Tea Time Travels

One of the biggest reasons we wanted to move to London was the ease of travel to other countries. And one of the easiest places to get to is Paris. We took the Eurostar from London into Paris in just 2.5 hours. I popped my headphones in, put on a ‘Paris Vibes’ Spotify playlist and enjoyed the French countryside from our comfortable seats.

The train took us to the heart of Paris and I immediately fell in love with the city. Every building that we walked by was so beautiful. The architecture was amazing and the city was brimming with character and history.

My husband and I went to a very intimate French restaurant for lunch, which no surprise, did not have an English menu. Despite my four years of French in high school… I was pretty useless. But I did know vin and fromage… So we started with that. Then we looked around us and tried to piece together what people ordered. I think we could have gotten anything on the menu and it would have been delicious.

We met our friends at the Notre Dame (I don’t think you could pick a cooler spot for a rendez-vous) and continued walking and oogling at the beautiful buildings. We dipped into a cozy cafe when it started raining, sitting under the awning while sipping on a glass of wine. It was incredibly peaceful and wonderful to catch up with some of our best friends.

Once the rain let up, we continued walking up the river and were on the bridge just in time to see the twinkly lights on the Eiffel Tower at 6 PM. The lights twinkle every hour and even from far away it was a magical sight. We ended the night with a lovely Mediterranean dinner, some drinks, and pistachio ice cream.

The next morning we woke up and headed to the Palace of Versailles. The palace’s exterior was impressive, but the inside was truly astonishing. It was so impressive to see the detail placed into every single room. Every inch of the palace was ornately decorated from the floor to ceiling. We listened to Rick Steve’s audio tour for the palace, who gave us history about each room as we walked through it. This was a great way to learn a bit more about the history while admiring the King’s residence.

King Louis XIV certainly thought highly of himself, and was referred to as the “sun king”. Even the most common daily practices such as waking up and bedtime were considered rituals. The most impressive part of the palace was the Hall of Mirrors. It was a long hall that was lined with tall mirrors, which at that time were a luxury. The paintings on the ceiling, candle lit chandeliers, and gold decor embodied opulence. I can only imagine how his guests felt when they walked into that room for an evening soirée.

We then wandered to the gardens, which were just as beautiful and vast. On a cold January day we didn’t venture too far and knew what we saw was just a portion of the garden’s entirety. I would love to come back in the summer and explore it’s well planned design.

What would a trip to Paris be without the Eiffel Tower? That was our next stop, and it is a truly impressive structure.

I laughed as we discussed how it was initially supposed to be taken down after 20 years after the World Fair, but it now remains one of the most iconic landmarks of all time.

After a crêpe and coffee break while admiring the Eiffel tower, we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe. This was our final stop before we sadly had to make our way to the train station. We didn’t pay to go on top, but were just as impressed looking up at the arch and seeing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We reluctantly made our way back to the train station after saying goodbye to our friends, knowing it won’t be long before we came back (hopefully after I brush up on my French).

Au Revoir Paris!