Paris Essentials

After a few hours of scrambling from one train to the next, we finally made it!

We were bone tired but overwhelmingly excited to arrive at the City of Lights. We couldn't wait to get acquainted with the legendary sights, sounds, and smells of Paris.

We decided to devote our first full day to doing all the tourist-y things. First stop was the Arc de Triomphe. We were promptly accosted by gypsies as soon as we got out of the Metro stop but that didn't detract from the grandeur of Napoleon's monument.

P: Being the military history geek that I am, I was pretty psyched to spot all the names of the generals and cities that played a part in Napoleon's conquests.

D: What he said. :D

 

The tomb of the unknown soldier

After taking in the Arc de Triomphe, we decided to branch out to the world-famous Avenue des Champs-Elysees, but more on that in a separate post.

Here are the key spots that we passed and photographed on our walking tour:

THE GRAND PALAIS

PONT ALEXANDRE III

Pont Alexandre is well-known for being the most ornate and extravagant bridge in Paris. It spans the River Seine, from Champs Elysees to Invalides to the Eiffel Tower.

We just had to stop and gawk at the view of the iconic Eiffel Tower.

Quick trivia from Wiki: In the movie of Anastasia, Rasputin damages this bridge in an attempt to kill Anastasia, the real-life granddaughter of Alexandre III!

JARDIN DES TUILERIES

D: This was one of my favorite stops on day 1. It was a gorgeous sprawling park with a outdoor fair because it was the summer season. Everyone seemed to be having a grand old time, reclining in benches, jogging, reading a good book, enjoying a snow cone, and just generally, living the sweet life in the middle of the city.

D: I remember seeing dozens of fashion editorials shot in this famed garden and now I understand why. It's the perfect setting because it instantly prettifies anything! The rows of symmetrical trees and lavish fountains made for picture-perfect shots all the time.

The smell of lavender was wafting everywhere thanks to this random field of flowers.

NOTRE DAME DE PARIS

(PLUS QUICK OUTFIT DETAILS)

(Redhead sheer tank, Topshop shorts, H&M flats and bag, random hot pink tights)

This outfit was a result of a fit I threw over having absolutely nothing to wear. P threw the pair of tights at me when I asked him what to wear and that's how this came about. I have no idea how Rosanna was able to do her 15/30 challenge.

(Topman shirt and pants, Office shoes, Muji bag)

Decided to bring a bag along so D wouldn't have to carry all our travel essentials (giant water bottles, maps, and thick guide book). Unfortunately, the sights are infinitely more interesting than my outfit so please read on.

By a stroke of good fortune, we ended up in this breathtaking Church just in time for Sunday mass. We missed the English service but there was something charming about hearing mass in French. It was also a great feeling that everyone was able to follow along (French-speaking or not) because the flow of events was pretty much the same.

The "peace-be-with-you" portion was also especially heartwarming because everyone really took the time to shake hands,  hug, and give pats on the back to their neighbors, strangers or otherwise. There was a definite air of kinship because of this, much better than just mumbling unintelligibly or giving imperceptible nods.

We capped off the day with a sunset view of the Seine between the Ile de la Cite (site of the Notre Dame) and the rest of the city.

More on Paris soon!

Nice, Cote d' Azur

 After two days in Lyon, we hopped on yet another train headed towards the sunny south of France. All good things must come to end and we had to schlep it in second class and we also had to switch seats at the Cannes and Antibes stops!

 This is the view that we had from the train for the most part of the journey. The coast of the south of France is breathtaking!

 We arrived at Nice mid-afternoon and after settling in, we took a walk and realized that people here did a lot of this.

 And this.

 So we jumped on the bandwagon and paid for a spot on the private beach of Sporting Plage. Obviously, there's nothing like the sand back home but the sea water is pretty top-notch, endlessly blue without lumot in sight.

 D: The perfect beach kit: cut-offs, bright tote with essentials. Elle UK (magazines are so cheap here! hoarding all my favorite titles at less than P300), and a Pimms and champagne cocktail with raspberries and strawberries

 We decided to head back up at around 9pm. This photo was taken a little after the sun set.

FUN

No different than the other cities we had visited, Nice also had a bric a brac market, selling clothes, antiques, accessories, etc.

 Lovely handmade shell rings 

 Plates and jugs

 They also had random boutiques on many street corners selling hip brands like Opening Ceremony, Acne, and APC. This city wasn't as shopping-oriented as others but it had enough to satiate a shopper's appetite since it also had Galeries Lafayette and the main shopping street Av. Jean-Medicin.

 We're both running out of clothes to wear at this point, but at least Nice allowed us to do without the layers. Time to bring out clothes that brought us back closer to home. Shorts, shirts and sandals for lots of walking under the sun!

FOOD

 Upon the receptionist's recommendation, we went to the main city square for dinner at Le Safari. Being a sea-side town, Nice is known for its sea food. Le Safari also came highly recommended on the Fodor's France handbook we have handy.

 Complimentary olives and onion bread

Unexpectedly delicious! The flaky bread had a buttery flavor with some sweetness from the onions.

 Marinated beef stew cooked in red wine with ravioli

D: This was really flavorful and rich. It was a bit too savory for me, but not unbearably so. The portions were huge though so half of this went uneaten. :(

 Avocado and crab meat salad

Best salad ever! This was so fresh and the tomatoes were so sweet and juicy!

Codfish and potatoes in lemon butter sauce

P: All the ingredients packed the dish with flavor and the codfish carried it so nicely. The anchovies and pepper went especially well with it!

The south of France is ticked off our bucket lists but now all the other ports along the Cote d' Azur (aside from Nice) are on the lists!

From London to Lyon

 Goodbye balmy, beautiful London! We hopped on the Eurostar train headed for...France!

There were a few hiccups when our coach was shut down due to aircon failure and we were relocated to other seats. Unfortunately, really rude people stole our spots and the train manager bumped us up to first class!

 Obviously, we were very happy campers. The cushy cabins were much better than the tight squeeze in the economy seats. 

 The trip from the St. Pancras station in London to the Gare du Nord in Paris took around 3 hours. But Paris wasn't the final destination just yet.

 We hailed a cab and rushed over to Gare de Lyon. It was quite the chore to reserve our Eurail train tickets because it's holiday season now. The French trains aren't too friendly towards Eurail passes either. It was a good thing we managed to squeeze ourselves into the last few seats. After getting our bearings for a while, we went to catch our train.

 When we got to the platform, we kept hunting around for our train. After realizing that it wasn't on the boards, we approached a train guard and realized we had COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN to account for the 1 hour time difference. We missed the freaking train. We ran back to the station and grabbed the last two seats AGAIN! And got bumped up to first class AGAIN! Our luck was as unpredictable as the weather.

Click on to see more of LYON, FRANCE!