Well this weekend it is raining in Sydney so my usual routine of hiking / bush walking is rescheduled to next week so this means opportunity for another blog post.
Recently I've been finding joy of having to complete a hike. There is an amazing feeling about accomplishing something difficult and pushing your body to the limits. So I've been obsessing on hiking gear and bought myself this week new hiking shoes, soft shell jackets, windbreakers, dry fit clothes, socks, trekking pole and some more unnecessary gear money can buy. I tell you these things are expensive anything from Kathmandu, North Face, Macpac and the likes will drain money away but the quality is also very good. (Plus makes me feel like a mountaineer!) I'm very particular with brands specially with jackets, and most especially if you're gearing up for a trip to Peru and doing the Inca trail hike to Machu Picchu! So look forward to that! But this post is about Paris!
At first I was hesitant to include Paris to our Europe trip simply because of people warning us of the scams and rampant theft in the city. As well as how "dirty" it was but to my surprise I absolutely love Paris! I regret that I only stayed for 2 nights as the only priority at that time was to watch tennis! BIG MISTAKE. France I promise to be back!
From London we left early and caught the 7:30am train to Paris. We arrived at our hotel before lunch and stayed at Hotel Trocadero - https://www.hoteleiffeltrocadero.com/en/. I recommend this hotel as it is near the Eiffel tower! In our room, we have the beautiful Eiffel tower in sight. Seeing Eiffel at your window at night is extra fancy with its lights on!
 |
| It was a beautiful day with the Eiffel only a stroll away from our hotel! |
After checking in we walked around the city, not sure if things have changed but definitely the city is clean! We even took the metro and did not encounter any pickets! After strolling the Eiffel tower we went to the Louvre to see the famous Mona Lisa and all the artworks.
 |
| There was huge queue to take a closer look at the Mona Lisa, I just didn't have the patience to line up |
 |
| Lots of paintings, egyptian, greek and roman sculptures |
 |
| And yes lots of penis! |
 |
| Hello Venus! |
 |
| Epic fail shot! |
Honestly we went to the Louvre at 3:30 PM and it is still packed! I can't imagine if we went earlier so I recommend either going super early or do the same like we did. You definitely will not spend more than 2 hours unless you're an art enthusiast. After the Louvre we went to Arc de Triumph and then did a river cruise around Paris!
 |
| Arc De Triumph, this road is actually a roundabout but there is a small section for tourists like us to stop and take a selfie |
 |
| Just cruising Seine river |
 |
| I see you again Eiffel! |
The next day was French Open! I am surprised at how difficult it is to purchase these tickets! In Australia, buying AO tickets isn't as hard. Let me tell you the story of how I almost not ending up watching at Roland Garros! I signed up for March early release tickets. Unfortunately at that time, I was in Japan so I missed buying on early release. When I checked the site, the tickets were all sold out and my only chance was if people would resell their tickets on May. I was so disappointed and desperate at that time that I purchased scalper tickets on a third party site called seatsnet.com at a more expensive price! After more than a month, I still haven't received the tickets and tried calling customer service. When I checked the reviews, majority didn't get the tickets so I was sure I got scammed! Frustrated I tried my luck during the resell last May. The tickets sold faster like Taylor Swift geez. I'm surprised at the amount of fans for a tennis game! It was almost midnight and I was getting frustrated coz I couldn't get any but luckily M tried on her phone and she got 2 tickets! Simply no choosing of seats, clicking away and bought whatever is available in a second! It was PURE luck. The competition for tennis tickets is unreal. We're not even watching QF or finals, just on round 2. Anyway long story short, seatsnet issued an apology as even on the day of the match, I didn't get the tickets. Luckily they issued me a refund. If we relied on our seatsnet tickets we would have missed French open and I would be extremely disappointed as I planned our Euro dates simply to time our Paris trip during the French open matches!
 |
| Yes Roland Garros! |
 |
| We get to watch Casper Rudd! |
 |
| If it isn't the King of clay himself, Rafa! |
 |
| 2/4, Wimbledon and US open are next in line! |
We didn't stay long because we also wanted to go to Versailles Palace! At 2:30PM we grabbed an uber to Versailles. You must go here it is my favorite among all the places we went to in Europe. It would have been perfect if there weren't so many people! Travel tip, summer is packed in Europe anywhere you go.
 |
| Palace of Versailles garden, Unesco World Heritage |
 |
| A statue of Zeus outside the palace |
 |
| Paintings capturing Kings and people of the French revolution |
 |
| Look at that painting, the entire ceiling is filled with art! |
 |
| Ces't magnifique! |
 |
| The most expensive omelette du fromage! The total cost of this breakfast A$80! |
I'm an idiot for only booking 2 nights! Paris I will be back and I will try escargot and also visit Colmar, France. I loved this Paris trip and it definitely felt rushed.
Next stop was Switzerland!
