Eurotrip Part Four: Paris

This is the fourth and final blog post about my recent trip to England and France! If you would like to read about everything I got up to in England, you can scroll down to the three previous posts, and if you'd like to hear about my time in Paris, keep on reading!

On the last morning in London, my parents and I got up super early, ready for a long day of travel ahead of us. But London and Paris are so close together, you say? Well, they are... if you take the Eurostar. But since we had waited until so last minute to book our transportation to Paris, we decided it was more economical to take a bus instead! The bus actually ended up being really perfect for us because 1. we were all so exhausted from all the walking we had done during the trip so far and really needed a day to rest, 2. taking the bus meant seeing pretty views of the English and French countrysides, and 3. it meant we got to experience driving under the English channel! (By the way, how that works is they have all of the cars, buses, and trucks drive into a really long train car, and the train takes us under the channel at  a high speed while you sit in your car. Mind-blowing!) The ride ended up being a really pleasant one in the end, and about 8 hours after leaving Victoria Station in London, we had arrived in Paris!

Rather than booking a hotel in Paris, we had taken the recommendation from one of my mom's friends to rent an apartment instead. Our apartment belonged to a girl named Élodie who, we came to the conclusion, must be a travel photographer based on the photos around her apartment. The apartment was in a really cute and very Parisian looking neighbourhood in the Montmartre district. This is the district I had stayed in last time I was in Paris, and it is such a great area. The architecture looks so classic Parisian, and there are so many great restaurants and landmarks like the Moulin Rouge and the Sacré Coeur. When we arrived after our long bus ride, we were pretty tired, but still decided to walk around and get some dinner. We found a little Italian restaurant that had amazing pasta and wine, and we walked right past the Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge

The next day, the weather wasn't too great, so our original plan to climb the Eiffel Tower was postponed, since we wouldn't have been able to see anything from there. So instead, we got croissants and a baguette and had a relaxing morning in the apartment and then headed to a mall to do a little shopping. We wanted to hit one more Primark while we were in Europe, and the Paris one ended up being pretty great!

After shopping, we took the metro over to the Arc de Triomphe. I love the Arc de Triomphe a lot. Unfortunately, while we were there, it started to downpour, so we had to take some pictures quickly and then find a restaurant where we could stay dry. 

the Arc de Triomphe

For dinner, we stuck to the same Italian theme as the night before, and this time we found a restaurant with a really great prix fixe menu (which means you pay one fixed price and get an appetizer, entrée, and dessert). This food was amazing as well! I ordered a goat cheese salad, steak, and tiramisu. We also got a delicous bottle of rosé wine, and once the waiter brought it to our table, we saw that it was called "Christi", so then my mom wrote an "e" on the end, so the wine was named after me :) Something interesting that happened after we finished our meal was the waiter brought out three limoncello shots for us at no extra cost. The waiter the previous night had done that too, so I wonder if it's an Italian tradition at the end of a meal. We also noticed that no other tables were brought the limoncello shots, so I guess the waiters liked us better!

This wine was named after me!

complimentary shots of limoncello that we got after dinner

The next day, we were worried the weather would be bad again, but it ended up being so perfect! There were lots of places I wanted to go with my parents before I would be leaving the next day, so we had a lot to fit in!

First, we headed to the Louvre. I think the Louvre is so cool and it is probably one of my favourite places in Paris. My parents said it was smaller in person than they expected, but I don't know what pictures they've been seeing of it, because they expected it to be the size of the pyramids in Egypt haha. 

the Louvre

It took my mom about 30 attempts to finally get this picture! She kept taking it when my
hand was too high above the point of the Louvre or too low. I made her put on her glasses
and she finally got a few decent ones! :)

Next, we walked over the the Pont des Arts which was really close by. You may also know this bridge as the "lock bridge" and have probably seen some pictures of it before. I didn't get to see this bridge last time I was in Paris, so this was something that I really wanted to do. I knew there would be a lot of locks on the bridge, but I was really blown away by just how many their actually are. There are so many that it's impossible to find a spot to put a lock on the actual bridge now. You need to lock it onto another lock! Of course, while we were there, we added a Goyette family lock to the bridge! I would say I'll try and find it next time I'm in Paris, but I'm sure there will be thousands more locks by then, so it would be pretty impossible to find!

the Pont des Arts

pointing to our lock on the Pont des Arts

Next up, we walked through the Tuileries Gardens. This was something else that I didn't see last time I was in Paris, and it was so pretty. It was really relaxing, and the architecture surrounding the Gardens looked so classically Parisian.

the Tuileries Gardens

We saw an old couple napping in the middle of the Gardens and could not stop laughing!

Once we made our way through the Gardens, we came out into Place de la Concorde. Right in the middle is the obelisk, and on either side are two big fountains. These are the fountains that Anne Hathaway's character throws her phone into at the end of Devil Wears Prada, so I was tempted to recreate that, but decided against it for obvious reasons!

the obelisk

the fountain that Anne Hathaway threw her phone into in Devil Wears Prada

Then, we stopped to get some lunch at a little outdoor café on the Seine. Unlike our waiters from the previous two nights who had been so nice, the waiter at the café was extremely rude to us and openly ignored us if we tried asking him something! I'm guessing he didn't like us because we are American, but even when we tried speaking in French, he scoffed at us haha! It is really funny though, because the stereotype that waiters in Paris are rude is actually true a lot of the time!

And then it was time for the main attraction of the day... the Eiffel Tower! We walked along the river toward it and got lots of pictures. We decided to walk up the stairs rather than take the elevator, because it really does make you feel more accomplished, and the stairs are tiring, but not as bad as you would expect. We had timed our climb up the tower perfectly so it was still nice and bright for most of the climb, and when we were on the "second floor" of the tower, the sun started to set. The views were incredible, and by the time we got up to the very top, it was nighttime and the city was all lit up and looked so beautiful!

view from the first floor of the tower

view from the second floor of the tower

The view of the Arc de Triomphe from the tower was so cool!

family picture at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

the view from the top

the view from the top. City of Lights, you are beautiful.

After walking back down to the bottom, we met up with a guy I know from French classes at Elon named Jackson who is studying abroad in Paris now. We all headed to an outdoor cafe that ended up having an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night! I got a glass of rosé wine (French rosé is amazing) and had a fun time getting caught up with Jackson.

the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night was so surreal looking and so pretty

After saying bye to Jackson and the beautiful Eiffel Tower, my parents and I hopped back on the metro to Montmartre. Once we were there, we realised we had never actually had dinner, so we stopped at a French chain restaurant called Hippopotamus. I had been to Hippopotamus a couple of times in Lyon when I studied abroad and really liked it. And rather than dinner, I decided to go for a delicious dessert instead! I got a fresh-backed huge macaron that came with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. It was so amazing and the perfect final Parisian treat!

yum yum yum this was amazing!

The next day, I was leaving Paris, but my parents were staying an extra three days. I had booked my flight home out of London rather than Paris because it was much cheaper, so I was off back to London for one more night! I ended up taking the Eurostar on the way back, and it was really fast and efficient! Once I got to London, I headed to Ciela's to pack up all my stuff and start getting ready to leave the next morning. After Ciela was out of work, we headed to a little café for crepes that were so good, and then she had to go to a work event that evening, so I took that time to go to a couple souvenir shops near Marble Arch. Later on in the night when Ciela's work event was over, we considered going out, but instead just walked around which was really nice. I got to see Oxford Street one more time as well as Carnaby Street, and there were so many pretty lights all over!

Oxford Street in London

Carnaby Street in London

The next morning, Ciela and I went for one final Full English Breakfast (which was really good, but still not as delicious as that very first one that Lexi and I got in London!), and then it was time to head to the airport. Leaving was pretty sad, because after spending almost three weeks in England and France, I was enjoying myself so much and really didn't want to leave. Going back to the US, I was flying into New York City to start my new job, which of course I was excited about, but there's something about England that just makes me feel so at home. I love New York too, but it has such a different feeling and energy than London, and I feel like London is definitely more "me" between the two. After this trip when I got to spend a lot more time in England, I can definitely confirm that that is where I want to live someday, so I am going to do everything I can to make that happen!

Now, I have been in New York for a little over a month and am all settled in for the most part. I am really liking the company I'm working for, and I love the city, but I will tell you all about my experience here so far in another post. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed hearing about my European adventures!

Eurotrip Part Three: Back to London

I recently took an amazing trip to England and France! This is Part 3 of 4, so to read about the first parts of my trip, scroll down to the two previous posts :)

After an amazing few days in Bath and Southwest England, it was time to head back to London! This time, my parents were joining too, which was exciting since they had never been to London before. By the time we arrived in London, it was getting late, so we just checked in at the hotel and then headed to a nearby pub for dinner! First of all, the hotel was insanely nice! My mom had found a really good deal online, so we expected the hotel to be decent and kind of average. But the location was amazing, right on the Thames near Big Ben and the London Eye, and as soon as we arrived in a taxi from the bus station, we were greeted by several doormen who opened the taxi doors for us and took our suitcases up to our room. Then we went inside, and the lobby was so fancy! At first, my dad and I were actually wondering if we were in the wrong hotel! But we were in the right place and it was perfect! 

So then we went to a pub down the street for some dinner and a drink, and the food was awesome! I got a burger with guacamole that I am seriously craving right now as I'm writing this :) After dinner, my mom was feeling tired, but my dad and I were feeling adventurous, so we decided to walk along the river to the London Eye. It ended up taking a little longer than we had expected (about 20 minutes), but it was so nice out and the views were amazing. Also, we discovered that apparently the Queen's Walk in London is the big make-out spot for London couples haha. Once we made it to the Eye, we sat for a little while, taking in all the scenery and watching street performers, before heading back to the hotel. 

artsy shot of the London Eye

The next day was exciting, because my family was meeting up with my German friend Vanessa! Vanessa studied abroad for a year at my high school when we were teenagers, and we've kept in touch ever since. I got to visit her in Germany at the end of my semester abroad in France, and then once she knew my family would be in London, she and her friend Nicole booked a trip to come for a weekend too!

We started off the day at Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard and we had underestimated the crowd, so we couldn't see too much, but we at least got to see the guards walking in! (I'll have to make sure I see the Changing of the Guards next time I'm in London.) After it ended, we had planned to meet Vanessa and Nicole there, but again, we didn't realise it would be quite as crowded there, so we couldn't find them. We did eventually find them walking around near Westminster Abbey about 20 minutes later though, which was a perfect coincidence!

Buckingham Palace

the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace

After meeting up with Vanessa and Nicole, we all headed to Camden Market, which I've heard is really cool. It did seem really cool, but we couldn't explore it quite as much as we would have liked because it was so rainy! As soon as we got there, we were all pretty hungry, so we went to a fish and chips restaurant for lunch called Poppies. There was a sign outside that it has the best fish and chips in London, and I could see why! The food was delicious and the view of the main street in Camden was really nice.

the view of Camden's main street from Poppie's

After walking around Camden a little bit longer until we couldn't stand the rain any more, my parents headed toward the London Eye, and Vanessa, Nicole, and I headed to Platform 9 and 3/4. My sister Lexi had a class in London that day and was meeting up with my parents after she got out, and meanwhile, the rest of us wanted to explore some more! After going to Platform 9 and 3/4, we headed to Oxford Street to do some shopping. We went to the huge Forever 21, Uniqlo, Victoria's Secret, and the famous toy store Hamley's. Then we headed to Piccadilly Circus where we were meeting up with my family and my friend Ciela to get some dinner. I got to see Piccadilly Circus at night again, which I loved, and then we all walked to Chinatown for some food. The restaurant we found was pretty good and we had a funny experience with a pretty abrupt and impatient waitress! It was a fun night and it was so great to see Vanessa again after almost two years!

(P.S. For some reason, all the photos with Vanessa and Nicole are on my mom's camera, but once she uploads them to the computer, I will add them to my blog post!)

Piccadilly Circus

Chinatown

The next day, Vanessa and Nicole were heading back to Germany, but my family and Ciela spent some more time together! We slept in a little bit and met up for lunch near Westminster. We found an Italian restaurant that had some of the best pasta I'd had in a while! I got one with a rosé wine sauce, mushrooms, and chicken that was so amazing!

This meal was incredible! And for some reason it looks small in this pic, but it was actually pretty big!

After lunch, we walked around the area some more and then caught a bus up to northwest London to see Abbey Road. This was another part of London that I had never seen before, so I was really excited! My sister especially is a huge Beatles fan, and I really like them as well. I became a big fan of their music after I saw Across the Universe when I was in high school. At Abbey Road, there was a big wall outside the Abbey Road Studios that people wrote messages on. We signed the wall, and then of course got the super tourist-y walking-across-Abbey-Road pic! And Lexi even got so into it that she took off her shoes and walked across barefoot like Paul did on the famous album cover!

(Again, the pics of us walking across Abbey Road are on my mom's camera, but I will add them into this post as soon as I can!)

Downing Street where the Prime Minister lives

view of Selfridge's from the front of the double decker bus

Abbey Road

Lexi leaving her mark at Abbey Road

My dad's addition to the Abbey Road wall. LOL

Abbey Road

riding through Piccadilly Circus in the front of the double decker bus

After Abbey Road, we all hung out a little bit longer, and then Ciela headed home and my parents and I went with Lexi to the bus station where she was getting a bus back to Bath. Once she was on the bus, we decided to make the half hour walk back to our hotel. We saw some really pretty sights including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye, and then walked along the Queen's Walk back to the hotel. We had also stopped to get some McDonald's near the London Eye (I promise we're not that stereotypically American, but it was the only place open at that time on a Sunday night!), and took it back to our hotel where we ate in the ballroom that has a huge wall of windows overlooking the Thames and Big Ben :)

London Eye with my mom and dad!

The next day was our last full day in London, which was a little sad since I love it so much there and didn't want to leave quite yet. We started off the day at the same pub we had gone to on the first night we arrived and all ended up ordering the same meals as the other night haha :) But it was so delicious! And of course, we had to get one last London pint!

having a pint with my dad

After lunch, we took the tube over to Knightsbridge. My dad works for a company that has stores all over the US and also one store in London, which he wanted to check out. It was pretty cool and he got to meet one of the assistant store managers that he has worked with before! Then we headed across the street to what is probably the most iconic London store—Harrod's! I had seen Harrod's from the bus a few times, but had never been inside. It was so huge and cool inside and had kind of an Egyptian feel in some spots. And there was an entire floor dedicated to designer shoes called "Shoe Heaven" which I do have to admit was pretty heavenly!

Harrod's

After Harrod's we headed to a few shops on Oxford Street—Topshop, Miss Selfridge, and then Primark, which was insanely crowded! Then after a little shopping, we went to meet up with Ciela one more time before we would be heading to Paris the next day. She was able to get another afternoon tea discount at the hotel where she used to work, so we went to the Royal Horseguards Hotel for the same tea Ciela and I had gotten the week before, and it was just as amazing! They changed up the sandwiches a little this time, but they were still so good. This time I got a strawberries and cream tea which was so delicious!

Then, after we finished our afternoon tea and Ciela went home for the night, my parents and I made our way back to the hotel. In order to soak up as much London culture as we could before leaving though, we made a couple of detours! First, we walked toward Westminster and Big Ben which were really close to the hotel where we got tea and got some touristy phonebox pictures, and then we took the tube over to the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We walked along the South Bank for a little bit, and then headed back to the hotel.

the Financial District

the Tower Bridge

As always, I had an amazing time in London and was sad to be leaving the next morning. But I was also so excited because the next day, my parents and I were heading to the final city of the trip and another one of my favourites—Paris! Stay tuned to read my final vacation post all about my time in Paris, and then my big move to New York City!