I Love Paris

Paris is the type of place that when you go, you want to take a ton of different pictures.  You always want to make sure that you capture every piece of Paris and every memory on film – otherwise you will not be able to remember every single detail of this beautiful city.

Well, did you know that there are actually many different photo tours that you can take?  Honestly, the last time that I went to France and Paris specifically, I went on one of these photo tours and they actually teach you exactly what to look for in order to capture that perfect shot.

It is definitely well-worth it … seriously, you should take a look at getting yourself on one of the many photo tours in Paris!

All right, so we have found the hotel, the next stop is going to be Ile de la cite – this is where you will find Notre Dame, Hotel Dieu, Palais de Justice, Saint Chapelle (you have to go inside), Conciergerie, Square du Vert Galant and Point Neuf, Walk along the Seine River.  This should all be done on day one.

Day two, you are going to explore:

Luxembourg Quarter: Jardin and Palais du Luxembourg, Place and Church Saint Sulpice.

Saint Germain des pres: 1-2 hours walk on Boulevard saint Germain, Saint Germain church, Les deux Maogots café and café de fleur, Musee d’Orsay (3 well deserved hours).

Tuileries Quarter: Jardin des tuileries, Musee de Louvre, Place de la Concorde and the Luxor Obelisk, Long walk on Avenue des Champs Elysees with its wide sidewalks and fine shopping (2-3 hours), Arc de Triomph, Grand and Petit Palais, Alexandre III bridge.
Eiffel Tower: at night (sparkling lights for 5 minutes on the hour), Taxi back to hotel.
Finally, day three:

Les Marais Quarter: Rue de Rivoli, Place des Vosges, Musee Carnavalet (free/30 minutes), Musee Picasso (well deserved 2 hours), Falafel and Shawarma sandwiches at L’As du Falafel on Rue des Rosiers (a must try)
Beaubourg and LesHalles: Pompidou Centre, Le defenseur du temps clock, Fontaine des Innocents

Bateau Bus: river trip from under the bridge of Notre Dame to the Eiffel tower stop (60 minutes, 12 Euros).
Les invalides and Eiffel tower Quarter: Eiffel tower at the day light. Hotel des Invalides, Musee de L’Armee, Dome church and Napoleon‘s Tomb, Musee Rodin., Taxi to Montmartre.

Montmartre: Sacre-Coeur church (gorgeous inside and out/ gypsy music on its stairs before sundown), Place de Tertre (full of portraitists), Place des Abbesses, Moulin Rouge, Metro back to Hotel.

What a trip!

When it comes to Paris, it can be difficult for you to discover everything that you need to see, especially when you are only there for a limited amount of time.  In this regards though, I have a solution for you.  I have a way that you can explore and discover Paris in just three days flat!  That is what we are going to talk about in the next few blogs.

One of the first things that you need to do is make sure that you stay at the hotel Dacia Luxembourg.  This particular hotel is actually right on Saint Michael Blvd in Latin Quarter.   The Dacia Luxembourg is actually extremely clean, totally quiet and is absolutely safe.  While the rooms are small, the free breakfast makes up for it.

Me though, I would explore what the city has to offer in the way of breakfast.  In the next blog, we are going to go into what is around the Dacia Luxembourg!

When in Paris, remember two things: sparkling white wine and champagne are the accepted drinks for New Years; if you get the two of them mixed up, run away very quickly. Such a mix up generally involves long, long lectures.

Parisians like their sweets on this holiday, and many of them mimic little firecrackers.

Speaking of which, both firecrackers and their larger brothers, fireworks, are completely legal and can be bought in Paris. Even if you do not choose to do so, many do, and as a result fireworks are often set off in the streets.

Ringing in the New Year on the Champs-Elysees is absolutely beautiful — and the festivities begin at 9pm!

Montmarte is another popular choice, specifically the plaza of the Sacre Coeur Cathedral.

What could be more spectacular than welcoming in 2010 while in the heart of Paris? Darling, I just wish I could. Some year I will, but in the meantime, let’s talk about what there is to do in this dazzling city.

There are plenty of traditions for bringing in the New Year in Paris. Among them, St. Sylvestre — the New Year itself — begins on the first of January and ends on the first of February. At midnight on the first of January, Parisians begin exchanging those charming little cheek kisses and they which one another “Bonne Annee!”

These are by no means the only traditions, of course, but to celebrate the holiday like a true Parisian, they are certainly excellent places to start!

Now that we have talked a little bit about the airline regulations, there is another thing that you will need to think about whenever you are bringing your pet to Paris and that is the hotel.  Because pets are so popular in Paris, you should have absolutely no problems at all finding a hotel that is going to allow pets.

However – there is probably going to be a fee that you are going to have to pay up front – that is something that you need to be aware of so that you can make sure that you fit it into your Paris vacation budget.

Bringing your pet on vacation with you can be stressful but it can also be incredible, as you will have your entire family with you.

When you think about it – your dog is certainly part of your family, especially if you are a dog-owner like me.  If I could bring my dogs everywhere, I would.  Did you know that Paris is actually really big on dogs and almost everyone in the city has one?  So what’s to say that you, as a dog owner could not bring your pet with you on vacation to Paris?

There are a few steps that you need to go through in order to bring your pet though and that is what we are going to talk about in the next couple blogs.  One of the first things that you will need to do is make sure that you know all about the laws of the airline that you will be flying.

This just takes a little bit of research and asking quite a few questions – for example, calling the airline and finding out what you need to do to bring your dog to Paris is a great idea!

Now that we have talked about one hotel that is perfect for the winter months, especially around Christmas, let’s dive into our second one.  This is a hotel that is not only cute as heck, but it is a hotel that is perfect for a winter hideaway.  There is almost always a blazing fire in the salon that burns right into the glazed conservatory and I have to say that this hotel has some beautiful rooms.

The Hotel de l’Abbaye is the name of it and all of the rooms themselves are different – and if you are feeling rich, you could get yourself a duplex suite that has some fantastic paintings and some beautiful wallpaper.  With this place, the breakfast is included and it’s a good thing because the breakfast is awesome!

The Hotel de l’Abbaye is the ideal place whenever you are looking to get away for Christmas and experience Paris!

It has to be said that when you are looking to do a vacation around Christmas right, you need to do it in Paris.  Christmas is Paris is not only beautiful but I can tell you that there are some fantastic packages that you can get as well as some incredible restaurants and sights to see right around Christmas.

One of the first things that you need to decide however is where you are going to stay and I have two hotels that we are going to explore that are perfect to celebrate your Christmas holiday at.  The first up is the Champs-Elysees Plaza – this beautiful hotel has actually been beautifully redecorated in a contemporary period style that is beautiful.

There are tons of furry throws, a fire in the bar/lounge area and of course some of the rooms have a Jacuzzi bath inside of them, perfect to warm up in!

When you are looking for a cool, chic and hip museum to go to in Paris – the Musee Carnavalet is it.  This is a museum that has not only been around for quite a long time, but it actually is going to reveal secrets of the City of Light from prehistoric times to today!  The Musee Carnavalet is actually set up in two contiguous townhouses and you really do need a whole afternoon for everything.

There is so many different sculptures to visit, paintings to take in and pieces of furniture to really retrace and in a way – the Musee Carnavalet is truly the Paris exhibit and it is something that no one should miss.  All of the rooms are decorated to evoke different periods and you will see it all from the furniture.

The pieces in the Musee Carnavalet are beautiful and I have to say that this is a museum that no one … ever go goes to Paris should miss!