I Love Paris!
I’d heard so many bad things about Paris, such as “it’s overrated”, “the food is hyped, I couldn’t find good food anywhere”, “Parisians are rude”, “Parisians are racist”. Fortunately I did not experience any of that, and I fell completely in love with Paris! Paris is so romantic, elegant, and soft. Everyone is so effortlessly posh and fashionable. Paris is one of the few places I’ve been where I feel like I would never get tired of visiting again and again. There’s so much to do and see. From the art, food, fashion, history, architecture, entertainment and attractions, there is something for everyone who gives it a chance.
After my first trip to Paris in 2017, I missed it so much that I returned less than 2 years later. I stayed a total of 3 days in Paris during a layover from Morocco and New York. Now traditionally, a flight from New Orleans to Paris is upwards of $1,100, and sometimes $700+ if you book during winter months.
September 2019
MSY —> EWR for $60 one way on American Airlines, JFK —> CDG $183 one way on Norwegian
Hotel: Best Western Montcalm
My flight from New York to Paris was supposed to leave around 11pm. Thank the heavens there was a delay, because I didn’t budget my time correctly. Once I arrived at JFK from the subway, the line for Norwegian’s check-in was so long passengers were at the escalators. I was in the check in line for almost 90 minutes, and then another 20 minutes in security. Luckily I have TSA Pre-Check, but I still had to stand in line to get to the entrance of TSA. My flight was delayed, and we ended up departing a little after 2 am. Once I boarded the flight, I was asleep before takeoff, and didn’t wake up until we were wheels down in Paris.
Since this was my second trip to Paris, I considered myself a seasoned French traveler (even though I know all of 4 French phrases). The REF train system does have a stop in Charles De Gaulle airport, but after a 7 hour overnight flight, I didn’t have the energy or desire to figure it out and ride for 30+ minutes. Instead I opted for $45 Uber to bring me to my hotel, The Best Western Montcalm in the 15th Arrondissement. The Best Western was conveniently located next to the Felix Faure Metro Station, with an ATM and grocery store across the street. I was able to quickly check in, shower, change, and head out on the town.
By this time, it was 5pm, and I was loosing sun light. I wanted to check out some familiar sites and grab dinner. My first stop was The Louvre, again. While I didn’t go inside the museum this time, I opted for a photo shoot, and impromptu sightseeing.
For dinner, I had truffle pasta at Enza & Famiglia Trattoria Pasta.
After dinner, the sun was setting, but I had to do more sightseeing. I headed to one of my favorite spots, taking a stroll down Champs Elysees along the way. I headed to The Arc de Triomphe. From there, I walked to the Eiffel Tower to watch the evening light show. At the Eiffel Tower, I met a friend, and we hung out for the rest of the night around the city.
On day 2, I woke up super late at 11 am, when checkout time was 12 noon. I had one hour to pack up, get together, and check out. I was 10 minutes late checking out, and headed to breakfast, at my fave French bakery, Du Pain et des Idées and ordered my usual chocolate escargot croissant and chocolate croissant.
After breakfast, I had no agenda besides strolling around the city until my evening flight, so I walked around the city in hopes of burning off my carbs. During my first trip to Paris, I packed so much stuff in the first three days I was there, I feel like I knocked a lot off of my list, so there was nothing in particular I was itching to do or see. Because I’d overestimated my time, I just wanted to relax and enjoy being in the moment and not ripping and running trying to get to every museum and monument.
I took my time schlepping through the city and window shopping along the way. I finally made my way to Notre Dame again. This time, Notre Dame was completely blocked off to visitors after the fire of early 2019 due to current renovations and repairs.
I was headed to Marrakech, out of Beauvis-Tille airport, which is located about 50 miles outside of Paris, or a 90 minute ride. There is an authorized airport coach bus that transports passengers from the Porte Maillot station on Metro Line 1 to BVA. You are able to purchase tickets online in advance with a copy of your ticket saved to your phone, or you can print your ticket. There are also kiosks available at the terminal for you to purchase your tickets, but I believe, purchasing at the terminal will cost a little more. There are no assigned seats on the bus, so, seating is on a first come, first served basis. So, if you miss your bus, you’ll have to take the next scheduled bus. Since BVA is a relatively small airport and services low fare and regional airlines there are only a few dozen flights departing and arriving from the airport each day. Beavuis’ shuttle website lists the time of departure for each shuttle bus according to each departing and arriving flight. For departures from Paris to BVA, the shuttle leaves Paris 3 hours before flight departure.
Continue reading about my trip to Morocco, here.
