A couple of years ago Scott outdid himself in the gift giving department and surprised me with a trip to Paris for my 40th birthday. He’d always said he’d take me there for my 40th, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think he actually would!
Long story short, he saw cheap flights on sale about a year before my birthday, checked with Mum & Dad that they would be ok to have the kids for 10 days and bought two heavily discounted premium economy tickets. He kept that secret for a good 12 months, before sending me on a treasure hunt around the house on Christmas Eve where each clue revealed that holy crap, I’m going to Paris!
Then, about a week before we were due to leave, Scott was clever enough score us both an upgrade to business class using points. So, for the first (and only) time in my life, I took a very hard left when I got on board that plane and enjoyed all of the luxurious perks that travelling at the pointy end of the plane has to offer.
Think incredible 3 course meals served on actual plates (please note the Opera House salt and pepper shakers), a bed, pjs, a separate ladies only toilet complete with full size mirror and fresh flowers, a stand up bar that is open the entire flight, a freshly made cappuccino with your breakfast, more champers than you can actually drink and so much leg room that you can’t actually reach the seat in front of you.
That was from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, then we had to get off and pleb it down the back in economy for 7 hours of torture where our meals (I use that term very loosely) were served in paper bags and my knees were squished so hard into the seat in front of me, I was basically doing a very unflattering yoga pose for the entire duration of the flight.
But enough of the flights. Let’s get stuck into the actual trip. There really are so many things to see and do in Paris, it was hard to narrow it down to just 10!
But here they are, my Top 10 Things To Do In Paris. Enjoy!
1. Have dinner inside the Eiffel Tower
It’s ridiculously expensive and it took me approximately 2.5 glasses of champagne before I could even look out the window, but dinner at le Jules Verne is of those meals you will remember forever.
Accessed via private lift on the South pillar of the tower, it is Tres Fancy and definitely worth the euros it will cost you to dine there. I give it 5 glasses of champers of out of 5.
Hey look! It’s Guns with his shirt on. You don’t see that very often!
2. Have A Glass Of Moet At Galeries Lafayette
Now this is an iconic department store in Paris and when you enter the beauty counter area you must remember to look up, because the roof and surrounding floors above you are spectacular:
but what you might not know is a couple of levels up is a lovely little bar area (located next to the Chanel perfume counter) that sells delicious platters of fresh french cheeses and Moet by the glass! I mean if that wasn’t a shopping centre made just for me, I don’t know what was?!
Please note Scott’s bottle of coke. Even in Paris he was still swigging on the stuff. Seriously. How I don’t have some sort of commercial arrangement with them yet is beyond me!
4. Climb the Arc de Triomphe
You have to pay to do this (from memory it wasn’t expensive) and the stairs are very small and spiral. Nobody stops for a breather so, if like me, your only cardio is shopping and blogging based, then climbing them will basically make you like you’re on some upscale version of The Biggest Looser.
But once you get to the top and have recovered from your coughing fit, you’ll be greeted with the most magnificent view, so it will all be worth it!
5. Eat A Fancy Macaron At Laduree
Now before we go any further can we just take a moment to discuss the correct pronunciation of the word macaron? Lots of people ask me about this one, probably because I used to be a teacher and as a result I’m now a bit of a grammar Nazi! Anyway, it’s mac-a-RON as in RON the man’s name that is short for Ronald. Not Macaroon, with two o’s.
A Macaroon is an entirely different sweet treat that is round, made of coconut and sometimes coated in chocolate.
Ok, so now we’ve got the grammar lesson out of the way, let’s have a look at the fancy macaron I inhaled at Laduree in 2013:
I mean, holy yum! How good does that look?! I think I washed it down with a hot chocolate because it was freezing outside and sitting at Laduree soaking in the atmosphere of a busy bustling Parisian tea room was a definite highlight of the trip for me (probably not so much for Scott, but I think he enjoyed his coke and macaron chaser!)
6. Wander Aimlessly Through The Cobblestone Streets
We spent hours wandering aimlessly through the cobblestone streets of Paris on more than one occasion and it was where we found some truly memorable moments!
I mean, have you ever seen such bumper to bumper parking?
Or wondered what the inside of such beautiful buildings look like? And who lives there?
Or even just stopped to think about how old the cobblestones you’re walking on actually are and who might’ve walked on them before you? I’ve never considered myself to be a history buff, but wandering through the streets of Paris kind of turned me into one!
7. Walk Down The Champs Elysees
Walking up and down the Champs Elysees was another highlight of the trip for me. There are so many beautiful stores to look at (the Louis Vuitton store is all sorts of amazing) and just check out this staircase at the Swarovski store. Bling for days!
It snowed (real snowflakes!) when we were walking along the Champs Elysees, which at first was all, ‘aw, this is a bit romantic’ but then it became very cold very quickly and we realised we were completely unprepared for the weather (a light jacket and an even lighter scarf is a less than ideal situation when snow is involved) so we ducked into a cafe for a hot chocolate and waited for the cold weather to pass.
Unfortunately it didn’t and we learnt the hard way that weather in Paris can be quite unpredictable. We were there in April, which is usually quite mild in terms of temperature, but our last few days there were freezing, so my advice would be to layer up, pack thermals and definitely wear boots, a beanie and gloves!
8. Say Hi To The Mona Lisa
The Louvre is home to the Mona Lisa (and a lot of other very beautiful and interesting things too, but Mona Lisa is a bit of a show off and likes to take centre stage wherever she can) so it’s definitely worth a visit.
We went in the middle of the day and it was really crowded. I couldn’t be bothered battling to get to the front of this mob, so stood at the back at took a photo of everyone taking a photo. If you look closely you can see good old Mona smirking at them and winking at me.
9. Eat At A Local Bistro
They’re located on just about every corner and all serve the most delicious and affordable french food you’ll ever eat. We ate at this place a couple of times and it was great value for money and as silly as it sounds, they’re just so French!
10. Look Out Your Window
Before we left for Paris a few people had told us that it was a dirty place, full of gypsies and beggars and that we wouldn’t like it all. I’m not sure which parts of Paris those people had actually visited because I found the city to be beautiful, spotless and where I want to live when I grow up.
It was really easy to come back to our very small but very comfortable hotel room after a day of sight seeing, flop onto the bed, FaceTime the kids, throw a few photos up on Instagram and think about where we wanted to go out for dinner, all without looking out the window.
Your mind is kind of in overdrive because everything you’ve seen that day really is so beautiful and just how you imagined it would be, but then you remember you’re still in Paris and holy crap, you should open the curtains and look out your window because you just don’t know when you’ll be back again to take in that view!
Have you been to Paris? Or maybe you’re going there soon? What else would you add to the list of things to do while you’re there?
Um, I’ve just re-read this post and realised I’ve missed out a Number 3! Is anyone able to help a blogger out who is obviously unable to count?! If you’ve got a suggestion for Number 3, feel free to fling it in the comments section and I’ll add it to the post! Thanks so much x
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