The Unforgettable Trip to Paris [PART-1]

Paris has always been one of the dream cities we wanted to visit. However, knowing that it entails 14+ hrs flights ( and as a people who are always chasing time and juggling with schedules), booking a trip to Paris was easier said than done. I’m not sure exactly why, but we always feel guilty for taking a break from work. Why can’t we say, “WE DESERVE THIS TRIP?” It’s still a mystery to this day…

This was our first time riding Turkish Airlines, and we gotta say, we became huge fans of Turkish Airlines! It was spacious, the food was AMAZING, and tell me about the selections of movies they have!

Our first stay was booked by Marie Brizard, and it was a hotel called Hotel Grand Amour. To be honest, we were slightly worried about staying at this hotel because of the reviews read online. Apparently, many guests had their belongings stolen from their rooms…!!! In fact, before we were able to check into our room, one of the staff gave us the wrong key twice: resulting in us barging into someone else’s room twice… Thank goodness there wasn’t anyone in the room, but unwillingly we were able to see all of their personal belongings. This was a major warning sign to us. For the 3 nights that we stayed at this hotel, we always carried our cash and passport with us just in case. But other than that, the place was beautiful! The bed was comfortable, and the staffs were friendly :)

There was no time to waste! We got ourselves ready and headed out to check off our first bucket list: Canal Saint-Martin. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. We simply couldn’t stop taking photos haha. Something about Paris is so romantic. It makes you fall in love with the moment. I could honestly sit here all day.

Then we went to a nearby restaurant called Nous for a quick dinner. That sweet potato fries were soooo gooood! I’m salivating as I’m writing this blog right now haha.

Yes Qtees… I did it again…haha This wasn’t part of the plan, but we accidentally discovered this store while mindlessly walking the street of Paris. I guess it was meant to be found by me :) It’s a 3 -story boutique store called Merci that not only sells fashion items but also design objects and kitchenwares. In a word, it is HEAVEN. There were so many beautiful ceramic wares, which I desperately wanted to bring back home but couldn’t due to the weight. They were too heavy for my already overweight luggage :(

As always, we stopped by at a random grocery store to pick up some fruits. It became a habit of ours to eat fruits when traveling. And they always taste better than the fruits in Korea.

On Day 2, we woke up at around 6 am. We were surprised how late the sun rises in Paris, not until roughly 8 am! We were eagerly looking forward to this day as we were finally visiting Louvre Museum. I booked 3 tickets online for the 12 pm entrance the other day. You can purchase the tickets on sight, but purchasing ahead is highly recommended.

But before, we had breakfast at Le Cafe Marly that is located right next to the Louvre Museum. You can literally see Louvre Pyramid while enjoying your dish. I also made a reservation beforehand, which is highly recommended due to its popularity. The moment we arrived, we were amazed by the majestic architecture. Is this for real?!

Qtees… that omelet was so soft, like a baby’s butt!! I devoured that omelet in a few bites. I should’ve taken my time to indulge in the taste, but I couldn’t help it. It was so delicious! Mama QQ also enjoyed her baguettes. She especially enjoyed the butter and honey jam that came with it. As I was sipping on my hot chocolate, I thought to myself, ‘THIS IS LIFE!’ Drinking warm hot chocolate on a rainy day in Paris, surrounded by beautiful architecture and people that I love the most. I couldn’t ask for more.

I was speechless… During the tour, I believe we didn’t talk to each other that much. We were so busy trying to soak up and capture everything that we saw! Honestly, a few hours is not enough to thoroughly look around the entire museum. French Qtees are so lucky to be able to visit Louvre Museum whenever they want 😭

This was the nearest we could go to the world’s most famous painting, Mona Lisa. I literally zoomed in using my iPhone…haha The line was insanely long, and we couldn’t invest too much time waiting in line as we had other plans in the afternoon. It’s a shame we couldn’t look at the painting closely, but for now, this will do :) At least we were near the presence of Mona Lisa haha

Before heading to our next location, we quickly stopped by at the Tuileries Garden because this is where we were planning to hold our first Meet & Greet in Paris. Many of our French Qtees recommended this garden to hold the Meet & Greet :) I remember feeling butterflies inside my stomach as we were checking up on the location.

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store is not only known for its beautiful steel-frame art nouveau glass dome but also for its magnificent skyline view of the city from the rooftop. You can even see the Eiffel Tower from far away. I noticed how, unlike in Korea, where there are tall buildings and apartments on every block you go, you could hardly find any tall buildings blocking the sky in Paris. Maybe that’s why during the whole trip, the sky felt so close to the ground.

Yup! That’s me with another Merci shopping bag. Guilty~ hehe I wasn’t able to show you Qtees what I got during this Paris trip on the recent video. But don’t worry! Paris shopaholic segment will be included in our next Sunday (Nov. 6th) video :)

With all that walking, we were craving sweets! So we stopped at an Italian cafe and ordered a cappuccino and apple pie. We were expecting a thick triangular apple pie, but instead, we were served a flat and circular-shaped apple pie? But who cares! They tasted great! By the way, can I say that the lady who served our table was freakin beautiful! Jesus, hope I looked like her. I think I was 50% focused on the apple pie and 50% mesmerized by her beauty. SERIOUSLY…

The next stop was the OFR Bookstore which felt so different than the one in Korea. I could feel the age, the time, and the history of the space. I loved the smell of the papers and the books. Loved going through each book and discovering each corner of the store. Yes! I did get something from this bookstore and I’ll share it with you Qtees next Sunday :)

We ended the night with a surprise party with Marie Brizard. As an anti-social person, this was a very out-of-my-comfort-zone situation, haha. But surprisingly, we met so many great people and had a great time! And I guess the highlight of the night was getting to see the Eiffel Tower up close! It was more beautiful than we imagined. We were literally staring at it until it disappeared from our sight.

Thank you for reading our boring blog Qtees. Hopefully you Qtees enjoyed it. We’ll come back very soon with the remaining Paris trip. Until then, take care Qtees <3 Love you so much :)

P.S: Missing Qtees from Paris meet & greet already 🥲