travel day 2.

day 13. we left paris and headed back to london. after a short flight we arrived at heathrow airport, and took a combination of the tube and train, which took longer than our flight from paris, to get back to putney. we grabbed a late lunch and spent the rest of the evening relaxing in putney and spending time with family.

château de versailles

day 12. the palace of versailles was the absolute one thing that i had to go to while in france. and we went on our last full day in paris. we woke up early and took the 1 hour train ride to versailles. luckily it appeared to not be overly busy when we arrived. it was amazing from the moment you entered the grounds, the feeling of just being there was surreal. and well photos just cannot capture the magnificence of the palace of versailles. i was in awe the entire time we were on the grounds.. from the château, to the gardens, to marie antoinette's domain.

the hall of mirrors. absolutely amazing.


Louis XIV bed chamber.


in the gardens, outside the château



Marie Antoinette's Petit Hameau. it took much walking to find this area in the vast gardens of versailles. T was ready to give up, but i was not leaving until i found her tiny village. and when we did it was absolutely perfect, and my absolute favorite part of versailles.

shopping day.

day 11 was dedicated to shopping. so there's a shortage of photos for this day. i hit about 5 vintage shops, several boutiques, market stands and a few chain stores while T waited outside in the streets most of the time. and after much hunting, there was very little buying. still i did obtain a pair of leather boots and a pleated skirt for 15 euro from a vintage shop. we grabbed some panini's for lunch and by late afternoon we had to head back to the hotel to drop off things and rest our feet for an hour before heading out for dinner.

our hotel was across the street from le centre pompidou, noted as one of the most daring modern art museums in the world.


for dinner we went to eat at one of the many japanese restaurants in the area, and lucky for us it was very good. after dinner we decided to head back out to the eiffel tower.. of course by 9pm it still wasn't very dark outside, but the lights on the tower were lit.


we passed by the Hôtel de Ville on the way back to our hotel.. which looks nice during the day.. but 10x better at night.

and if i still need to remind you.. there's always more on flickr.

landmarks.

day 10. we spent our first full day in paris exploring the 'must see' sights. we started by walking to the notre dame, then walked back towards the louvre but not before stopping into a few shops on rivoli st. and then strolled through the tuileries, picking up by far the most delicious panini along the way. from there, the arc de triomphe didn't seem so far, plus we'd get to stroll down the champs elysées.


after taking some photos and stopping in the louis vuitton store (not cheaper in france), it was decided that the eiffel tower was close enough to walk to. by this time we had walked all day and once we got to the vicinity of the champ de mars, the only thing either of us wanted to do was sit.


we relaxed on a park bench for a bit before searching for rue cler and finally settling on a place for a very late lunch where the food was fantastic. there were a few things i knew i would have to nosh on while in paris... escargot, foie gras, onion soup, paté, crepes, creme brulée, and steak tartare. of course i checked every item off that list, sometimes twice. though, i was a bit nervous about the steak tartare, which was pretty much marinated raw ground beef. they serve it with worstershire, tabasco sauce, and fries... and well.. we actually liked it a lot!

foie gras paté.


steak tartare.


we ended up taking their underground back to the marais district and spent the rest of the evening wandering the streets...

paris by night

day 9. after hanging out at heathrow airport most of the afternoon, we finally arrived in paris to equally cool weather. we then checked into our hotel in the marais district where the concierge thought i was filipino, then gushed over how my last name meant 'cute' in french. merci beaucoup!
we tossed our luggage into the room then headed out for dinner and some sightseeing... fyi, the sun sets much later here.. it's not completely dark until well after 10:30pm.



of course i had to try a nutella, banana crepe... i proceeded to have one each night we were in paris.