Our Parisian affair in...

...uhh...Paris, happened one short weekend when we managed to get cheap Eurostar tickets. As we were only arriving at Paris at about 1020am on a Saturday and leaving before 6pm on the Sunday, we decided to do three main things:

1. Sandeman's New Europe FREE tour - check this out, if you haven't already.
2. Catch the cabaret at Paradis Latin.
3. Visit Palace of Versailles 

Thank goodness we didn't try to squeeze in anything more. It was hectic enough as it is. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Francais, which was very good. 3 star, very clean, spacious enough (for Paris), customer service was good, breakfast was included and alright. It was located extremely near to a Metro station, which was really convenient. We took the Metro everywhere! 

The FREE tour which started off at 2pm was perfect for us. In 3.5 hours, we walked around Paris and saw the following:
• The Latin Quarter
• Notre Dame
• Ile-de-la-Cité
• Pont Neuf
• The Louvre
• Palais Royal
• Haussmann’s Renovations
• Eiffel Tower
• Tuileries Gardens
• Les Invalides
• Académie Française
• Opéra Garnier
• Musée d’Orsay
• Pont Alexandre III
• Napoléon’s Tomb
• Assemblé Nationale
• Champs-Élysées
• Arc de Triomphe
• Grand & Petit Palais
• Place de la Concorde

We have to admit that we enjoyed the Sandeman tour in Edinburgh a lot more (the guide was just more expressive and fun). It is definitely a good intro to the city, if you're new to it (a good refresher for someone like myself!).

On the Pont des Arts bridge, another bridge where you get to leave your "love locks" for a few years before the French government decides to remove them! The bride is really spacious though. 

At the Lourve Museum. Didn't go in this time around!

The cabaret show, well, my Fiance enjoyed it a lot! It was his first cabaret, whilst I've seen three! The Lido, the Moulin Rouge and this one. I personally prefer the Lido (so far) but I find the acts a bit repetitive after having seen three shows.

Having a quick bite at a nearby Parisian cafe before Paradis Latin.

Sunday was the most hectic of all as we had to take a train to Versailles which is about 30 minutes away from Paris. Although we purchased tickets online (highly recommended, as the ticket queues were crazy), there was another an hour and a bit queue just to get in!!! After standing in the sun (the weather was superb, sunny) for an hour and a bit, we were quite happy to get INto the palace.

The trains look a lot like the Swiss trains in Zurich.

The palace itself is lovely but Buckingham Palace is much more luxurious inside. Once outside though, that's when Versailles takes your breath away. Acres and acres of open land, with beautiful gardens, sculptures and canals. Wow...that was spectacular!! There's quite a lot more to explore within Versailles, Marie Antoinette's Petit Triannon, the Grand Triannon, the Pavillion - gosh, we walked and walked and walked. It was truly endless. I think you can definitely spend a whole day outdoors, arrive early in the morning and leave late in the evening.

The famous Hall of Mirrors within the Palace. 

Look at the vast amount of space behind of us! And that's just the beginning.

The Temple of Love at Petit Triannon.

All in all a lovely weekend getaway!!