Flashback Friday: Paris Edition

If you follow me on instagram, you may remember a few weeks ago I mention I was going to start a little mini-series where I share some of our experiences and memories from our Europe trip last summer. Now, I must pre warn you… my outfits are not the greatest as we were backpacking… my options were limited! We left July 2nd and returned on the 30th. I was so overwhelmed during the packing process and didn’t do the greatest job. If, and when we do it all over again my packing strategy will be a lot different.

Follow along for travel and packing tips!

First stop: Paris! Eeeek, even saying the name gets me excited! Although our time there was limited, I totally fell in love with this city… I’m already dreaming of the day I will return. The weather is not always the best but it doesn’t matter, you’re in Paris and life is just perfect… trust me!

What to wear:

The best word I can come up with to describe Paris’ weather is temperamental. It was rather cool and rained a lot when we were there. I wasn’t prepared for this as all the other countries we were visiting were continually hot and dry. My solution to this… shopping! I picked up a couple sweaters to get me through. If you’re going in the summer months, I would suggest packing things that are easy to layer. It does get hot but also gets fairly cool and tends to rain quite often. Pack items that are comfortable but still look chic; I swear everyone is so beautiful and looks so put together.
Short version:
-sweaters that are layerable
-leather leggings – seriously wore them every day!
-comfortable / cute shoes & sandals that are a neutral color and go with lots of outfits
-a nice jacket that you will wear in the evenings and can withstand rain
-a dress or two for evening dinners and entertainment

Where to go and what to do:
Well, the possibilities are obviously endless so I am going to talk to you about what we did and really enjoyed!
I am so lucky that my beautiful sister is a travel agent and she had suggested we purchase the “Paris Pass”. The pass gave us access to all public transit, the big bus tour, as well as several other tours. We used the pass to ride the big bus where we drove around the city, passing by all the big attractions. We got off at a few of them: The Love Lock Bridge, Notre Dame, and the most expensive piece of real estate in the world, The Champs-Elysees area with all of the high-end retailers. It honestly felt like I was in Heaven. I could have spent our entire trip just walking up and down window shopping at all the beautiful designer shops. I highly suggest the Paris Pass- a great way to see the city!

Palace of Versailles… Well I can see why Kim K and Kanye decided to have their rehearsal dinner there. My goodness, words cannot describe how truly stunning this place is. It rained the entire time we were there but no one seemed to care. Getting lost in the beauty of the architecture and gardens was at the top of mind. Truly breathtaking. A must see!

Galeries Lafayette- the most amazing department store you could ever imagine. I can’t describe it – truly unbelievable. Be sure to grab a coffee and check out the view from the roof top!

The Eiffel Tower(duh!) – you cannot go to Paris without seeing the iconic Eiffel tower… its amazing during the daytime but the light show that happens every hour, on the hour, is magical. The most romantic thing, ever!

Like I said at the beginning of this post there are a million things you can do, our time was limited and the list above is what we decided to take in. On top of those we drank the most amazing coffee, ate macaroons from Laduree, and just wondered getting lost amongst the amazing architecture.

Where to eat: When we travel we often plan our days around where we are going to eat… we love exploring new restaurants, food, and wine – Paris couldn’t have treated us better in this department. Here are our top three:

Le Volant Basque -We found it with the help of trip adviser. Brandon refuses to eat somewhere before checking the reviews, this can be rather annoying at times but I must say we rarely have a bad meal. Upon first glace at the menu I wanted to leave, I love food and I am pretty adventurous but this menu was a little too adventurous for me. However, when is saw the excitement on Brandon’s face I decided to suck it up and try it. The meal was our best yet, featuring a chilli’d veal stew, as well as a beef stew with sides of mashed potatoes, rice and some ground wheat stuff, similar to potatoes. It was truly AMAZING! The owner was also adorable and made our visit so memorable. Do yourself a favor and go- you won’t regret it!

Le P’tit Troquet- Our good friends, Adam and Mia, recommended we try give it a try and I’m so happy we did. A tiny little restaurant with the most intimate and cozy atmosphere- it was adorable and the food was decedent! I had the salad, stewed beef and of course, Creme Brule for dessert. B had a poached egg in a mushroom, beef broth to start, the duck filets, and a chocolate ice cream dessert.

Paris New York – A burger joint right close to the Galeries Lafeyette. I had the “Napalm Sriracha” and B had the “Return of the Cowboy”. The burgers were amazing and so were the sides- a layered leaf caesar salad and loaded fries. YUM!

There you have it…I could go on and on,  obviously this city has so much to offer.  My advice is to you is use public transit (the subway), eat where the locals eat, wander the streets and just take it all it!  You are after all in PARIS!

petite croquete

This tiny little place only sits about 4 tables… we lucked out without a reservation but I suggest you make one!

LV

LV… not to be mistaken as a castle! Champs-Elysees AKA Heaven

outside of hotel minus me

Our hotel… nothing too fancy but still clean and cozy!

love lock bridge

Sealing our love with a lock… now I just need a diamond 😉

palace

Palace of Versailles… truly stunning. Make sure you take some time to go through the many gardens they were my favorite part!

gardens

Strolling through the gardens.

flowers

There are fresh flowers on nearly every corner… they smelt so perfect!

eiffal tower 2

The iconic Eiffel Tower… make sure to catch it when it sparkles!

Have you been to Paris?  I would love to hear about it! What should I do when I return to this beautiful city?

Xoxo,

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