Paris, Paris and more Paris — Paris, France
Where I stayed
Hotel Lumen Paris
Hotel Lumen Paris
What I did
Read the list below and I dare you to not get at least a little green with envy :)
I love Paris in the springtime, I love Paris in the fall . . . minus the constant smell of cigarette smoke and the erection of temporary buildings to house fashion related events that mare the historic vista at almost every corner we turn.
Yes that is right blog readers the twofatsisters are in the 'city of lights' on our fourth day of an eleven day stay. We are enjoying the cooler weather and the nutritious appropriately sized meals available at every cliche 'French Restaurant/Cafe' on every corner of every rue in town.
After all the warnings about how small our hotel room would be and not to get our hopes up that it would look anything like it did on the internet, we were totally knocked off our feet at how much better it was than our expectations. The room is spacious, the furnishings are decadent and have already inspired FS#1 on how she can redecorate, the view from the three french doors that open on to our balcony is filled with classic Paris of terrace apartments built over 130yrs ago and the very tip of the Louvre's outer wings. Not to mention the church that is squeezed in behind us that is over 300yrs old.
As you can imagine a lot has happened in the first four days so to ensure we cover everything and make you all green with envy here is the list of everything we have done so far . . .
Day 1
- Walked the two small blocks to the Louvre to investigate the outside and massive lines that we will have to face next week
- First day of the Hop on - Hop off tour
- Wanders through the Jardin des Tuileries
- Enjoyed the most amazing Hot Chocolate (and lunch) at the famous Angelina's
- Visited the Galeries Lafayette to admire the beautiful building but stay away from the pricey wares, even though that took all of FS#2's efforts to stop FS#1 from spending all her Euro's on the first night
- Up close investigation of the Place de l'Opera at night
- Had our first real French dining experience at a small cafe just a stones throw away from our Hotel
Day 2
- Climbed the Eiffel Tower, well rode the lifts to the second level only. Lucky for the overly height conscious FS#1 the third level was closed to visitors while we were in the line so she did not have to make up an excuse at the last minute for not going all the way and showing how much of a chicken she is.
- Second day of the Hop on - Hop off
- Up close investigation of the Arc de Triomphe not including the 280+ stairs as the twofatsisters determined we probably had been enjoying our food a little too much to be able to make it all the way to the top without passing out after the lift in our Hotel was out of action for the morning and we had to climb the five floors up to our room post breakfast.
- Lunch on the Avenue des Champs' Elysees
- First visit to Laduree for world famous macaroons (where they were invented!!!). FS#1 has made me add here that she was so utterly disappointed to find the very original store on the Champs' Elysees was shut for restoration or extension or something and so we had to buy our amazingly delicious macaroons from a temporary "box" store front on the street. She was so devastated she could almost not put words together to be served.
- More Hop on - Hop off tour which included a nanna nap for FS#2
- Late night tour around the 'city of lights' to see it supposedly at its best
Day 3
- Tour to Versailles and the gardens, if only it was a longer tour as I think you could get lost for days in that garden let alone in the palace itself.
- Crepes with a view of the Louvre
- Investigated the church behind our hotel 'Saint Roch', although not on the tourist maps it has an amazing history including a battle pre revolution that played a vital role in the Napoleon B becoming Emperor
- Brought treaties from a patisserie in the back streets near our hotel where they only spoke French, involving much pointing, nodding and thumbs up's
- Dinner and show at the Moulin Rouge, where we were left wondering what the equation was as to determine how many naked breast were needed for each song/dance and who makes that difficult decision. Also what does swimming with snakes in an massive under stage pool have to do with anything???
Day 4 (by foot - just so you see we are walking off some of these French calories)
- Up close investigation of Place de la Concorde'
- Up close investigation of Saint Maire Madeleine . . . in FS#2's opinion a poor substitute for Saint Roch the day before even though it is either the second or third most visited church in Paris.
- Second visit to Laduree for some take away treaties, this time to a store that was full open and operational, don't be surprised if you hear or us making a third visit before we leave
- Up close investigation of Place Vendome . . . FS#2's favourite square in Paris so far
- Visit to Kumsi Tea so FS#1 could buy even more tea paraphernalia
- Getting mixed up in a traveling music festival down Avenue de l'Opera . . . these French people really do know how to have fun while still looking cool, chain smoking and drinking beer on a street that looks like it could be in a museum.
We have some busy feet punishing days ahead as we start our 4 day museum pass which will include 2 full days investigating the holly grail that is the Louvre and than squeezing in as many other museums as possible in the two other days!