So This Is Love: Paris {Part Deux}

And we’re back! Oh Paris, you have my damn heart, and I think you always will. Our France trip commenced six weeks ago in Paris, and from the moment we were swept west via train, I’ve been thinking about the 'city of love' ever since. All of France has been magic, but there is just something about Paris for me. So after looping around the country to Bordeaux, then the Basque Coast, inland to Carcassonne, then the Mediterranean Coast, we hopped on our final high-speed train of the trip and headed towards Paris for our final four days! And let me tell you, it was icing on an already delicious cake!

Train views along the Mediterranean Coast to Paris!

*It feels good to be back, and seeing everyday Paris views like this*

*…AND THIS!!!!!!!!!!! Sweet lord jesus, this is a view from our Airbnb!*

Hitting More Sights: Paris Catacombs

Sixty-five feet beneath the lively streets of Paris lies what is perhaps the City of Light's “darkest” and unlikeliest attraction. The Catacombs of Paris is so fascinatingly unusual, we consider it a top highlight of our time in Paris. Here, underground ossuaries in Paris are the final resting place of more than six million Parisians! In fact, the entire city contains over 200 miles of underground passageways and quarries, though only a small portion of it is open to the public. We learned the Catacombs were used for burial grounds to limit the spread of disease that arose from overcrowded cemeteries in the 1700s. The city’s solution? Move the remains underground. And that is what is known today as the Paris Catacombs.

When we were researching Catacombs back home, I had a vision of what it might look or feel like. But it was even more wild (eerie, perhaps) than we envisioned. We had heard of walls stacked high with bones and human skulls. But I wasn’t expecting all of the rooms, crypts, and vaults, let alone the feeling of experiencing history. After descending into the earth via a long spiral staircase, we were thrust into the moist, dark, eerie catacombs! I was a little worried the boys would be creeped out, so I kept the conversation light at first, but they thought it as fascinating as I did. I could tell with their silence (because are 9 year old boys ever silent?!), that they were taking in this unique experience. Bones literally stacked and lined the walls and rooms of the entire underground tunnel. It was almost overwhelming to think of the amount of death we were surrounded by, and what type of lives these people lived.

Catacombs Tickets

It’s important to note that tickets are only available 7 days in advance if you want to visit the Catacombs. In the summer months, which was when we were there, it was pretty difficult to get a ticket. Knowing it’s best to visit in the morning, we had to be logged into the website at 9:45 am Central European Standard Time in order to get the first group of tickets (or every 15 minutes thereafter). Their open hours are: 9:45 am to 8:30 pm. We eventually snagged 10 am ‘Skip the line’ tickets, and I’m so thankful we did because I can’t imagine our time in Paris without a visit to the Catacombs.

*Bones, and bones, and bones, and MORE bones!*

The Louvre

Believe it or not, The Louvre was actually not on our original itinerary. Chip had already been when he was younger, and I didn’t really give it much thought as a place I wanted to see while in Paris. But we have Bennett to thank for encouraging us to go! He has always wanted to see the Mona Lisa, I’m not sure if that was inspired by a book or tv show, but after hearing that, we decided to get tickets.

With it being one of the largest museums in the world, we knew there was no way we would be able to scratch the surface of this place. So our plan was to snag the earliest tickets for the day, run to see the Mona Lisa (before it got too busy), check out Venus de Milo, and then wander around for another hour until we had our fill. And that’s precisely what we did. The only difference is the Mona Lisa was already teeming with tourists (and kind of annoying ones too). We had to queue in a line, and people were pushy and rude. We eventually got out of line and just admired Mona from afar, and that was much better.

*Oh Mona. Everyone wanted to see you on this day. We came for a quick hello!*

ENcore: The Dreamiest Airbnb That Ever ExistEd!

Have you ever thought about your all time favorite Airbnb or VRBO? One that was over the top fancy. Or maybe in a really cool location. Or had all the amenities that are important to you. You guys, I have officially landed on my all time top choice. And believe it or not, this was not the original Airbnb we had booked for our second time in Paris.

A couple weeks prior, I pulled up our original Airbnb on the app and decided to perform a quick search for our dates just in case something else was available. There wasn’t a lot, but there was one that jumped out. It was heavily discounted (someone must have canceled last minute), was a family’s actual home with three bedrooms and tons of kids toys, was beautifully decorated, and to top it all off, it was on the 18th floor of a high-rise with unparalleled views of Paris and the Eiffel Tower. I couldn’t believe it! I quickly sent a request to book the apartment and crossed my fingers, toes, and eyes that it would be accepted. Not long after, I received a booking confirmation. We were in!

One of the reasons we wanted to come back to Paris was to experience the Eiffel Tower lightshow at night. It was one of those bucket list items that we weren’t able to do first go around. Without Chip with us, I kept wondering how will I do that with kids, and with the sun not setting until around 9:30 pm. I, for some reason, didn’t quite feel safe as a woman with young kids parading around Paris at night. Well, this Airbnb solved all our problems. We never had to leave, and instead could watch the lightshow every night from the comfort of our own “home” every hour on the hour, with a glass of wine in my hand, or while cooking dinner, or while painting my nails, or while cleaning, or while yelling at the kids to go to bed, or or or... Ok you get my point! I was as giddy as a schoolgirl in love! I stared all day and night long at the views.