The Took-me-by-Surprise City

Not to upset any Paris lovers out there, but before traveling to Paris, most of what I had heard is that it may be a little overrated and the Parisians just aren’t known for being very nice. Now to make the Paris lovers very happy, my family and I are joining your ranks. Paris is an amazingly beautiful city. Not to sound extremely cliché, but it really does have a romantic air to it when you walk through its open and delicately designed streets. From the intricate and old architecture to its parks and skyline of lit monuments at night, Paris is certainly a city to rest your eyes on.

We were fortunate enough to have a long stay in Paris (three nights) with New Year’s Eve finishing off our Paris adventures. Therefore, we had plenty of time to do all the touristy things (including the tour bus) and more:

We laid eyes on the Eiffel Tower from miles away as it lit up beautifully at night, from on top of a Ferris wheel and from just at its feet, craning our necks to take in the huge architectural wonder.

We rode a ferryboat down the Seine River, floating by the infamous Notre Dame.

We huffed and puffed our way up to the top of a hillside to take family selfies with a perfect panoramic backdrop of the city. On top of the hill also sat a gorgeous cathedral.

We got sufficiently lost in the Louvre as we aimlessly ventured through rooms with the Mona Lisa, African statues, Aztec jewelry and Egyptian tombs.

Courtesy of my brother, Nelson McCain

The Louvre!

Hangin out with Mona Lisa! (Kinda)

We fumbled our way through the metro and stared mindlessly when someone tried to speak French to us.

We laid eyes on the famous Arc de Triomphe, the memorial for those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary War.

We ate chocolate crepes and croissants, tasty lamb and macaroons.

We took advantage of the city’s many shopping avenues (well, mainly my mom and I did).

And on our last night, we celebrated New Year’s Eve with a bottle of champagne in the middle of a park crowded with people, Eiffel tower shining in the distance. However, it was not until 12:02 a.m. that we looked down at our watches and realized that we had slipped into the year, 2015 and we hadn’t even noticed. We blame this on the strange lack of countdown to the New Year and absence of fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. Why none of this happened? We’ll never know. But it seems that the Parisians may be a bit of a buzz kill when it comes to New Year’s Eve celebrations…sorry to say it. Either way, it was a very fun night and perfect ending to our stay in Paris!

And on to the South: Avignon

#travel