Day 1- Friday the 13th- La Louvre
Friday the 13th in the morning we went to La Louvre museum, till around 2:15. The museum was incredible, we took a cab straight to the museum, it was raining most part of this trip. The museum has 3 wings, the place is so huge it takes 49 days to see it whole. We were able to do good justice only to the Danon and Sully wings, the amount to see, each room is big, the ceilings are so huge, grand and ornate all at the same time. We got to see some amazing artwork! I got a photo with Mona Lisa and Jean of Arc!
Anirudh and I took an audio guide- it was a useful gadget, it tracked the room or areas we were in and gave a description of it. There was a room in the Sully wing, where the narrator very clearly explained to sit down and stare or observe the paintings. The paintings in that room looked real but they were huge! That experience was brilliant! Luckily I was able to get a great number of photos, both from the camera and my phone! These pictures do speak a 1000 words!
Seeing all these works of art made me remember college so much! The course I studied, the artworks I learnt about. Personally seeing a painting of Joan of Arc, the same photo I saw in a book given by Ajja (paternal grandfather in my language), I was moved! I wish we had more time there. The place needs an entire day or multiple times in a year to do justice to it!
We had to cut the visit off to 2:15! Luckily we got to see the souvenirs shop at the Louvre! Got some gifts for Mumma and Deepti and Anirudh got me the prettiest earring! We picked some fridge magnets and medallions too.
So that my experience from the Louvre!
After this, we went to a guided Wine Tour at the Royal Wine Cellar at Caves La Louvre. We both had 3 glasses of authentic French Wine from 3 different regions of France. The first white wine wasn’t strong, the strength increased with the next two glasses of red wine, they were aged longer. I really wished there was a way I could bring a bottle of wine from there safely! I really loved the experience! Here is a photo which shows the different types of wines from different regions of France. There were fun activities and the tour was very interactive! I would advise everyone to take this up as a fun activity!
We went back to the hotel and had Maggie cup noodles and some snacks that we had carried from here, Pringles, Makhana and some chocolate! We ordered dinner from an Indian Restaurant through a France only app called Just Eat. Uber eats does not accept Indian Payment options! The restaurant was called Pure Veg! It was ok food, if you are a fussy eater or you have dietary restrictions carry some food!
Day 2- Saturday 14th Jan- Eiffel Tower, Seine River Cruise
Saturday the 14th, day 2 was a visit to the majestic and iconic Eiffel Tower! It was so huge and lovely to look at. I got some spectacular photos of it and on it! I picked up a new trick thanks to a cousin and got a spectacular photo of both me and Anirudh using my iPhone and Apple Watch, I used it as a remote trigger! When we reached the top I was hungry and it was supremely cold. Ani got a cup of hot chocolate and slice of Margherita pizza, whilst I got a beignet and a cup of mulled or spiced wine! It was so warm and tasty, shout out to a cousin and friend of mine to introducing me to it! We did a little shopping at a souvenir shop near the Eiffel Tower, we picked up some clothes and accessories for our family and friends!
After we finished at the Eiffel Tower we went on the Seine river cruise and got to see some amazing sights! It had unfortunately started to rain we booked a Bolt cab with great effort, try getting it right in front of the Eiffel Tower, that’s the best pick up spot in that location. We booked a cab to WAJ California for lunch, unfortunately we reached late, it is a restaurant that doesn’t continue service after lunch. So we booked another cab and went to The Little Italy! The food was amazing and we finally felt a little more warm. We had a Margherita Pizza, Focaccia, Hot Chocolate and a Cappuccino. We went back to the hotel, freshened up and went to Printemps for some shopping, I picked up a very cute dress and a little red heart earring! We had carried another set of cup noodles, which we consumed that night along with some chips and chocolate. Got some well deserved sleep, since we were going to Disneyland Paris, by bus the next day!
Day 3- Sunday 15th Jan- Disneyland Paris
Sunday 15th Jan, Disneyland Paris trip. The bus was scheduled to leave at 8:45-9AM to Disneyland Paris. We reached just in time, the people here never seem to give directions accurately, the pick up was across the street. Only 1 or major criticism I have for this trip was that the pick-up and drop facility was thoroughly unplanned!
We reached Disneyland within an hour from the pick up location. Please keep in mind that there are two separate sections, but we had access to only one. The two parks are
- Disneyland Park– the better one with several more rides and even more food options
- Walt Disney Studios Park– the one we went to unknowingly, that had fewer number of rides and even fewer vegetarian restaurant options.
- The third attraction here was the Disney Village! Several restaurants and lots of shops, all in all we had a lot of fun!!
These are the rides we went on-
- Ratatouille- The adventure! Lots of fun especially with kids!
- Spider Man W.E.B Adventure- This was a fun VR type of game!
- Avengers Assemble: Flight Force- The scariest ride I have ever been on in my life!
- Cars Quatre Roues Rallye- Harmless and fun a ride!
- Slinky Dog Zig Zag Spin was also a lot of fun! Meant for young kids!
- Cars Road Trip- so close to a soundstage!
Check your ticket details and pick the right park! We missed seeing the iconic castle and all the Star Wars rides all together!
Also do not go shopping before you are done with all the rides. There are no rooms or storage area for them, like how it is at Universal!
Now the food! We had really thick and crispy fries in the morning and for lunch we ate the Stark Factory! It has a good range of Veg Italian food.
Finding our way back to the bus was terrible, we ran around and kept looking for the spot. Friendly piece of information, the private buses are always behind the restaurant Annette! There’s a separate walkway, you cannot miss it. It took an hour to head back into the city. We took a Bolt cab to an Indian Restaurant called Kashmir House, the food and ambience was really amazing. We really need a good warm meal!
Day 3- Monday 16th Jan- Champs Elyeese, Galeries Lafayette
16th January, our last day in Paris was a lot of fun! After we got ready and had breakfast we went to Galeries Lafayette on Haussman! The mall is exquisite! I thoroughly enjoyed shopping there. On the ground floor all the beauty brans have their stores! We got a Gucci Perfume as a gift, followed by a gift from my parents Coco Chanel’s Mademoiselle perfume and on request from a friend Chanel No 5 and Lipstick by Givenchy for my Mum in Bangalore!
Anirudh wanted to get me some clothes as a gift for the trip and our anniversary, he selected two very nice tops! The shops are Tres Chic! The fit and the colour are perfect!
We travelled a pathway through the second floor to reach the menswear section, we looked around and for a sweater for my brother Uttam and I got Anirudh a nice shirt!
After some difficulty we got on the Hop on Hop Off Toot Bus! We got to see the Louvre again followed by the famous road Champs Elysées and the Arch De Triumph, Enroute we saw the parliament building and city square. We got off the bus at the Arch and took some photos. Using the app Happy Cow, we found an amazing restaurant called Le Deaville we had an amazing and tasty lunch. The burrata salad was heavenly, Anirudh has the Arabiatta Pasta and I has the Chessy potato omelette, we had a tasty vanilla macaron. I loved the food genuinely, I would suggest you all go there!
Couple of tips for anyone traveling to Paris
- Plan your meals in advance, find restaurants that have a Service Continue sign
- Shops close at 8, so plan accordingly.
- Food deliveries options for vegetarians are difficult, have a heavy lunch and light dinner
- Keep both cash and cards, some place you can use cash more easily
- Get a metro pass and do not use Uber, it is far costlier. Get a local app called Bolt, fraction of a cost and access to more drivers
- Learn some basic French, it helps
- Start a sentence with Bonjour and then ask if they speak English
- Get the food delivery app called Just Eat, it has so many restaurants!
- Layers! You need layers of clothes to wear, thermal, full sleeve clothes, sweaters and coats, to stay warm!
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Awesome post Deepa! Got a detailed account of the Dos and the Don’ts of Paris!
How were the photos?