Paris Trip part 3

Hi there! So this will be the last part of our Paris trip. I hope you enjoyed looking through the photos as much as I did.  

 Continuing from my last blog post, our next stop after the love lock bridge was the Notre Dame. Let us take a second to appreciate the beauty of this cathedral. Just look at all those details! Gothic majesty as they would say. The first thing I looked for were the gargoyles (you can see them there right at the top) then Quasimodo (I'm kidding). I wish we had more time to go in the cathedral though, but it's okay. All the more reason to go back. 

The Arc de Triomphe. The most monumental of all triumphal arches. This arc honours those who fought for France in the wars.

Just a little tip, cross the road and stop at the middle to get a centre view of the arc ;)

Avenue de Champs Elysees. One of the most famous streets in the world! It is the main street to go shopping for luxury brands, restaurants, theatres, etc. 

This was the last place we went to on our second day in Paris. It was about 9pm at that time and we eventually had to go back to the hotel. One, is because it's getting late. Second, all of us can barely walk because our feet were aching. After we walked the whole day that day, I'm telling you, every step was torture!

On our last day, my sister and I did not let the opportunity to visit the catacombs pass. We tried to convince my mum and aunt to come with us but none of them can stomach it. So we just had to go by ourselves and meet them somewhere else after we went to see the dead!

Okay, so we visited catacombes de Paris. Almost 5-7 million people were buried there. According to the tour guide, all the remains from the cemeteries had to be transferred in these tunnels. This is because the cemeteries were overflowing causing diseases. So they got rid of all the cemeteries in Paris and made these quarries and tunnels a massive burial ground. 

Another tip: if you want to visit the catacombs as well, arrive at least an hour before they open which is at 10 am. My sister and I got to the site 10 minutes before 9 and we were the first ones in the queue. An hour wait will be so much worth it I promise. The queue got so long really quick so if you came a little later, you're going to be waiting for hours just to get in. Not to mention, they only let 200 people in at a time. 

 

As we finished the trail, and we climbed up more than a hundred steps to get out of the tunnels, me and my sister could not recognise where we were! This was the time to bring out our tube maps and find out which metro station was the nearest to be able to meet up with our family at Lafayette. 

I wasn't able to take pictures at the Lafayette because that place was soooo busy! Anyway, if you really want to go shopping Lafayette is the place to be.

Our train was departing at 8pm that day. We had loads of time to just roam around and shop for some souvenirs and stuff to bring home. I really wanted to pay a visit to Laduree that time but we didn't know where it was. All I knew was I saw it while we were on the tour bus. So on the quest of finding Laduree and getting my hands on some macarons, we hopped on the tour bus again and hoped we come across Laduree. 

Opera de Garnier

We went back to the Louvre. This was funny because while we were on the tour bus, we saw that there wasn't any queue going in the museum! Well, we got so excited because we thought we can finally get in. It did not dawn on us that the museum might be close. And it was. After we found out it was closed, we just realised that it was quite impossible for the Louvre to be that empty and everything around be that quiet. After all the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. 

My cousin, Ate Juna had to leave before us because she still had to travel to the airport to catch her flight to Norway. So we hopped off at the Notre Dame again and she caught the metro in the station nearby.

For us who were left behind going home to London, we still had time to spare and hunt down Laduree. So we went around Paris one more time while we were on the hop on hop off bus. Paris under the sun is beautifuuuuuuuul

In the end, we did not find Laduree. But I still managed to get my hands on some macarons from a local pastry shop. It was so good. I'm craving it now. 

Grand Palais 

So this was our last stop. We were back to where we were the first time. The Eiffel tower. And it's still beautiful the third time around. After our last look on Paris, we needed to get back to the hotel, collect our luggages and head back home. 

As much as I hate goodbyes, it had to be done. Au revoir Paris!