Paris, Day 5: Leaving Paris

We were leaving Paris for London this afternoon. We had our last breakfast in Paris. French breakfast usually consists of a croissant or a long slice of French bread with butter and jam, coffee or tea, and orange juice. It's very simple but everything is good quality. The jam and butter tasted really fresh. The French breakfast tea was mild, it was very nice by just adding a little bit sugar. I tried to find French breakfast tea in North America later but it seemed that it was not available in North America. I like combination of coffee and orange juice very much.

Paris, Day 4: Arc de Triomphe

It is a classic structure with intricate elements. There are a few imitations in the world. But Arc de Triomphe still reigns supreme because it's the details that set it apart. This one is truly original.

Paris, Day 4: Louvre

Everything about Louvre is impressive, the collections and the architecture of the museum itself. 

Paris, Day 3: Dinner

My dinner was really entertaining and I had those French dishes I was curious about. I know you probably think eating escargots is such a tourist clichés. But we just couldn't help it. The escargots were drenched in garlic butter and parsley. They tasted like mussels. The beef bourguignon had red wine flavor. The French onion soup was very savory with cheese, toasted bread and beef broth. Ambiance was top notch. Notre Dame was in plain view. It couldn't get better than that.

Paris, Day 3: Centre Pompidou

In the evening, we went to Pompidou because it's somewhat close to Notre Dame. Modern art may not be my favorite but like some people say Pompidou has the best modern art collection in the world. I am usually not feeling modern art but Pompidou has a lot of great pieces that are intriguing and actually make sense.

Paris, Day 3: Notre Dame

I am obsessed with Notre Dame. It's such a mystical place. The church is open to public and photography is allowed. They are very generous. 

Paris, Day 3: Musée d'Orsay

The distinctive clock

We rode Batobus again from Eiffel Tower stop to Musée d'Orsay. We got 2-day Batobus passes, meaning we could hop on and hop off for two days for a flat fee. I found that helpful. It's much better to ride Batobus than Paris Metro because Batobus route is more scenic. You see beautiful Paris from the boat, and you will never get tired of it. Riding Metro, you see nothing. After all, you come all the way here to see Paris not dark tunnels. 

Paris, Day 3: Eiffel Tower

In the morning, we walked around River Seine to find where we could take Batobus. It wasn't easy. I tried to ask directions in French, then the lady spoke bunch of phrases that were not in my French handbook. I got even more confused, therefore, I concluded the handbook was useless. Anyway, after walking back and forth, we finally found the station. 

Paris, Day 2: Palace of Versailles

It was raining in the morning. Paris looked beautiful in the rain. I must be really biased.

The second day we spent the whole day at Versailles. It was a day trip. We took RER from Saint Germain to Versailles, it was about 45 minutes.

Paris, Day 1: Arriving

Prelude: 

Paris is magical. Despite the fact that there were thousands of tourists around me, I still found Paris very magical. I don't know why. 

Paris is where celebrities flock to give themselves a "class makeover". Well, they can't buy class. No one can. The city is not a "class boot camp". But if you want to see something truthful in life, you will find them in Paris. The remarkable human creativities are well preserved in Paris.

We went to Paris last summer, July 2013. I loved the trip so much, I wrote an entire blog about Paris, it is more like a Paris guide than a usual travel blog. I was hoping the Paris Guide could help people plan their trips to Paris. Apparently, not that many people know about my blog posts about Paris, I decide to retell the stories on JJ's Travel Tales and link to JJ's Paris Guide for essential visitor information.

Day 1: 

My first day in Paris, we arrived in the late evening. We just walked around Saint Germain where our hotel was located and had dinner. We figured it was late to do any sightseeing, it was probably better to wake up early tomorrow to start touring.