Three Days In Paris Pt. I

Sometimes you get lucky enough to get invited on amazing adventures. Last year my friend Tailyn called to let me know that the Deer Creek High School Band had been invited to perform in the London New Year’s Day Parade. She couldn’t bear to miss his performance but didn’t want to travel alone, so she invited me to tag along.

Once we got into the trip planning, it was hard pass up the opportunity to spend a few days in Paris with it only being a two hour train ride away. It’s so hard not to fall in love with this city. It’s absolutely beautiful. We only had three days to explore but we made the best of each of them, hitting a few of the major landmarks, a boat ride along the Seine, and of course exploring the shops. The weather was cold and often quite gloomy but it was still worth every moment. This is a city I will absolutely return to.

I didn’t lug the big Canon around for this trip as I wanted to spend more time soaking in the moments, so the Ricoh GRIV truly delivered in capturing the moments for me. It will definitely be a constant companion on all future trips. I took a lot of photos that I really like so I am planning to break this trip up into a few posts.

Palais Royal

We stayed in a hotel near the Louvre and wanted to walk around a bit after the long flight and dropping our bags off. We thought we were walking into the courtyard of the Louvre but instead found that we had inadvertently walked into the Palais Royal. We spent some time admiring the Les Deux Plateaux and the Jardin du Palais Royal, which I can only imagine is absolutely stunning in the growing seasons.

Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile was our first planned stop of the trip. The monument is absolutely beautiful. We climbed the 287 steps of the winding staircase to the very top where we were greeted with stunning evening views of the Champs-Élysées and the Eiffel Tower.

Each evening, the Arc de Triomphe holds a solemn ceremony in which the flame beneath the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is rekindled. This tradition has been carried out every night since 1923 to honor fallen French soldiers who were never identified. Accompanied by music and the laying of wreaths, it’s a powerful moment of remembrance, and we were fortunate to witness it during our visit.

Eiffel Tower

We couldn’t make a trip to La Ville Lumière without visiting the iconic Eiffel Tower. We took it a step further and snagged tickets to the summit – a full 276 meters up! The ride up is pretty interesting with glass elevators giving a structural view of monument from inside. While we didn’t get that picture perfect sunset in the frigid weather, the views of the city were still incredible and we enjoyed a glass of champagne and macarons from Pierre Hermé to celebrate the journey.

We had landed in town with just enough time left to enjoy the Christmas decor, which included lovely pop-ups throughout the grounds. I’m so glad we chose the ticket time we did because it was so special to see this beauty in the light and the night.