A Week in PAris, France
To begin our 2019 family holiday, we landed in Paris, France, all the way from Australia.
To begin our 2019 family holiday, we landed in Paris, France after a long journey from Australia.
One of our first places to sightsee in Paris, was a charming, outdoor shopping centre, known as Bercy Village (28 Rue François Truffaut, Paris, France). This village is such a cute place to visit, especially if you love shopping.
Fun fact: this is a pedestrian only village.
After walking around this beautiful complex, we stopped at an Italian restaurant called “Vapiano”, for a hearty lunch [see pizza to the right] to fuel us for more exploring.
When we were planning our trip to Paris, one of the places I really wanted to visit was this sweet, pastel street, located in the centre of the city. Rue Crémieux is a popular tourist attraction due to its aesthetically pleasing colour scheme. If you love colour, architecture and photography, these adorable houses will be right up your alley (pun intended ;) ).
Exploring the citY of Paris
We decided to go for a long walk and explore what Paris had to offer. It was so fascinating to see what the Parisian culture was like, as it is quite different to where we come from.
Eventually, we found a large, outdoor market, called “Marché Bastille" or “Bastille Market”, that mainly sold fresh produce and food. Here, we ate our first Parisian baguette… wow! Everything at the market seemed so fresh and vibrant in colour. My favourite booths were the ones that sold gorgeous flowers, fresh breads and tasty cheeses.
Since we visited in December, it was a quite gloomy day, so after strolling around the market, we stopped at a small, corner café for a warm drink.
Iconic Places in Paris
Of course, we had to visit some of Paris’ iconic monuments, such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Arc de Triomphe.
While exploring we also stopped in the popular shopping street, Champs-Élysées, in the 8th arrondissement, which happens to be 1.9km long, filled with cafés and many luxury stores. This was where I had my first Starbucks drink ever - a chocolate frappuccino.
On our way back from the Louvre, we stumbled across our first ever European Christmas market, which was a pleasant surprise! Here we got to taste a few French foods, such as nougat and croque monsieur (a grilled ham & cheese sandwich, with melted cheese on top).
My Disneyland surprise!
Since I was very little, I have always loved Disney and have wanted to go to a Disney theme park. So, when I found out that we were going to visit Disneyland Paris AND stay at one of their themed hotels (we stayed at the wonderful Disney Newport Bay Club - a nautical themed hotel) for a few days, I was absolutely thrilled! Amazing memories were made here… it truly is the “happiest place on earth”.
Even though it was extremely cold (for us), we enjoyed every bit of our time there. Their Christmas decorations were so beautiful and made the park feel even more magical.
One of my favourite rides was the Pirates of the Caribbean one and the Slinky Dog. So fun!
