Finally! The day has arrived where we would be in Paris! We flew from Minneapolis airport to Paris with a layover in Philadelphia on American Airlines.
While waiting for our flights we tried out a doughnut breakfast sandwich from Angelfood Bakery. E did not like the doughnut sandwich and preferred to eat the doughnut by itself. We also had Smashburger (Spicy Jalapeno BBQ burger and Chicken sandwich) with Smash tots. Both okay but overpriced since it's at the airport.
Both flights were on time and we arrived earlier than what they had said. We also paid for priority access which allows us to skip the regular line at TSA checkpoint and allows us to board early.
My only complaint is the seat is small and not that comfortable. My arm was hit twice by the beverage cart. No warning whatsoever.
Our 2 hour 30 minute flight to Philadelphia only offered a free snack and beverage which is most typical for shorter flights. Our flight from Philadelphia to Paris was about 7 hours and offered dinner, breakfast and beverages. For dinner, we had option of pasta or chicken and rice. We both got one of each to try.
We finally landed in France! It was easy to go through Paris Border Control. All you needed was your ticket and passport. Once you get through, you have to go pick up your luggage.
There are multiple ways to get to Paris. You can take the bus, train, taxi, uber, etc. We decided to take the RER B train to Paris. To get to the RER B, you need to exit (sortie) the luggage area and head down to the transportation area. You'll need to look for the RER B train ticket machines which should be to your right when you get off the escalators. Make sure you buy the ticket that says "to all of Paris". This will get you to the main train station, "Gare du Nord". We also paid with a credit card but you can pay with cash. There should be someone there to help you in case you're confused. Once you're done, follow the RER B signs that say "To Paris". You will need your ticket to enter the train area. Make sure you take your ticket afterwards as you'll need it to exit the train station as well. It took about 40 minutes to get to Paris from the airport.
We headed to our Airbnb to drop off our luggage which is in the 18th district or known as the International District and a 25 minute walk from Gare du Nord. The area definitely is multicultural and full of ethnic restaurants on our walk to the apartment. The apartment we rented is a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with an amazing view.
This is the amazing view from our 7th floor apartment! To the right of this, you can see Sacre Coeur which is not pictured.
After we left our airbnb, we walked to our first stop which is Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur is a pagan place of worship which towers above Paris providing views of the city. We had to walk up so many stairs to get there. In front of the place is a fence where lovers can lock a heart for everlasting love. From the fence, there are amazing views of the city. This area is heavily populated with tourists. As we were walking, I was approached by a lady who wanted me to sign something which was in French. I refused to sign as she didn't speak English nor did I speak French so I didn't want to sign something that I couldn't read. She became aggressive shoving the paper in my face and yelling. I still refused and walked away. She followed me yelling but stopped. Did she just cursed me? I have no idea but that was a scary experience so be careful of your surroundings and of people and don't sign something you can't read.
We headed to Place du Tertre which is a square where artists paint for tourist. We saw so many talented artists. Along the way, there were many bakeries with amazing looking pastries. We stopped at the Wall of Love which is a love mural written in many languages.
Moulin Rouge was our next stop. It was pretty cool to see the outside of this place. This Friday, we will be here for the dinner show. Along Moulin Rouge is Boulevard de Clichy which is a famous street that you can walk on. There were also many sex shops along this road.
We were surrounded by many Asian restaurants and we were curious how pho tasted like in France. So for dinner, we went to a small restaurant around the corner from us called Restaurant Locomotive. When we looked in, there were so many people eating pho plus the smell of it reminds me of home so we decided to check it out. When we walked in, we were greeted with "Bonjour" which we said back. We were seated and the menu was in French!!! But we were able to make out words that we knew. The waiter spoke English so we were fine either way. We ordered springrolls and it tasted good. The pho was in a decent sized bowl topped with beef and meatballs. The broth tasted like bouillon but after I added the seasoning, it didn't taste all that bad. The noodles were thick small noodles. Pho wasn't terrible but wasn't the best either. One thing to note, you must ask for tap water because they do not bring it out for you. You must also ask for your bill and pay at the counter.
After dinner, we went to a bakery to get some sweets. We got some eclairs, chocolate croissant and a strawberry tarte. All very tasty but I can't wait to try more desserts later on in the trip.
After dinner and some sweets, we were headed off to bed! We're leaving for Brussels, Belgium in the morning and needed to leave by 10AM to make it to our train.
Until then...Good Night!