Sunday, September 25th 2011 – Paris, France – the City of Lights or is it Love?

Our 6 hour train ride brought us to Paris around 11:00 PM where I made quite an unfashionable entrance into such a fashionable city. I ran for my life to throw up in a garbage bin at a train platform. Six hours stuck on a train coupled with a bad migraine took a toll on me. Lil displayed what an awesome friend she is, yet again, by holding my hair and comforting me. Thanks Lil!

So not only is she a great friend for sticking by my side, Lil also has an amazing grasp of directions. She very quickly found our way to our hotel where I completely knocked out. I think she stayed up reading her Harlequin romance novels. Not kidding!

This was my second time in Paris but Lil’s first. It was just as magical as the first time though! We did all the typical tourist-y things like admiring the Eiffel Tower at night (the best time to see it!), walking along Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe, and visiting Notre Dame. We also went to Montmartre, my absolute favourite area in Paris, which is home to the Sacré-Cœur. This white basilica stands atop a hill and when you make the physically demanding but well worth trek up there, you can gaze down on all of Paris. It’s beautiful!

The Louvre was also on our list of places to see but when we made the trip, we found it closed. It was a Tuesday. We’re still trying to digest that one. To compensate for the closure, we decided to visit the Centre Pompidou museum, but it too was closed on this Tuesday. Given our double strike, we decided to change up our plans a little and watch a French movie. The attendant recommended that we watch La Guerre est déclarée which we were led to believe was a chick flick. Both of us have a very basic grasp of French so this seemed like a great idea to test our knowledge of the language. Even with our basic understanding, we quickly realized the movie was not a chick flick but a serious film about a toddler battling cancer. Some things were definitely lost in translation with the attendant.

Most of our meals were enjoyed at the Latin Quarter (suggested by Lil’s former boss) which is similar in concept to Trastevere in Rome and Old Nice but the prices are unbelievably low. For 10 Euros you could enjoy an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. You can’t go wrong with that! The hardest part was deciding which restaurant to visit as there are tons and the staff lined outside to ‘encourage’ you to come in.

We couldn’t conclude any of our trips without great food. In Paris we enjoyed croissants, baguettes, French macarons, couscous (Lil had a craving for it so we found a great spot in the Latin Quarter) and of course, wine.
Our multi-city travels were great and we loved how fast paced it was, but it was very tiring so when it came time to pack up to head home we were both somewhat relieved. But this feeling soon gave way to sadness, despair, and angst for the next trip as we arrived at the Charles de Gaulle Airport to make our way to Toronto. Au revoir Paris!

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Hope you’ve enjoyed reading all about Shiv and Lil’s crazy adventures in Europe. Last minute planning is not always convenient or the more inexpensive way to go but sometimes it is better late than never! There are so many places in the world to see and not always enough time! So whether you prefer to travel alone, with a friend, or with your whole family, put some time (and money) aside to explore a small fraction of the world. To help you with your next trip, check out the following websites:

Booking.com – for hotels
Expedia.ca – for flights
Ryanair.com – for European flights
Tripadvisor.com – for understanding local tipping customs, where to find the top attractions, where to eat, etc.

Now I’m taking my own advice, so the next time you hear from me, it’ll be all about my adventures of travelling with an infant to an all-inclusive resort! Adios amigos!

– Kiana Amirpour