PARIS | Euro Trip Part 6
Stop 6: Paris
19th August 2018
I had mentioned in my previous post how long our bus journey from north to south – Amsterdam to Paris – was. After a 7 hour long ride, we arrived at a bus station in Paris that was quite a bit far from our hotel. This was probably the least likeable hotel of all the budgets we stayed at. Since we were warned a LOT about robberies in Paris, we chose to skip the double train ride to the hotel and take a taxi instead. Our cabbie gave us a few tips on the best ways of getting to the Eiffel Tower from our hotel, and after all that’s the main thing we had come to Paris for right?
Our hotel in Paris: ibis budget Paris Porte de Vincennes http://www.booking.com/Share-VrJNCIF
Quite far from the center of the city, but close enough in a cab, we arrived at the hotel in a few minutes and freshened up, but the worst part is, despite informing them earlier, they didn’t have a hair dryer for us. I know it sounds rather unnecessary, but a hair dryer is quite an important part of the mix. Since we were quite hangry by then, we chose to indulge in some Indian comfort food at the Mumtaz restaurant that was located right opposite to our hotel, and then walked up to a nearby Carrefour to buy a travel size hairdryer. Believe me, at approximately AED 75, it’s a good investment.
After the whole last minute shopping, we decided to visit the one place that is a part of almost every tourist’s bucket list – the Eiffel Tower. Thanks to our crazy hotel location, we had to change trains to get to the station closest to the landmark, but the metros in Paris – almost like an entire underground city, were really well connected and we loved the whole experience.
I guess this had to be the most awestruck I’ve been on my entire trip. You hear about it, and you see it in photos and movies and you keep dreaming of visiting it one day. But that one day, when you finally stand at the foot of this iron lady – THAT is the moment of truth. The 7 hour long bus ride from Amsterdam, followed by a 40 min metro ride and a 15 min walk was all worth it to see the magnificent Eiffel Tower in all its glory. Watch the different faces of this iron lady taken at different hours of the day!
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The Eiffel Tower, or Tour Eiffel as the French call it, was simply breathtaking. Although it was nothing like the movies – the streets were way too crowded, we couldn’t really stop in the middle of the road to dance, and we were holding on to our bags (and money) for dear life – but it was still magical, to say the least. The glimmering lights every few minutes shine on the Eiffel Tower making it look like the true beauty she is. But well, this was just one of many (many) trips to the tower. The next day was going to bring in much more.
20th August
After the midnight Eiffel run, we decided to start the day a little easy and took a train ride followed by a late breakfast at the local bistro. Nothing like a good omelette and crêpe breakfast in Paris, right?
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This day was all about the Seine River. We went on not one, but two cruises on the Seine just because we could. Honestly, we wanted to go to Louvre, but it was closed on that day so we just made the most of the great weather and Parisian beauty.
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Later on we stopped by the Notre Dame cathedral followed by the Montparnasse Tower where we went up to their 59th floor terrace to enjoy unparalleled views of Paris at night along with a glass of rose. Rosé with a view! The French are all about wine, and they produce some of the finest grape beverages in the world, so it was only fair to dedicate a post to this exquisite drink. Taken from the 56th floor of Montparnasse Tower
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At the banks of Seine river, minutes before the cruise.
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21st August
This was our day dedicated to the Eiffel, Louvre and Moulin Rouge. We started off a little early to try speeding up the queues, because honestly, you’ll not find a single hour without queues lining up to get to the top of Eiffel Tower. We hadn’t booked anything in advance so this was our only choice. So I put on my pretty dress and we headed down to Tour Eiffel, third day in a row.
This one was irrefutable – both, the picture of the view as well as the climb to the top of Tour Eiffel. I don’t like it when people compare buildings to other similar buildings, like this one to Burj Khalifa. The Eiffel may not be as tall or as modern, but this iron clad lady offers a view that’s not to be missed. It’s worth every single penny of the 25 Euros we spent on the visit. We didn’t really climb up the stairs (my knees feel like they are 80 years old), but we did climb down from the 2nd to the 1st floor, and wow, the staircase seemed never ending. Hats off to those who choose to climb all the way up to 2nd!
Here’s a look at the Paris and Seine from the Eiffel Tower summit.
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After a whole lot of photos, we knew we had to eat something since we skipped breakfast to get to the tower as early as we can, so we simply munched on a pizza and some coffee at the top of Eiffel Tower. Once we were back to the ground, it was almost afternoon, and time for our next stop – the much famed Musee du Louvre. My sole motive to go to Louvre was to catch a glimpse of Mona Lisa and take some pictures with the pyramids as the backdrop. Luckily, I managed to do both.
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We honestly wanted to do much more, but that particular afternoon was quite hot, so we stopped by for some freshly squeezed orange juice and made our way back to the hotel to get dressed up for a spectacular “Evening in Paris”.
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Moulin Rouge is a very well known cabaret show that’s filled with song, dance and a whole lot of performance. Almost like a movie set from the 60’s, this adult only show demands you be dressed in evening wear, and we actually saw them stop some tourists outside who were dressed rather touristy – with hats and flip flops (they were allowed inside later, but I”ll skip the embarrassment). This was in fact the only reason I carried one pair of heels throughout my trip. The show came highly recommended by a couple of our friends who had recently been to Paris and they asked us to book it well in advance, so this was something we had planned while we were still in Dubai (but after we got our visas of course). The tickets we chose included only drinks and cost us about AED 525 each. But they do have options with dinner meals. We simply went with a la carte at the show since the food options didn’t impress me too much. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos or videos of the show, but think topless women, horses, and French flags. As for us, we just sat back and enjoyed the Moulin Rouge show with some rosé.
22nd August
This was going to be an out-of-city trip day so we had a pretty early start. We had purchased our tickets to the Palace of Versailles a day before online, so we had to make sure we reach on time. The thing with travelling to Versailles is that the trains are slightly confusing (or so we thought). And after out experience in Brussels, we didn’t want to get on the wrong train and get fined. We checked the maps and read up before getting there, but the metro took us to a central station from where we had to take another train to Versailles and we just didn’t figure out which one to hop on to (we asked around, but still). So we just ended up with cabbing it to the Versailles Palace from the nearest metro station. I must admit it was a little pricey but we promised ourselves we’ll figure out which train to get on, on our way back to the city.
One of the most visited tourist spots in Paris, although a little far from the city is the Château de Versailles. Located in the suburb of Versailles, this gorgeous place houses the remnants of kings and queens from the mid 1600s to late 1700s. Surrounded by beautiful gardens and an even prettier city, this half day trip is quite a must when you’re in Paris.
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We walked a lot inside the palace. It was almost like a museum of the kings’ and queens’ lifestyle. The rooms and the interiors were so opulent, it gave a fine insight into the lives of the royalty during those centuries. After walking around the palace and soaking up all that history, we decided to spend some time in the gardens, but not before picking up a box of Laduree macarons. Quintessentially French, macaroons are something you cannot not try in Paris, especially when they’re from Maison Ladurée . I stumbled upon a Ladurée outlet at the Château de Versailles and I knew there wouldn’t be a better place to devour the colorful sweets than the gardens at the palace. We tied their 8 piece box with mixed flavors and my favorites were Raspberry and Rose. The cream filling was simply bliss. Honestly I wasn’t a very big fan of macaroons before, but now I’m in love. Can you guess the flavor of these macaroons?
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We devoured each of these petite beauties sitting under the shade of the palace at a small spot in the gardens. Following that we walked around, stopped to smell the roses (I was also terrified of the bees) and then as usual we took a bunch of pictures before saying goodbye to the palace and mapping out our route to the nearest train station.
At the pretty Jardins du Château de Versailles
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Our next stop for the day was the Musee du Parfum, or the Perfume museum. Taking us through the various processes of perfume creation and teaching us a thing or two about the difference between parfum, EDP and EDT, this was quite a fun tour. We didn’t really buy anything at the end of it since I found the perfumes slightly expensive, and the fragrance too strong for my tastes.
From the perfume museum we head over to the famous street in Paris – Champs Elysees. Housing all the big brands, stores and quite understandably, a lot of crowds, this street was bustling with life. I got myself a crepe – something that you can never get enough of in Paris! But to fit in a good mix, I made sure I get a taste of both savory and sweet. This one from the street side on Champs Elysees had my favorite combination – Nutella and Coconut. Hot, chocolaty, fresh and just for 4.5 Euros, this one is a steal!
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We then walked over to the gardens at Avenue Des Champs Elysees to spend sometime with amidst blue skies, green trees and the chirping of birds, pondering over all the experiences the last two weeks of our lives had given us.
Finally, we went back to the most beloved spot of Paris – Tour Eiffel to bid our final farewell to the iron lady, and head over for a celebratory dinner at Iolanda. Here’s a look at the iron lady during late evening, just when it starts to get lit up and after sun down when it’s all golden and glorious.
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23rd August
The next morning was a quick cab ride to the airport as we finally departed back to Dubai on a Jet Airways flight via Mumbai.
Here’s a toast to the last two weeks in Europe and the many more holidays to follow. Thanks to all those who have read all the blog posts about my trip. Please let me know if you liked it on the comments under the posts or through my Instagram page @rashidablogs
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