Paris - by guest blogger Rachel

Ready to start our day at the Louvre

Day 1 – Arriving and l’Orangerie

We started by getting up around 6 to catch our flight. We had bagels at the airport for breakfast, and once we arrived in Paris, we were driven to the hotel. Since it was still only midday, we decided to go to a journal shop my aunt recommended and get some lunch. I got a journal and colored pencils, we took the metro to Angelina’s, and then we ate at a restaurant nearby. (Angelina’s had a long line) We then walked to the l’Orangerie and saw the enormous Monet paintings, which were gorgeous. We decided not to stay there too long, because the Monet works were the reason we came and we were hoping to visit the Catacombs. Unfortunately when we got there the line was longer than the amount of time left to enter. Afterwards we asked the hotel to recommend a place nearby for dinner, and we ended up with a restaurant basically across the street. I had stew and rice which was amazing and the perfect thing to warm me up after being out all day in the rain.

Day 2 - A day in the Louvre

            We had breakfast in our room so that we could get an early start on the day. Since we were staying right across from the Louvre, we left around 8:45, and were one of the first 50 people in. My mom and I split up and went to different sections, with a plan to meet at 11 at the Angelina’s café. Since we were so early, for the first 10 minutes when we split up, I would be the only one in a room, which really made it a lot more interesting than trying to get around people. After we met for hot chocolate and little desserts, we again split up and met again around 3 at the cafeteria to have a late lunch. After our sandwiches we split again and I walked around a bit more to the more famous exhibits like the Mona Lisa. We met at the exit around 5. After resting for a bit at the hotel, we walked over to a nearby restaurant for a great Valentine's Day dinner.

* Mom's note - Rachel had requested a day at the Louvre to explore and take in the art at her own pace - that's why we walked around separately. We both took photos and she also drew pictures and then compared notes each time we met.

Breakfast in our room

Angelina's hot chocolate

Mona Lisa - Mom was in the room when it was empty and got a front row view

The end of a full day at the Louvre

Day 3 – Le Musée Pompidou and Shopping

            Today we had breakfast down in the breakfast room and left a bit late. We walked down to the Musée Pompidou and rode the escalator up to the top and saw one of the exhibits, which was mostly expressionism. We were lucky to come on a day with nice weather since the view was gorgeous. My mom and I split up again, but we didn't need a place to meet because the exhibit wasn't huge. Then we walked down to a shopping square and had a huge lunch. We also went in a couple stores and bought a few of things, like a fun skin care kit, before returning to the hotel. We ended up just snacking on small cookies since we weren’t hungry for a real dinner.

Teaching Mom how to take panoramic photos

Probably why we weren't hungry for dinner...

Day 4 – Catacombs, Seine Tour and Musée d’Orsay

            Today was our last day, so we had breakfast delivered to our room again and then took the metro to the catacombs. We had to wait around 2 hours but it was well worth it, because all the bones were just amazing. After about 20 minutes though we both were a bit overwhelmed and ready to leave.

When we got back to our hotel area, we had some lunch and went on Seine River Cruise.  It was really nice to be able to see the Eiffel tower on the tour, since we didn’t get a chance to go to it this trip.

Since we still had time, we walked down to the Musée d’Orsay just to have some ice cream at the café and walk through some of the exhibits. The museum itself was magnificent to go through, it's an old train station, and they made sure to keep that structure intact. We mostly just went to see the watercolor lilies and stayed in the Impressionist exhibit.

Afterwards we just walked back to the hotel, admiring the street artists along the way and were driven to the airport, where we got express manicures and macaroons to take home.