On this trip, we decided to navigate the Paris metro. Ok, I’ve heard it’s a large metro system, and that is absolutely correct. If you’ve never managed a metro before or are a first timer in Paris, just take a bus! We had several stopped, broken, or missing trains, sweaty people crammed in like sardines until the car was TOO FULL TO CLOSE, and one potentially dangerous, mentally unstable man who inclined us to get off at the next stop… Wow, Paris Metro… wow. One time, we boarded the metro car, waited a few minutes (which was odd), the train shut the power off (announcement in French), and eventually we just got off, left the metro, and walked to our next destination. Here is a map showing all the metro options in Paris, it is a HUGE system!

We also decided to travel as light as possible. In true minimalist fashion, we just carried a small bicycling backpack. It was fun to travel so light and great to not haul around a suitcase! Toothbrushes, deodorant, a wallet, and not much else are really all you need with no kiddos! We’d do it again this way.

Since it was just the two of us, we decided to do some parts of Paris that were difficult with the kids along. First stop… The Chateau Versailles.

Chateau de Versailles

The Chateau de Versailles is not your regular chateau. I’ve always thought it was called the Palace of Versailles and that seems to be a more accurate name. This place is huge! Check out this short (3 minute) video to learn a little more about this place. They showed this same one in a room of the chateau and it was really interesting!

There was no organized tour, we just wandered around the chateau and grounds for a few hours. The outside was quite extravagant and most of it was covered in gold. It was impressive to see!

Inside was magnificant. All the rooms and hallways were extravagantly decorated and the details on every inch of this entire chateau were incredible. Paintings, statues, carved moldings, expensive furniture, chandeliers, you name it! They spared no expense here. We didn’t linger long in each room since there was so much to see, but I did snap a few pictures of some of my favorite. It was much more impressive in real life, but you get the idea.

This would be my room if I lived here I think…

The hall of mirrors was quite impressive! Every part of this chateau was ornate and decorated in gold or fine, detailed craftsmanship. It was amazing.

The outside grounds were incredible. We only walked to the top for the view, I wish our feet would have let us wander around a bit! The grounds go for MILES and are immaculately kept. Fountains, trees, bushes, flowers, statues, stairs, I can only image what parties must have been like here! Truly a site to see.

Dinner at Chez la Vieille

Probably the most expensive dinner I’ve ever had, but it was delicious! French cuisine is wonderful, delicate, and flavorful.

Nick is braver than I am and tried the Rabbit Kidney Toast aperitif… while I played it safe with a cucumber dish.

Dinner was also excellent. Fish of the day for Nick and beef, carrots, and horseradish for me. The best I’ve ever had!

No picture of Nicks Rhubarb Crumble or my Caramel Cremè dessert, they were eaten and enjoyed too quickly! Wow!!

Cathedral of Notre Dame

I’ve been curious as to the condition of the Cathedral of Notre Dame since it’s recent fire. The entire church and grounds are blocked off and closed of course, but the damage was pretty apparent even from the outside. All the windows were black with soot and there was a lot of construction in progress. The Notre Dame fire back in April 2019 was so heartbreaking.

We walked along the Seine River near the cathedral and down Champs-Elysees for a while until darkness approached and we could head to the Effiel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower.. at NIGHT!

This has been a HUGE bucket list item for me since living in Europe. It did not disappoint. I’m sure it helped that we weren’t dragging around tired, hungry kids, but the evening was absolutely wonderful. Relaxing, romantic, and beautiful. (Aside from using the Paris porta-potty, and I’m sure you can imagine the state of that bathroom )

We wandered down to the grass fields on the other side while we waited for the sun to go down and the light show to start! I snagged a few pictures while the sun was going down.

We waited until 11:00 pm for the lights! It was well worth it and the weather was perfect. The video hardly does it justice, the light show was fantastic. Definitely a must-see for anyone visiting Paris!

The Avalon

I had booked the perfect little AirBNB with a view of the Eiffel Tower for us! I got a great deal by using a referral code (which you can do the same by clicking here to make your account) and it was going to be in a super convenient location for our plans as well as romantic.

But… right when we arrived in Paris I got a message from the owner saying the power had been off in the building since yesterday. No hot water, vacuum to clean, etc and we would have to find a new place to stay. Not his fault and he gave a quick refund, but we were ALREADY THERE and now homeless.

Nick did a foreign exchange program in Europe during high school and remembered the hotel they stayed at was near the train station. We walked down the road and sure enough, we found it! We got a room and I enjoyed hearing the stories and reminiscing from Nick in his high school days. It was an old hotel with lots of fun quirks, and the view from our bedroom balcony gave a realistic view (and sound) of Parisian living.

The Louvre

We had walked ALL DAY on Thursday (and into early Friday morning, thanks to the ridiculous Paris Metro) and our feet, legs, and ankles were really hurting! Not an ideal way to start out the Louvre Museum, which is like 8 miles long!

Regardless of the pain, we had a fantastic day in the Louvre. If you plan on visiting, BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE BEFORE! We didn’t realize this was a thing and arrived at 9 with no tickets available until 12:30. With a 5 pm train to catch that simply wouldn’t work, but we bought the 12:30 tickets online anyway and stood in line to get in. The line took almost 2 hours to get through so by 11 am they didn’t care our tickets were a little later. Next time, we’ll buy early tickets and arrive at opening time!

Here’s a view from inside, underneath the famous glass pyramid!

I just took a few photos there of our favorite things, there were so many things to see and we moved as quickly as our tired feet would let us. Also, it’s much cooler to see them in real life and who wants to see a bunch of amateur photos of old stuff?? Here’s a few though!

The OLDEST thing in the museum! This piece was about 9000 years old. That’s incredible! It’s weird… but incredible nonetheless.

One of my favorites, Venus de Milo.

Ok, we were wandering around some paintings by Italian artists and this little dog caught my eye. It looks exactly like our little Shih Tzu, Adderley!! It was super crazy!

Down the big hall of paintings heading toward the Mona Lisa!

If you’ve dreamed of standing in front of the famous Mona Lisa, gazing at its beauty, noticing each brush stroke and truly appreciating the art piece, you may want to rethink your dream.

This is a much more accurate scenario of what it’s like to see the Mona Lisa!! SO many people!

What I wasn’t expecting when walking in here though, was a little twinge of emotion. I have never had the desire to travel or see things like this, nor did I think I would ever be in Europe. The man I married planned to be a music teacher and I assumed we’d be near family or in the surrounding area forever.

As I entered this room though with the most famous painting in the world, a little glimpse of the reality that is my life right now kinda hit me. I was looking at the Mona Lisa. I am so lucky and blessed to be in Europe. I felt so small, grateful, brave, adventurous, and awed at this moment. It was a feeling I did not expect but an interesting one I’ll ponder a bit more. I love the life we’ve built together and I’m excited to see where it takes us! If I can be standing in front of the Mona Lisa, there is literally no end to our possibilities.

Ok, it should be obvious why I took a photo of this next one. If this isn’t an exact replica of my sweet, crazy little Hyrum boy I don’t know what is!! This curly haired little boy wrestling a goose had me smiling so hard and I missed my little boys. Just for 3 seconds though, then I remembered how grateful I was that they were NOT there with me. Little children would HATE the Louvre, just FYI.

We saw many paintings depicting the life of Christ. It was interesting to see different artists interpretations of aspects of his life. Each artist had a unique view of the events, emotions, and elements that were important to them. We really enjoyed taking the time to talk a little about the life of Christ and his followers.

And last but not least, I couldn’t help but take a few pictures of the breastfeeding artwork I found! I’ll be going back to school in the fall to finish my Bachelors Degree in Human Lactation and I’m really looking forward to it. Here’s for all the mama’s out there! This first one, in particular, I thought many of us could relate too…

Wanderings back to the train station

We could have spent several more hours in the Louvre, but our feet, ankles, and legs just couldn’t take much more walking and stairs. What a cool place though! I’m SO glad we did it WITHOUT kids. They seriously would have hated it.

Saint-Vincent de Paul Cathedral

On our walk back to the train station we found the beautiful cathedral of Saint-Vincent de Paul. We went inside and were the only ones there. All the sides of this cathedral were blocked off with rails but you could see behind them and it looked like a bunch of charity donations. Random assorted junk, craft stations, etc. At first I was a little sad that such a beautiful church had been filled with junk, but actually, it’s nice that it’s being used to serve the needs of the people in that area. I’m glad we stopped in!

Sacrè-Cœur

Our feet were WAY to sore and tired to walk up to the Sacrè Cœur and we needed to head back to the train station anyway, but what a beautiful place! Next time for sure!

~~~

We had an awesome 24 hours in Paris together! These little short overnight trips are fun! If you missed our 24 hours in Rome, you can see that one here.

Where should we go next??

The post Date Night in Paris! – Effiel Tower at night, Chateau Versailles, & The Louvre appeared first on Tolman Travels.

Disclaimer: I love my kids with all my heart! And life without them would be terribly boring and lacking so much love and joy. But if you know what traveling with kids is like, you know how big of a treat this was for a day! Logistics = easier. Meals = easier. Bathroom breaks = easier. (repeat pattern until the end of time….)

~~~

In early November 2018, a mom friend and I left the kids with their dads, hopped on a train, and went to explore the most iconic city in the world!!

I’m so glad I met Tamara when we first arrived in Belgium. Not only is she a wonderful person, a talented YouTuber, and beautiful young mother, she is so adventurous and loves to travel!

Check out her YouTube video of our day in Paris!!!

DICAS DE VIAGEM: PARIS, FRANÇA | Paris em Um Dia! | Lá Vai a Tamara

My heart wants adventure, but my mind often holds me back. I absolutely loved spending the day with her and it was so nice to have a friend to explore Paris with.

Our only goal for the day: fall in love with Paris.

For me, it was a 100% success

Here’s my video compliation from the day! Spoiler alert… I LOVE PARIS!! Feel free to read first and come back to the video at the end

~~~

A Day In Paris

We started the day by driving across the border to a little train station in Maubeuge, France. The 30-minute drive into France meant the last minute train tickets were HALF the cost, being only €50 each.

The train was cold but the nerves and excitement kept us warm! The train reminded me of Harry Potter with the isle down one side and small 6 person cabin with a door.

All the announcements were in French but we chose a direct train so we just sat and enjoyed until we hit Paris Nord!

When we arrived, the train station was bustling, busy, and cold. But we didn’t care! We were in PARIS!

A quick random fact, it’s very common in Europe to have to pay to use the bathroom. For this reason, I always carry around some change! So many new and unique things here in Europe.

I also noticed these bathrooms at the train station each had a sharps container in them for needles. I’m not sure if there’s a high population of diabetics or drug addicts here, I was too scared to ask! Haha but an interesting feature for sure!

~~~

We decided to go FULL tourist mode and get tickets for the Hop-On Hop-Off double decker bus and just run around Paris all day. It was the BEST way to see everything in one day. They even have an app to see buses in real time and we purchased our tickets right on the spot using our iPhones. Easy!

And the icing on the cake, the English commentary option was a British man with a dreamy accent. Yessssssss!

I had forgotten, traveling without kids is SOOOOOO EASY!

Paris in November was probably too cold for young kids as we discovered because there really wasn’t a comfortable place to warm up, but it was a BEAUTIFUL time to visit! The fall colors were amazing and it wasn’t as busy as I assume it is in nicer weather.

~~~

Our first stop,

The Louvre

We didn’t go inside because I think it would take a week and a half to see everything in that museum, but the iconic outside was a beautiful place to take pictures.

I had a hard time leaving each place because I felt like I didn’t take enough time to truly appreciate their details, beauty, and magnitude. BUT, we had to see it all in one day! So onward we went.

A quick photo by the river and on the bus to the next stop!

~~~

Many people had said Paris was so dirty, smelled like urine, and full of homeless people. They must have never visited Paris in the fall because we saw very little of that!

There were however, many people who would come up to you and ask if you spoke English, wanting you to sign petitions or give them money. We ignored everyone who talked to us like this and just kept walking. We didn’t really have any problems.

~~~

The Cathedral of Notre Dame

This cathedral was the setting for Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame with bell towers in the top! I have no idea how people built such detailed and enormous buildings hundreds of years ago without modern tools. It’s incredible.

The line was SOO long to go inside but it looked to be moving fast so we thought we’d try it.

The inside was breathtaking. I’m so glad we went in!

We arrived shortly before a mass started, we got to hear some inspiring words as we walked through. Pretty cool they still hold service there!

~~~

On top of the world! (Aka the bus)

We braved the cold air and ventured on the top of the bus! This was a fun way to see downtown Paris and some less known attractions while making our way to the big stuff. I wish I could tell you what everything is, but there was so much history there it was a little overwhelming for just one day!

I got so excited when I saw the Louie Vuitton store! Haha I’m not sure why since I don’t particularly enjoy shopping and didn’t have enough money to even look at the place. Probably watched too much Project Runway!

~~~

Arc de Triomphe

We rode the bus past the Arc de Triomphe, you can actually climb stairs to the top and get a great view of the city! We didn’t have the energy or time for that on this trip, so we enjoyed the view from the top of the bus.

The Eiffel Tower kept peaking into view all day, really just tempting us with its beauty… I couldn’t wait to get there!

FINALLY……..

~~~

The Eiffel Tower

My absolute, without a doubt, FAVORITE part of the day.

When you pull up to the Eiffel Tower, there are 2 buildings on either side of a large square. The buildings are laced with gold along the tall columns.

On the large square, there were sellers selling trinkets and many people taking pictures! It made for a beautiful backdrop.

We took full advantage of the sellers and bought some fantastic French hats which we’d been searching for all day!

There were a beautiful Russian bride and bridal party on the square taking wedding pictures. She was gorgeous, can you imagine coming here for a wedding?!?! Wow.

After a few more pictures from the top, we decided to wander down to the base. I’ve never taken so many selfies in my life! I just couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful and surreal to actually be there.

Little did I know, there were even better views and spots for photos along the path down!

My mom eye never shuts off these days, and I spotted a cute little playground along this path! It would be a fun stop to take a break with the kids another day.

I wish I could capture the ambiance in this part of Paris. It’s times like this I wish my descriptive writing was better! As I walked down the path toward the base of the Eiffel Tower though, it was so peaceful. I could almost hear a soft French song playing while the fall trees shown brightly in the sunshine. It was my favorite spot of the day.

We found an ornate carousel right next to a waffle street vendor. I couldn’t resist a Nutella waffle!!

We stopped to eat our waffles overlooking the river just under the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower is HUGE! And super cool to look at from the bottom. One day I’ll stand in the long line to go up to the top, but not today.

On the other side of the Eiffel Tower is a long grass area. We walked quietly along it and just enjoyed the beautiful, crisp, fall day in Paris.

Can you tell this was my FAVORITE place to be?? Picture overload! Good thing my travel partner was patient with my new found love of the Eiffel Tower.

~~~

It had been a busy day and we were tired so we hopped back on the bus to head to the train station.

On the way, we circled the opera house that the phantom of the opera was based on. It was magnificent to look at and I could almost imagine people bustling around 200 years ago waiting for the show to begin. I love all the history and old feel Paris has.

The famous Moulin Rouge! We did not venture off the bus to explore Paris’s famous red light district, but even just driving down the street was a sight to behold! There’s a reason there’s only 1 picture for this section of Paris…

~~~

We stopped for lunch/dinner at a small cafe near the Louvre then went back to the train station to travel home.

The day was perfect and we had zero problems or hiccups. Paris is an incredibly beautiful city and the vibe there is one you MUST experience! I can’t wait to go back in the spring and summer, but the fall was a perfect time for a first trip to Paris. I’ll be counting down the minutes until I can go again!

Here’s my video compilation again from the day. In case it wasn’t clear… I LOVE PARIS!!!!

~~~

Did you miss…

Day Trip to Liege, Belgium – A journey back in time!

Day Trip to Brussels – Train, Bus, Frites, and Fun

Stay tuned for The Best of Paria Daiza Zoo 2018! Spoiler alert: It’s amazing!

~~~ Tolman Travels ~~~

The post A Kid-less Day in PARIS!! Living the Dream… appeared first on Tolman Travels.