It started a decade ago. I was 24 years old, renting a room in Las Vegas and had very little to my name. I was sitting in the coffee house dreaming, like I often did. Where to go? What to do?

Naturally, I made a list and right at the top it read, “Sip coffee while wearing stripes in Paris.” It seemed incredibly far fetched at the time but even if it did, I still believed! It took over 10 years but my husband Tom and I just spent my 34th birthday in the city of light. It was the best and I want to share it all!

So there I was. I sipped coffee (a lot of coffee) and I wore stripes… and I fell head over heels for the magical city of Paris, France.

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Making an international trip happen right now was tricky. We knew though, if we planned ahead and took all precautions, we could make it happen.

As we prepared for our time away, I devoured Kimberly Wilson’s blog posts and podcasts. If you go to her website in the search bar and type “Paris”, you’ll find so many amazing resources. She loves art, books, yoga and healthy food… so all of her recommendations were incredibly appreciated.

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This blog is what I would like to offer up about our trip — for anyone dreaming about Paris or planning to go. I share my favorite places, the biggest challenges we had and the best moments. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!

Preparing for our trip and obtaining health passes

I really should have Tom write this part of the post but I’m going to do the best I can. We (by we I mean he) watched as the rules and regulations changed for traveling to Europe day by day right up until the week we left. We weren’t even sure we were going to be able to swing it and were ready to postpone if needed.

When we heard about most places requiring health passes (proof of vaccination / negative test in the last 3 days) my husband got on it. He scanned our vaccination cards and got an application in right away. Unfortunately, as we read on twitter, there were a lot of people waiting and waiting to receive them. After a bit of digging, Tom tweeted an EU official and emailed him per his request (in French using google translate).
Not long after we were printing out official health passes. Incredibly smart on his part and now, Paris was really happening!

*We would say about 50% of the places we visited needed to scan our health pass before we entered.

Our Flight

We excitedly flew Air France for the first time. It was a straight shot from Minneapolis right into Paris. It was a huge Boeing 787 and incredibly smooth to fly. Tom, being the total airline nerd that he is, upgraded our seats there and back.
I think the flight was his favorite part of the whole trip, I’m not even kidding!

The flight was just under 8 hours and went fairly quickly. Having time to read, write, chat and connect with each other was just the absolute best. I even watched a movie which I never make time for at home. The meals they served were delicious and pretty fancy. We even got some shut eye which was unusual for me — the lie flat seat made it possible for my tall self to get comfy and it makes such a difference feeling rested after a flight instead of drained!

As always, for ease, we had two backpacks and two carry ons. I always skip the alcohol on the flight and double up on the water which can feel not as fun when you have free alcohol but it’s always so worth it to feel good when you land!

Getting Around Paris

When we arrived in Paris, we took the Métro (subway) from the airport to our hotel. We had to switch lines at one point and needed a few different sets of tickets. Honestly, this part confused me a bit and I happily clung to my stuff and followed Tom. He’s amazing and I could never appreciate him more for all of his intense navigation skills when we’re in a foreign country!

The majority of our trip was spent walking. Being able to get dressed, grab my bag and head right out the front door was one of my favorite things about Paris! One day I actually put on 25,000 steps! That’s a lot of walking. (I once again brought only Birkenstocks. I will learn one of these times!)

Although it felt incredibly touristy, we didn’t pass up a chance to do the Big Bus Tour. This hop-on hop-off bus picked us up close to our hotel and it went everywhere. We stopped at The Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées and more! It was a great way to rest our feet, take photos and see it all!

Toward the end of our trip, we used Uber for our super long treks, mostly just one way. The price wasn’t too bad, although the Métro was much cheaper. It was cool to see the city from the streets and ride in foreign cars.

Our Hotel

We stayed at Hôtel Eiffel Turenne and we really enjoyed it. It was about $100 a night which felt like a steal for Paris! The location was good, there were plenty of cafes around and it was easy to get anywhere we wanted to go! The room was small, clean and perfect for our needs: to sleep! Oh and it was a 5 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower! Speaking of…

The Eiffel Tower

I feel like nothing says you’re in Paris like the Eiffel Tower. It’s the landmark that upon seeing it, planted my feet firmly on the ground — I’m here. We’re in Paris.

When we got to our hotel on the first day, our room wasn’t quite ready so we dropped our bags off and walked 5 minutes to the front lawn of the Eiffel Tower. My heart burst! There were people taking photos, people drinking wine, people eating cheese and baguettes just enjoying the moment. It was so big and at night… it lights up… it sparkles! And it’s beautiful.

We had planned to do an Eiffel Tower tour, we were going to do all three levels but we mixed up our tour time and missed it. It was such a huge bummer but a reminder that stuff like this happens when you travel and you really truly have to let stuff roll off your back and keep moving! It’s all part of it. We made a vow to come back and decided we could do the tour then!

Shakespeare and Company - Bookstore

When we began planning our trip, we each made a list of things we would like to do. Shakespeare and Company was my number one. I’ve seen this independent bookstore on different blogs and websites over the years as the most famous bookstore in the world!
I have to say, it was so cool. A maze of rooms with books stacked from top to bottom. Old feel, new feel and buzzing with people. I snagged a poetry book and a book on Paris, both stamped on the inside cover with the Shakespeare and company logo.
Joy, absolute JOY.

Notre-Dame

Another must see on the trip was Notre Dame, the medieval catholic cathedral. As you probably know, it burned and was heavily damaged in 2019. They are working on it now and it’s set to open back up to the public in 2024. Although we didn't get to go in, it was still such a site to see! The size, the architecture was all so stunning and it felt surreal to be there. I hope that we are able to go back when it is open once again! Notre-Dame, Paris

The Louvre

Louvre day was such an exciting day — walking up to it truly gave me butterflies. I read that it’s the world’s most visited museum and historic landmark. I’ve seen The Louvre in movies and shows and so being able to get in line and then to head down into the Pyramid was just… the coolest.
Being surrounded by art, some of it’s so old — it’s hard to wrap your head around it all. We waited in line to visit the Mona Lisa too which was unreal!

On the flip, there was a lot of art I wasn’t familiar with. Next time we go I’ll have Musée d'Orsay on the top of my list as it was recommended as the best art museum by my art friends! Still though, The Louvre was a must see and perfect for our first trip!

Cafes/Diners

Since we’ve been back, I’ve had quite a few people ask me what my favorite part of Paris was. I’d like to wow them with something historic or typical but all I can say is.. the cafes.
Sitting in a French cafe, facing the sidewalk as the life of Paris passed, listening to the French language, eating the delicious food or sipping on espresso with jazz in the background.
All things were fun and all day was good but mornings at the cafe was my absolute favorite part of the day and of the trip!

French to Know Before You Go

Knowing the basics can be really helpful when visiting Paris! I used Dulingo and also grabbed a French phrase book before we left. Most of our interactions were brief and we got by as a majority of people spoke English (waiters, hotel staff etc.) but we still wanted to be respectful and do our best.

Simple Hello/Good Morning (Bonjour), Good evening (Bonsoir) and thank you so much (Merci Beaucoup), Please (S’il-vous-plait) are by far what I used the most. The most common phrase we used on our entire trip though, was “Bill, please.” (Addition, S’il-vous-plait).

I read this before we go, and we noticed it too. They don’t really bring you a check… people will sit and drink and smoke for hours so when you’re ready to go you must ask for your bill, we got pretty good at it — both staying for long periods of time and asking for the check when we were ready to go!

Dinner Cruise along the Seine

On the night we had the mishap with our Eiffel Tower tour, we cut our losses and went for a stroll along the Seine. It was about 8:20pm when we came up to a boat (Bateaux Parisiens) that was doing a dinner cruise and decided to check it out, why not!
They had two spots available and it left in 10 minutes… talk about lucky! These cruises usually fill up 2-3 weeks in advance!
We ended up getting super discounted tickets that included 2 hours of views, delicious dinner, desert, music and a lot of wine!

Note: If you don’t drink a lot of caffeine and someone offers you an espresso at 10pm, do not accept it. I repeat, do not accept it.

Fashion

Alright, I have a confession: I’ve always thought designer clothes and purses were a total waste of money. Although it’s just not my thing, I feel like I understand it more.
Paris is one of the top fashion capitals of the world, and you knew it when you were there. Women dressed so effortlessly chic and it was really so cool.
There were shops everywhere you looked and it’s such a big part of life — Louis Vuitton, Chanel, YSL, Gucci.
Of course I had to go into a store to just to look and I chose Louis Vuitton. The quality was incredible and the store was fun but my canvas tote from Shakespeare and Company will have to do for now. Maybe someday!

Sneakers & Canvas Totes

As I spent my mornings sipping cappuccino in the cafe, I was consistently observing all that was happening around me. Along with the designer fashion, I noticed all of the women were carrying canvas totes and wearing sneakers.
The canvas totes were old and new, big and small and with prints and logos from many different places. Everyone had one slung over their shoulder.
The sneakers were so fun to see and very much unexpected! Women wearing jeans had on sneakers along with a group of ladies wearing dresses, all sneakers. They were typically white Adidas, Veja, Chuck Taylors etc. or sometimes they would be bright fun colors.
Now this was a way of life I could totally get on board with!

The Catacombs

Remember those lists we made of things we wanted to do? The Catacombs of Paris was one from Tom. Going in, I didn’t really know what to expect and still as I sit here it’s hard for me to find the right words to describe it. If you’re not familiar, the catacombs hold the remains of more than 6 million people. It was created underground, back in 1774, to help eliminate the cities overflowing cemeteries.
You go down 131 steps until you’re underground and then you walk through this labyrinth of bones, millions of bones. The skulls and femurs are arranged in patterns and when you look behind them you can pick out clavicles, hips and arms. It’s not something I ever need to see again but pretty wild to experience it. So many mind expanding moments and this was one of them.

Food

One of my greatest joys of being on vacation is eating! Although I’m not a pastry person over here, I became a pastry person over there. Each morning we started with a warm croissant and a cappuccino — it was heaven! Then we’d typically stop at a restaurant along our path for lunch and split something. We split a lot of meals on our trip so that we weren’t overstuffed and could keep a small appetite incase we saw something we wanted to try.
In the afternoon we’d stop at a restaurant and get a table right by the street so we could sip an Aperol Spritz and eat pretzels before dinner.
We mostly tried to find places that had a good atmosphere above all! We ate a lot of Italian, some burgers and a few fancy dishes.
After dinner, my favorite part of any trip, is Gelato treats and Paris sure didn’t disappoint!

Wild and the Moon

This was one of Kimberly’s suggestions and I am so glad she shared it. My body was definitely not used to all the coffee and bread and by time we made our way to Wild and the Moon, I was aching for it! The atmosphere was so totally up my alley and this Namaste pitaya smoothie was delicious and gorgeous!

Paris Dreams

While in Paris, each night, I posted a thread of photos in my stories on instagram. I got some of the best responses ever — people sharing their trip to Paris with me as well as their dreams to go. I love all of it.
If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that Paris starts with a dream. If it's yours, I hope with everything I am you make it there. I am already dreaming of going back!

Tom Ray

Tom, I don’t know how I could ever thank you for all you did to make this not only happen, but with surprises around every corner. You amaze me — directions, language, currency, maps etc. — you do it all with a cool head and focused mind. There were some tough moments, traveling abroad is not always easy but yet, you did it. We did it, together.
Memory makin’, these are the moments.
I appreciate you and I love you so much.