Hey friends, it’s been a while. Fall has been so insanely busy- mainly because I was spending most of my time planning this trip and making the most out of using excel. Just kidding. Sort of…
Let’s jump right in shall we? Our plane left last Saturday afternoon and after having a few cocktails we flew 8 hours and woke up in Amsterdam. We then got on another 45-minute flight to Paris, where we spent the next 4 days.
Day 1- Arrival, Tour & Dinner Cruise
Upon arrival to the beautiful Hotel Napoleon, we changed, had lunch and took our tired butts on a city tour. Some people think city tours are lame, and they totally can be, but honestly how is one person supposed to see all of the main landmarks of a city they have never been to when they are only there for 4 days? Often times when we travel to a new city, we like to do a couple hour tour right upon arrival to see everything quickly and decide where we’d like to go spend some more time.
On the tour we saw the magical Eiffel Tower (I don’t care what anyone says, it is magical), Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe and le Champs-Élysées.
Afterwards, we jumped onto the Bateaux Parisiens dinner cruise and set off on the Seine River. Dinner was amazing, the views were fantastic and it was overall an awesome experience. Once the boat docked we walked to the Eiffel tower and hung out for a bit before we took a pedi cab back to the hotel and passed out hard from the jet lag.
Day 2- Eiffel Tower
On our first full day in Paris we headed to the Eiffel tower in the morning for breakfast. We got photos taken by a fantastic photographer, Bruno, and took in the beautiful sights.
For lunch, we went to the second floor of the Eiffel tower, which is 377 feet in the air, Le Jules Verne. We had a 3-course lunch, which finished with the most delicious chocolate soufflé I’ve ever had. It was amazing! After lunch, we took the elevator up to the top of the tower for some champagne and incredible views. Despite being quite crowded it was totally worth it and a must-see!
For dinner we went to a restaurant called Boeuf sur le Toit and had more chocolate soufflé. Don’t worry; I am aware I have a serious chocolate problem.
Day 3- Luxembourg Gardens, Pablo Picasso Museum & Montmartre
On our third day in the city of love, we tried to relax and have a slow day. We started the morning with cappuccinos and croissants at a café near Luxembourg Garden, where we went into afterwards. The garden is beautiful and I really enjoyed the palace. I’m still trying to figure out how I can move into one sometime soon? If anyone knows, let a girl know.
We then went to the Pablo Picasso Museum and explored the Erotic Year- seriously I could not make this up. It was actually very interesting. We congratulated ourselves for listening to the entire audio tour with drinks at a nearby café.
For dinner we went and explored the area of Montmartre. We ate fondue and drank rosé until late, paid 100 euros for an artist to draw a portrait that looked nothing like us, drank more rosé and walked back to our hotel.
(There’s a serious rosé theme to this trip).
Day 4- The Louvre, Chateau Versailles & Moulin Rouge
Once we saw the lengthy lines in front of Angelina’s on our tour and were told it was famous for its hot chocolate and macaroons, we knew we had to go. We took it upon ourselves to go decently early in hopes to skip the line and we were right. We had a fantastic breakfast and the extremely rich hot chocolate was totally worth it.
We then spent the rest of our morning touring the Louvre. This museum is so massive. Seriously, you would need days to see this whole thing. After walking for what felt like a year and seeing some of the classics (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc.) we figured we needed some food and cocktails.
After lunch we went to the Palace of Versailles and honestly all I can say is WOW. It was so beautiful! I couldn’t have imagined in my mind how large, detailed or extravagant it was. Everything from the rooms to the grounds are so well detailed and maintained. I would highly recommend visiting this wonderful place!
At the end of our very long day, we went to eat dinner and see Moulin Rouge. It was absolutely incredible. The dinner was delicious and timed perfectly for the start of the show. I truthfully didn’t know what to expect or what the show was even going to be about but it completely blew me away. The show was much longer than expected (which was a plus), the costumes were insane and the performers were amazing.
Day 5- Bord’Eau Tasting Menu, Heineken Experience & Dinner Cruise
Thursday morning we woke up and jumped on a flight back to Amsterdam. Once we arrived to the most gorgeous Hotel de L’Europe, we headed to the restaurant Bord’Eau for an insane 6-course (lunch) tasting menu. The food was absolutely incredible and after we ate dessert they literally brought over a 3-foot tree made entirely of chocolate and gave us “mushrooms” and “acorns” with our coffee, all made of chocolate. It was so over the top and so cool.
Once we were so full we couldn’t move, we walked to the Heineken Brewery where we toured the original building and tasted 5 different kinds of beer paired with cheese. I am not a huge beer girl, but anything mixed with cheese is great in my books.
After drinking all the beer and eating all the cheese we went on our second dinner cruise of the trip. This one, the Jewel Cruise, was much more intimate with just a few tables. We sat near the captain and he educated us about Amsterdam and showed us landmarks and areas that we were passing by as we floated through the canals.
Day 6- Tour, Vondelpark & The Duchess
On our last day in Amsterdam we started the morning off with pancakes and a city tour. This was a walking tour through the streets where we learned about the history of Amsterdam and saw many hidden gems. We went to the Red Light District and it is definitely something to see, I will leave it at that.
After our tour we went for a walk through Vondelpark and then ended our day eating a delicious dinner at The Duchess.
Overall, I had a fabulous time on this trip. Paris was beautiful and the Eiffel tower was just what I had dreamt of. Amsterdam was nothing like I expected but I really enjoyed the overall vibe and the people.
Have you been to Paris or Amsterdam? If so, what was your favourite thing?
Where should we go next?
Thank you for reading!
xo
LaRose du Jour 