Bonjour friends! When I last blogged about my European adventure I was in Barcelona, Spain and today we are heading to Paris and The Louvre via this blog post! This post is all about traveling from Barcelona to Paris, the hotel we stayed at in Paris, eating at Cafe PINSON, and visiting the Louvre Museum and how we missed Rihanna.
Related Post: My Paris City Guide and Recommendations – Where to Eat, What to Do, and What to See
Travel Diaries: Barcelona to Paris
“That’s French people for you… Welcome to Paris.”
On our flight from Barcelona to Paris a family was getting into a verbal altercation the minute we landed that was escalating quickly. They were screaming at each other in French and the whole plane was just silent and watching them. Finally one of them said “comme çi comme ça” which is one of only about 10 words/phrases in my French vocabulary and it means “so-so.” The fight ended on that very strange note. Then someone behind us said “That’s French people for you… Welcome to Paris.”
Parisian Uber Drivers are Hot
Once we landed in Paris we requested an Uber and after 15 minutes of trying to have a “Where are you?” conversation when we don’t speak the same language, our very patient (and very hot and well dressed) Uber driver found us. This was a trend that continued. Good Lord are French guys hot! The driver put on a hip-hop radio station which had American songs with French verses added to them and it hit me “Wow I am actually in Paris!”
Where We Stayed in Paris
Hotel Maxim Folies
Paris is divided up like a pie into 20 arrondissements and we stayed in the 9th Arrondissement at Hotel Maxim Folies which was a cute little boutique hotel. Maxim Folies is not right in the center of all of the action, but that was fine because Paris was very walk-able.
Our room was very big city European (read: small) and looked straight out of Ikea, but it worked well for us since we didn’t spend much time in it. Why don’t showers in Europe have doors or curtains by the way?
Weather in Paris and Pigeons
The weather was awesome when we arrived in Paris it was in the 60s so we opened the window in our room and the fattest pigeon I’ve ever seen had a nest about 5 ft. away. I might have slept a little better if the thought of it flying into our room in the middle of the night would have stopped constantly popping into my head.
Healthy Brunch at Cafe PINSON in Paris
We were hungry so we wandered around the neighborhood for some brunch and stumbled upon Cafe PINSON. Cafe Pinson’s eclectic vibe and health-conscious (and expensive) menu made me feel like we were in Venice, CA.
I was worried that all of the food was going to be super expensive in Paris because people say it’s an expensive city, but luckily there are lots of good deals to be had. Plus I really needed to eat a vegetable at this point in the trip.
Free Museum Day in Paris
The museums are free the first Sunday of the month in Paris which happened to be the day we arrived, so we decided to fight the crowds and walked over to the Louvre.
Visiting The Louvre Museum
The Louvre is a literal PALACE that is a work of art all in itself! You come through these arches that the tour buses can barely squeeze through to get in.
The Louvre Museum from the Outside
Look how happy we are to be there!:
Before I went to Paris people said it’s way too huge to really enjoy and it’s kind of boring. I agree that it is insanely massive, but seeing it in person was incredible!
You know those glass pyramids that everyone takes perspective pictures with? Yeah, those are at the Louvre. They’re actually the entrance to it you go into the pyramid and then down to the lobby. It was very entertaining watching person after person taking the “finger on top of the pyramid” picture.
There was a line to get in and it was crowded, but the wait was not insanely long by any means. I think we waited less than 5 minutes.
Once you’re in the lobby you’re greeted with this sign (above). Traveling to Europe made me realize that in LA I’m never worried about pick pockets. It’s nice that I don’t have to wear a money belt or carry cash in my boot when I go to LACMA. I mean, I’m sure violent muggings are much more prevalent in LA, but at least I don’t have to worry about pickpockets.
Inside The Louvre Museum in Paris
Everywhere you look the details are just incredible. Being the tacky girl I am I also loved how gold, gaudy, and over the top it was.
Yass! Too much is never enough!!
Even the ceilings are extremely intricate! I know it seems obvious, but in my opinion the Louvre is something you can’t miss.
Even if it feels like room after room after room of statues and you don’t feel refined enough to appreciate them.
Mona Lisa at The Louvre Museum in Paris
Even though there’s a crowd around the Mona Lisa that looks like this (below). Note the security guard on the left breaking up a fight that was starting to break out.
It’s still an absolute must.
Paris Fashion Week
My only regret at the Louvre was not taking a photo out of the window of this huge purple flower wall I saw. It wasn’t until later that night that we saw signs and realized that we were actually in Paris during fashion week! Very Devil Wears Prada. Anyways I googled it and of course this work of art was part of a runway show!
Finding out it was fashion week also helped make sense of the fancy woman that arrived just before us who was being followed by her glam squad and photographer.
Dior Runway Show at The Louvre Museum in Paris
Missing Rihanna
And guess who was there 2 days before us?
SLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned for more Paris posts!
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