I guess I should start by telling you a bit about the trip and how I came to be joining my parents on a journey to France and England. My parents travel extensively and have for years (you may remember I took the trip of a lifetime with them in 2022, when we hiked the south island of New Zealand). A couple years ago, they did a trip to the British Isles and the plan was to spend extensive time in London after a riverboat cruise. Long story short, my second dad got Covid while on the cruise and ended up being quarantined in a hotel in London and my mom flew back to the states alone. Needless to say, they didn't get to see and do all the things on their list. When they suddenly had a break in travel this summer, they decided they wanted to go back - traveling alone without a tour company. My mom wanted to go back to Paris, so they decided to go to France then travel by The Channel Tunnel (the Chunnel) to England. Here's where I come in - traveling alone at their age, they decided they wanted "a helper" to accompany them and assist with any needs that arose - yes, I am a lucky girl...and yes, I know how special this time is!
My second dad is a planner and is an expert at creating a travel itinerary (down to the minute). They started making lists of what they wanted to see and where they wanted to go - my momma making the plans for Paris (a little looser itinerary) and my dad making plans for London (a very demanding itinerary). They did use Alexander + Roberts and a travel agent to help with arrangements and ticketing, but we were on our own with our own schedule, doing what we wanted to do and not with a group. We used public transportation (subway, train, bus) to get around each city.
Luckily, we had a non-stop flight from Chicago to Paris...and since it was overnight, my dad arranged for business class tickets, so we had our own little pods on the plane and could lay flat for sleeping (this was an extravagant first for me!)...that way, when we arrived in the morning, we could start sightseeing right away. We had a driver pick us up at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and take us straight to the Hôtel Chavanel (a highly rated, quaint boutique hotel), where we would be staying for our duration in Paris.
Our first destination was the Musée d'Orsay, followed by a Big Bus Tour of the city...and then dinner at a local cafe. My momma and I share a love of impressionist art, so this was a great place to start. The grand finale (and much anticipated destination) of our Paris trip was visiting the house and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny, France (which will have a special post), so we wanted to see as much of Monet's artwork as possible. Here are just a few favorite photos from the museum (images never do paintings justice)...
The Big Bus gave us an open-air guided tour of the city (without all the walking) and we were able to see all the major landmarks...including my first view of the River Seine, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
The following day, after breakfast, we visited the Musée de l'Orangerie (a beautiful museum that houses The Water Lilies by Claude Monet)...then we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries to the Louvre Museum. Then we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe, where we climbed to the terrace (330 stairs) to overlook the city of Paris. After a late lunch at Le Village Madeleine, we had a short rest before heading to the Eiffel Tower, where we took an elevator to the very top at dusk (breathtaking!). If you view my Paris stories on my Instagram page, you can see a video of the rise to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Next, our sightseeing next took us to Versailles. We traveled by subway and then train to Versailles...and while we had a bit of time upon arriving, I opted to sit down and get my parents rested up for the tour of the Palace, instead of going to Maison Sajou. I had a lot of messages about Sajou, and while I know this is a must see, we had been doing a lot of walking and traveling and I knew it would be best to sit down and get my parents a cold drink and some food before taking a guided tour with much more walking - yes, I know I missed out and yes, Sajou is definitely a bucket list destination, but this trip was all about my parents - I wanted them to enjoy the tour and not feel overwhelmed and exhausted. After a wonderful guided tour of the Palace of Versailles, we traveled by train and subway back to Paris, then walked to a local market for dinner items and took in the area. My parent's wanted to be rested up for our trip to Giverny the following day.
After breakfast the next morning, we had a driver pick us up at our hotel for the drive to Giverny to visit the house and gardens of Claude Monet. This day requires a post of its own...and once you see the photos, you will understand...stop back for my next update...it will definitely be worth the wait.
