We’ll Always have Paris

Breathtaking views atop the Eiffel Tower, spectacular architecture, a history well-preserved, yummy crepes for breakfast, a glass of wine with dinner, and a sunset cruise on the Seine; Paris equals love.

Sunset from the Eiffel Tower

Love of art, love of food, love of wine, love of music and dance. I first fell in love with Paris 10 years ago as a teen. A love so strong I knew I’d one day return to experience it again. The city was equally, if not more, amazing than it was during our first encounter many years ago. We opted to rent a flat for 2 nights using AirBnB instead of staying in a hotel to have a more local experience, and found one in the 19th arrondissement of Paris (more details on the flat and AirBnB in a later post). I would love to go and spend about 6 months to a year, to dive into the language, and submersed myself in the city and the country as a whole.2 days in city will have to do for now though.

The trip began with a relaxing ride 3 hour ride on the ICE train from Kaiserslautern, Germany into Paris Est (or Gare de l’Est, “East station” in English). We picked up metro passes and maps from the INFO center and made our way to our flat to drop off our bags.

Control Booth on the ICE Train

passing the scenic German countryside bound for Paris

passing the sweet little towns along the German countryside bound for Paris

Pare Gare EST

We spent our first day walking around the city taking it all in, grabbed lunch, made the climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower just in time watch the sunset, and enjoyed drinks, dinner, and shots with the owner at an Italian Restaurant near our flat. The line to take the elevator to the top was reeeaaallly long, so feeling ambitious and knowing  we were planning to indulge ourselves at dinner we opted to make the climb to the top via the stairs. And it was well worth the 670 steps to the observation deck. As the sunset it got cooler so we sipped hot chocolate and enjoy the amazing view before making our way back down the stairs.

We decided to make the long climb to the top on foot

we made it!

The ironwork of the tower is so beautiful

travelbuddies!

That night, despite the a long day of traveling and walking, the flow of wine, and all of the yummy food I couldn’t sleep,

so I reviewed my DK Paris travel guide and researched the city and planned our Friday adventures. All of the “Must See” places, metro stops, historical info, and great places to eat.The metro system in Paris is very efficient; with trains running just mins apart, 303 stations, and 16 lines it is the fastest and easiest way to get around the city. We got an early start – walking and hopping from train to train exploring the city making stops at:

Sacre Coeur Basilica

Visible on its hill (highest point in Paris) in Montmartre from the Eiffel Tower it is absolutely beautiful on the inside. We used the Funicular instead of walking the 300 steps to the summit since we planned to make the climb to the dome. At 108 m (354 ft) long, the funicular climbs and drops the 36 m (118 ft) in under a minute and a half. It carries two million passengers a year.We walked around the main floor o the basilica, then purchased tickets to explore the crypt and the dome.

Moulin Rouge and the Red Light District

There are no tours available, but you can make dinner/show reservations

Arc de Triomphe

You can make the climb to the top here too, but we’d had about enough of steps by the time we got here.

Champs–Élysées – where were walked, window shopped (there was no room in anyones tiny luggage totes for anything else), and stopped for lunch

Musée du Louvre 

After taking pictures near the main entrance, use the second entrance to enter the museum and purchase your ticket at the electronic kiosks. There’s little to no wait and and you’re inside making your way around the famed museum in no time while everyone else is still outside waiting to get in.

The Mona Lisa in all of her glory hangs alone in the center of the room

Venus de Milo

Notre Dame

We must have been delirious from all of the walking and stair climbing because when we got off the metro we didn’t realize it was behind us and definitely ran in a big circle, make a mad dash hoping that it wasn’t closed. Out of breath we arrived to see the grand cathedral and made our way to the line to go inside. 

Lit a candle and said a prayer for continued safe traves

We tried to stop at Verjus for dinner, I’d heard great things about it from Coco & Cowe,but unfortunately they were full booked for the night. Just around the corner we found an amazing restaurant to relax from the days adventures and enjoy happy hour and dinner.We opted for sleep instead of nightlife since we had an early flight to Rome Saturday morning.Getting to the airpot was a breeze – we opted to use the metro and connected to airport line. All in all it took us about 1 hour and 15min to get to the airport to jet-set off to Rome.

Make sure that Paris is on your travel list. It is a wonderful city to experience and so full of history. See the history, experience the love, take in the views, eat, drink,  dance, and be merry! Here’s some additional info and tips for planning your trip!

• The earlier you book train and plane tickets the cheaper they are. I bought our tickets (everyone gave me their money) about 2 weeks out due to scheduling, but found that I got the best deal for my train tickets to Paris from Germany on www.raileurope.com. The ICE train tickets were $188 per person, and we went from Kaiserslautern to Paris and then from Paris to Stuttgart and we took the regular train from Stuttgart back to Kaiserslautern. We took the ICE train to Stuttgart on the return trip because of scheduling. Tickets from Stuttgart to Kaiserslautern were purchased in advance on www.bahn.de for $24 per person
• Download the Paris Metro App on your smart phone to help get around the subways without a giant map in your hand.
• Metro Passes are broken down in price by number of days and zones you’ll be traveling in. You’ll need a pass for Zones 1-3 if you only intend to explore the Parisian city center which is all of the museums and historical sites are.A 2 day unlimited pass was 17EUR.
• Taking the Metro is 2,50EUR per ride without a pass and getting to the airport is an additional 11,30EUR

If you have any additional questions or need help planning your trip I’d be happy to help, just leave a comment below or send me an email!

“No city seduces as skillfully as Paris. With a sly, knowing wink, the City of Light steals your heart with one clear, small joyous moment after another. Linger too long on the Pont des Arts and passion may nudge your slumbering spirit awake, or kiss your lips, or turn you into a whimsical work of art.”- H. Thompson

Wishing you safe and happy travels! –xo AGT

Airline Review: easyJet

“The I can’t wait to go generation. The early risers for the morning cab, last minute packing, full of excitement generation. The head first into water, wine, or work generation. The I don’t want to go home, let’s stay longer generation. The we’ve been coming here for years, but still fall in love generation. The everyone doing it their way generation. The more places, more choices, more often generation. This is generation easyJet” – www.easyjet.com

I LOVE that quote! It definitely speaks to the traveler in me. I flew easyJet roundtrip from Paris to Rome to cutdown on travel times and to maximize my stay at each location. I’d read several reviews about cheap airline travel around Europe primarily focusing on easyJet and Ryanair, with most reviews shedding a negative light on each airline. I opted for easyJet because there was a direct flight from Paris to Rome.

I purchased my flight about 2 weeks out and managed to get a ticket for a total of 186,50 EUR ($252.20 USD). Which seems pretty good to me considering the timing on my purchase. I could have gotten it even cheaper if I’d booked sooner, but since I was flying Space A to Germany I didn’t want to purchase a ticket too far out. I’d read somewhere that some people incurred surprise charges on the backend of their purchases, but the only fees that I saw were an aviation tax and an admin fee, which were included in the overall total. So everything was pretty cut and dry and there were no surprises.

Getting to ORLY airport in Paris was pretty simple and took about 1hr and 15min from the flat we rented off of AirBnB. You have to purchase a separate metro pass for the airport, which costs 11,30 EUR and the train stops at the South Terminal. Perfect, because this is also where the easyJet check-in is located. I arrived about 2 hours early in case of long lines at security. Since I’d checked in for the flight and printed out the boarding pass before getting to Paris. I opted to travel light and not check a bag, so I made my way through security and with my carry-on a proceeded to the assigned gate for my flight.

During boarding there were 2 lines; a speed line (for those who paid to board the aircraft first) and the regular line, and from there 2 lines were created for those sitting closer to the front of the aircraft and those sitting toward the back. Everything moved rather quickly and before I knew it we were ready to take off. The flight crew was awesome and very friendly, and of course multi-lingual to accommodate passengers.  I actually scored a pretty sweet deal and had a whole row to myself :)

My Travel Buddies

Food and beverage service came through the cabin which costs an additional fee, but they had lots of options like soup, sandwiches, salads, quinoa, candy, alcohol, and non-alcoholic beverages. I went with the Tomato/Mozzarella/Basil Panini combo with came with chips and water for 8,20 EUR since I knew once we touched down in Rome I planned to hit the ground running.

On the return trip there were a few options for getting to Fiumicino Airport:

• Leonardo Express Train – 14 EUR
• Shuttle – 7 EUR
• Taxi – 40 EUR

Of course I went with the shuttle. Once at the airport and through security the terminal was provided, but there was a wait for the gate assignment. During boarding time everything went smoothly as it had the first time.

I would definitely flight easyJet if the opportunity to arise again. The service was great, the flight was easy, quick, and clean, and they have excellent deals on airfare even for last minute purchases.The biggest challenge for me was finding a bag small enough to use as my carry-on for the plane and large enough to fit 5 days worth of clothes.

Wishing you safe and happy travels! -xo AGT