Bonjour mes amis :)
Here is a photo diary of my trip to Paris, as promised!
(click on photos to enlarge)
The day started off early, Mama Mango and I left the house at 5.15am! *yawn* We had to make it into St Pancras International for 7.30am, and because I`m meticulous and paranoid - I took into consideration the possibility of leaves on the track and delaying the train from our side of England! But, alhamdulilah we got there in good time!
TIP: I would recommend going by Eurostar into Paris, as the journey is swift and on-time! The duration of the journey was approximately 2 hrs and 23 minutes. Not bad, eh? Mama Mango timed how long it took us to cross the Euro Tunnel - 19 mins! Is that all it takes to get us across the English Channel?! Insane! Takes my brother longer to roll out of bed in the morning! You can always catch amazing discount fares from the Eurostar website! If you`re super lucky, you can get a return for £37.50!! Keep an eye out on their website. Also, Groupon sometimes have pretty cool offers, which include Eurostar AND hotel!
Upon arrival, we had to buy metro tickets. As we were in Paris for two days, I purchased the unlimited travel within zones 1-3 (this is the usual touristy attraction locations, if you want to go to Disney Land, then you will need to purchase a zones 1-5 ticket).
TIP: These 2 day tickets are great, but the only downfall is you didn`t really see much of Paris from the subway. If I was to go again, I would make sure I travel more on the bus/open top tour bus so I can capture more of Paris. Further, finding the Metro station is ridiculously difficult! It isn`t at all like the London Underground system - not clearly signed at all! So, we ended up walking around in circles looking for it - better off jumping on the bus. With the unlimited tickets, you can get on the bus, as well. You can also buy 1 day, 5 day tickets if you`re spending less/more time in Paris.
Once we dropped our suitcases off and freshened up, we headed straight out to make the most of the day.
First stop: Pont Neuf
This used to be the central point of Paris in the 18th century, from which you can get an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower on a clear day. The first ever stone laid down for this bridge was by King Henry III of France. It crosses the River Seine, so from this bridge we walked downstream, walking alongside the river.
Second stop: Pont des Arts
This is the famous Lover's Bridge where couples write their names onto a padlock, lock it onto the bridge and throw the keys into the River Seine as a gesture of their love. To me, its pretty romantic, as I am a sucker for all things cute and lovely. But, Mama Mango? Not so impressed - haha.
TIP: Go here with your partner, do the tradition of padlocking your love onto the Lovers Bridge and walk away with a smile on your face - don`t go with your mum (lol)
Third stop: Louvre Museum
As we carried on walking downstream the River Seine, on the right we had the Louvre Museum.
This place is obviously famous for holding the Mona Lisa, and being in The Da Vinci Code - which was pretty cool. You can see photos of me in front of the Louvre here. We didn`t opt to go in, because it would have been a waste of time with Mama Mango who has no interest in art.
Mama Mango in the shot!
Fourth stop: Jardin des Tuileries
This is a pretty garden in Paris, which Mama Mango adored (she`s a green thumb). There is so much history to this Garden, where it was originally designed to model native Florence. It was later used by Napoleon for military parades in the 19th century. Seriously, if you read up on this Garden alone, you will be amazed by how much went on here. Its so surreal that I stood in the area where so much happened. (I`m bit of a geek like that. Don`t judge me.)
They had these green chairs dotted all over the Garden, which is great as it gave mum a chance to rest her legs whilst I got to wander and take photos.
Fifth stop: Place de la Concorde
Once you leave the Garden from the other side you come across Place de la Concorde. This is the largest public square in Paris. The prominent feature of this square is the Luxor Obelisk. This was one of the obelisks given by the Egyptians back in the 19th century, the other one was returned back to Egypt. But, how amazing is it, that this exact obelisk used to be outside the Luxor Temple in Egypt? As it was so difficult to transport these in the 19th century, the bottom panel reveals how it was transported to France from Egypt.
Also, this obelisk replaced the location of the guillotine from the French Revolution! Can you believe that this is where people were guillotined? Including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette of France! Its so weird to think that this is where blood dripped onto the bricked square, people shouting and crying, so many rash decisions made, rats squandering through peoples feet - so much commotion happened once upon a time here. *shivers*
Also in the square you will find the two fountains that symbolise the fountains of Paris, both very pretty. In The Devil Wears Prada, this is the fountain where Andrea throws her mobile phone into!
Sixth stop: La Madeleine
We came across this by chance, as we got lost looking for the Metro.
This temple was built to glory Napoleon's army.
I wouldn`t intentionally come again to this place, unless I wanted some macarons!
The next set of photos from the trip will be in the next post!
Hope you`re enjoying it so far! :)
xo
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