Paris - Part II — RachiePie

We arrived back in Lisbon from Paris last night and only have five full days left in Portugal before heading back home to the States to celebrate the holidays with friends and family! We had an amazing time in France and I'm so glad we decided to fit this in before we leave Europe. It was the perfect way to start the holiday season as the city was lit up in Christmas lights and festive decorations.

Display window at Printemps Haussmann department store

Wednesday, we managed to fit in a lot of sights! We knew the weather on Thursday was going to be terrible for walking around (100% chance of rain and windy), so we altered our itinerary a bit to do more on Wednesday and focus more on museums Thursday.

We woke early and arrived at the The Sainte-Chapelle, Paris's oldest Gothic monument. It was consecrated in 1248 and built in just six years (compared with nearly 200 years for Notre Dame!). Although not a large space, it certainly packs in a bunch of beauty!

Next to The Sainte-Chapelle is the Conciergerie, the former palace of the Capetian dynasty. In the 14th century, Charles V decided to keep his law courts here and the building was responsible for the city's policing. At the end of the 18th century, many prisoners detained by the Revolutionary Tribunal were held here, including Marie-Antoinette.

Our next stop was Notre-Dame where construction began in 1163 and ended in 1345. After touring the inside the church, we were able to climb to the top of the towers.

On our way to The Panthéon, we crossed the bridge over to Ile Saint-Louis, a small island home to 17th-century mansions, boutiques, and restaurants.

The Panthéon was a favorite of the day - I love me a good dome! There are well-known French individuals buried in the crypt including: Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, and Alexandre Dumas.

Our last stop of the afternoon was the Musée d’Orsay. The museum is housed in an old railway station and contains the world's largest collection of Impressionist artwork. Artists include: Van Gogh, Degas, and Monet. It is a beautiful museum and we enjoyed walking around.

Thursday, we woke early and were one of the first in line for the Louvre, the world's largest art museum with over 675,000 square feet! We booked it to the Mona Lisa first and were glad we did as there were only three people admiring the painting when we arrived and by the time we turned around, there were probably 20 people! It is one of the most famous works in the museum and there are signs pointing which way to find it. After seeing the Mona Lisa, we ended up just wandering around and spent quite a bit of time in the Roman and Egyptian sections of the museum.

We also visited the Musée Picasso - home to the world's largest public collection of Pablo Picasso's work. The museum underwent an estimated €52 million renovation and was reopened in 2014 covering 54,000 square feet.

We had about half a day in Paris on Friday before our flight left and we headed out to the 10th arrondissement for breakfast at Holybelly. It was also the first day we saw the sun peak out since we arrived in France! We spent time walking around Canal St-Martin - begun by Napoleon and opened in 1825, the waterway stretches for almost 3 miles connecting the Canal de l'Ourcq to the river Seine.

Also in the neighborhood, is the Musée des Arts et Métiers (The Arts and Crafts Museum), Europe's oldest science and technology museum dating back to 1794. Included are over 3,000 instruments, machines, and working models from the 18th - 20th centuries including Foucault's original pendulum (there is a replica in the Panthéon). We spent some time walking around the museum before heading back to the hotel to grab our luggage and make our way to the airport.

It was a great week and I'm so glad we made this detour. We ended up staying at this adorable hotel, Castille Paris, where they had a HOTEL CAT!! His name was Heliot and he was such a sweet kitty and I looked forward to petting him each time we arrived and left the hotel. It was the purrrrfect hotel for a cat-person! : )