Ahhh, Paris – the city of love. While my time here was short, it was nonetheless magical. Magical because, like so many others who visit Paris, I fell in love—not with a person, but with an old (or should I say younger) version of myself.
The City of Love
I can’t say that I was ever obsessed with the idea of visiting Paris, but even still, I couldn’t deny the city’s allure.
Before visiting, I had heard everything from “Paris is dirty and unsafe” to “Paris is beautiful. It’s the best city in the world.”
Needless to say, I didn’t quite know what to expect when I first set foot in the city during the summer of 2022. Would I fall in love with it like so many others, or would I find it was overhyped?
Admittedly, I went into the trip a little cautious—ready for anything.
Journeying to the City & First Impressions
Traveling to Paris was honestly one of my favorite experiences on the trip. While spending some time in Amsterdam for a work trip, my partner and I decided to take a train to Paris for the weekend.
This trip was my first time on the mainland of Europe, and I instantly fell in love with the romance of traveling through the countryside by train .
We arrived in Paris pretty late in the evening and immediately set out to find a bite to eat. Tired and hungry, we wandered around looking for a place to eat. Most of the restaurants we came across were closing down for the evening, but, as luck would have it, we stumbled across a quaint Parisian café with late night hours…McDonald’s. 🙃
After enjoying some of the city’s finest cuisine, we ventured back out into the streets to head back to our hotel. On our way, we found another late night wine café and stopped to enjoy a couple glasses of wine. At this point it was two o’clock in the morning, but I (a lifelong morning person) felt energized by the city. I had only been in the city a matter of hours, but it was already working it’s magic on me.
Day 1
We woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for a day of adventure ahead. Our first stop was Merci Jérôme, a cute café with coffee and pastries.
Armed with my Duolingo lessons (and a false sense of security that I’d be able to navigate the city), I stepped up to the counter to order “Deux cafés, s’il vous plaît”. While I’m sure my French was atrocious, the coffee was delicious! I’d always heard the croissants in France are incredible, but it was actually French coffee that I first fell in love with! To this day, I still think of that frothy, cocoa-topped cappuccino and drool a little. (Oh, and I guess the pastries were alright also 😉).
Reconnecting with My Inner Child at the Jardin du Luxembourg
From the café, we hopped on the metro and made our way to Jardin du Luxembourg. We strolled through the grounds, pausing to watch a group of people practice Tai Chi in the shade and stopping to pet the ponies, not caring that we were the only adults in a line of three years olds to do so.
We strolled a bit more and then I saw it: a beautiful pond filled with model sailboats. Something in me came alive. I had to sail one of those boats (again, no matter that the only other people doing so were small children).
After watching the boats drift around the pond for a few minutes, I worked up the courage to get in line, handed over my euros, and selected a boat from the cart. I chose to represent Ireland as it was the first country to ever make my travel bucket list and also the first European country I ever visited.
For the next few minutes, I quite literally played with my boat in the water. I felt joy bubble up inside me at this seemingly simple activity. But, looking back, it wasn’t simple. It was one of the (at the time) rare moments where I chose to do what I wanted and forget about how it might look to others.
After returning the boat, we stopped to listen to a small outdoor concert in the garden (another Parisian magical moment) before making our way back into the city to continue our day.
Wandering and Discovering
From the gardens we started wandering the streets of Paris—headed nowhere in particular. This “nowhere in particular” ended up leading us to the 6th Arrondissement which quickly became one of our favorite neighborhoods in the city.
At this point, it was nearing lunchtime so we stopped at a grocery store to grab some things for a picnic, but this was no ordinary grocery store—let me tell you. La Grande Épicerie was magnifique! With multiple levels, aisles of wines, and counters filled with the finest selection of pastries, meats, cheeses, and pretty much anything else you can think of, it was here that I learned the meaning behind the phrase “feast with your eyes”.
We (somehow) made our food selections then headed down to the banks of Seine River to enjoy a picnic lunch.
Then, it was off to explore the Louvre for the afternoon. If I could only pick one piece of art that stood out, I would have to say the Mona Lisa (cliché, I know), but only because it was such an immersive experience with the 5,397,682 other people in the room. 😅
Our first day in Paris had been packed, but it wasn’t over yet. We ended the evening with fine dining at an upscale French restaurant and a relaxing evening laying in the grass underneath the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.
Day Two
Our second day in Paris was mostly filled with one thing—shopping!
From morning till afternoon we wandered through the city’s upscale neighborhoods popping in and out of shops along the way.
We ended the day with an Italian twist—gelato from Grom and a pasta dinner at La Brasserie Italienne, because, why not?
After that, it was au revoir. Time to head back to Amsterdam.
My trip to Paris was filled with many magical moments, but it was my time spent at the Jardin du Luxembourg that were some of the most meaningful. Those moments taught me that it’s ok (necessary even) to channel your inner child from time to time—to let go of fear of what others may think (because let’s be honest, most people aren’t paying that close attention to you anyways), play, and embrace the simple joys around you. That’s living.
–Vis la vie / live life
