We flew from Stockholm to Paris on Friday, February 20th from 6:00 pm and landed at 8:45 pm. We had a free night at a Marriott hotel so we picked one that was between the airport and the city since we would be getting in late and it was a great. We got to the hotel around 9:45 pm and had a late dinner across the street before going to bed.
The next morning we packed up our things and grabbed some really good bread at a bakery on the way to the metro. We checked in to our bed and breakfast in the city which was about 5 minutes away from the Eiffel Tower.
Pictures going clockwise: First view of the Eiffel Tower, our hotel rooms (top one was our free night and second one was close to the Eiffel Tower), Jake waiting for the train with our breakfast, all of my clothes for a week-long trip fit two packing cubes in my backpack, and my dinner our first night in Paris.
We were able to check-in to our room early and drop off our stuff before going to Notre Dame Cathedral. It was cold, cloudy and raining but we only had a day and a half to see Paris so we were going to power through!
We climbed to the top of the tower but we took our time to make sure I didn't regret the climb the next day.
It was pretty cloudy when we got to the top but then it started to clear up.
Saw a playground with a squirrel plaything so of course I had to try it out :).
After walking through the cathedral and up the tower and decided to stop for lunch at a creperie.
On our way to lunch we saw some people ice skating, playing with bubbles and a couple getting some fun pictures taken of them. Lunch and dessert at the creperie was good. It was raining pretty hard during lunch but then stopped by the time we were ready to leave.
We did a little bit of shopping on our way to the Louvre. I visited the Louvre in high school and Jake didn't really have a strong desire to go so we didn't go inside but we took a few pictures outside.
We did a little bit more shopping and then decided to go see a show called "How to Become a Parisian in One Hour." Jake saw reviews for it on Trip Advisor and when we called to find out about it we had 20 minutes to get to the theater before it started. We both wanted something to do that evening that didn't involve walking around and this was only an hour long so we decided to go for it. There was a long line full of people who already had tickets and Jake tried to get up to the front to buy tickets but lots of people thought he was trying to cut. He eventually bought tickets once they opened the doors and they upgraded our seats for free. We ended up sitting about 5 rows from the front of the stage.
Didn't mean to get this awkward photo of the lady in front of us but see how close we were to the stage?
The show was really funny but also pretty raunchy and not politically correct at all. He made fun of all different kinds of cultures and the US was hit pretty hard. When he was asking what countries were being represented in the audience someone said, "America" and then later someone yelled "The US" and he replied that those are the same place. A couple minutes later someone else said "Texas" which just made a lot of people laugh. He told us how to ride on the metro, order food and how to shop like a Parisian. The show was in English and we really enjoyed it.
After the show we tried to find dinner. It was about 8 pm and we walked and walked and walked. It was an epic fail. You would think all the traveling we've done we would be good at this or at least better but finding places to eat is our biggest stressor on trips. The places that looked good on our Trip Advisor app were closed or full and we just couldn't make up our minds. By that point I wanted to sleep more than eat and Jake wanted to eat. We eventually found a place but once we tried to order we realized it would be kind of difficult because the menu was in French and the waiter didn't speak any English. Thankfully the people next to us helped us out but we still weren't 100% sure what we ordered. This doesn't bother Jake at all because he will literally eat anything but I hate not knowing what the choices are especially now that I'm pregnant and I'm trying to be cautious about what I eat. I ended up with an undercooked steak, not ideal for the prego and I can't remember what Jake had. I ate what I thought was safest of my food and some of Jake's food.
The desserts redeemed the restaurant choice. Thankfully chocolate is easy to translate in French :).
On our way home we walked by the Eiffel Tower again so we could see it all lit up.
The next morning we checked out of our hotel and Jake figured out we could see the Eiffel Tower from our window!
Our second day in Paris was my favorite day. The weather was so much better but I also really enjoyed what we did. After we packed up our backpacks and left them at the hotel we walked to the Champs-Elysees and found a place for breakfast. We saw some city bikes we could rent and decided to give them a try. We LOVE using city bikes when we can. It is so much faster to bike than to walk. I have heard that you shouldn't bike when you are pregnant because your balance is all off with your growing belly but since I wasn't that big yet and I felt stable we decided to give it a try. I was very cautious and Jake had me bike in front so if a car hit us it would hit him first. He is so thoughtful.
We felt like we were in the Tour de France. Turns out the cobble stones are bumpy and hard to ride on.
Such a pretty day and a great view of the city!
I have a picture from my high school trip of Jan and me sitting on the ledge right behind us in this picture. It was cold, windy and rainy that day. I was thankful that this day was just a little cold but really pretty.
We biked under the Eiffel Tower and then picked up our bags from the hotel.
We had a great lunch at a cafe on our way to the airport. My (decaf) salted caramel mocha was awesome! I haven't had much coffee since I've been pregnant and because Swedes don't really believe in decaf but the French do so I decided to have one. It was awesome!
We flew from Paris to Malaga, Spain. Check back in a few days for pictures from Malaga and Cordoba, Spain.
*I was 21 weeks pregnant during this trip.
You are very lucky to eat so well during your pregnancy. Food just tastes extra good when you are pregnant (at least before you get too big). Everything looks delicious.
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