Hey guys,
So for my birthday I got surprised with tickets to Paris (and what makes it interesting was the fact I had only been dating this lad for 2 months and he had made such a gesture). And we was also getting the Eurostar from London to get there. I know plane is quicker but this was a more exciting journey as I had never gotten the Eurostar before. There is so much to offer from the history to chic coffee shops to cobble-stoned streets to the gorgeous River Seine - Paris was a dream. Also, a big positive if you are an Emily in Paris fan. I was definitely Nadine in Paris haha.
I've been to Paris before - but when I was a child - Obviously it was Disneyland so this was a completely different holiday. It has always been on the list to go back to explore and it definitely has captured my heart. Paris is one of Europe's most visited cities with many popular attractions (which I'll definitely mention). So before we went to Paris we made a list of things we wanted to do and we looked at whether or not it would be easier to book the attractions online beforehand - which it was. We used the website Get your Guide (click here) to purchase our attractions and then it was one less thing to stress about.
I had the most beautiful time there. There was so much to see and explore. The food was exquisite, the sights were surreal and seeing the film locations of Emily in Paris was just a dream. My first little city break with Stephen was one not to forget…
Arrival
We arrived in Paris about 9:30pm on the Saturday Night but because it had been a long day from travelling up from Liverpool to London the Friday Night to then Ste's Graduation on the Saturday we decided to just have a chilled one, go explore around the hotel, go the local shop and get some drinks and snacks. We had also booked the Effiel Tower for 9am so a decent sleep was needed.
Day 1
9am - Eiffel Tower:
So because of the early start we grabbed a filling breakfast from our hotel whilst we waited for our Uber (Don't judge - it was too early to figure out transport haha) - Our breakfast consisted of French Toast, Normal toast, Croissants, Pain Au Chocolate, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon & Sausages. We got to the Effiel Tower for 9am and met up with our Tour Guide.
I am extremely scared of heights - I don't even like them in films. So I was adamant of not doing it and keeping my feet firmly on the ground. However, the Effiel Tower is one of the most visited landmarks so it was one of them - you have to do. We opted for the stairs instead of the lift - which for me personally was a regret. You see yourself climbing up which probably made my anxiety of heights worse than if I was to have done the lift. The views were absolutely gorgeous though. Without a doubt. Also, it'll always hold a symbolic place in my heart as Stephen asked me to be his girlfriend. My response was 'Yeah go on, now get me down' - I made it to the first floor and that was enough for me. I think we had climbed about 360 steps which took us 187 feet above ground. We visited one of the cafes for a hot chocolate, went the gift shop and got the lift back down.
If you are a lot better at heights than me, there are some romantic restaurants on the 2nd floor (including a pricey 5 star Michelin restaurant), which people recommend you book in advance. Also, people recommend the summit but I've heard there's not much difference from the views for the 2nd floor to the highest point.
12pm - River Seine Cruise:
This is the attraction I was massively looking forward to - Seeing the architecture and Parisian sights from a different perspective. Don't get me wrong it was cold but I do love a boat cruise. This tour lasted an hour and it was just so relaxing, getting my snaps whilst soaking it all in. Excuse the pun ahahah.
The River Seine is Paris' main waterway which runs alongside the Louvre Museum and Tuileries Garden. The tour has a guided commentary which gives in a depth knowledge about the city's landmarks - However we forgot our headphones so we decided to just watch by. On the open-top cruise tour you get to see Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral (which unfortunately had a fire in 2019 so is under construction), Louvre Museum, Hotel de Ville, an old prison which has been converted to a Conciergerie (It's most famous prisoner was Marie Antoinette, Ile Saint-Louis, etc.
Some cruises offer a meal - which I definitely want to try next time I visit.
2pm - The Louvre Museum:
We then walked 45 minutes to get the Louvre Museum - which is one of the world's largest art museum. We had booked skip the line tickets which was a god send. We had a tour guide but he wasn't a big tour guide - He basically showed you where to go and you was then left to your own devices. This Museum is home to Da Vinci's famous art - Mona Lisa. I recently found out it used to he the home to the French Kings including Louis XIV which it was then converted to a museum in the 18th century. We spent just under 3 hours in there exploring the Greek antiquities including the Mummy and Venus de Milo, Islamic Art, Crown jewels and the Winged victory.
Mona Lisa herself is so small, you don't realise ahaha. She is protected by a glass shield but you can still get so close to her for a selfie haha. It can be overwhelming at times with how huge the Museum actually is and how many people are also exploring. The Louvre's pyramids are also a beautiful architecture to see too.
We grabbed something quick to bite from Paul's café as we realised we hadn't eaten since breakfast and we were starving.
4pm - Arc de Triomphe:
After the Louvre Museum it was still go, go, go. We headed for the Metro to go visit the Arc de Triomphe as we had booked tickets for that day. We had planned to go watch the sunset fall on Paris and be all romantic but Paris weather had other ideas - I had sunglasses on, gloves on and an umbrella up haha. I felt more calm going up as the 284 stairs are indoors - Until we actually got onto the roof my height anxiety kicked in. Quickly took photos and was like get me down ahaha. But it also didn't help that it was windy and raining - and you can't have umbrellas up there for the safety of others. I mean the view from there was beautiful and seeing the Eiffel Tower from a different angle. It was quite interesting inside the Arc as before you get onto the rooftop you can watch a video clip on a big screen of the landscape getting designed, planning process to the building getting built and painted. There's also a little gift shop aswell.
The Arc is based on the Champs-Elysees streets which you probably see all over social media. It is famous for being the finished of the Tour de France and the location of the Bastille Day Military Parade. If you are brave enough to look down when you on the rooftop of the Arc you are standing above the world's largest round-abouts. Good job I don't live in Paris as it seems to be a nightmare haha.
*Fun Fact: The Arc is 50 metres tall and is inspired by the Ancient Rome as Napolean commissioned the Arc de Triomphe shortly after his victory at Austerlitz. Unfortunately he never lived to see its completion. At the base of the arch, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier pays tribute to the 1.3 million French soldiers who died in World War 1. Every evening at 6:30pm they light an eternal flame in remembrance to those lost lives.
9pm - Libertino Restaurant:
So Stephen booked this restaurant as a 'celebration' meal. Think next time I'll have a say of where we go haha. No, joking, it was a beautiful, busy restaurant. And it must be unreal as there was actually a queue to get in but luckily Ste had booked. Libertino is an Italian Restaurant (yes, typically eating Italian in France ahaha). It was quite a unique place, so you sit on a massive long table with many others so our date night was next to another 2 tourist couples ahah. There is an open kitchen which is nice. I did find it was quite loud and because you are so close to others sometimes it was either hard to heard or concentrate on what Stephen was saying, vice versa. I also did find the service was quite slow but that could have been because it was a packed place. We just used that time to catch up on our adventures of the day and for what we had planned for the following day. We ordered starters of - Lightly salted beef jerky seasoned with a drizzle of olive oil, lime zest and basil with Ham from the province of Parma which was served with breadsticks and sourdough bread. For mains, I got a Margherita pizza and I'm actually not sure what pizza Ste got haha. We both got Coke Zeros and Gin & Tonics for our drinks. The food portions were so good, I actually felt bad leaving half of my pizza.
Nadine Alex x
