Spending Christmas and New Year in Paradise: Exploring Paris

• Introduction
• Austin to Frankfurt: United Economy & Lufthansa First Class
• Frankfurt to Osaka: Lufthansa First Class 
• Osaka to Bangkok: Thai Business Class
• Bangkok to Male via Singapore
• Seaplane Transfer to Conrad Maldives
• Beach Villa and Water Villa at Conrad Maldives
• Routine in Paradise
• Male to Dubai via Colombo: Emirates First Class
• Dubai to Paris: Emirates First Class
• Radisson Blu Champs Elysee
• Exploring Paris
• Paris to Houston via London: British Airways First Class

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With a couple of hours wasted at the airport trying with the luggage situation, we were only left with a couple of hours of daylight to explore Paris. Wanting to make the most of our now shorten layover in Paris, we immediately headed out after a quick freshen up at the hotel.

First up were the obligatory pictures of the Arc. 

 

Guided by directions from the hotel concierge, we next made our way to the Eiffel Tower on the metro. The concierge’s recommendation to get off at Trocadéro stop was spot on as it provided great views of the tower while walking towards it from across the river Seine.

 

By the time we got to the towel itself, the sun was beginning to set allowing for some different scenery. I guess I can thank Emirates for that.

Since it was New Year’s Day, the streets were packed with both tourist and local Parisians. They were plenty of shops lining the streets and it made for great window shopping. At this point of the trip, we were getting tired of all the good food we were having and instead of splurging on dinner in Paris, we just picked up a couple of snacks along the way for dinner.

We just strolled along the river Seine towards the Lourve and Notre Dame cathedral. We didn’t realize how far it would be from the Eiffel tower and after a thirty minute walk, we were only half way there. It started to pour and we decided to turn back to the hotel at this point vowing that we will definitely come back to Paris.

The walk back to the hotel was pleasant despite the rain. Champs Elysees leading back to the hotel was filled with endless street side shops that I assume was setup for Christmas and New Year.

We were tired once we got back to the hotel but definitely enjoyed our short stay in Paris. The views were awesome and the lights were pretty. I can definitely see why people think it’s one of the most romantic cities in the world and it is as of right now, on top of our list of cities to return and stay longer.