Bonjour Paris!

Early Saturday morning, my family took the chunnel from London to Paris.  The idea of the chunnel is really cool but when you are in it for the 15 minutes, you can only see the dark tunnel surrounding you.  However, I loved looking out at the scenery for the rest of the two hours.  There is so much to see in the world and the only way to get out and see it is to travel.

Once we arrived in Paris, I was very surprised that I didn't have to go through any type of customs or security.  I literally walked off the train and went to the line for the taxis.  Nothing.  Coming from the United States, I expected security or at least some place to stamp my passport!

 

Train station number 1. 

We hopped in a taxi and went to our hotel, Les Jardins du Marais.  The hotel is located in the Marais district of Paris and it is very close to the train station that we would need to be at the next morning to catch our next train.  My family and I literally had 18 hours in Paris.  We had been to Paris before so it wasn't a big deal to only be there for a day.  

The hotel was nice.  I would say that the area immediately around it was in wasn't very touristy, but it was still nice.  It wasn't a far walk from the Bastille monument and the Opera House, Opéra Bastille. 

 Bastille Monument

Since we did not know the area very well, the hotel recommended a freeish walking tour, lead by a local Parisian.  The tour was strange to say the least.  She showed us many of the uncommon places of the Marais district and she told us many stories that were really not important.  Furthermore, she did not take us to any major sights like the Bastille monument or the Opera House. 

After the tour, my family and I walked around the area a little bit and then returned to the hotel to see if our room was ready.  We changed our outfits, got some water, (we were so thirsty!) and headed back out.  One of the great things about Paris is all of the bakeries! For dinner, we stopped at a food truck serving crepes!  And were they good! He made them fresh and I ordered the nutella and bananas crepe.  They had sweet and savory crepes which made the selection to choose from very big.  We also bought some macarons, because we are in Paris and why not! My family and I have a pretty big sweet tooth :) 

We then jumped in a taxi and headed to the Eiffel Tower.  We had been to the Eiffel Tower before, just never to the top, since when we were there last, it was raining, windy and cold.  My mom had also heard about "Fast Pass" tickets to the top so she got those.  And thank goodness she did! Once again, we literally went to the top with barely any line.  It was a timed group tour, but the group only walked from the store front to the Eiffel Tower and let you loose from there.  

After the Eiffel Tower, we went back to the hotel.  The rooms were nice, but I got worried when I was walking back to the rooms,  Our room was on the first floor and directly outside was a restaurant/bar area.  I was very worried I would not be able to sleep.  Thankfully, they were not that loud and I feel right asleep.  

The next morning, we had to wake up at like 5:00 in the morning so we could catch our next train to Monte Carlo, Monaco! 

Until next time! 

All pictures are taken by me.