It was a fabulous location, right on the banks of the Seine and the apartment was huge, especially for Parisian standards. The apartment was equipped with all the mod cons you could ask for and we wished we were staying for longer than just 3 nights in the beautiful city.
We had two full days in Paris and purchased each a Paris Museum Pass which not just gives you access to over 60 museums, and also lets you skip the long lines. The only problem with the Pass is that you feel obligated to visit as many museums as you can in two days. And we did.
First up was the Musee d'Orsay which holds the largest collection of Impressionist paintings in the world under a converted Parisian train station. The lines for the d'Orsay are always so long, but the Pass let us get in good time (it's not buying tickets which cause the long lines, it's going through security).
It was lunchtime by the time we left and we headed in the direction of Musee Rodin. Paris is full of wonderful cafes and restaurants which spill out onto the long, tree-lined avenues, but our limited time meant we had to catch lunch on the run. We popped into the lovely Rollet Pradier boulangerie to grab baguettes and tarts which we enjoyed in the Musee Rodin gardens.
And then toured the gardens and museum.
Afterward we popped into Les Invalides to view Napoleon's tomb and stopped for an afternoon coffee near the Eiffel Tower, finally getting to enjoy Parisian cafe culture. The Paris Museum Pass does not include the Eiffel Tower (it's not a museum either) so we couldn't skip the long lines.
The afternoon was getting on so the crowd had cleared somewhat, but we still waited in line for an hour to take the lift to the second floor.
The clouds were very high that day, so the views were stunning across Paris. We milled around and wondered about getting to the very top of the Tower. The ticket person on the ground mentioned that we'd have to wait in another line to get the lift to the very top, and finding the place to buy the tickets was thoroughly confusing. There was quite a long line, which already required you to have a ticket, so we wondered for ages where to get tickets from. We finally found the obscure ticket machine, then joined the line for probably close to another hour to get the lift to the top. But it was worth it.
The views were spectacular from the top of the Eiffel Tower which is more than triple the distance from the ground than the second floor. The lift ride can be a bit heart-stopping itself but the views are worth it and worth the wait.
Coming back down to ground we filed out of the steely Tower and weren't surprised to see the line was the same length as when we had joined. After a tiring day we hopped into a cab to get back to the apartment for a rest before dinner.
The weather was taking a slight turn for the worse but we made it to Creperie Beaubourg (link goes to Google map) before it started to tip down with rain. Herlina first introduced us to this creperie in 2007. We enjoyed a cosy night at the creperie and walked home when the rain had subsided.
The next day was another on-the-go starting at the Lourve.
Mum and I had been there before, but we made a bee-line to the Mona Lisa. Check out the crowds!
We left Dad to navigate the huge museum while we shopped on Rue Saint-Honore, ducking in and out of the beautiful shops along the long street. We ended up for afternoon tea at the luxe Laduree enjoying its fragrant teas in silver pots and delicious, pretty desserts.
Mum enjoyed it so much she asked that we visit the Laduree back in London at Harrods (Dad and I discovered ice-cream maracoons there. Even Jasna, who visited London a few months later, says the ice-cream macaroons are far better than the normal ones).
We met Dad on the Champs Elysee after afternoon tea. He had toured two other museums, including the Musee National de l'Orangerie which boasts a handful of Impressionist work by Monet, Cézanne, Renoir, Matisse and Picasso. The museum is at the end of the Jardin des Tuileries in front of the Lourve.
The Champs Elysee was bustling with people and we made our way to the top of the avenue, to the Arc de Triumph which the Pass permitted us entry. We also got to avoid the queues. The views from the top looked down the barrel of all ten avenues that start from the Arc de Triumph and spread out into Paris.
There is also a neat view of the Eiffel Tower and her steel structure rising above the low-lying buildings.
Coming back down to the ground again, we popped into the Nespresso concept store on the Champs Elysee before heading to Herlina and Damien's new apartment for a dinner of quiche and duck. The newlyweds had not long ago settled into their new place, which had a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower.
While I headed back to London, Mum and Dad hopped on a flight to begin their Italy trip in Rome, Florence and Venice. They'd be meeting us back in London for more travel around the UK and also a weekend trip to Budapest in Hungary.
