The train ride from La Rochelle to Paris is usually quite painful, as it’s between 3-4 hours, with multiple stops, but my parents and I were prepared to catch up on some much needed sleep. However, our plans didn't exactly work out as planned, because right next two us, there were 3 people — a guy in is mid 20’s, a lady in her early 30’s, and an older lady who all spoke Spanish! We exchanged 3 hours worth of conversation about traveling, wine, food, cooking, and all the works. As it turned out, the guy had been on Erasmus to Mexico back when he was in college — so obviously he and my dad bonded over millions of things. Before we knew it, we were in Paris. Coincidentally, the guy was headed in the same direction as we were, so we took the same taxi, and they dropped us off at our hotel, then he went along his way (to go surprise his girlfriend, I might add. Talk about CUTE!).
Okay, so back to the story. Our hotel was super well located (shout out to my sister for booking it!). We were about 5 minutes walking from Opera Garnier and then from there, there were metros to take us everywhere else in the world. We checked in to the hotel, settled in for a bit, then headed off on our first adventure; the Eiffel Tower by night. The last time I lived in France, we only took a day trip to Paris and I didn't get to see all the incredible sights by night, so I was extra excited that this was our first stop. We got to the metro, and decided to buy our passes for the two days that we would be there, HOWEVER, our entire mental thought process was immedetiary shut down by some morbidly creepy guy who approached us, and insisted that the machines didn't work and we needed to buy tickets from him. Obviously we weren't going to buy from him, but the fact that he was hunched over us while we were on the individual ticket machine made us so uncomfortable, to the point where we couldn't even think straight. Luckily, a girl was standing nearby watching the whole thing, and she stood behind us telling him to leave us alone while we were buying the tickets. But of course, the machine only accepted cards with the chip (and I left my French banking card at my house in France), so the girl offered to use her card and we paid her back. So so so kind of her. We finally got down, took the metro, switched lines, and headed towards the Eiffel Tower.
As soon as we arrived to the bottom of the tower, the light show that goes on every hour begun, and it was just absolutely enchanting. We were so excited to go up and see the Parisian lights! However, the long line + the cold, made us kind of hesitant…but we did it anyways. We took the elevator straight up to the second floor, where it was obvious why Paris was named the city of lights. In the midst of the dark night, you could make out every monumental part of Paris. It was magical. Here’s the catch: We weren’t quite satisfied with the view, because we wanted to go all the way up. Luckily, there was an announcement that ticket sales for the elevator that went to the very top floor, would open in 30 minutes. 30 minutes seemed like no big deal, right? Our facies and bodies said otherwise. To say that we were PETRIFIED from the cold is a complete understatement. I mean, literally…we were trembling from the cold. My poor Dad — (for those of you who know him, already know what I’m about to say)…his [semi]-bald head, didn't have anything on it, so bless his heart, he was freezing. My Mom was wearing her scarf like an Arab Hijab, and as for me? No worries, I was warm. How? Well you see….the warmest part of the human body, is the part underneath your arm…AKA your armpit. I stood between my parents, like a baby penguin (so their body heat would radiate onto me), while my hands were carefully placed underneath each of their arms. They just about died of laughter when I proposed the idea, but, I was then the one to have the last laugh, because I was so warm. #win
The ticket sales finally opened, and we were the 3rd people in line, so the wait wasn't long at all before we boarded the elevator. So here’s a fun fact about myself: I have a phobia of large things AND of heights (when I look down….obviously). So….here I was…going up the largest tower in France. But, I will admit, it was really, really cool. As soon as we reached the top, WOW WOW WOW. What can I say? The view from the second floor was so mediocre compared to what we saw from the very top. Obviously I can’t find the words to explain it…so I’ll just show you some pictures instead.
As soon as we arrived to the bottom of the tower, the light show that goes on every hour begun, and it was just absolutely enchanting. We were so excited to go up and see the Parisian lights! However, the long line + the cold, made us kind of hesitant…but we did it anyways. We took the elevator straight up to the second floor, where it was obvious why Paris was named the city of lights. In the midst of the dark night, you could make out every monumental part of Paris. It was magical. Here’s the catch: We weren’t quite satisfied with the view, because we wanted to go all the way up. Luckily, there was an announcement that ticket sales for the elevator that went to the very top floor, would open in 30 minutes. 30 minutes seemed like no big deal, right? Our facies and bodies said otherwise. To say that we were PETRIFIED from the cold is a complete understatement. I mean, literally…we were trembling from the cold. My poor Dad — (for those of you who know him, already know what I’m about to say)…his [semi]-bald head, didn't have anything on it, so bless his heart, he was freezing. My Mom was wearing her scarf like an Arab Hijab, and as for me? No worries, I was warm. How? Well you see….the warmest part of the human body, is the part underneath your arm…AKA your armpit. I stood between my parents, like a baby penguin (so their body heat would radiate onto me), while my hands were carefully placed underneath each of their arms. They just about died of laughter when I proposed the idea, but, I was then the one to have the last laugh, because I was so warm. #win
The ticket sales finally opened, and we were the 3rd people in line, so the wait wasn't long at all before we boarded the elevator. So here’s a fun fact about myself: I have a phobia of large things AND of heights (when I look down….obviously). So….here I was…going up the largest tower in France. But, I will admit, it was really, really cool. As soon as we reached the top, WOW WOW WOW. What can I say? The view from the second floor was so mediocre compared to what we saw from the very top. Obviously I can’t find the words to explain it…so I’ll just show you some pictures instead.
There ya have it…the beauty that is, Paris. When we finished enjoying the view, we decided to then head back down to the first floor, that we had not seen yet. The cool thing about the first floor, is that it has an area where the flooring is solid glass; so essentially, you can walk across it, look down and see underneath the Eiffel Tower, while still being able to look up at the rest of the tower. It was so neat. Once back on land, of course I couldn't miss the photo opp of my parents in front of the glimmering tower, plus a few selfies. The photo-shoot didn't last very long because the Romero’s were now hungry, cold, and tired, not to mention it was almost midnight. We got on the metro like pros, switched lines, and headed back to the area that our hotel was in. The next quest? Finding a place to eat. But, logically, restaurants are not open past midnight…so we we searched and searched, the hunger grew along with the desperation of not finding a place to eat. That was, until, we found a Sushi place that didn't close until 12:30! Without thinking twice, we walked in and ordered. It was without a doubt some of the best sushi I have ever had in my life, and what made it even better, was that we were 5 minutes away from the hotel. With happy tummy’s we went back to the hotel and got ready for the long day that was ahead of us.
Thursday morning, we bundled up (there was no way we were going to be cold again), and headed out for our morning coffee (courtesy of Prête a Manger) where the three of us knew we were going to need more than one cup of caffeine to make it through the day, but nonetheless, we were ready to see what was in store. First stop? My favorite place, Opera Garnier. You see, I started playing piano at the age of 6 and for fun, I used to collect cd’s from my favorite composers and memorize their biographies. Some of my faves include Beethoven, Tchaikobsky, Chopin, but let’s not forget Mozart, Bach, and Vivaldi. The first time I was in Paris, I remember gawking over the opera house because it housed so many concerts from the greats. Sadly, that time, we were on a tight schedule and I didn't get to see the inside, so of course we made it a point to go in. Walking through the golden detailed hallways and up the red-carpet stairs at the grand entrance, made me feel like I was in the Phantom of the Opera musical (yes, I’m a fan). We took our time and looked at all the wardrobe changes/costumes from past operas, and enjoyed the vastness of what seemed like a timeless place. I also took the liberty of walking out to the balcony (that was strictly forbidden), and I felt the marble walls while looking out into the Parisian streets by morning. Needless to say, our first stop was a complete success.
We then continued on our walk and headed towards the Louvre where (as you probably saw on my social media), we took the typical touristy photo. Which by the way, it’s a LOT harder than it looks. Luckily for us, it only took like 10 minutes to snap the perfect shot. Mom and I had already been inside the Louvre, but, seeing as the Romero family LOVES Impressionism, going to my all-time favorite museum (Museé D’Orsay) was a total no-brainer. Our walks were really placid. It was nice to be with my parents in a place that I loved, while we all soaked in the beauty of everything that was going on. A few blocks away from Orsay, we stopped for a small lunch break, where we had quiche, (more) coffee, and baguettes. It was a great sized snack, delicious, and enough to get us through our next few stops before stopping to eat real food. We were all excited to get to the Museé D’Orsay and what made it even better, was that I got in for freeeeeeee because I had my French student ID. Dontcha just love the system? I know we do.
Once inside, we started panning the halls that were filled with Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Degas (a few of our favorites). It was funny, because the three of us have different ways of seeing museums. For example, my mom goes through one room at a time, and eventually makes her way to the end. My dad, starts with the right hand wall of every room until he gets to the last one, and then works his way back, but on the left-hand side. I, start at the very end room, and pan the room from right to left until being back at the beginning. After every exhibit we saw, we would get together and comment on our favorite ones and this and that; it was actually really great to be with people who share the same passions as you, and even better, they were MY PARENTS. That counts as a double win, right? We saved our the best exhibit for the last one, of course, and right before, we sat outside on a bench and talked about how incredible it was going to be to see Van Gough’s self-portrait. My mom, aka Van Gough’s biggest fan, couldn't help but shed a few tears before, during, and after going through the room. I mean, honestly, hands down, the man was a genius. His expressionism in this gallery was just inexplicable. We left the museum with passion-filled hearts, and our next stop was the Champs-Élysées.
Along the way we stopped at the Pont des Arts, or more commonly known as the love-lock bridge. Did I put one on there? Maybe, maybe not. But, it was lovely to see so many locks with the same meaning, in one place. After-all, Paris IS the city of love right? We also visited a flower market where there were some local artists, which is always rad to see. As we walked along the Quai D’Orsay, that crosses the Seine, has a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower, and leads to the Champs-Élysées, we of course had a mini-photoshoot. After what seemed like a million photos (of which only a handful turned out great), we kept on walking.
After Zara and Louis Vuitton, it was time to eat. But, life is too short to not eat your dessert first, right? So, I took my parents to my F A V O R I T E place ever (seriously, there is nothing like it) — the one and only, Ladurée. We took a table upstairs where we enjoyed some coffee, delicious hot-chocolate, pastries, and the scrumptious yet typical, French macaron. I mean, would you ever want to leave such a heavenly place? We sure didn’t, but, we did have to get some actual food in us. With not so hungry stomachs, we stopped at a family run Italian restaurant, where the guy and my Dad instantly bonded (go figure). The guy spoke in Italian to my Dad and my Dad responded in Spanish — I don't think languages have ever been a barrier for this family haha. We ate (and could barely finish our food, since we filled up on dessert), and decided to call it a night. Our feet were aching and it was once again, colder than cold gets, but, we walked and window-shopped through Rue St. Honorée all the way back to our hotel where we all slept like babies, because our next day, was going to be one for the books.