A Photographer in Paris Part 2
So as you all know from reading A Photographer in Paris Part 1, Jake and I made a trip to Paris for our 10 year anniversary.
Jake and I did all of the touristy things of course, but some of our favorite things were not on the tops of those “10 best places in Paris” lists. We loved the Musee d’Orsay and we had a dinner in a little restaurant off the beaten path that almost had Jake in tears it was so good.
The Printemps was an amazing place to spend a few hours. High end shopping, all the top luxury brands in one amazing mall. The roof top has a panoramic view of the city. It didn’t cost anything to go up there, but the sight is worth a million dollars. Oh, and side note – the bathroom here isn’t free, it is well taken care of, with attendant on hand, but avoid if you don’t absolutely have to go. Otherwise, get your monies worth!
We traveled the true Parisian way, by the metro – with Jake in the lead of course! So when we got to the d’Orsay we were at the back entrance to the building. Right at the exit of the metro there was this tiny newspaper stand that had an almost un-noticeable handwritten sign saying “museum tickets”. Jake and I both looked at each other, shook our heads and headed for the front of the building – thinking that there was no way this was the box office. When we got to the front of the building our eyes grew wide as we see a mile long line of people. We even over heard a couple saying how it was going to be a few hours wait still. So Jake and I headed back to that newspaper stand figuring we had nothing to lose. Still skeptical when we asked for admission we were surprised to receive actual tickets. The man then pointed to the VIP entrance of the museum – the one that had no one around. We walked right up to the doors, had our bag checked and we were in. It almost felt like we were doing something we weren’t supposed to. Once we were in, Jake and I laughed at each other because it was just so unbelievably lucky that we would see that tiny little sign on that newspaper stand. All of the artwork was amazing, much easier to absorb than the Louvre. As we weaved our way through the old converted train station we would stop every few minutes: “remember when we didn’t have to wait in line for 2 hours” we’d say, laughing.
We spent our actual anniversary at Disneyland. Jake had never been, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit the happiest place on Earth (in Europe). We enjoyed it so much we went back for a second day, taking in all the two parks have to offer.
In the end we were anxious to get home, two weeks is a long time in a foreign land (and a foreign bed). We loved it immensely and plan to return as soon as we can afford to.
Travel Tip:
Bring a water bottle. Bottled water is cheap at the local market, it is not cheap around the touristy areas. Bring your own, save a buck.
Travel Tip:
Don’t bring too much gear, you really don’t need it. You should be enjoying your trip first, then taking out your camera to capture the moment. I took my Canon 6D and my 35mm lens and at no point did I wish that I had brought more stuff.
