I stumbled across this company called the Localers, while researching our recent trip to Paris. The company offers a bunch of different kinds of tours with well…the locals! One of the tours was exploring Paris with a localer, who also happened to be a professional photographer! Hannah and I signed up right away. Well, we wanted to sign up right away because we were so excited…but instead we waited and waited and kept checking the weather because we wanted to pick the best day. (Sounds smart, right?) The day before we left for our trip we booked a tour for the sunniest day. And of course, we woke up that morning and it was raining. But, what can you do? We were still excited to go anyways. And our adorable tour guide, Ula, was willing to brave the rain with us! With an umbrella in one hand and a camera in the other she guided us all around the city for three hours starting at le Palais Royal, passing through the Louvre and the Lock Bridge and the Tuileries Gardens, and ending at the Eiffel Tower. (The best part about the rain was hardly anyone was around…so there weren’t many random people in our pictures!) She told us about the history of the buildings and also about her life in Paris. Ula was such a cutie and as cheesy as it sounds…the three of us did become friends by the end of it. We didn’t want to have to say goodbye! Anyway, enough of me blabbing. Here are the pictures!

 

^^We ran into my aunt and uncle, who happened to be in town, completely by coincidence!

Aren’t they lovely? Well, not all of them were quite so lovely. But, that’s not because of the photographer; it’s because of the subject. And they’re mainly of me…because Hannah just looks perfect in every picture! (How does she do it?!) Let’s call this next set of pictures the BLOOPERS.

^^Help. My eyes are rolling into the back of my head!

^^What is that face? I look like Julia Roberts when she makes the silly face in Runaway Bride…except I’m not using my hands.

And I think that’s enough embarrassment for one day! I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday.

P.S. Dear Ula, Thank you so much for an awesome morning and for the lovely pictures! Hannah and I will cherish these forever because we will be able to look back on them and remember our weekend spent in one of the most magical cities in the world! Lots of love xoxo

About a week before our long weekend vacation, Hannah and I still hadn’t decided where we wanted to go. (We have always been pretty last minute with our trips…it’s really hard to plan on top of going to school!) We were having more trouble than usual deciding because this was our only 5 day break. Our usual travel vacations last 3 days. There were a lot of places we wanted to go, but we wanted to figure out which place could we spend 5 days in and not run out of things to do or to see. That’s how we wound up choosing Paris! And it’s true…we didn’t run out of things to do or see. In fact, there was still a lot left to explore when we had to say “Au revoir, Paris”. However, we managed to accomplish a lot in those 5 days! Here’s what we did.

The first night we went on a boat cruise. Where I took this picture of the Eiffel Tower at night.

I didn’t think I would be that overwhelmed with emotion when I saw the Eiffel Tower in real life. But, I actually kept saying to myself…”is this really in front of me right now?” I know it seems ridiculous, but it really is amazing.

Then, we headed back to our hotel, but stopped along the way to get some Falafels for dinner. We had heard that it was a local favorite. So, we had to give it a try! There was a line down the street when we arrive, but it was worth it. Cheap and delicious (which these college girls’ budgets appreciated!)

The next morning we ordered breakfast in bed. Because is there really anything more wonderful?

And got an early morning start at the Louvre. We wanted to see the Mona Lisa without a massive crowd, which we managed to achieve (there was a crowd but not a massive one…we were able to squeeze our way to the front for a picture!) We also saw the Venus and lots of other awesome paintings and sculptures. We even saw Napoleon’s apartments, which I’m sure as you can imagine were rather extravagant. Oh and here’s a little fun fact about the Louvre: it has about 400,000 pieces of artwork but only about 40,000 pieces are displayed. (Or something ridiculous like that.) Doesn’t that make you want to search for those storage rooms to see what’s in there??

Afterwards, we walked through the gardens and had the traditional croque monsieur (grilled cheese with ham) and hot chocolate.

Then, we headed over to the Musee de l’Orangerie. Here we saw Monet’s water lilies (Emily, are you freaking out?) and a Frida Kahlo exhibit. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but here is proof from outside of the exhibit that we were there!

Then, we walked along the Lock Bridge. All of these people expressing their love by locking the lock onto the bridge and throwing the key in the river is a really beautiful tradition. While looking at all the different locks, we found one from 1980! How cool is that?

Next, up was the Sainte Chappelle. Okay, now, listen up…if you ever find yourself in Paris, you cannot leave without stepping inside this church. I’m talking about the most magnificent stained glass you’ve ever seen. Ever. This place cannot be topped. We spent 30 minutes in there just staring.

Then, we went to the Notre Dame, and I’m sad to say I was a little bit underwhelmed after the Sainte Chappelle. The Notre Dame was similar to other cathedrals I had seen, and the Sainte Chappelle was just too amazing. Therefore, I would suggest visiting the Notre Dame before seeing the Sainte Chappelle so that the Notre Dame receives the appreciation it deserves. What did amaze me though, was that it was having it’s 850 year anniversary. Just let that one simmer for a second. 850 years! That is so old. I could barely wrap my head around it.

After we finished our sightseeing for the day, we walked over to a restaurant nearby, but it didn’t open for dinner until 7:30 so we decided to have a reverse dinner and go get dessert before dinner! We had heard about a place that was supposedly one of the best ice cream places in town…and it was pretty delicious! It was also located on the same street as Johnny Depp’s house, so it wins bonus points for that.

Once 7:30 rolled around, we walked back to the restaurant, called Le Petit Prince, on a cute little side street with ivy covered buildings. It was rather cute! And the food was pretty good too.

The next morning, we ate breakfast at a little café that we had heard about called Café Charlot. It served Eggs Benedict!!! In Europe, it’s most common to have a breakfast consisting of pretty much only carbs (cereals, breads, pastries, muesli, etc.). So, when I heard they served Eggs Benedict I knew I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. And it was delicious! Hollandaise sauce was almost perfection and Canadian bacon was really tasty.

After breakfast, we headed over to meet our tour guide for the next three hours. A tour guide, who just so happened to be a photographer! Her name was Ula, and she was such a gem. She took us all over town, showing us the most famous sights and telling us the history behind it. All while snapping some pictures for us, so that we could remember our time in Paris. It was pouring rain, but we still had a great time! (My hair on the other hand has seen better days. It hates the rain. But hey, you can’t win them all!) Here is a picture of us at the end of the tour with Ula. Isn’t she the cutest? (Stay tuned for pictures from the tour in my next post!)

Once the tour was over and we had to say goodbye to our new friend, we headed over to the Musee d’Orsay. Here we saw some of Van Gogh’s paintings and Degas Ballerina’s and tons and tons of Monet. Again, no pictures allowed (such a bummer). But, the Musee d’Orsay was formerly the train station, so even the building itself was pretty cool. Don’t you think?

 

Then, we jumped on the metro and headed over to Montmarte (where Amelie lived). We shopped around until our dinner reservation at Refuge de Fondus, which was such a fun experience! They serve you fondue and wine out of baby bottles! It was awesome.

And in honor of Amelie’s town…we watched that movie that night in bed. Such a cute one! (From what I saw…I fell asleep halfway through. I must remember to watch that one all the way through at some point.)

The next morning, we walked to a café called Ten Belles and ate some delicious scones and banana bread for breakfast. It was the cutest little coffee shop.

And then we wandered through the streets, stopping into shops along the way (mainly children’s shops because they are just way cuter than adult shops…I’m serious Paris has the best children clothes ever. Too bad I don’t have niece or nephew. Ehem, Emily!). We ended up at one of my favorite shops in Paris called Merci. It had clothes, jewelry, home goods, and little trinkets. And on top of that it has a restaurant downstairs with delicious, fresh, and healthy meal choices! It also has a cute little café in a used bookshop. It was the coolest place. You must stop by if you ever find yourself in Paris. Oh and my aunt and uncle and cousin just so happened to be in town so we met them there for lunch! It was so good to catch up with them and spend time with family.

Then, we shopped the rest of the day! Going into stores like Valentino where we could just admire the merchandise (and met some of the nicest employees there!) and other stores that fit our college budget.

We made a pit stop halfway down our shopping street in Laduree. It is one of my favorites, and since the one in Paris is the original store…I couldn’t pass it up! We drank some delicious tea, ate macaroons, and a yummy raspberry tart.

We ate some delicious pasta for dinner at Pause Café before heading back to the hotel for our last night in Paris.

The next morning meant it was back to the reality that we were in Europe to study abroad.

(P.S. Congratulations! If you read this far, you have officially read the longest post ever! Thank you for your patience. I am now officially done with this post.)