it was well worth it. I hadn't had many macarons in my life before then, but I when I bit into that incredibly expensive, extra large double-chocolate macaron, it was worth every euro, every precious minute spent wandering the streets of Paris to find this heavenly confection. I'm not kidding, if you need more evidence, read the blog post and just go to Pierre Hermé the next time you're in town. 

I cannot wait to share more of our time in Paris with you. It was an experience of a lifetime, especially our last stop of the day. I'll tell you all about it in my next post!