All photos and videos shared in this post are mine.
Ever since I was little, I've dreamt of travelling around the world. But coming from a small town in a country most people don't even know existed, I knew would make it quite hard for me to accomplish.
I moved to Canada in 2009 which I saw as a big treasure chest, full of new opportunities that could potentially get me closer to my dream. Then life happened, and then Covid hit. However, in spite of all the obstacles along the way, I always carried a tiny bit of hope my travel plans would become a reality one day.
And that one day was August 23rd 2023 ✨
To be honest, the planning (and dreaming) probably started in March of 2023 when my daughter, Sophia, and I chose our destination - Paris! But the moment we got off the plane that August morning was indescribable...
We were only in Paris for 3 days so we couldn't possibly see everything we wanted to. But we checked a few things off our bucket list and plan on continuing in 2024!
First and foremost, we finally saw the Seine and the Eiffel Tower! I must admit, Eiffel Tower is beautiful. It honestly felt like I was dreaming (we travelled overnight so that might've heightened the feeling 🤭). But the closer we got to it, the more we were met with people trying to sell us keychains and all other sorts of things. They were extremely rude and pushy so our initial excitement unfortunately fizzled out pretty quickly. But not before we were able to snap a few photos!
Then off we were walking towards L'Arc De Triomphe (not more than 40 - 50 minutes)!
We saw so many typically Parisian buildings and streets. I can't tell if it was the sun or the fact that I've been dreaming of seeing Paris for so long, but I found myself rapidly falling in love with everything I laid my eyes on.
And this beauty!
We then strolled down Champs Elysées! Honestly, can't believe I'm saying this. I still remember being 13-14 years old, singing the wise words of Joe Dassin:
Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-Elysées
Au soleil, sous la pluie, à midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées
I have to admit, it was a bit underwhelming but I still enjoyed every minute of it. We even stopped at Brioche Dorée for coffee, croissants and some pastries. We tried something called mascotte which was basically a long doughnut filled with hazelnut cream. It was delicious! 🤩
Sophia was starting to get quite tired so we headed back to our AirBnB for a much deserved dinner. We passed by a local store to get some cheese (duh!), fruit and baguettes. When I tell you French baguettes are the most exquisite indulgence...I'm not lying. It's one of the main reasons I wanna go back 🤫
The next day, we headed over to Montmartre. Hands down, my favourite place in all Paris (of the ones I visited, of course). It was a bit too crowded for my preference but you could still feel Paris.
We enjoyed a peaceful saunter up and down the streets, bought little souvenirs from a few local shops, tasted some macarons and then headed to the basilica Sacré Coeur.
The Basilica itself looked majestic, a masterpiece. It's hard to not feel epic even just looking at it.
After admiring it for a while, we made our way over to Place de Tertre where we had a quick coffee/ light lunch break, and right after Sophia got her portrait done by a talented Montmartre artist!
After we secured her portrait, we wandered around the streets a bit more to try and take in every enchanting detail of this magical place. Our next destination was the Moulin Rouge 🤩
On our way home, we took a bus. And just our luck, we managed to get a glimpse of The Louvre 🥹
Day 3 was "going-back-home" day so we decided to take it easy, make a delicious breakfast and not hurry. I feel like that was our attempt at holding on to Paris for a little bit longer before we had to go back to the gloomy reality waiting for us back home.
Thank you all for making it to the end - perhaps it wasn't easy.
I understand I probably over-romanticized my Paris experience. Hell, it was most likely not even worth the money we spent on it. However, what kind of life are we living if we don't feel like the main character in our own movie even just for a moment?! 🍷❤️
Ending this amazing adventure with a quote of one of my all time favourite movies, Midnight in Paris:
That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me.