I’ve been terrible! It’s been almost 2 months since I got back from Europe and I never did any recaps of my trip. Mostly, it was caused by the situation in Ukraine and my grandma’s health. I just couldn’t bring myself up to it…
As probably some of you remember, my brother and I went to France, Ukraine and Spain. It was a beautiful two and a half week trip, and I’ve got to admit, I miss that European charm here in North America. It must be all the history and culture that comes with it.
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Today I’d like to share with you some bits and pieces from Paris. It’s a majestic city, and I truly fell in love with it. It even makes up for their Charles-des-Gaulle airport! *Let’s see who else missed their connecting flight there? Haha!*
It was definitely WAYYYY colder than I expected it to be, and I didn’t bring any other shoes apart from my flats. This was the last time I listened to my friends who kept on telling me that it was ‘warm’ there and I shouldn’t worry. *Running shoes weren’t the option because they didn’t complete the look. Silly girl!*
During our first day, we covered a lot of ground. Here are some of the highlights.
The first place we went to was Arc de Triomphe. To be honest, I didn’t expect much, but I was completely blown away by its beauty and detail.
The next stop? Ladurée!!! Are you even surprised? It only took us about half an hour to get in there. *Thank God, my brother was patient with me!!!*
Shortly after *when my happiness finally set in, and I was able to walk with some seriously delicious macaroons in my hands*, we headed to Place de la Concorde, which was a short walk away. It’s kind of crazy to think that many people were executed there by the guillotine during the French Revolution, including King Louis XVI…
Somehow whenever I think about the dark periods in history, I never imagine people dying in beautiful places like this square *Not that I think of people dying, period!*… Or is it just me?
As you can see, the skies cleared out by then and when we looked around, there was this beautiful view.
What I really regret is not being able to run here: The river Seine and its surroundings are breathtaking!
Next, we passed by the Hôtel des Invalides, where Napoleon Bonaparte is entombed. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get in because it was late in the evening. According to what I read, even Napoleon’s frock coat, hat, coronation saddle and even his actual horse, Vizir *Eeeesshhh!*, are there!!!
By the time we made it to the Eiffel tower, it was getting darker. And that’s when we witnessed magic when it was lit up: a truly unforgettable moment! *Too bad my hubby wasn’t there with me… tear…*
We opted not to go to the top of it because, frankly, I was shivering from being cold. So we just walked around to take in the joyful atmosphere and the beauty of the view.
*To be continued…*
Have you ever been to Paris? What impressed you the most?
xoxo
Olena
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candies & crunches 
I loooove Paris 🙂 I absolutely love the food, the art, the architecture… It’s probably the only large city I truly love. But I can’t believe you had such a line at Laduree! I’ve never had one but maybe the location we go to when we’re there is less busy for some reason? We tried Pierre Herme last time too, Joe loved them but I think Laduree is better 🙂
It’s okay, I enjoyed people watching while waiting for our turn 🙂 hehe! + where are you???? I miss reading your blog!!! LIKE LOTSSSSSS! Come back! ❤ xoxo
Aw thank you! We moved this week so life has been crazy, I needed to pack and move and unpack and I’m just about done and ready to come back 🙂
Woop woop! ❤ ❤ ❤
Beautiful pictures! I loved Paris, when I went I told my mom I was moving there and never coming back. That hasn’t happened yet, but I swear in my old age I’ll retire there.
Thank you! And I can believe you, it’s a very charming city ❤ xoxo
So beautiful!!! I’ve never been to paris but it’s definitely on my bucket list. Glad you had just a nice visit there 🙂
❤ ❤ ❤
OMG YES PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA. Like how about now? YES. Paris is a magical magical place. It was the centerpiece of Alex and my honeymoon last year, and I would return in a second. We joke about it all the time. How about we double date trip there? I think so.
SURE! I’ll take it!!!! I love double dates & it’s be ah-mazing to meet you on day ❤
OMG LOVEEEE!!! Lol when my boyfriend and I went to Paris last year, I definitely sported the running shoes…We were backpacking around Europe so I only brought running shoes and Sorel boots (since it was snowing in most countries). My outfits seriously would have placed me on “What Not to Wear” but I needed my feet to be comfortable for 1 month of walking 😉
I also didn’t expect much from the Arc de triomphe but I was blown away by its size! Looks much smaller in photos haha. And the Eiffel Tower! I had no idea that’s what it looked like all lit up and sparkling! So so so amazing!
Actually, on the second day I didn’t care about my looks and put running shoes on 🙂 I was all warm and comfy. However, after a few hours of walking around, once we were at less touristy locations, I got super conscious about my look. So I went to a random store and bought myself some decent looking shoes for 15 euros 😀 They proved to be super useful throughout my trip. I still wear them hehe! I guess, it was a good investment 😀 ❤
Ohhh man I should have done that!!! I totally felt self conscious because of all the nicely dressed Europeans haha!
I loved reading this! I went to Paris in 2009 and I miss it so much. You are right, Europe has such a charm that we don’t have over here. I was able to visit Hôtel des Invalides and it was a great experience. Talk about detail on the tomb! I didn’t go to the top of the Eiffel Tower either and the weather was a bit colder than I expected ( I went in March) but Notre Dame was amazing and the FOOD AND WINE! I am hoping to make it back there next year!
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED Notre Dame, I was blown away by its detail. Once again, I didn’t expect much, but it became one of my favorite places in Paris 🙂 And I really hope you can make it there next year! ❤
Paris is so magical! It is hard not to fall in love with all the buildings, churches, and museums. I hope I make it too!
Oh my gosh!!! Your pictures are so amazing!! WOW!! What beauty!!! Thanks for sharing!!! You’re soooo beautiful, too!!! XOXO!!!
Thank you, hun! ❤
Thanks for sharing…so amazing! I’ve only flown over Paris, but it was amazing to see from the sky too!
About 3 years ago, my hubby and I were flying over Paris too. It so happened that the plane was making really weird noises. Also we were sitting in the 14th row, which actually was the 13th because we all know that they like to skip that number. I was seriously scared that something would go wrong. So I told to my husband, “Please, help me find the Eiffel tower, so I would have seen it at least from the air before I died!” Such a drama queen 😀 xoxo
I love Paris – it’s such a beautiful city. And the food. Especially the pastries. I’ll be connecting at CDG (worst airport ever) this summer so hopefully I’ll make my connections.
Oh God, my hubby and I missed there our flight to Venice once. I was really upset because we were only 5 minutes late. I had no clue that we had to go through a security check again + it was like 2 am our time.
Pastries… Every morning I treated myself to a croissant and a latte lol! Plus, macarons are simply unbelievable ❤
Such gorgeous photos! I’ve never been to Paris so I had to live vicariously through you in this post. One day I will hopefully get there. xo
Thank you! ❤
You’re making me want to escape! Lovely blog and photos! x
Thank you soooo much! And you definitely should. From what I know from your lovely blog, you live much closer to Paris, so it shouldn’t be difficult to arrange 😉 ❤ xoxo
Gorgeous photos!!!! It looks like you had an amazing time!! 🙂
Thank you so much, Jeanine! xoxo
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