Two and a Half Days in Paris

Two and a half Days in

Paris, France

Bonjour! During my time studying abroad in Florence, Italy, I split my spring break between London, Paris and Amsterdam. Paris was the most beautiful of the three and has inspired me in so many ways. This is the story of my two and a half days spent in the City of Love.

Pont Alexandre III 

Driving from London to Paris only took 2.5 hours and we arrived right around dinnertime. My friends and I first headed to an Eiffel Tower viewing spot around sunset and then took the subway to the Champs-Élysées for dinner. We walked into an obviously very touristy, but cheaper, restaurant and began looking at the menu. While looking at the menu we spotted a mouse scurrying around the tables on the other side of the restaurant. I quickly picked up my purse from the floor and put it on my lap. A couple told a waiter about the mouse and he laughed and said in French, “Don’t worry, he is our friend.” I was ready to leave the restaurant but my friends were not concerned and wanted to stay. While eating our meals, my purse remained on my lap and I’m glad because the little mouse came up to my FEET. This was not a very welcoming first experience in Paris. I screamed like a loud American girl.

Pont de l'Alma

After dinner we walked across the street to Ladurée and each bought six macaroons. While eating the macaroons, we walked to a different Eiffel Tower viewing spot and watched it sparkle at 10pm. On our way to the Eiffel Tower, I noticed a lot of messages written in permanent marker on the pavement and walls above a road tunnel. I noticed all of them mentioned a girl named Diana and I realized that I was standing above the road tunnel (Pont de l'Alma) where Princess Diana was tragically killed in 1997.

Top of the Eiffel Tower

The first full day in Paris included breakfast at our hostel (cereal and tea) and taking the subway to the Eiffel Tower. One of my friends told me I couldn’t leave Paris without going up to the top. We waited in line for two and a half hours and finally got into one of the tiny elevators up to the top. The view was great but I would have liked to view Paris from a different building so I could see the Eiffel Tower…. Top of the Eiffel Tower? Don’t bother.

We then headed to the Love Lock Bridge. I bought a 5-euro lock from a street vendor, wrote my message and threw away the key!

Louvre

We knew we didn’t have time to go inside the world famous Louvre art museum, but we couldn’t resist walking over for a quick picture.

After our quick trip to the Louvre, we were on a mission to find the Longchamp store. Longchamp bags are a little bit cheaper in France because they are made there. I bought one for myself and one for my mom. After we made our purchases, we walked across the street to a small café for a croissant and tea.

I had some time before dinner to go to the pharmacy. French pharmacies are amazing. The pharmacists know your skin better than you do with just one glance. I had a big list of products to try and spent way too much money. Honestly, I was more excited to get French skincare than I was to get a Longchamp purse… or see the Eiffel Tower. One day I’ll do a blog post on all of my great skincare finds in Paris.

Day two was the day I traveled to the Palace of Versailles (aka, Marie Antoinette’s house!). It’s a quick train ride outside of Paris and incredibly gorgeous. Highlights include the Hall of Mirrors, Marie Antoinette’s bedroom and the Palace Gardens. This was my favorite part about visiting Paris (except for the pharmacies) and I highly recommend it.

Hall of Mirrors

The Palace

The Palace Gardens

If you can, I would recommend going to Paris. It’s very beautiful and has a lot of amazing things to see. Happy travels! 

"A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and 

in the point of life.” -Thomas Jefferson