Well, we survived the night even though it was very hot! We got up and around and left our room around 9:30 this morning. We started walking around looking for a bus to take us to Montmarte. Montmartre is the highest point in Paris and has beautiful views of the city as well as Sacre Coeur- the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris. We walked around for a while and couldn't find the right bus stop so we decided we needed some croissants to help us out.
 |
| Moms chocolate chip croissant |
 |
| The bakery |
After a lovely breakfast, we went in search of a cab since we were not having very good luck with the buses, We found one and he took us all the way to the top of Montmartre to Sacre Coeur and dropped us off right in front of the basilica- that was nice! If you ever go to Paris, take a cab up to the Sacre Coeur and walk back down, otherwise that is a lot of uphill stairs and walking, it is much easier going down. Before we got to Paris, I wasn't sure if Montmartre was a must do for me, but I am so glad we went. The view is spectacular and the basilica is beautiful. We took some pictures (with the selfie stick), took in the view, went in the church, and chased some pigeons.
 |
| Mom lighting a candle for Joan |
 |
| Chasing pigeons |
 |
| Testing out the selfie stick |
Next we headed down the hill to explore more of Montmartre. This area of Paris reminds me a lot of China Town in NYC. A lot of shops with the same things, cafes, and people! We shopped a little bit and bought some souvenirs. I finally found a cute little hat to wear.We were a little hungry so we stopped and got a lemon and sugar crepe! Man was that good!
 |
| Making our crepe |
Next we were in search of macaroons. Paris is famous for their macaroons, but we had a very hard time finding them! We finally stumbled upon a cute chocolate store that had macaroons and other candies. I got almond and raspberry, and mom got pistachio and salted caramel. They were all good, but raspberry and salted caramel were my favorite.
We finished our shopping and macaroons and headed to the Louvre around 12.
Mom and I are not huge art people so we didn't stay at the Louvre very long, plus it was hot and crowded! There is so much to look at it is a bit overwhelming so we only went to a few rooms. We really wanted to see the Mona Lisa. There was such a huge crowd around the painting we couldn't get very close.
 |
| The crowd |
 |
| If you look really closely you can see the painting in the very back... that's as close as we could get :( |
On our way out, we ran into the person we sat next to on the plane ride! How weird is that!
 |
| The Louvre |
 |
The Conciergerie
|
After the Louvre, we did some more wandering in an attempt to find Ste Chapelle. We walked all the way around the Conciergerie because we didn't realize Ste Chapelle was inside of it! Ste Chappel was kinda bust, not for the 8.50 to get in. It is pretty, but we didn't stay long.
After Ste Chapelle, we headed to look for a cafe for lunch. Mom ordered quiche with ham and it was amazing! I ordered lasagna which was also good as the quiche! Word of advice don't order a pop in Europe in a tourist spot. Mom paid $8 for one today at lunch without knowing it!
Then we headed to Norte Dame. There was a pretty long line, but it moved very fast!
 |
| Notre Dame from behind |
Next we headed to the little island next to Nore Dame in search of some ice cream. We didn't find any, but we did find the love lock bridge! You know we had to add one to the mix,... even if it was just a tiny luggage lock.
After this, we headed back to our room for a little break for a couple hours to escape the heat and rest our feet! We were back on the street around 7 and it cooled down quite a bit. We walked around some more in search of a baguette sandwich. We found them at the little shop we got our breakfast from this morning. Mom had ham, lettuce and tomato, and I had chicken lettuce and cheese. We also split a pomegranate slushy which was heavenly! We sat on a bench on the Rue de Sainte Germain and people watched and ate our baguettes like true Parisians!
After this we continued down Saint Germain to check out Monoprix. Which is like Frances Target. It was really fun to look at all the stuff they had and see how different it was from everything back home. Mom got a 6 pack of diet coke so she doesn't have to buy them at restaurants for $8 again ;) and got some cute french soaps!
 |
| Sour Patch Kids? |
But, we were still on the search for ice cream. Since it was about 9 most places were closed. So we just kinda wandered the streets and ended up in the Latin Quarter. I have to say this was one of my favorite areas of Paris. The streets were lined with all kinds of shops and restaurants. It was picture perfect.
 |
| Fruit stand in the Latin Quarter |
Well, that's all for today! I think we did all the things on my Paris bucket list in the 2 days that we were here! Tomorrow morning we head to the black forest of Germany! I'm not sure if we will have wifi frequently if at all, so it might be a few days before I can post again!
Aubrey :)
No comments:
Post a Comment