So for the past 4 months I had been officially plotting and planning this year's birthday trip. Since 30 is a pretty big milestone, I wanted to bring it in internationally. Technically, I brought in my 28th birthday internationally (Curacao), but I wanted something just a bit different. London and Paris it was!
I arrived in London and caught the express train into the city and made my way to the flat I was renting pretty easily. I showered, changed, and hit the streets. London's train system is very easy to navigate, especially if you have experience with any major city transit system. I had no real urge to absolutely see any specific sites first, so I headed to the mall lol. Westfield Shepard's Bush is a huge shopping center with tons of higher end and lower end brands. Something for everyone. I ended to long travel day over a pasta dinner and a glass of wine at Spaghetti House.
So I celebrated my (actual) 30th birthday in London, on Regent Street at the NFL block party. The following day was the football game between the Vikings and Steelers. I didn't attend the game, kinda wish I did since I was right there…but next time. I did a little more shopping, then visited the London Bridge (which was nothing spectacular) and Tower Bridge. After taking a hundred pics, I spent my evening eating fish and chips, at a restaurant under the Tower Bridge. It was pretty dope. And even after all of that I kept saying to myself, "…and I still get to go to Paris!". Lucky me.
The Tower Bridge was my most favorite attraction in London, hands down. It is one the prettiest landmarks I've ever seen. In the daytime, in the nighttime, just a beauty all the way around & I paid her a visit every day.
My second favorite attraction is the London Eye. It's definitely not as scary as it looks, and worth it as the entire city in your sights.
Throughout the rest of my time in London, I visited Canary Wharf, Olympic Park, Museum of London, Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, rode on the double decker bus, ate way too many pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant), and did a ton more shopping throughout the city.
Random things about London:
- starbucks on every corner (like in the US)
- "Mind the Gap"…the gap is huge
As my time in London winded down, I prepared myself for Paris.
Big city, bright lights, and a different language. Yikes - that was the most intimidating part. The language barrier. Next time I go to Paris, I will know more than bonjour, merci, and a few other words.
Paris has always been on my list of must see cities, for as far as I can remember. I'm ready to go back and I have lots of other things on my list for next time. Dinner at the Eiffel Tower (probably expensive, but once in a lifetime), lunch on the Seine River, Monet Gardens (heard great life changing things about this place), Versailles…and a few others.
I visited the Eiffel Tower, or the Tour Eiffel as it is officially called, literally every day and it was the first attraction is visited. Once I got to my flat from the Eurostar (train that connects London and Paris and travels thru the English Channel), I looked up the closest train stop to the tower. I read that Trocadero will give the best views. So off to Trocadero I went. Once out of the station, I saw a few small statutes (not sure of what they were - just beautiful to look at) and snapped a few pictures. I turned around….and wow, there she was! The freakin Eiffel Tower. Just as beautiful as I had imagined, seen in pictures, and on TV. It was a very surreal moment. The Eiffel Tower is not a mirage (my mom asked so it's really real? - yes, yes it is lol).
I indeed had arrived in Paris!
Of course, I proceeded to take a million pictures. Then remembered to slow down and just take in the moment. I headed over to an empty bench and begin to write (on an Eiffel Tower notecard of course lol - this moment clearly preplanned).
Throughout my time in Paris, I would go on to visit Notre-Dame Cathedral, walked from Pont de Arts bridge (Lover's bridge) to Musee du Louvre through the Tuileries Gardens (really beautiful and peaceful), down Avenue des Champs Elysees, ending at the Arc de Triomphe. I would have peaceful, reflective moments at the Canal St. Martin and Seine River. It's something about seeing the city backdrop over water that makes moments so special.
On my last full day in Paris, I began the day by visiting a cute vintage/thrift shop, Vintage Desir, in the Montmartre area. So I headed out on the metro to Abbesses station. Not knowing at the time that this was one of the deepest train stations in Paris, I proceeded to take the stairs to exit the station. Big mistake! There were literally a million stairs in a spiral staircase, so you never knew when it would end! This annoyed me for a good 10 minutes lol. Vintage Desir was just up my alley. They had tons of dresses, skirts, hats, jackets, everything good quality and for a good price. Since my suitcase was packed to the brim I wasn't able to purchase anything, but next trip it's on! I headed down the street and ran into Sacré Cœur - a famous Roman Catholic church and tourist attraction that sits at the highest point in the city - and did some souvenir shopping.
I took the train to see Moulin Rouge, took a few pics and went on my way - wasn't much to see from the outside. I wanted to catch the Louvre at night and lit up, and as I made my way there the sun was beginning to set. Sunsets in Paris are absolutely perfect. I found myself walking across the Lover's bridge while the sun was setting. A perfect photo-op.
My last morning in Paris was spent visiting the Eiffel Tower (of course) one last time. Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, I did a little photosess with the tower as my backdrop. It turned out as perfect as I had imagined.
I quickly headed back to my apt, finished packing up, and made my way to the airport. Not happy to go home, but glad to sleep in my own bed.
Audrey said it best. "Paris is always a good idea".
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