I was back in Paris during a long weekend while I was in London on a business trip. However short my stay in the City of Lights may have been, it was all worth it. It was a memorable trip comprising of long city walks and immersive art experience.
My business trip to London coincided with a U.K. bank holiday that fell on a Monday. Since our U.K. offices were closed on that day, I made plans of taking a quick trip to Paris to take advantage of the long weekend. Je voudrais voyager a Paris! Paris is only a couple of hours away from London via the Eurostar, after all.
After I left our office at 5 p.m. on Friday, I did not waste anytime and I was back to the hotel to pack a weekender bag to catch the 8 p.m. train to Paris.
The Eurostar trains leave from London's St. Pancras station. The station was super crowded with travelers that evening and I expected nothing less due to the long weekend holiday.
My train ticket was only for a regular fare but I was bumped up to a VIP class and that class comes with a meal. That was heaven sent because I was starving and had not had anything to eat. I had not eaten dinner due to time constraints because I only had an hour to prepare after leaving the office.
The main dish was very tasty and the bread was nutty and perfectly baked - chewy on the outside, soft on the inside. The wine was a French red blend from the Fitou appellation called L'Olivier de la Reze. After a couple of hours of uneventful high speed train ride, I reached Paris's Gare Du Nord around 11 p.m. Je suis ici finalmente!
Since I knew I was going to reach the city very late at night, I just picked a hotel across from the station to avoid the unnecessary challenges of extra train hops to get to a hotel. Hotel Richmond proved to be an economical, as well as practical, choice.
My hotel had free continental breakfast included in the stay. To save time on my first day, I decided to get the light breakfast enough to give me energy for my site seeing that morning. The original plan was to walk from Arc De Triomphe all the way to the Louvre and then spend the entire day inside the museum.
The Metro station entrance in Gare Du Nord is just steps away from the hotel which saved me time especially since I was only going to be in the city for a few days. Every minute counts.
I took the Metro from Gare Du Nord station to Charles de Gaulle – Étoile and got off the station with this view of the Arc De Triomphe. I've been to Paris twice before this trip and I've been to the Arc twice already but I still get goosebumps everytime I see it upclose.
On both occasions I was there, I had been there in the afternoon when it was packed with tourists. This was the first time I went there that early in the morning. There were only a few tourists in the area at that time. Here's the view of the Tomb of Unknown Soldier with a plaque of commemoration which is located underneath and on the center of the Arc.
Here are more details of the Arc with the relief sculpture of La Marseillaise on this facade. Since I've seen the Arc many times, I just wanted to see it but didn't want to linger. It was more like saying hello and goodbye to an old friend.
Of course, I had to get this picture.
I had to go to Champs Elysees to get this view. J'aime cette ville!
Even though the walk from the Arc to the Louvre in distance is less than 5 kilometers or less than 3 miles, I still gave myself an hour for the walk since I expected it to be a very leisurely walk with lots of photo snapping opportunities along the way.
Since I was there very early on a Saturday morning, the avenue was noticeably less crowded and the cafes and restaurants were visibly in the process of opening.
Because Champs Elysees was not yet crowded at that time, I had lots of room to take pictures. I had an enjoyable time admiring the facade of the apartment buildings on the avenue. There was one time during that walk that I was imagining myself looking out of one of the windows while studying my French language lessons. Maybe, someday? Je voudrais etuder Francais.
It is true what they say about window shopping in Europe. The store windows are exquisitely designed to entice people looking from the outside. Not that I had the budget nor I was in the market for a new bag, this Louis Vuitton window was a work of art.
Walking farther down the avenue, I got a little distracted and turned right on Avenue Winston Churchill. Beautiful buildings such as the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais are located on this block. Now you see why I got distracted. Here's the facade of the Grand Palais.
I've never been to this part of the city so I was glad to have seen it in this trip. Here's the facade of the Petit Palais.
The gardens around the buildings are also very picturesque. Here's the Jardin des Abords du Petit Palais with a statue of Winston Churchill in the background. The city is dotted with these pockets of greenery and makes the city look pretty and less concrete.
I got distracted even more by walking a few yards further towards the river to check out a beautiful bridge in Beaux-Arts style called Pont Alexandre III. The bridge is lined with nouveau style lamps and white gilding on the sides. There are great views of the Eiffel Tower from this bridge.
I was enjoying the walk and the views that came with it that I failed to keep track of the time. I initially estimated that it would take about an hour for the less than 5 kilometers of walk. I was so off target. I already killed an hour and I still had about 2 kilometers of walk to go. Luckily, there is a Metro in the Palais area and that line goes to the Louvre. The walk through the Jardin des Tuileries will have to wait until my next visit. Two stations later, I made it to the Musée du Louvre.
I had been to the Louvre twice from previous trips but had only spent an hour at most inside the museum during each trip - first with a friend from college and the other trip with Mijo.
Traveling to Paris alone this time, I had planned to spend the entire morning through the afternoon inside the museum. I was able to spend more time looking and engrossing at the Mona Lisa and the other works of art. It was a dream come true. I wrote about my Louvre experience in a separate blog.
Since I knew I was going to reach the city very late at night, I just picked a hotel across from the station to avoid the unnecessary challenges of extra train hops to get to a hotel. Hotel Richmond proved to be an economical, as well as practical, choice.
My hotel had free continental breakfast included in the stay. To save time on my first day, I decided to get the light breakfast enough to give me energy for my site seeing that morning. The original plan was to walk from Arc De Triomphe all the way to the Louvre and then spend the entire day inside the museum.
The Metro station entrance in Gare Du Nord is just steps away from the hotel which saved me time especially since I was only going to be in the city for a few days. Every minute counts.
I took the Metro from Gare Du Nord station to Charles de Gaulle – Étoile and got off the station with this view of the Arc De Triomphe. I've been to Paris twice before this trip and I've been to the Arc twice already but I still get goosebumps everytime I see it upclose.
On both occasions I was there, I had been there in the afternoon when it was packed with tourists. This was the first time I went there that early in the morning. There were only a few tourists in the area at that time. Here's the view of the Tomb of Unknown Soldier with a plaque of commemoration which is located underneath and on the center of the Arc.
Here are more details of the Arc with the relief sculpture of La Marseillaise on this facade. Since I've seen the Arc many times, I just wanted to see it but didn't want to linger. It was more like saying hello and goodbye to an old friend.
Of course, I had to get this picture.
I had to go to Champs Elysees to get this view. J'aime cette ville!
Even though the walk from the Arc to the Louvre in distance is less than 5 kilometers or less than 3 miles, I still gave myself an hour for the walk since I expected it to be a very leisurely walk with lots of photo snapping opportunities along the way.
Since I was there very early on a Saturday morning, the avenue was noticeably less crowded and the cafes and restaurants were visibly in the process of opening.
Because Champs Elysees was not yet crowded at that time, I had lots of room to take pictures. I had an enjoyable time admiring the facade of the apartment buildings on the avenue. There was one time during that walk that I was imagining myself looking out of one of the windows while studying my French language lessons. Maybe, someday? Je voudrais etuder Francais.
It is true what they say about window shopping in Europe. The store windows are exquisitely designed to entice people looking from the outside. Not that I had the budget nor I was in the market for a new bag, this Louis Vuitton window was a work of art.
Walking farther down the avenue, I got a little distracted and turned right on Avenue Winston Churchill. Beautiful buildings such as the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais are located on this block. Now you see why I got distracted. Here's the facade of the Grand Palais.
I've never been to this part of the city so I was glad to have seen it in this trip. Here's the facade of the Petit Palais.
The gardens around the buildings are also very picturesque. Here's the Jardin des Abords du Petit Palais with a statue of Winston Churchill in the background. The city is dotted with these pockets of greenery and makes the city look pretty and less concrete.
I got distracted even more by walking a few yards further towards the river to check out a beautiful bridge in Beaux-Arts style called Pont Alexandre III. The bridge is lined with nouveau style lamps and white gilding on the sides. There are great views of the Eiffel Tower from this bridge.
I was enjoying the walk and the views that came with it that I failed to keep track of the time. I initially estimated that it would take about an hour for the less than 5 kilometers of walk. I was so off target. I already killed an hour and I still had about 2 kilometers of walk to go. Luckily, there is a Metro in the Palais area and that line goes to the Louvre. The walk through the Jardin des Tuileries will have to wait until my next visit. Two stations later, I made it to the Musée du Louvre.
I had been to the Louvre twice from previous trips but had only spent an hour at most inside the museum during each trip - first with a friend from college and the other trip with Mijo.
Traveling to Paris alone this time, I had planned to spend the entire morning through the afternoon inside the museum. I was able to spend more time looking and engrossing at the Mona Lisa and the other works of art. It was a dream come true. I wrote about my Louvre experience in a separate blog.
I had been to the Eiffel Tower twice but both times were during the day. This was going to be my first time to go up the tower at night. My plan was going perfectly fine that day until I saw the line to the tickets. It was very long. In the end, I spent a little over an hour and a half in the line. I got to the elevator by 9 p.m.
The view from up there is worth the wait. This is the part where I truly missed Mijo and wished he was there looking at the same view.
Here's the view of the 8th arrondissement and beyond. The buiding on the horizon may be the Sacre Coeur?
Here's the view of the Trocadero.
I would be taking selfies from Trocadero the following day.
Here's the view of the 17th arrondissement and beyond. I see the Arc de Triomphe. I spent almost an hour up there just immersing in the views. I didn't get back to the hotel until after midnight.
During my walks on the Champs Elysees the day before, I saw a Laduree restaurant and I made a mental note to brunch there the next day. Laduree is well known for their macarons and pastries but I didn't know they have a sit down restaurant. After a good night's rest, my energies were replenished and I was ready for my first item on the day's list - brunch at Laduree.
There is no question about the quality of food in this restaurant. Everything was superb. Take for example the bread. It was perfection and smelled freshly baked. There was no need for butter, really, but the butter enhanced the overall experience. I only take my coffee black without sugar. Nevertheless, the sugar cubes are arranged like it was ready for a close up photography.
For the main dish, I decided to get the salmon egg benedict. The serving may be tiny but it was packed with a giant taste.
Thank God that the servings are tiny so that I could make room for their French toast.
Since I was just visiting and I was going to Musee D'Orsay afterwards, it would have been a shame to have kept these goodies inside my bag the entire day. I hope that I'd be able to take Mijo for a Laduree brunch on Champs Elysees next time.
After that sumptuous breakfast, you would think I would opt for another walk on the Champs Elysees all the way to the Musée d'Orsay? Unfortunately, I didn't think that way at that moment. I was keen on saving time over burning calories and immersing in the moment. I had the Orsay and the Pompidou on my list that day and I didn't know how I'd manage to fit both in one day. In any case, I made it to the MO and spent the entire morning through mid afternoon.
I'll write a separate blog to tell you all about my over five hours at the museum.
Before the short trip ended, I wanted to see a glimpse of Pompidou so I made room on Sunday. Instead of spending five hours at the D'Orsay, I shortened it so that I can visit the Pompidou one hour before closing time and still have time for a walk by the Seine river.
Lots of picturesque views by the river and some of my favorite shots in this trip were taken from that walk to Pompidou such as the picture below. Since I had been away from California for over a week at that point, I was already missing Mijo and maybe feeling a bit home sick and the lovely walk made me miss Mijo and home all the more.
I also found this local painter selling these two Van Gogh-esque flowers with vase oil painting on canvas for a very reasonble price. They are wonderful souvenirs from Paris.
I finally reached the Pompidou with less than one hour before closing. I knew this visit to the museum was going to be an in and out sort of thing. Looking at the building alone is worth the visit.
After I got my ticket, I went straight upstairs and worked my way down.
I made a mental note about the museum store. I absolutely have to get a postcard from this museum and definitely a tote bag.
The walkways are for sure one of the attractions here. Since they put the escalator and stairs outside where the view is absolutely stunning, the designer made sure people get to see the views by making the facade and walls transparent. I love the concentric cirles!
Since I got there too late, I only got to see a couple of floors worth of arts.
The one that piqued my attention was this interactive wall art by Jean Dubuffet called Le Jardin D'Hiver. This wall art has a grotto or cave inside and like a cave, the interior has organic characteristics.
Access to areas where they have these outdoor sculptures were already closed at that time.
Here's the view of the street below from the top of the building.
Here's a stunning view of Paris from the top of the building.
Even the cafe inside the museum is artsy. I hope I'll be able to visit Paris again someday and I hope I get to visit the Pompidou with ample time to get an immersive experience.
After my visit to Pompidou, I didn't really have anything on my list to do. This allowed me to be creative and just walk around Les Halles. I've been to the neighborhood twice before but I couldn't say I am familiar with the neighborhood.
Lots of cafes and restaurants. The weather was also perfect for dining outside that day.
After a few blocks of walking, I finally decided to go to Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower while there was day light.
Seeing the Eiffel Tower again was a great way to end a great long weekend in Paris. This view was taken from Trocadero.
And a visit to Trocadero is not complete without a Chantilly Crepe.
Here's what it looks like after all the fillings are gone.
The one that piqued my attention was this interactive wall art by Jean Dubuffet called Le Jardin D'Hiver. This wall art has a grotto or cave inside and like a cave, the interior has organic characteristics.
Access to areas where they have these outdoor sculptures were already closed at that time.
Here's the view of the street below from the top of the building.
Here's a stunning view of Paris from the top of the building.
Even the cafe inside the museum is artsy. I hope I'll be able to visit Paris again someday and I hope I get to visit the Pompidou with ample time to get an immersive experience.
After my visit to Pompidou, I didn't really have anything on my list to do. This allowed me to be creative and just walk around Les Halles. I've been to the neighborhood twice before but I couldn't say I am familiar with the neighborhood.
Lots of cafes and restaurants. The weather was also perfect for dining outside that day.
After a few blocks of walking, I finally decided to go to Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower while there was day light.
Seeing the Eiffel Tower again was a great way to end a great long weekend in Paris. This view was taken from Trocadero.
And a visit to Trocadero is not complete without a Chantilly Crepe.
Here's what it looks like after all the fillings are gone.
Afterwards, I was able to reconnect with a good friend from highschool E who calls Paris home. He's been living in Paris for several years now and I've been invited to join a Filipino picnic at the Ranelagh Gardens which happens to be close to Trocadero. Here's one of the food we had at the picnic called sisig. I had a great time hanging out and catching up with my highschool friend and his family and friends even for just a few hours. Maraming salamat!
The picnic was fun and very engaging that I hadn't gotten the chance to admire the pretty gardens of Ranelagh. I had to bid farewell and say goodbye to my highschool friend and his family and friends before it got dark and also to give myself time to prep for my trip back to London the following day. My walk through the Ranelagh Gardens to the nearest Metro allowed me to appreciate and enjoy the gardens. The cool breeze and the Sunday evening vibe were also tell tale signs that my trip in Paris is winding down.
My train back to London was scheduled to leave Gare Du Nord at 1 pm. the following day, on Monday. I woke up early that day so I had plenty of time between breakfast and hotel checkout. I thought to myself that this would be a great time to go the post office to send my postcards and still have time to walk around Pigalle and Montmarte.
It actually rained that morning and it was cold for an August day. Since it was a Monday, there were lots of office workers walking towards the train station.
I've always wanted a day in Paris just walking on its streets - without any site seeing agenda.
What a treat to be able to do just that. Walk around Pigalle and Montmarte. I actually don't know where one starts and ends at this point. I was just enjoying every minute of my walk.
I think that is Sacre Coeur on the background. I actually have never been there before.
Another part of Parisian life that I find so iconic is its Metro stations. The stations, in my opinion, look uniquely Parisian with its tiled walls and station names written in mosaic style. I am going to miss the sounds of the trains passing by and the foot traffic.
Finally, hotel checkout time arrived and I had to check in to my train ride back to London.
I was not in a hurry to get to the Eurostar's waiting room. As I walked, I tried to savor each remaining minute I had at Gare Du Nord and in Paris.
I don't know if I'll be going back to Paris anytime soon. But I will try my best to go back as soon as I get a chance. Au revoir, Paris!
~rl
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