France is a magically country and so much more than just Paris! I hope you will be inspired by our journey to explore past Paris on your next trip!
Our journey is broken down into three sections; the first in Paris, the second in the French Alps, and the third in Southeastern France!
Section one: Paris!
Saturday, July 13th – Leaving the United States – Day 1
- Left MPLS on time this year! First we did a 40 mile group ride for one last tuneup on the bike
- Melissa was able to sleep a little bit on the flight, Alex was not able to sleep
Sunday, July 14th – Bastille Day – Day 2
- Arrive before 7am Paris time
- Took a train to the very big Gare Montparnesse station – Huge!
- Weaved our way through this amazing underground and above ground maze of a train station to find a secure locker to store our luggage for the day
- Changed our clothes by our locker and set out for the day (we could not check in to our Airbnb yet)
- Had 1pm walking tour reservations and quickly switched them to 11am as we were early and ready
- Hopped on Lime scooters (Alex’s first time on a scooter) and navigated the crazy Paris streets: streets changing names, roundabouts that made no sense, interweaving with traffic of all kinds
- Met a Sandemans walking tour at 11am: learned about the Latin quarter, went to the Cathedral of Notre Dame and its history of imperfections because nothing is perfect, learned about the island it sits on, walked over the pedestrian only bridge which formerly was the “locks of love” bridge until too many locks cause a section of the bridge to fall in the river, saw the military flyover which was part of Bastille Day, walked to the Lourve and learned the inside covers 6 miles and impossible to see all in one day, finally we learned why Paris was not bombed in WWII
- After finding a closed train station and a dozen Lime scooters low on battery (Bastille influenced), we found a train station that was open and took it back to Gare Montparnesse to pick up our luggage
- Found two lime scooters after failing to hail a cab and our train line was down for construction, we were able to ride the scooters to check in at our Air BNB
- Went grocery shopping only to find that the first one was closed yet found another Carrefour that was open
- Took a much needed power nap, set the alarm to make sure, and then watched the Tour live!
- Walked down the street and had pizza/salad at a local restaurant: sat outside and watched all the locals make their trek to the Eiffel Tower for a concert/fireworks
- Tried to write his journal entry yet was literally falling asleep between words
- Both of us absolutely crashed, hard!
Monday, July 15th – Day 3
- Alex woke up to being 40 for a month
- Melissa visited the local bakery for a baguette and croissant
- Alex started breakfast followed by Melissa making lunch
- Got ourselves together and took two trains to the Lourve: the trains were extremely crowded, cannot be claustrophobic to ride them
- Inside the Lourve, we sprinted to the Mona Lisa and then visited the ancient Egyptian wing food the rest of our time there
- Walked outside and had lunch in the park: Jardin des Tuilleries
- Then walked the entire park to the Champs Elysees.
- The Champs Elysees is the final road on the Tour de France so we rented bikes and cycled it all the way to the Arc de Triomphe
- Cycling around was the craziest roundabout you can ever imagine!
- Cycled down Kleber which was a super posh avenue on our way to the Eiffel Tower via Place du Trocadero.
- Turning the corner, we saw the Tower! Super cool site and view of the Eiffel Tower! Joined the crowds and took lots of photos!
- Cycled under the Tower and found a bike station and stumbled upon our favorite view of the Eiffel Tower!
- Stood in a short security line and walked ‘inside’ yet refused to wait in an hour plus lime to get a ticket for the afternoon
- Walked through Champ de Mars to take in lasting views and then made our way home via commerce avenue. Oh, with a pit stop to get two beers and a bottle of wine
- Ate a snack while watching the Tour, happy hour outside, and took a much needed power nap (alarm set again)
- Walked up to Commerce Avenue and grabbed dinner at a French cafe, Le Primerose
- Finished journaling and called it a day!
Tuesday, July 16th – Versailles Gardens – Day 4
- Another morning in Paris, another trip to the local bakery for a baguette and a chocolate croissant…and two tiny macaroons today
- Did our breakfast and lunch prep routine and we were out the door!
- Took the subway o the fountain of saint michel to meet up for the Sandemans Tour of the Versailles Gardens leaving at 9am
- Harry, tour guide, was from the north part of England and was an excellent tour tour guide
- Made our way on two trains with 22 people en route to Versailles
- Officially started the tour around 10:30am around the statue of king Henry XIV who build the Versailles compound to keep a close watch over all of his people
- Bypassed the crowds waiting to enter the palace and went around back to the Gardens
- What to sight to see!
- Harry did a great job taking us to the hidden spots of the Garden…it was like a maze!
- Harry also discussed the history of King Henry XIV, XV,XVI, and touched on the French Revolution
- Every foundation represented a figure or symbol of Greek mythology that depicted his model of rule over the land and people
- His rule and greed eventually bankrupted France
- A must see because of the history and something that cannot be replicated in the modern arena…because it will not work
- Rode the train home like experts and sought out two beers and restaurants options for the evening
- Back to the Airbnb to relax, take a power nap, and get cleaned up for the evening
- Walked south to dinner for the first time on commerce street and landed on a trusty pizza spot that was hopping!
- Great table, awesome people watching, and great pizza made for a fabulous evening where we felt like locals
- Rest day for the tour equals watching cycling video on YouTube to conclude the evening!
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