The Curry’s Take on France

Over the last two weeks I have shared our adventures in Germany, Italy and today is FRANCE! Ever since I was a little girl Paris has been on my bucket list, high on the list! There were multiple times that we were supposed to make the trip but it didn’t happen for one reason or another until 2018! We made it a point to not only visit family in Germany but to travel while in Europe and Paris was on the list! France was the last destination of our 3-week trip, I guess you could say I saved the best for last. We were in Paris for less than a week and we covered so much ground, literally walked our feet off with the miles logged.

The very first day I wanted to start adventuring that I opted to not get a cab but rather walk the city to the Eiffel Tower. I was under the impression it was closer than it really was. My excitement overcame me and I ignored my legs and feet. We walked 10+ miles from our AirBnB to the Eiffel tower and back, it was AMAZING to see the city! I stopped and took a photo every few steps.

On the way to the Eiffel Tower we walked through the Place de la Concorde and saw the Fontaine des Mers. It was the largest round-about I have ever seen with so many cars in such a beautiful space. At this point in the distance I could see the Eiffel Tower.

We walked along the Seine waterway and saw many boats and the Pont Alexandrew III and Pont Des Invalides bridges, which were unlike anything I have seen before. The Pont Alexandrew is also one of the places TJ and I had our anniversary photos taken. We saw the Grand Palais in the distance. It’s the building with the class roof. This is a museum, we didn’t go in but admired it from outside.

We finally made it, after walking 5 miles, I was able to see the majestic, tall and beautiful Eiffel Tower! All of my little girl dreams were made! I was speechless and still am that I got to physically see the Eiffel Tower up close. We adventured at the bottom of the tower, took photos, enjoyed some snacks and then decided to go up. Tj and I were the only ones that went up as my mom and brother waited at the bottom for us, they are afraid of heights. We waited in a line for what felt like forever but finally got our chance to ride the elevator up. It was a bit scary but such beautiful views of the city.

The Eiffel Tower is the tallest building/structure in Paris so the views were epic. After walking all sides of the Tower, we decided to go one level down where there is a restaurant, shops and more. We purchased a post card and went on the search for the post office box said to be in the Tower to get a special stamp, with no luck. After spending more time walking around that level we went down to rejoin my mom and brother to search for the post office box on the ground level, again with no luck. We then ventured back to the AirBnB for a complete day of adventures.

The second day we set out to see the Cathedral Notre-Dame De Paris. This is the cathedral that The Hunchback of Notre Dame was written after. It is really hard to think back to our day spent here since the tragic fire that occurred just 8 months after being there. I am so glad that we went and I took the photos that I did because although it is being rebuilt, it won’t be the same. The construction, detail and finishes were amazing.

Every side of the cathedral was breath-taking to include the gardens. We started by touring the church, then we walked the grounds and decided to go up in the towers.We booked tickets and enjoyed a snack at a corner coffee shop nearby on the street, very Parisian like. Once it was our turn, TJ and I climbed the staircase to the top, 387 steps. Again my mom and brother didn’t go. Once at the top, again we had majestic views of the city. We saw gargoyles statues. Another staircase, a wooden one gave us the view of the 13-ton Emmanuel bell in the south tower.

The following day, we rode the RER to the Palace of Versailles, a castle. We got to see the Hall of Mirrors, the gardens and so much more! The Palace contains 2,300 rooms. I was in awe of the elegance and grandeur. By far one of the neatest places we visited the whole trip.

The last day of adventuring was a tour of the Louvre Museum. The most prominent piece at the Louvre is the Mona Lisa. Much to my surprise was smaller than I anticipated. It was no bigger than a frame 8×0 print in a big room with a huge crowd. We couldn’t even get close. The Winged Victory of Samothrace was another piece I enjoyed seeing. The amounts of artwork, statues and pieces in the Louvre were remarkable. We didn’t even walk the entire thing but we spent all day there.

After touring the Museum, we exited to the courtyard where we saw the famous pyramids. We spent a few hours in the courtyard admiring the ferris wheel and grounds.

Since this was our last full day in Paris, we walked to see the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. The Champs-Elysees is famous for being the finish line in the Tour De France cycling event. The Tour De France is an annual event and we had actually just missed it by a few weeks. It typically occurs in July and were then in August. It was neat being in such an iconic place.

The last items on my wishlist of an already full Paris trip was to see the Eiffel Tower and Louvre at night. Although we had seen both of these places in the daytime, there was something special about seeing it at night. TJ and I took the metro to see the Eiffel Tower all lite up from the Trocadero. Every hour on the hour for 5 minutes, the tower sparkles. It was so romantic and special. Then we decided to race to the Louvre before our metro passes expired to see the pyramids at night. We struggled to find the entrance but was able to see it and then raced to the metro to get on in time! The day and the trip is one to remember!