Week One: Paris
If our train from London to Paris had left at its stated departure time, we would've missed it. In my defence, I'd hopped on trains seconds before they pulled out of the station on my last trip to Europe; this was no longer the protocol. EU trips had tightened security and rides across the channel required several rounds of border control. Not knowing this, we lingered at the station, taking our time with lunch, and as a result endured a panicked fifteen minutes before leaving.
The ride itself passed smoothly, and within a couple hours, we pulled into Paris. Because the Louvre is free to youth (26 and under) on Friday nights, we made our way over there for a sit-down dinner before lining up for entrance. The wait passed quickly and though I'd seen the courtyard before, I didn't tire of looking around me in line.
With limited time, we hit the most known parts of the museum, starting with the French and Italian paintings and moving to the Greek and Roman statues. As a law student, Brennan was most excited to see Hammurabi's Code. As an English major and Classics nerd, the statues depicting mythology were always my favourite -- Cupid and Psyche, Aeneas walking out of Troy, Perseus and Andromeda. We left around 9:30 PM, as the Louvre was preparing to close.
Morning started with croissants, brioches, and pains au chocolat. Then, Brennan and I made straight for the Arc de Triomphe. As a fan of the Tour de France, this was the site he most wanted to see in Paris, and it made for a grand opening to our day.
We walked down the Champs-Élysées and meandered according to mood. At the sight of our flags, we made a detour to the Canadian Embassy and put a foot across the gate to be home for Canada Day. From there, we passed by the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, saw the National Assembly building, the Pyramid, and the Tuileries gardens, which then landed us back in the Louvre.
We decided to stop for lunch on our way to see the Paris Opera House, Palais Garnier. There, I had the best French onion soup and unfortunately the worst spaghetti in Europe. We ended up using the restaurant as a rather long rest stop before moving to the next destination.
Palais Garnier was as beautiful and impressive as I'd remembered, though we only admired it from the outside. The day was turning out to be quite sunny, despite a morning of rain at the Arc. Though we'd intended to walk down to Notre Dame, we changed plans and walked to Montmartre instead. As was the case with my last visit to Paris, the evening on top of the hill was one of my favourite parts of the trip. Brennan especially found Sacré-Coeur stunning -- it had been my first view inside a European church and I'd wanted it to be his too -- and sure enough, it didn't disappoint. We had dinner at one of the restaurants up-top and watched the sun go down over the city.
The day ended by the Eiffel tower, which looked stunning lit up by night. We arrived just before eleven and got to watch the lights sparkle on the hour.
On our way back, I experienced the most unexpected moment of kindness while waiting on the train platform: a stranger approached us and handed us two free Paris museum passes. She said she had been touring the city the past few days but was leaving the following morning, and the pass was valid for one more day.
As such, our entrance to Versailles the next day was free. Unfortunately, the pass didn't allow us to skip the security line. I'd remembered spending a miserable two hours there a couple years back and felt just as frustrated during this wait. Having been to Versailles twice now, I'd be content to never go through that line again.
Once inside, we got ourselves a box of Ladurée macarons -- Brennan's first taste of macarons -- and enjoyed a short rest outside, looking around the courtyard, before going through the rooms. The Hall of Mirrors was as stunning as ever, and the visit was especially meaningful in consideration of the building's historical significance. That said, I wasn't as blown away as the first time I'd visited, and the crowds made the appreciation more difficult.
After lunch at Versailles, we headed back to the Eiffel tower to see it by day. The Champs-de-Mars made for a lovely afternoon rest stop.
Our final stop of the day was to take advantage of our free admission pass once more: the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We tried to time it right for sunset and made it slightly after, but the view was beautiful nonetheless. I got to see the Eiffel tower light up once more.
Our next and last day in Paris ended with the Palais de Justice and Notre Dame, which were conveniently side-by-side. Unfortunately, both were a bit rushed, but we still got to go inside the cathedral and admire the tall ceilings and stained glass. Before leaving, we sat on a ledge outside and listened to the opening song of the Hunchback of Notre Dame while looking up at the building.
Eager to avoid a repeat of the last train ride, we got to the station hours early and had a leisurely lunch (a delicious chicken burger for me and gorgonzola penne for Brennan) before hopping onboard to Brussels.