Paris, France

We took the Eurostar Monday morning to spend a couple of days in Paris with Shane's parents and sister. We arrived in Paris early afternoon and quickly hopped on the metro to check-in at our AirBNB. When we were in Paris with Holly and Curtis, we really enjoyed the St. Germain neighborhood so for this trip we made sure our AirBNB was near there.

After dropping our bags we were off to see Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame.

Sainte-Chapelle was commissioned by King Louis IX of France in the 12th century and is considered one of the highest achievements of Gothic architecture for its time. It has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collection anywhere in the world. Sainte-Chapelle was damaged during the French revolution and restored in the 19th century. It is currently undergoing another round of renovations as pollution and visitors have caused it to become quite worn.

After visiting Sainte-Chapelle we headed over to Notre Dame. The line to enter Notre Dame was quite long so we admired the grandiosity of the Cathedral from outside.

After Notre Dame we took a stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens which were conveniently located near our dinner spot that evening. The gardens were beautiful and the perfect spot to relax a bit before dinner. After dinner we headed back to the flat to rest up for our activities the next day.

On Tuesday, we started the day with a bus/boat tour. The bus drove by all the major sites and the boat tour reinforced the sites located along the river. It was a tad rainy in the morning so the bus/boat tour could not have been timed better. The tour ended at the Eiffel Tower so we were able to walk around the Eiffel Tower grounds afterwards. After spending some time admiring the Eiffel Tower we grabbed lunch at a nearby cafe before heading to Sacre Coeur.

The Sacre Coeur Basilica is located at the summit of Montmartre; the highest point in the city. We love the walk up to Sacre Coeur and the view of the city from the top so we were excited to share it with the Binkin Family. Shane, Alicia and I elected to take the steps and met Shane's parents at the top. I don't think we could ever get sick of seeing Sacre Coeur.

 After touring the Basilica, we headed back towards our flat and made a quick stop at the Arc de Triomphe. We debated taking the stairs to the top but due to the line elected to head back so we could freshen up before dinner.

After dinner we took a quick stroll to the river to admire Paris at night. It's a pretty city in the day and it's even prettier at night.

On Wednesday, I took the first Eurostar back to London so I could be at work 9am. The others had an early evening train so that they could spend more time in Paris. The Binkin Family headed to the Louvre and Shane, having already been to the Louvre before, opted for the d'Orsay. Below are some of Shane's pictures from d'Orsay.

After museum-ing, they walked through the Tuileries Garden and grabbed some Parisian chocolate (can't leave Paris without it).  They then headed to the station to catch the train back to London!