Paris

     We're back after a short hiatus, and that too with more travel posts! One of the most exciting parts of my Europe trip this summer was my time spent in Paris, France. I unfortunately only spent roughly three days in this gorgeous city, but I see this period as an introduction to hopefully many more future trips to France.

{View of the Eiffel Tower from our third day in Paris}

      My family and I lived in a little apartment in Montrogue, which had a number of cafés and other eateries. We started our mornings with a walk to the metro, and explored from there. We spent our first day walking through several arrondissements after a quick cappuccino and macaron, enjoying the Haussmannian architecture and other Parisian sights. We stopped for a while in Montmartre, which I absolutely loved. I got to walk around and take tons of pictures while my family took a quick rest. Here are a few:

{Streets of Montmartre}

{Steps near the Sacré-Cœur}

{Doorways in France are so distinctly charming}

{Two shots of the coolest entryway I've ever seen}

{More French doorways}

{Adorable café in Montmartre}

Afterwards, my family and I went to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. Here's the view from where we were, as well as a shot of the Basilica itself:

{The area right near the Basilica}

{Stunning view of Paris}

{Sacré-Cœur}

     We ended our night with a trip to the Eiffel Tower. My mother and brother had both seen the Tower from our plane the night before, but I had yet to catch a glimpse. We got off at the Trocadéro stop, and after walking a few feet, I saw it. As cliché as it sounds, it is so incredibly exciting to see the iconic Eiffel Tower in person for the first time. We grabbed some amazing crepes at a little kiosk at the Trocadéro, then walked over to the Tower. We went inside, and rode the elevator all the way to the top. I'm fairly terrified of heights, but the irrational anxiety was worth the opportunity of some amazing views of the city. Even more magical, we were inside the Tower just as the lights turned on and we were able to see the light show from both the inside and outside.

 {Left: A view of the Eiffel Tower from Trocadéro. 

Right: A view of Trocadéro from the Eiffel Tower}

{Looking up from inside the Tower}

     We spent our next day taking a river cruise on the Seine and taking a bus tour through the city. This was easily my favorite day. I was able to take tons of pictures throughout the entire city and I really felt like we were able to cover so much. The highlight of our trip to Paris — and again, you'll have to excuse me for being cliché — was my snack at the Ladurée on the Champs Élysées: a small coffee on the side of rose petal ice cream with four macarons — rose petal, pistachio, chocolate, and salted caramel. I am a huge fan of macarons and at the moment, I was just so happy and appreciative of the ability to sit in Paris and enjoy a quiet moment people-watching and eating my favorite food.

 {View of the "Love Lock" Bride, or Pont de l'Archeveche, from the Seine}

{Parisian architecture}

{Parisian architecture}

 {Riverside booksellers}

 {Sitting in traffic on the Champs Élysées}

 {Arc de Triomphe} 

{Ladurée macarons from the Champs Élysées location}

      We covered a lot on our last day, but I still couldn't fit in all that I had initially wanted to. As a tip, never go to Paris for just three days. On our final day, we fit in a trip to the Palace of Versailles as well as the Louvre and concluded the night with more crepes by the Eiffel Tower. While Paris wasn't my favorite of the five cities we visited, I definitely want to visit again, and this time I will be sure to explore more of France.

 {Versailles}

 {Mona Lisa}

{Top: Two shots from inside Versailles.

Bottom: Love Lock Bridge.}

      Have any of you been to France? What did you do? Please feel free to share your tips with this traveler!
      As a side note, you can get more pictures from my trips around Europe, Central America, and parts of the US on my Instagram, @virali or on @onemoresatuday.

~V