So first off, remember how I said that I'd vlog in Europe? Yeah, it's a lot more difficult than I anticipated and let's just say it didn't work out very well. I have a new found respect for all those vloggers who manage to record their vacation adventures and more. Between being surrounded by all the beauty, trying not to get lost on the metro, and trying not to sweat our faces off, it just proved to be too difficult to record all the awesome moments of each day. I did film a bit and I'll see if any of it is salvageable, but I don't want to bore anyone with my nonsensical commentary or scare anyone off with my very sweaty close ups! ;)
That actually brings me to the first point of our Europe trip, and that is that it was extremely hot! The husband and I were truly looking forward to leaving behind the scorching heat of the Phoenix summer to enjoy a cooler European summer, but alas, that didn't happen. It seems we took the heat with us instead. In fact, Europe was under a heat wave and Paris was under a heat warning for a few days while we were there. We arrived in Paris, clutching our bags and luggage as close as we could (pickpocketing in Paris is apparently a norm) and by the time we arrived in our Airbnb apartment we were sweat soaked. Lovely, I know. The view from our apartment window, though, made us soon forget about the sweatiness.
After sleeping off the jet lag, our first day in Paris included eating a late breakfast, the Arc de Triomphe, and off course the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower makes an impression even from a distance, but when you get up close it's quite spectacular.
The second day included an amazing homemade breakfast (a great plus of staying in an apartment with a kitchen and having shops right at your doorstep), amazing ice cream, Notre Dame, the Hôtel de Ville, and Centre Georges Pompidou, which we didn't have a chance to go into as it was too late in the evening.
Third day was the most hot (103.5 F!), the most intense, and we covered the most distance. In short, I think the husband was trying to kill me. Since our apartment was within reasonable walking distance from Sacre-Coeur we went there first and enjoyed the amazing view of the city. Then we headed over to Le Palais Royal, The Louvre Museum which was closed as apparently it's closed on Tuesdays, and The Tuileries Garden. The heat was quite unbearable and we both were slightly miserable by the end of the day.
I managed to talk my husband into taking it a bit easier on the following day as a vacation can quickly turn into a exhaustication if you try to do too much in too little time. We took it easy and went to Musée d'Orsay to enjoy some art, the Palais Garnier (Paris Opera House), the Galeries Lafayette to do some light shopping, had an amazing pizza a few steps away from our apartment, and capped the night off with the Moulin Rouge.
The following day we had to check out from the Airbnb place by noon, but our host was gracious enough to let us check out at 2pm. We made the most of it by going to the Louis Vuitton Foundation which proved to be the coolest building I've ever seen, and we stopped by La Défense which is honestly the most impressive business district ever! There was even a concert going on in the middle of the day!
Then it was time to head to Amsterdam. The train station is a bit scary with it's huge old school departure board. And don't even get me started on trying to find the right platforms, the correct train, and getting there on time. Thank goodness the husband doesn't panic like me. :)
I can also now highly recommend Airbnb as we had an AMAZING experience with our apartment and our host! Look for apartments that are close to transportation (like the metro), close to restaurants and at least small markets, and are in a more central location to where you want to go. It helps if you reach out to the host and have any questions answered prior to booking any places to ensure you're getting the right place for you.
For now, I'm signing off! Hope you guys are enjoying your summer vacation and that you're not sweating your face off!
~Marta
No comments:
Post a Comment