Bonjour and merci Bing Translator (formerly Babelfish) for the translation of the title of my post! If you haven’t guessed, it should translate to “European Vacation Days 5 & 6: Hello Paris!”
Photo from the train entering France.
August 20th and 21st, we spent in Paris, France. Although I would loved to have spent my entire trip in London, Janice brought up a great point that we should see one other country while in Europe. Although I had already been there because my husband and I went on our honeymoon, we figured the easiest jaunt to another country was to take the two-hour Chunnel through Eurostar to Paris. I tried to sleep, but instead spent the entire ride listening to Spandau Ballet because of the Rewind Festival the night before. We actually arrived at Gare du Nord (North Station), but Janice booked a room at the Mercure Hotel location that was walking distance from Gare de l’est (East Station), which was close by.
The Mercure Hotel on Boulevard Magenta.
I’ll again rely on my pictures to tell the story of where we went in Paris for the two days that we were there. It was quite the fleeting trip, because I tried to make sure that Janice saw all of the most popular of sights during our short stay. The best part about the trip for me was the food, which I enjoyed because we actually got to sit awhile at each little cafe. À la prochaine! Next post: Our last day in London!
Our arrival at Gare du Nord, a street sign close to our hotel, and our first stop on The Metro.
Janice’s first introduction to authentic crepes in Paris. This one was filled with Nutella and bananas.
We took pictures outside of The Louvre because we were too late to take a proper tour (and we couldn’t go the next day because it was closed).
Jardin des Tuileries, which is the Tuileries Garden, between The Louvre and Palace de la Concorde.
We saw something being filmed while walking around the streets of Paris, close by The Louvre.
A cool Metro station entrance.
The cafe where we ate breakfast each day we were in Paris. Our waitress was so sweet that she made sure to warn us about pick-pockets, and she loved my Wendy Brandes ring!
Some of the delicious food and wine we ate and drank while in Paris: creme brule, pino grigio, eclairs and Quiche Lorraine.
This is the awesome bakery where I bought the eclairs. Janice bought some kind of Nutella goodness.
Marché Saint-Quentin (St. Quentin Market), which was right outside our hotel. If you watched “Cars 2”, you’ll know why it’s funny that Lightning McQueen was in the market!
Notre Dame de Paris
We stopped at a cafe near the Seine river, while walking to the Eiffel Tower. Janice and I were trying to be artsy with our pictures at the cafe. I liked her’s the best!
I was so excited to find the little Irish pub that my husband and I visited during our honeymoon! I knew it was the right one because it was next to the soccer shop where the nice store owner gave us a free key chain. The gal that was bartending at the time introduced us to the music of the group Phoenix.
Tour de Eiffel
Arc de Triomphe and the Louis Vuitton store on Champs Elysees. The “love me” painted on the wall caught my eye while walking.
Janice’s photo of Cartier at Champs Elysees.
All photos were taken with my iPhone unless otherwise noted.
We had dinner down by the Eiffel Tower later than normal so we could see the tower lit up. As impressive as it is during the day it paled in comparison to when it’s lights are on.