Besides reading and writing, I also play music. And I have been playing for over 15 years in the same orchestra. We were talking last year about maybe doing a citytrip together, which we did just this past weekend. We decided on France, but since all of us had already been to Paris, we decided to go to Versailles. I had actually never been there before, despite reading about it a lot and some of my favourite movies and tv shows take place there as well.
We drove there, spent the night in a small hotel, and spent two days discovering Versailles. We spent an afternoon in the castle and an entire day in the gardens and surrounding buildings. We learned about the history of Versailles and I spotted a few places I had seen before in movies and TV shows. A lot of fun!
After that, we spent two days in Paris, the city of light itself. This was the week that Notre Dame had burned, so of course we walked by to check it out. The entire island that Notre Dame is situated on was closed off, but we did see the damage done by the fire from a distance. And only a few days after the fire had happened, workers were already busy setting up scaffolding and securing the beautiful church. Hopefully it will soon be restored to its former glory!
We then had escargots, right by the Notre Dame – because you have to when you’re in Paris! We went to get our hair done, to be all fancy, and we had vegan ice cream which tasted surprisingly well. I had ginger and blood orange and it was amazing! And walking back, we stumbled upon a Shakespearian bookshop. Unfortunately it was getting late and we needed to get back on the road, so I couldn’t go inside. But I’ll definitely make the time to go inside next time I’m in Paris!
What are your favourite spots in Paris or France in general? Personally, Paris is one of my favourite cities for citytrips. I have been several times over the past few years and keep on discovering new and interesting parts of the city. This visit was short but took me to some of the less typical tourist places (except for Notre Dame) and it showed me the city in another light again (pun intended). As for more relaxing vacations, I love going south where the weather is so nice that life just seems to move slower, or go west to wine country and just walk around in the beautiful nature and taste wines. Or how about spending a weekend in the north west of the country, letting the wind blow your worries away in the small coastal towns?
Happy reading,
Loes M.