Off to discover Paris and Disneyland!!!
Day 1 – Saturday (27/02/2016)
We took the 6:25 Ryanair flight to Beauvais ((a city that is one hour away from Paris) and we arrived at 9:05 am (there is a time zone of +1 hour in relation to Dublin). We went straight to catch the fresh bus that goes to the French capital, which is the most comfortable option (you can also take the bus + train). We bought the bus tickets in advance from the official website and that's why we got a discount, so I recommend you do the same if you're flying there! The bus fare was practically the same as the plane fare (69.30 x 79.96), but it was still cheaper than flying to an airport inside Paris.
We arrived in Paris shortly after 10am and took the metro to the station Maillot Port towards the station Odeon. We went to the restaurant The Publishers eat the best croque monsieur (French hot sandwich) of the city, according to a book I got from my mother-in-law. What a nice place and what a croque delicious! Almost 13 euros, but it was worth it. 🙂
We walked a few minutes to our hotel, the Hotel Design Sorbonne, which in our opinion offers great value for money. We paid 82 euros per night without breakfast in a very well-located hotel with an elevator, friendly staff and modern rooms without a musty smell. These are very important points and are usually not present in hotels with rates below 100 euros in Paris. You can get there at Booking.com …
The day was sunny and cool, perfect for walking around the city. We started the tour by going into the Luxembourg Gardens, which is very close to the hotel and is a super nice place. People exercising or simply sunbathing while reading their books. A delightful place!
We continued walking until we reached our desired attraction, the Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse, and in the middle of the road we found a Pastry with a wonderful face, the The Little Lux. We had to stop and buy the croissants almonds that looked wonderful (I like them too). I recommend them!
A few minutes later, we arrived at the Chapel (Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse), which is hidden inside a school. This chapel is an important place of prayer and pilgrimage and attracts countless faithful from all over the world. It was here that, in 1830, Catherine Labouré had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and received the model of the Miraculous Medal from the Saint. Since then, millions of pilgrims from all over the world have come to gather in this Chapel and usually buy the medal in the store next door. We met a nun who blessed ours and the moment of prayer was very special.
We left there and entered the store. The Grand Epicerie of Paris, which is incredible in every way. They have a floor just for wines, another for a variety of excellent quality foods and others for kitchen utensils and furniture. We were delighted and wanted to take several things home, but since the suitcases were small and we couldn't take liquids over 100 ml, we made do with some powdered spices and snacks to eat in the city itself in the style of picnic. We bought special cheeses, Parma ham (I love it!), seasoned olives and typical French biscuits.
On the way to the Eiffel Tower, we stopped at Paris Cave, a wine store, and we bought one for our picnic. The girl was super helpful and gave us some interesting tips…at the end she even opened the bottle for us. We bought plastic cups at a nearby supermarket and went straight to Torre Park to make ours. picnic. Is there anything more romantic? I found everything wonderful, even the cold winter wind. <3
When we finished the picnic, we went to the tower queue to buy tickets to go up it. Since I didn't do it the first time, first time I visited the city, nothing fairer than doing it now, right? We could have bought it for Internet and avoided the queue, but since they require you to choose the time of your climb and we didn't want to rush, we thought it would be better to buy tickets on the spot. We waited in line for almost an hour because of this, so I don't know if it's worth it to leave it at the last minute... We bought tickets that give you access to the top floor (17 euros per person) and I was amazed by the view of the city at night. What a beautiful city, my God! Since it was quite windy and on top of that it was quite cold, we didn't spend much time outside the tower. We spent most of the time in the glass-enclosed area, but we were able to enjoy the view. anyway. I highly recommend going up to the top floor! Here are some photos:
We walked to the subway station La Motte-Piquet-Grenelle and we decided to have dinner nearby, in a creperie with a great rating on Trip Advisor, Creperie Suzette. We ordered two delicious crepes and a bottle of wine and then went straight to the hotel by metro.
Day 2 – Sunday (28/02/2016)
We left the hotel and passed by Laurent Dubois Cheesery to buy some cheese for later. Good service, lots of options and best of all, you can try some cheeses before buying (the one we tried was delicious, but the other one that we didn't taste, I'd rather not comment on.) 🙁
We headed towards the Seine River and stopped at a cute bakery called Richard Bertrand. We bought several things for breakfast (take away, because it was cheaper) and we went looking for a place to sit. We stopped at the park Rene Viviani and we ate our delicacies with this wonderful view of Notre Dame, oh:
We crossed the river and entered the Notre Dame, because it is simply wonderful and always worth a visit, even if you have already been there once (this was my second time). We listened to the mass with Gregorian chant (so moving!) and walked around a bit before leaving.
We walked to the Sainte Chapelle, what It is a Gothic royal chapel from the 13th century located on the same island as Notre Dame. King Louis IX (future Saint Louis) wanted to preserve the relics of the Passion of Christ there, among them the Crown of Thorns, which is the most famous. The king bought the Holy Relics (used by the emperors of Constantinople since the 4th century) for an absurd amount and with that, he increased the prestige of France and Paris, which came to be considered a “New Jerusalem” and the second capital of Christianity. The lower chapel is very beautiful, but it is the upper one that deserves all the attention. It is a masterpiece, with all the sculptures and glass panes. There are 1,113 scenes drawn on 15 enormous panes! We were lucky enough to be inside with the sun streaming through the windows, so imagine how beautiful the place was. It was worth every penny of the 10 euros per person!
We crossed the bridge (I love the view!), walked along the riverbank and bought some wine along the way to complete the package. picnic of the day.
And where did we go to do the picnic? Tuileries Garden, Of course. It was right there. We sat around the main fountain in the garden on two of the many reclining chairs available, and despite the cold wind, we were able to relax and enjoy the place. Be careful of the birds that keep an eye on your food, okay!
After the picnic, we decided to enter the church Madeleine, which surprised us with its size. We found out that there would be a concert there in a few minutes and decided to wait to listen. We spent an hour listening to classical music with only violin and organ. It was beautiful and best of all, it was free!
We crossed the river as the sun was setting (beautiful view!) and walked slowly through the streets that cross the Blv Saint-Germain. What a beautiful city and what a delightful tour!
When hunger struck, we chose the The Antiques for dinner. Good service and good food too, but nothing spectacular that deserves to be highlighted.
On the way back to the hotel, we made sure to walk along the riverbank to enjoy the view. I recommend it! When we were getting close to the hotel, we stopped at a small market to buy more wine and cheese. There's nothing like being in France and paying cheap for these two items! 🙂
Day 3 – Monday (29/02/2016)
Today is Disneyland day, baby!!! 🙂
We left the hotel around 9am, stopped at La Croissanterie to buy our breakfast in style take away (cheaper!) and we walked to the station Cluny La Sorbonne, from where we took the RER B to the station Chateaulet. From there we took the RER A to Disney station, which is Marne-la-Vallée/ Chessy Station (it's the last one on the line and is next to the park).
To learn more about our day at Disney, see this other one post very complete. If I were to write about the parks here, this one post It would be too long, right? 🙂
We got back from Disney around 11pm and went looking for restaurants near the hotel to have dinner. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants my mother-in-law had recommended were already closed or were in the process of closing. We drove around the area a bit and the only one we found open was creperie At Suzette. We ordered two crepes and a bottle of wine and ended the day happy!
Day 4 – Tuesday (03/01/2016)
We woke up at 5am to catch our 9:40am flight. Yep, that's right, you read it. We needed a lot of time like that, because our flight was leaving from the airport in Beauvais. It took us 1 hour to leave the hotel + 1 hour to take the subway from the hotel to the station Maillot Port (where the bus to Beauvais leaves from) + 1 hour on the bus to the airport. It was just enough time to get to the airport, grab a snack, go through security and board. If you are traveling through Beauvais, pay close attention to the bus schedule that leaves Paris: they ask you to catch the bus 3 hours before your flight. Just a tip!
