So when I first began this blog back in 2019 before I’d even began my bookstagram account, I decided it would be a lifestyle blog that also included travel… And then a worldwide pandemic hit… But I have finally been able to go away again because my lovely boyfriend organised a trip to Paris for us!
I cannot understate how this trip has come at such a perfect time for me, without going into too much detail I’ve been incredibly stressed recently, so the opportunity to get away was just perfect. Don’t get me wrong, this trip didn’t magically fix how I’ve been feeling but it was nice to at least be stressed in a different setting.
We stayed in (despite its name) a really quiet neighbourhood - Noisy Le Grande which was really nice. It was a good location as it was halfway between central Paris and Disneyland, and meant it was really quick for us to get around on the RER A line - their equivalent of the tube. One thing I can’t get over about this train is that it had an upstairs and a downstairs? Like a double decker tube, it really made us laugh. But another simple thing in the design of this tube line was that the stops lit up if you were going there so you could see exactly which branch of the line you were on- so simple but something I would love to see on London tubes, especially lines with splits like the Northern line.
Our first night in Noisy-le-Grande we went to a lovely restaurant called Marco Polo, I had a huge portion of spaghetti which was lovely and our waitress was really friendly which was great. The next morning we went into central Paris, we got up early and went to Shakespeare and Co before it opened to take pictures and visit their lovely café as well as see the Notre Dame, getting in early really helped us to avoid some of the crowds that were there when we came back later on in the day!
We then walked down the river a bit, got a crepe and then saw the line for the Louvre and decided to give it a miss… But then we walked all the way through the parks outside up to the Arc de Triomphe. It was beautifully sunny and warm when we went which was amazing, and the Arc de Triomphe was much bigger than I thought, it really surprised me!
From there we headed back to Shakespeare and Co which was now open, and let me tell you it is a great sign when there is a queue for a bookshop. I didn’t really know what to expect as I haven’t seen pictures of the inside as you aren’t meant to take photos inside (despite all the people doing so). But I adored it immediately, I love old bookshops that every single space is packed full of books and this was exactly that. They also had plenty of reading space available, a whole room upstairs dedicated to reading, and chairs popped into every corner available to give people a space to sit. I bought a tote, two postcards and two books I hadn’t seen before that immediately appealed to me (Feline Philosophy and Queer Heroes of Myth and Legend), One for my Enemy which hasn’t been released here yet and The Paris Bookseller which I specifically wanted to buy in Shakespeare and Co! I just adored the shop so much, especially with the cherry blossom trees blooming outside. Being there I was dead set on moving to Paris just to work there because I could spend hours there everyday.
We walked for a while through Paris towards the Eiffel Tower which was lovely in the sun and then sat in the gardens opposite for a while taking in the sun and the view.
After some pizza we went on a river cruise and it was a little cold but beautiful and one thing I really loved seeing especially as we got further down the river was Parisians sitting on the banks of the Seine, feet dangling over the edge, with friends drinking and eating. It seemed like such a lovely thing to do and certainly something I haven’t seen people do on the Thames! If you go on a river cruise beware the lines are really long, even if you've booked in advance like we did - sunset is a popular time to go! After the cruise we waited about 20 minutes and the Eiffel tower lit up, and then at 9pm the twinkling lights came on which was just lovely! A perfect ending to our first day in Paris.
The next day we had an early wakeup so that we could get over to Disneyland Paris! We were lucky enough to get into the park early despite not having the extra magic hour and managed to ride some of our most anticipated rides within the hour with very short queues (Hyperspace Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s ride which I won at! And Thunder Mountain). As it got busier we went on a couple more rides and met Stitch!
We also watched one of the parades while we waited in line for Stitch (which took much longer than I expected and was the longest line we waited in all day). Then we headed over to the other park and explored and ate, we were seriously starting to flag at this point! We headed back over to the main park in time to get some sandwiches and watch the flotilla parade which was amazing! Then it started to rain so we did a little shopping and left early, I had wanted to stay the whole day and watch the firework display but we were seriously tired at this point so it was best to leave but we’re definitely wanting to go back (and to the others).
Disney was honestly so much fun and I’m so glad we got to do it, it was so overwhelming when we first got there because there is just so much to see and do but I adored it and can’t wait to go back! I was also quite surprised at the prices, I expected it to be much more expensive than it actually was, and don’t get me wrong it isn’t cheap, but definitely better than I expected!
On the Tuesday we had a late start, had some delicious pastries from two brilliant local bakeries, which I have unfortunately forgotten the names of! Then we headed back into central Paris before moving onto Sacre Coeur, where we explored the church and then went up to the dome for the panoramic view. The stairs were definitely an experience, an anxiety inducing thin spiral staircase that feels never ending and made of very smooth stone. I felt like I was going to fall so many times! Once we were up there the views were incredible but I started to experience vertigo which I haven’t really had before, luckily there were benches to sit on so I sat down and then once we’d circled we quickly made our way down and had a slushy. We walked towards central Paris and went to a lovely café and had some pastries, managed to get a lovely painting of Shakespeare and Co grabbed some sandwiches and headed back to our Airbnb for the night.
Overall, Paris was great and I’m already looking forward to going back. On reflection, there are some things we’d do differently, booking some more things in advance (the Louvre, going up the Arc de Triomphe etc), taking the eurostar rather than flying but we had a really good time exploring. I’m really thankful for my boyfriend for booking such a good trip and for trying to make it such a relaxing experience for me.
And if you decided to go to Paris my top tips would be:
- Check if you need to book things in advance (I'm coming back for the Louvre one day!)
- Bring comfy shoes, I did not wear the sandals I bought at all because we did so much walking!
- Research the trains properly, for some reason our tickets kept messing up but once we got the hang of it we were okay!
- Use city mapper, just like in London you can use it in Paris which saved us a lot of thinking!
- Have lots of fun and don't push yourself too much!
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