One of the biggest advantages of living in Brussels is the close proximity to fabulous cities like Paris. Our most recent travels took us to Paris for 3 days and 3 nights and then on to Binche, Belgium for Carnival, which I will write about later. Rick was in Paris 20-something years ago, but I had never been.
Our plan was to go during the winter so we could enjoy many of the cultural sites sans a gazillion tourists. We would visit the city again for the true Parisian experience when the weather was warmer. We only partially stuck to our plan, however. The weather was awesome--a pleasant 10-16C (50-60F) and sunny! I think we got the true experience this time. We are now planning to go back for some more art and culture as we only scratched the surface on this trip.
We visited The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Catacombes, and The Basilique Du Sacre Coeur. We spent the rest of our time walking around the city and relaxing in the parks and cafes. We even had a picnic on a lawn outside of the Louvre. Our wanderings took us by many of the highlights such as The Seine, The Champs-Elysees, The Arc de Triomphe, Place De La Concorde, and The Jardin Des Tuileries. We also explored the Sorbonne area and Pigalle (the red-light district). We stayed in Montmartre, which is a quaint, artsy village. We loved it there! It was nice just to walk through its steep, cobbled streets.
It seems that people either love Paris or they hate it. I can't say that I feel either way. I was not blown away at first. I guess my expectations were too high. It seemed like just another large, busy city. But as time went on, the city grew on me and I wasn't ready to leave. For a city of such immense size, Paris manages to maintain a relaxed and romantic vibe. I could never live there, but I can't wait to return.
Once again, I have included some pictures from the trip. Of course, there are many more on our Ofoto site. Enjoy!
Our plan was to go during the winter so we could enjoy many of the cultural sites sans a gazillion tourists. We would visit the city again for the true Parisian experience when the weather was warmer. We only partially stuck to our plan, however. The weather was awesome--a pleasant 10-16C (50-60F) and sunny! I think we got the true experience this time. We are now planning to go back for some more art and culture as we only scratched the surface on this trip.
We visited The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Catacombes, and The Basilique Du Sacre Coeur. We spent the rest of our time walking around the city and relaxing in the parks and cafes. We even had a picnic on a lawn outside of the Louvre. Our wanderings took us by many of the highlights such as The Seine, The Champs-Elysees, The Arc de Triomphe, Place De La Concorde, and The Jardin Des Tuileries. We also explored the Sorbonne area and Pigalle (the red-light district). We stayed in Montmartre, which is a quaint, artsy village. We loved it there! It was nice just to walk through its steep, cobbled streets.
It seems that people either love Paris or they hate it. I can't say that I feel either way. I was not blown away at first. I guess my expectations were too high. It seemed like just another large, busy city. But as time went on, the city grew on me and I wasn't ready to leave. For a city of such immense size, Paris manages to maintain a relaxed and romantic vibe. I could never live there, but I can't wait to return.
Once again, I have included some pictures from the trip. Of course, there are many more on our Ofoto site. Enjoy!
2 comments:
Nice pics! I agree that Paris is a city that grows on you. It's not as obviously beautiful as Barcelona, but there's so much to do. It's like New York in the sense that you could be there for years, and never experience all that's there. I'm a little jealous that you guys have such great proximity to so many places. Melbourne's fantastic, but so far away from everything.
-Marjorie
You just described exactly how I felt. Paris wasn't as beautiful as I expected after visiting quaint cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, Lucerne, etc. However, there is a lot more to do there than in any of those other cities and I did come to appreciate all of the vast outdoor spaces and wide boulevards. We will probably only make it back once more before we leave Brussels and I still don't think I'll see everything that I would like to. I think it would be great to go back in the spring when all of the flowers are blooming.
We may be close to a lot of awesome places, but we definitely don't get the beautiful warm weather and sunshine that you guys do in Melbourne. We have to endure a lot of grey, rainy days in Brussels.
-Stephanie
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