A weekend in Paris

Hi Beauts 

I spent my weekend strolling through Paris and have to say, I think I've found my new favourite city. I knew before I went that it would be a gorgeous place but wasn't prepared for how beautiful it was. I've always been one for city holidays as opposed to beach breaks because I like sightseeing rather than relaxing on the beach, so Paris was top of my list of destinations.        

FRIDAY 31st JANUARY 

We landed pretty early and couldn't check into our hotel, so decided to drop our bags off and headed for a spy of the Eiffel Tower. Wowza! Hello prettiness. She (yup the Eiffel Tower is a she in my eyes) is a beaut. It's amazing to see something up close after seeing so many pictures over the years, and let me tell you she is massive.

 We then crossed over the road to buy a crepe filled with Nutella and had a little look at the river Seine. Before going back to the hotel to check in and freshen up. We stayed at the Jardins d'Eiffel and weren't sure how close it would be, because every time we go away we end up miles from anything. Not this time. We were literally a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, a 2 minute walk from the supermarket and Starbucks and a 5 minute walk from a metro station. Our room was on the third floor and was very chic with floral curtains, and we were lucky enough to have a view of the Eiffel Tower. 

Refreshed, we headed out of the door down towards the Seine for a mini cruise (€15 each)  to see the sights. Paris is pretty during the day but even more so at night. Everything was lit up, and I think (other than the Eiffel Tower) my favourite had to be Notre Dame - it looked so magical. By the time the cruise finished, we were wiped as we'd been awake for over 36 hours so grabbed a tea from Starbucks, had a shower then hit the hay.

SATURDAY 1st FEBRUARY 

DisneyLand day!!!! After a breakfast of cereal, croissants and fruit it was time to head to DisneyLand. We had to change a few times on the metro but it was easy enough to get to and only took about 45 minutes in total. I felt like a kid again when we walked through the gates and spotted the castle right at the top, it's definitely a magical place for kids. Minnie Mouse ears were of course a must too!! The only thing that was a little disappointing was that you had to queue to meet the Disney characters, now I wasn't fussed because I'm 28, but for kids to have to wait 30 minutes at least is a bit of a bummer. There were plenty of gift shops and places to grab a bite to eat or drink with minimal queues, so we grabbed a burger then headed out to watch the parade. 

It was about 7 pm when we left, so we decided to head back to the hotel to change, chill for 5 minutes then go out to see the bright lights and sights of Paris. One thing we couldn't go home without doing was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I'm not scared of heights at all, but jeeeeeez we were high up! It must have been about 10pm if not later when we got up there which meant the city looked even more breathtaking in the dark, Paris looks so small from that height. By the time we got back to the hotel, showered and packed it was after midnight so we called it a night and recharged ourselves for our last day.

SUNDAY 2nd FEBRUARY

Our flight home wasn't until 9:15 pm which meant we had literally all day to see everything we hadn't had time to see. First stop was the Arc de Triomphe, then down to the Louvre followed by (the lock bridge) and finally Notre Dame. Notre Dame is just as stunning in broad daylight as it is at night, probably my favourie thing to see after the Eiffel Tower. Everything from the outside, to the ceilings to the stain glass windows was beautiful. 

By the time we'd finished at Notre Dame it was time to get our bags fom the hotel, have one last Cafe au lait at Starbucks and say goodbye to the gorgeous city of Paris. I always get the holiday blues no matter where I go, but this time  I had them big time. I had such an amazing time taking in the buildings and the way of life, Paris is definitely a place I'd visit time and time again.

MY TIPS FOR PARIS

* A 3 day metro pass costs €48 for all zones, definitely a must if you want to see the city

* Book DisneyLand with the travel agents before you go. We only ended up paying €57    

* To get to the top of the Eiffel Tower is €15, and I highly recommend going at night

* A mini cruise down the Seine cost only €15 each and lasted around an hour

* I highly recommend the Jardins d'Eiffel if you want to stay near the Eiffel Tower   

* If you're after trying a crepe, check out the van just across the street from the Eiffel Tower. YUMMY!

* I'd say plan what you want to do and see before you get there, it saved us so much time and meant we got to do more things       

Well, that's all folks. I'm pretty sure there'll be so many more travel posts to follow - the world is your oyster as they say!

Stacey x