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Do you ever have one of those trips that you have to describe as bittersweet? That’s what our France trip was for me, an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. This was our first plane trip without any kids since having kids. I know, wild, right? We genuinely enjoy travelling with our kids and hope that they’ll want to continue travelling with us even as they get into adulthood. Although, having their adult salaries enter the equation will be very welcome.😉So, when we went to leave we were in a hurry but Luke had to run back into the house to get something real quick. Our 17 year old, Averie, had gotten in the shower and Lexie, our 9 year old, was sitting at the counter in the kitchen by herself with tears streaming down her face. So, guess what I did the entire ride to the airport? You guessed it, I spent most of the drive with tears also streaming down my face. Then after getting through TSA, video chatting with an emotionally recovered 9 year old, getting to board our flight and seeing our incredible seats, the excitement set back in. Fast forward through a couple incredible days and we got a message that Luke’s brother was having a medical emergency and was in critical condition. We weren’t sure if we would be able to continue on with our vacation or if we were going to have to ask to leave the boat and head home. Fortunately, he was stabilized and has since recovered from pneumonia and has since had the needed heart surgery and is on the road to recovery. After we learned he was stable and he told us to continue on with our trip, we had an incredible time again and if I didn’t have so many family members and friends here, I would move to France or at least, Europe, in a heartbeat. So without further ado, here are 5 (or more) things that I learned and/or loved about our trip to France.
LOVED: the ability to NOT drive in Paris. The public transportation coupled with the ability to walk to so many places and gasp around every turn at the beauty was my FAVORITE! We would pay for a metro/bus pass for €2.55 each and it lasted 2 hours which was usually plenty of time because we used it in the morning to get to the area we were exploring and then used it again at the end of the day to get back to our hotel. We did average around 25,000 steps a day in Paris, but they were worth it! 🚄
Learned: Bolt is a transportation system like Uber or Lyft and is popular in Europe. A lot of people also recommend taking taxis, but I’m a travel advisor so I wanted to try a variety of transportation options, so I went for Bolt. I don’t think Bolt is all bad, but also don’t think I’ll use it again as the prices were not significantly different from other options like G7 taxis or Uber. I signed up for the Bolt and after making it to the rideshare area, the driver flagged us down by calling out my name. We never would have found him because the car he was driving did not match the license plate on the app. He also did not seem to speak French or English, so communication was awful. Not a great start, but the good news is we made it to our hotel! 🫣
LOVED: Crowne Plaza Paris - Republique. I had sent them an email a week before letting them know it was our first trip to France and we were celebrating our anniversary. They upgraded our room to one with these big, beautiful windows that opened up to the plaza in front of the hotel and brought us a bottle of champagne to enjoy. All that, plus they let us check in at like 9:30am - way earlier than the standard check in time. They didn’t hesitate and were so kind to two very tired travellers. 🥂
LOVED/Learned: Paris is a big city, so you expect there to be a lot of action, but we seem to have seen a lot in just the first day! On the drive from the airport to the hotel, we saw 2 accidents. One was a car rear-ending a car and another was a car rear-ending a motorcycle. Then, after checking into our hotel and catching a nap, we grabbed supper at the Five Guys across the plaza from us (don’t come at me, we were still tired). While we were sitting there eating at a booth with a big glass window overlooking the plaza, there was a man arrested at gunpoint. The entire altercation happened in less than 3 minutes, so while there was a lot of action, there was also a lot of police protection evident in these areas and despite all the activity I still felt safe knowing there was so much protection around. 👮
LOVED: Notre Dame of Paris. I have struggled with my personal faith for a long time. I was moved beyond words. I cried. It was intense. I’m convinced you can’t be in there and not feel something stir your soul. I can only imagine how powerful this experience must be for someone of strong faith. ⛪
LOVED: All the other ‘must-see’ landmarks. I did a lot of research before this trip as I typically do and came across a lot of "skip this, do this instead" type of lists. I think there is no way to know what someone is going to connect with and what they’ll feel “meh” about. In Paris, I am glad I went to the Louvre. I would try a guided tour of the Louvre in the future, but if I still left feeling like I did this time, I’d call it done. I know some of you will loathe me for that statement, but it’s just how I felt. Now, the walk alone to Notre Dame, that, wow, that was incredible. Eiffel Tower: loved it. Arc de Triomphe: super cool. Palais Garnier (opera house): so pretty, but also weird, so many people modeling in the middle of the place. My personal opinions, go and get your own with your next trip. 😁
LOVED: Le Pecq, La Roche-Guyon, Rouen, Caudebec-en-Caux, Les Andelys, Honfleur and all the towns that we didn’t see in between. The quieter side of France between Paris and Normandy along the Seine absolutely captured my heart. I could totally see myself living in Caudebec-en-Caux and taking a train into Paris. The beauty, the history, and the lifestyle truly won me over (picture cafe tables overlooking the Seine, drinking a glass of wine and chatting with your friends and family after work). 🛥️
Overall, I would rate this trip a 9/10 and the lost point has nothing to do with the location and everything to do with our personal struggles getting to this trip and staying on this trip. If you’re interested in a more detailed breakdown of the financial aspects of this trip, watch this video. If you’re ready to book your trip, let me know by filling out the form at the bottom of the page!