Bonjour to Paris!

I know, I know. 

So stereotypical. Going to Paris for Valentine's Day.

Top of the Eiffel Tower

But don't get excited...there isn't any big news to announce.

Although I've been to Paris three previous times, I always find that it's nice to return to cities because you get a better feel for the people and the culture. This trip was no exception. We wandered the streets a lot to get to where we wanted to go or to explore (not to mention saving money on the metro). So here's what we did...

In a short two hours on the Eurostar, we arrived in central Paris with the entire day ahead of us. We walked the Champ Elysees, which is always a fantastic walk. You honestly never know what you're going to find or what you're going to see. On my last visit, my mom and I saw riot police and the entire street was closed to traffic. This time wasn't quite as exciting...but we did stop at Laduree to pick up some delicious macaroons! Seriously France's gift to the world! Even though you can find less expensive treats elsewhere (because pretty much every patisserie sells them), these are some of the best! Laduree is known for their macaroons and pastries. Just as we finished our macaroons we reached the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triompe honors those who fought and died in the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars and also serves as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. You can climb to the top to get a great view of the street for 4 euro.

We booked tickets to go up the Eiffel Tower at sunset, which is honestly the best time to go. While you still get to see the city in the sunlight, you watch Paris come to life with lights. And I definitely recommend booking your tickets online if you know what time you want to go. You just print out the ticket and skip the line! In the 30 minute time span we were up on the top, we saw two proposals...can you imagine how many times that happened on Valentine's Day?? Or even on a regular basis...

For breakfast, we couldn't resist the temptation to eat chocolate croissants. Chocolate croissants anywhere else in the world just doesn't compare. After breakfast, we headed to the Sacre Coeur. The Sacre Coeur is seated on the highest point of the city, the top of the Montmartre. Even though it isn't as high as the Eiffel Tower, you still get an amazing view with details of the buildings. If the view isn't enough, the church itself is gorgeous and filled with mosaics. But just down the hill you get a very different side of Paris...the red light district. I had never been to the Moulin Rouge and it was a little anticlimactic. If you're not seeing a show, the only thing to do there is to take a picture in front of it and call it a day...exciting!

Valentine's gift #2 for Joe (the first was a steak dinner cooked by me!!) was a night river cruise! It's always fun to see the city from a different angle. My original plan was to do a dinner cruise, but after reading the reviews I quickly changed my mind. Some reviews said the food is terrible and you can't see everything if you're half concentrated on eating. Pretty valid points if I do say so myself. Seeing Paris by boat is amazing and I wouldn't want to be distracted! The best part about it is you can actually see the detail of the bridges and understand where everything is along the river. Something I definitely recommend doing.

The next day we met up with one of my friends from high school who is currently living in Paris. She's a tour guide and when we told her we wanted to go to the Catacombs she was really excited because it's filled with history. The Catacombs were created at the end of the 18th century to serve as an ossuary. In the 1780, Paris's main cemetery, the Cimetiére des Saints-Innocents, was closed because it got too full. Karlie said people were buried less than three meters below ground and the people who lived around the cemetery began complaining (for obvious reasons..). On November 9, 1785, the Council of State issued a decree requiring all of the bodies to be moved. This task fell into the hands of the quarries department who protected and reinforced Paris's quarries. And so the transportation of the bodies began and the catacombs were open to the public at the beginning of the 19th century. The Catacombs of Paris holds around 6 million people! And yes, you do get up close and personal with their bones. Definitely don't go if you are claustrophobic or are uncomfortable with bones. I fall in the second category and can say for certain that it really isn't that bad.

10 minutes in without a wallet

Our next stop was the Notre Dame. After spending the past two days being extremely cautious of pick pockets, I let my guard down for two seconds and bam! Bye bye wallet :( There went my cards, driver's license (thank God it's expired) oh and 50 euro. Epic fail. But we still enjoyed walking around the Notre Dame.

We couldn't leave without trying escargot. I've tried it before on cruise ships, but never in France. It's a little chewy and the flavor really depends on what it's been marinated in but it's not that bad. Definitely not something I would order on a daily basis though.