Things to Do in Paris

If you could only pick one city in the world to visit, what would it be? The city of your dreams? Would it be Paris?

While I hope that you're able to travel to many places in your life, if you only ever went to Paris, you would still have an amazing adventure. Paris is a unique place. I've been lucky enough to visit Paris several times, and I'm in the process of planning another trip.

If you're planning to travel to Paris, I have a few recommendation about places that you should visit while you're there. Of course, there are so many different things to do in Paris, but these are a few of my favorites.

Musée D'Orsay - Sometimes when you walk into an art museum, you know that you're supposed to appreciate the painting that you see, but unless you know about art, you aren't exactly sure why. That is not the case at the Musée D'Orsay. First of all, the Museum is in an old train station and the building itself is beautiful. Second, the Museum has artists you are likely to know. Degas, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh. Most of the paintings are easy for the casual visitor to enjoy. This museum is my favorite one that I have been to so far in Paris.

Musée Rodin - Another great art museum in Paris. In addition to the art itself, this museum has a beautiful garden. You will see Rodin's famous The Thinker. There are also plenty of other statues scattered among rosebushes and other flowers. If you are in Paris during the warmer months, you must spend time in the garden.

Palais Garnier (Opera House) - If you have seen The Phantom of the Opera, you may recognize this place. Yes, the book is set in this Opera House. The inside of the Opera House is absolutely stunning.

Sacré Couer - Head up to this Basilique in Montmarte for one of the best views of Paris. On the way up be sure to stop by the artists' stalls and take a look at the paintings. There are also a few good places to stop for crêpes in Montmarte, so I'd advise that as well.

Louvre - You knew that this one would be on the list. Chances are that you do want to see the Mona Lisa. There is lots of art to see in this museum. You could spend days in there, and not see everything. That being said, if you're pressed for time or if you want to avoid crowds and art isn't your thing anyway, you might want to chose a different art museum.

Notre Dame - While you could just view Notre Dame from the outside, it's worth taking the time to walk through the inside as well.

Eiffel Tower - It's up to you to decide whether you want to spend the time and money to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower (I personally would, but it's ok if you don't). However, you should explore the area in front of the tower. Bring a picnic for a meal and enjoy the view. Also, the Eiffel Tower sparkles on the hour at night until midnight. You need to see this.

Other Things to Do

Eat a crêpe. This must be done. I'd advise nutella and banana.

Walk down the Champs-Élysées. This where many famous shops are. You'll want to window shop. Stop by Laduree for a macaroon or two if the line isn't too long.

Spend a day at Versailles. Where Marie Antoinette lived. The palace is stunning. It's outside of Paris, so visiting it will involve a day trip.

Walk along the Seine. Either bank of the river is good for walking and people watching.

Shop at Galleries Lafayette. You don't actually have to buy anything at this huge department store, but you should take a look around. It reminds me of Macy's in New York or Harrod's in London.

Also, while in Paris, I stayed at a lovely apartment that I booked through airbnb. It was my first experience using airbnb, and I highly recommend using the service. I'm happy to share this code with you to get $25 dollars off your first booking with airbnb.

There are so many more great places in Paris, but that's my list of current favorites. Do you have any suggestions or questions?  

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International Travel Advice

Some of you may know that I'll be in France teaching English for the current school year. I've made the trip across the Atlantic to France several times now. As much as I love traveling, going overseas always leaves me exhausted. Still, I have picked up a few tips that can make the journey just a little bit easier, and I'm happy to share those with you today.

- First, as you are preparing for your trip, make a packing list. Before you even begin to pack, write down everything that you plan to take. You can add to the list over several days as you think of things. As you pack, check each item off the list. This will help you to make sure that you do not forget anything. If you start packing several days in advance, you'll know exactly what's in your bags already, and you won't end up packing multiples of the same item.

- After you have packed everything, go back through your list. Do you absolutely need every single thing that you have? Try to take at least a few items out. The fewer things that you have to carry, the easier your trip will be.

- Bring several snacks to eat while you travel. My journey from home to my apartment in France ended up taking almost 24 hours. While I did eat meals in the airport, I did not buy any snacks there. Instead, I ate the carrots and granola bars that I had packed. Trying to go through shops and standing in line while carrying a backpack and a bag is not fun at all, so I tried to keep the number of times that I had to do that to a minimum.

- Bring an empty water bottle. You can fill it up with water at a fountain once you go through security. It's much cheaper than buying water in the airport. Plus, you will want water to drink while you are on the plane.

- Wear layers. It is usually cold on planes, but walking through the airport from one gate to another can get pretty warm. Try wearing a nice shirt that you can layer a sweater over, so that you're not too cold or too hot during your trip. Also, a scarf that is wide enough to double as a small blanket is a good idea, too.

Do you have any tips of your own for travelers?

Traveling: Shakespeare and Company

I've been really lucky in being able to travel around some while I'm studying in France.  There's one place that I'd really like to share with you if you ever happen to be in Paris.  It's called Shakespeare and Company, and it's a wonderfully charming English used bookstore.

Now I realize, of course, that one doesn't generally go to Paris to buy English books.  However, it's right across from Notre Dame, so if you're going to look at Notre Dame, you might as well take a stop by this bookstore.

Being a book lover, I adored the inside of the store.  There are books, not just on the walls and in the bookshelf, but on every available surface.  The store is very tiny which means that each time you step into a new room, you feel a bit like an adventurer, and you never know exactly what you'll see next.

Sadly, I didn't buy any books because I'm supposed to be reading French books at the moment as opposed to English books since that's what I'm here to learn.  However, I will hopefully stop before I head back home and pick up a book or two.

Tips for Airplane Travel

If you enjoy traveling, especially abroad, then you are probably going to spend more time than you would wish waiting in airport terminals.  Sometimes you get delayed and other times you know going in that you have a long layover between flights.

I just returned to France.  While the trip was much less stressful than my trip home during the holiday busyness, I did end up with a 6 hour layover in the Charlotte airport.  Luckily, I managed to find a place to plug in my computer.  However, since I didn’t want to rudely hog the electrical outlets, I still had to entertain myself for several hours.  Not exactly fun.  I made it, but I should have done certain things to prepare for the long wait.  Here's a short list of travel tips to prepare for a long wait in an airport while before your flight.

- Brought a magazine.  You could bring a book, of course, but magazines tend to be less heavy and that’s a good thing if you’re already carrying about as much as you can handle.

- Printed off several pages of Sudoku puzzles.  A few pages would weigh almost nothing, but would have occupied me for probably a good hour.

- Printed off a crossword puzzle or two.  For the same reasons as the above.  Just don’t peek at the answers.

- Brought a coloring book and colors.  Actually I probably wouldn’t bring this, but I have a friend who does.  She usually seems happily occupied during the wait so I always consider bringing some.  (I have been tempted to buy one of Rosie Flo's coloring books coloring  and a pack to coloring pencil.  I haven't yet though.)

- Brought either a snickers or a bag of peanut m&ms.  So that I wouldn’t have had to go in search of chocolate about 4 hours into the wait.  I only found kind that says “to share” on the wrapper—as if anyone shares chocolate—and “king-size” bars.  More calories than I had anticipated consuming and more expensive than I would have liked.

On my flight back, I’ll make sure that I have all of these (except probably the coloring book.)   

Bonus note:  The airport in Charleston is my favorite so far.  It’s not so large that you get lost, and it seemed very clean.  Plus, there are rocking chairs scattered throughout where you can sit and watch planes take off.  That definitely gets some extra airport points.