American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

Bonjour mon Amis!

Have you ever been to Paris and explored all the history and art (not to mention it’s considered the fashion capitol of the world)?

Paris  and the river cruise up the Seine River to Normandy was a 30 year anniversary gift from my husband.

Paris has been on my bucket list and I can’t wait to share  this incredible city with you! In fact, it is a very walkable city in my opinion , and we spent 6 hours walking around on the first day we arrived.

I think the hardest part of international travel is the time change and landing in Europe (six hours ahead of Atlanta) in the morning with only 1-2 hours of sleep requires a nap in the hotel.  The flight is 8.5 hours long and we flew in business class on Delta to Paris.

My husband is a world traveller and went to sleep right after we were served dinner.

Me, I watched 3 movies and partied alone in my seat.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag - Hello I'm 50ish

We landed in Paris at 6:30 in the morning and because of  customs (Yikes!), a car accident on the highway into Paris,we arrived at the Marriott at 10:00.  FYI- Charles de Gaulle airport is only 30 minutes outside of Paris, but they don’t move accidents to the side of the road, they just stop traffic dead in their tracks. It took us 1.5 hours to get to the hotel. Our driver was so flustered when we arrived at the hotel he couldn’t talk in English, just French. Perhaps he was swearing and we just didn’t understand him.

Once our room was available (11:00) we went straight to sleep for a 2 hour nap.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag
Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel

Why Paris now?

Yes, we were wondering how safe Paris was going to be after all the recent terrorist activity in Europe but we immediately noticed Paris was under heavy police and military presence. We were just told to be aware of pickpockets so I brought along my daughter’s little-strapped polka dot purse and left my Louis Vuitton at home. I think the heavy police activity was in preparation for Bastille Day and Donald Trump was going to attend the festivities.

We decided to walk around the city before dinner. (At 8:00, not my usual 7:00, but we’re in Paris, not Atlanta!)

What to wear in Paris

I packed mostly clothes that could be repeated and worn a couple of days while I was in France. Because it was going to be hot, I packed linen outfits and my brightly colored clothes from Chico’s, both not seen on the streets of France. It is true, Parisiennes tend to wear a lot of black, scarves and no chunky jewelry. I packed my scarves and I thankfully packed 2 pairs of walking sandals for this trip and I highly suggest comfortable walking shoes or sandals, not athletic sneakers which was a dead giveaway for any typical tourist which I saw on many German and Aussies too. The more you look like a tourist, the higher probability of being pick pocketed .

American Tourist reading a map

I  pulled on my white jean skirt from Talbot’s, my navy tank, indigo blue infinity scarf from Chico’s and my white gladiator walking sandals from Bare Traps and was ready to take on Paris.

 

And a scarf of course! ( I also had bloodshot eyes due to lack of sleep.)

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag - Hello I'm 50ish

Our hotel is only a few blocks away from the Paris Opera House and you can see it from the rooftop of the Marriott Ambassador.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag - Hello I'm 50ish
Rooftop view from the Marriott of the Opera House and the Eiffel Tower
American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag - Hello I'm 50ish
Paris Opera House

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

One thing I have learned as a tourist is to study a map before I go out walking. Especially in Paris because the streets change names just like they do in Atlanta.

Our plan was to walk to the Opera House than to the Louvre (never made it), then up to the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysées but we went a tad farther than we thought when we crossed the Seine River.

Champs-Elysées
Paris City Guide

If we had stayed on the Right Bank area we would have had a shorter walk but we ended up on the Left Bank and walked around abit.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Seine River

We saw the Tuileries Gardens and the Obelisk of Luxor, the oldest monument in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background. It was closed off to the public due to the Bastille Day preparations.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Obelisk of Luxor

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

The Pool at Tuileries GardensWe had no idea what we were seeing when we walked into the gardens. It reminded us of Central Park in New York but later learned more about it. I wished we had walked around but it was very hot as you can tell.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

We stopped on a riverboat bar for a glass of wine and a quick look at our map. My husband didn’t want me to pull out the map in public (tourist giveaway) and I didn’t mind a glass of wine.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

After we got our bearings we saw the Grand Palais across the river and headed back over to the Right Bank towards the Arc de Triomphe.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Grand Palais and Alexandre III Bridge

Grand Palais and the Petit Palais sit opposite each other on the Avenue of Winston Churchill.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Grand Palais
American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Petit Palais
American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Charles de Gaulle

We finally found the Champs-Elysées and headed up towards the Arc de Triomphe. This is the most celebrated avenue in Paris and home to many fashion houses. If you wanted to visit the stores, many had long lines getting into them.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Louis Vuitton

Expensive sports cars lined the side streets to the Champs-Elysées. I wonder where they were shopping?

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Avenue des Champs-Élysées

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

Arc de TriompheAmerican in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

Paris has a huge Asian tourist population who dress very nicely and took lots of selfies. I even saw what I considered many fashion bloggers posing on this street.

Some of the fashionistas even had professional photographers tagging along with tripods and lighting. My husband isn’t my photographer and I’m thinking of hiring a professional when I return to Atlanta. My selfies need to be replaced….

Heading back to our hotel we walked through the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and walked past many luxury fashion stores. Let me repeat, walked past not in. But first you walked past guard posts with armed guards at both ends of the street.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Lanvin
American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Hermes

This little walk took us 6 hours and we felt that we saw a lot on the first day in Paris. We were tired but ready for dinner at Drouant, a short 10 minute walk from the hotel.

American in Paris- Walking off the Jet Lag- Hello I'm 50ish
Drouant par Antoine Westermann

 

The food was fantastic and a great place to watch people.

I found that I would have been perfectly comfortable and appropriate wearing chic jeans for Paris on this trip because I saw many Parisiennes wearing designer jeans with stylish tops. I noticed no one wore bright colors which is my signature style, so the patrons knew I wasn’t from Paris. Oh well, c’est la vie!!

Well my wonderful friends I hope to enjoyed this little sample of Paris.

I would love to hear from those of you who have been to Paris and what you enjoyed and disliked about Paris.

I found the heavy smoking and the poverty in Paris to be the hardest to take. Paris has a huge unemployment rate and the refugees have come to Paris and live on the streets or in tent cities. I saw a city that is full of history, great wealth, and beauty while  people were begging or sleeping everywhere. It makes me grateful for what I have and appreciate the life I’ve been given.

Next on my blog I will continue with the river cruise from Paris to Normandy on Avalon Waterways.

I hope you continue to follow me as I share my French vacation with you.

Au revoir!

Thanks for stopping by!
I would love to hear from you!

Hugs from Paris!

 

 

 

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15 Comments

  1. I loved this post! Thanks for sharing. I’m traveling to Paris for the first time I’m September.

    1. Celia,

      I hope you have as much fun in Paris as we did!

      Hugs,
      Robin

  2. This was a fabulous post and I’m planning my European adventures. Only been there once and was fluent in French back in the day. Je t’adore! Profite de tes voyages mon amie. A toute a l’heure!

    1. Catherine,

      Thank you sweet sister!
      I should have had you come along!
      Beautiful and fluent in French!

      You will take Europe by storm, that I am certain.

      Hugs,
      Robin

  3. Very nice post! It made me giddy with delight that you realize Paris is completely safe. In fact, I feel safer in France because of the strict gun laws! But I’m also thrilled that you have perfected the art of being a flâneuse –a female wanderer. Paris is the greatest city for just walking around in!!! I love the pics you took and they tied me over until my next trip back–Bonaparte wants to spend Thanksgiving there!!! We just returned from the Côté d’azur and had a blast–I’ve been writing about it!
    Sounds like you will be returning to the City if Lights!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️

    1. Bonjour!

      Yes, Paris was on high alert and we felt completely safe.
      I need to play catch up with your posts today.

      And as Arnold says- “I will be back!”

      Hugs,
      Robin

  4. Maggie Fieger says:

    I went to Paris 3 1/2 years ago and stayed with my cousin and her husband across from the Eiffel Tower. She is fluent in French and knew places to go so that was wonderful. I fell in love with the city as she had.

    1. Maggie,

      How wonderful you had a french speaking cousin and that you had the Eiffel Tower as your view while in Paris!
      Paris was lovely!

      Hugs,
      Robin

  5. Carla Blanco says:

    Love your post! Paris is a beautiful city, been there many many times. I am sure you will want to come back, right? What a nice trip you are taking, enjoy every second. Bright colors look great on you, keep on wearing them.

    1. Carla,

      Thank you for your kind words.
      Yes we plan on returning to Paris because we missed a lot of museums and sights to explore.
      We only spent 4 days in Paris and the rest on the river cruise I will share later.
      Bright colors are not what Paris women wear,but I will keep wearing them!
      HUgs,
      Robin

  6. I have been to Paris twice and consider it my “heart home” I also am a midlife blogger and have wrote several posts in my Paris obsession. Enjoy the city!! Have fun

    1. Lori,

      I shall pop over to your website and read your posts on Paris.
      I bet they are wonderful!

      Hugs,
      Robin

  7. This was so fun to read, Robin. Loved the photos and I am glad you enjoyed your visit there. Thanks for sharing. I love Paris and I have been several times, but never get enough. LOL http://www.mrsamericanmade.com

    1. Ana,
      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
      Yes, we plan to return to Paris again.
      It is so rich with history and great food!
      I found some great boutiques to shop in too!

      Hugs,
      Robin