Last year we went to Paris two times, in July and December. We are lucky that it's not too far away from our hometown in the Netherlands, it's about a five hour drive. We travelled by bus (Flixbus to be precise) which takes a bit longer and isn't too comfortable but it is very cheap! That's why it's quite easy for us to go on a little break to Paris every once in a while.
Communicating with Parisians can cause some problems. In fact, dare to speak in anything other than perfectly accented french, and you will be met with a blank stares, the occasional look of disdain and more than not, English. You can't avoid the stubborn - but this is mostly the pretense of pride - parisian. It has it's charm.
Who doesn't know the novel of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo about the unrequited love of the whistleblower Quasimodo for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda? We wonder if that story laid the foundation for the romance in Paris? We stared at this beautiful building from a distance for a moment and imaged how the story took place in and around the Notre-Dame.
Notre-Dame de Paris means "Our lady of Paris" is a medieval Catholic Cathedral located on the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and best-known Catholic Church buildings in France and in the world.
Sometimes we don't find the right angle or moment to photograph a well-known place of interest because of the crowd or traffic. This was the case when we walked to the Panthéon. That's why we took some photos from the entrance of the Panthéon from different angles.
The monumental Panthéon is a masterpiece of the architect Soufflot and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. It's located in the middle of Quartier Latin in the fifth arrondissement. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve. Now it functions as a secular mausoleum with tombs of distinguished French citizens. A permanent exhibition gives details about the lives and works of those who are buried here.
We can recommend you to go to the top of the Panthéon which looks out over all of Paris. We didn't go to the top but stayed just in front of the entrance but if you look closely you can see a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.
Whether you’re a curious passerby, a passionate book-lover or a vintage book collector, don’t hesitate to check out the green stalls along the Seine. You’ll find their owners sitting just next to their stall, on a stool, watching their potential customers walking by. Sift through the stalls and you’ll find a unique treasure, a fantastic souvenir of Paris.
We walked by the green book stalls per coincidence and fell in love immediately. The majority of the stalls open at 11:30 am and remain open until sunset.
Stall owner organizing his books after opening his little shop
Nice fact: 1,000 green stalls exist today compared to 200 bookstores in Paris.
If you watch closely (or just zoom in :) you see the back of the green stalls on the right along the boulevard
The Eiffel Tower can not be missed! THE global cultural icon of France and one of the most famous buildings of the world and we totally understand why. It is such an intriguing building! Named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower, the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world!
That being said, our love for Paris will never end and we can't wait until our next visit! We hope we made you as excited about Paris as we are! Have you visited the city of love already? Or are you planning to visit it? Let us know in the comments!
