The Perfect Parisian adventure (Part 1)

In April this year I had an amazing opportunity to visit Paris with my mother and my daughter. My mum decided that she wanted to spend her 70th birthday in Paris but didn't want to do it on her own, so she invited my daughter & I.

After a very stressful morning on the 7th April, we made it to Sydney International Airport, checked in and boarded our flight. Its a long haul from Sydney to Paris. It took us 24hrs in total, with a stop over for 2hrs in Dubai to change flights.

Our first day was spent getting our bearings and taking a look around. We discovered that the apartment we had rented was not far from the Bastille and in a very nice central location to transport.

Day two and we headed out on our first day of sightseeing. Before leaving Australia I had booked a "skip the line" tour of the Eiffel Tower and decided that it was to be the first thing we went to see in Paris, being that it is the most famous.

We found the tour office and met our guide, who then took us off to the tower, which was not far from their office. The skip the line was a great idea! We went straight to the second storey of the tower and didn't have to wait in the long lines to get our tickets. Our guide was very informative and we learnt quite a lot about the tower and its origins.

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was the creator of the tower. It was built as the entrance to the 1889 World Fair and was originally only meant to be standing for 6mths but Alexandre negotiated with the council that if he was to build the tower then it was to stand for no less than 20yrs. I guess after that it was such an icon for Paris and a huge tourist attraction they decided to keep it!

We went to the top of the tower via glass elevators, thankfully the floor wasn't glass as well so I stared at the floor on the way up. The minute I stepped out of the lift I could feel the tower moving....A little scary! But I soon got used to it and we walked around admiring the magnificent view. There is also an outside viewing area and as I wanted some photos of Paris we headed outside. Unfortunately the Champagne Bar wasn't open at this time of the day so we settled for just the view.

After a few hours taking photos both up the top and down the bottom of the Eiffel Tower we headed back into the main part of Paris to the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe.

As most people know the Arc de Triomphe is situated in the middle of one (if not the) Paris' largest roundabouts and bussiest. So to get acess to the Arc you have to use the underground pass, a much safer way than attempting to cross!

The Arc de Triomphe (in English: "Triumphal Arch") honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. It was built by Napolean in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz. You can go up into the pillars of the arc but we decided not to. This is a massive structure and another amazing peice of history.

From the Arc we took a stroll down the Champs-Élysées to take in stores such as Dior, Versace and others. We took a look through the Mercedes Benze store at the amazing cars available over in Europe. Well out of our price range!

After a long day spend pounding the pavement, we headed for home and a lovely little bistro, Bistro Populare, that was a block from our apartment. This bistro became our "regualar" and we would call in for happy hour most afternoons before deciding that we might as well eat dinner as well.

The Saturday was my mums birthday so we had a relatively quiet day as we were off to Moulin Rouge that night. Unfortunately I was unable to take any photos inside but I can assure you it was a spectactular production and certainly worth going to.

The next day mum decided to have a rest day, so my daughter and I hopped on the metro system and headed out to the Palace of Versailles, about 20kms out of town.

This is one amazing place! Never have I seen anything on this scale and I'm sure we only went through a section of the palace. Originally built by Louis XIII as a hunting lodge in 1624, his successor, Louis XIV, had it expanded into one of the largest palaces in the world. Following the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678, Louis XIV began to gradually move the court to Versailles. The court was officially established there on 6 May 1682. With the signing of the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678, which ended the Dutch War, the third building campaign at Versailles began (1678–1684). Under the direction of the architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the Palace of Versailles acquired much of the look that it has today, including the addition of the Hall of Mirrors which gave Louis XIV his name of The Sun King.

The gardens that surround the palace are just as amazing as the palace. These gardens feature a water way called The Grand Canal and during the warmer months you will find plenty of people picnicing on the shores and even rowing around the canal.

Throughout the gardens there are amazing fountains and we were lucky enough to actually see them all working as they only turn them on three days per week. Unfortunately the main water feature was undergoing renovation so we didn't get to see that one.

In the far right corner of the gardens you will find what is called the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon. In 1687 Jules Hardouin Mansart built the Grand Trianon, probably the most refined group of buildings anywhere in the domain of Versailles, on the site of the “Porcelain Trianon”, which Louis XIV had had erected in 1670 to escape the pomp and rigid formality of court life with his mistress Madame de Montespan.

Louis XIV occupied the Grand Trianon, where he also housed his sister-in-law the Princess Palatine, his son-in-law the duc de Chartres and his daughter the duchesse de Bourbon. It was beloved by Marie Leszczynska, who lived here in summer. Marie-Antoinette gave several performances here but preferred the Petit Trianon, which Louis XVI had given her as a present.

I have so many photos from the palace and the gardens that it is impossible to show them all. Below are just a few to give you an idea of how amazing this place is.

After a full day at the palace we trained it back in to Paris for a quiet dinner at our little local bistro and an early night.

We woke up to a fabulous Paris spring day and headed out to the Notre Dame Cathederal via foot. A nice stroll along the river, across the bridge to the island and there was the Cathederal. What an amazing place! So much history within.

From there we took a short walk to Sainte-Chapelle. This chapel was built between 1242 & 1248 under the wishes of Louis IX to house the Crown of Thorns. This chapel has the most amazing stained glass windows you will ever see in your life!! It is only a small room (not quite as big as our house) that is at the top of a winding stone staircase. Amazing....

From there we took a walk through the Saint Germain area (the left bank), had lunch at the oldest and possibly most famous cafe in Pairs then headed to Napoleon's tomb. This was not on my list of things to do until we did the Eiffle tower tour and our guide told us a little background info. I'm so glad we did!!

The Dôme des Invalides, which contains Napoleon I's tomb, is the emblem of the Hôtel National des Invalides and an unmissable monument in the Parisian landscape. I wont bore you with all the historical details of this place, however I will tell you that alongside Napoleon I's tomb, the Dome contains the graves of his son, l'Aiglon, the King of Rome, his brothers Joseph and Jérôme Bonaparte, the Generals Bertrand and Duroc, and the two famous marshals of the first half of the 20th century, Foch and Lyautey. Napoleans tomb, sculpted from blocks of red quartzite and placed on a green Vosges granite base, is surrounded by a laurel crown and inscriptions referring to the Empire's great victories. Surrounding the Tomb, twelve "Victories" sculpted by Pradier symbolise Napoleon's military campaigns. 8 famous victories are inscribed on the polychrome marble floor. In the circular gallery, a set of 10 bas-reliefs sculpted by Simart depict the main achievements of his reign: pacification of the nation, administrative centralisation, State Council, Civil Code, Concordat, Imperial University, court of accounts, code of commerce, Major Works and the Legion of Honour. At the back of the crypt, above the slab on top of the King of Rome's grave, stands a statue of the Emperor clad in the symbols of the Empire. The body of Emperor Napoleon I was placed here on 2 April 1861.