FRANCE

We start our journey with the most romantic city ever- France Paris and this time it's gonna be 20 days in France cities.

I arrive in Paris & meet Snehal who was already there for a conference. The weather is just pleasant with crisp cool breeze blowing & drizzling light rains .

We start with Paris but there are places to see in France other than Paris , we are set to see them. Reading this blog will assist you in planning your first trip to France and making a France itenary.

We have bought the Paris pass for 2 days ,so travel by subway is free in certain zones. So we traveled Paris by subway. 

Day 1

We went to the Arc De triomphe- it's not only iconic but also gives a tremendous view of Paris and also the Eiffel tower. When we reached the top the cool breeze and the view of Paris strikes us .The sculptures on the arc are done so well .

Arc De Triomphe

Then we go to the Louvre museum which is the most famous museum in the world. It's huge, with a vast variety of paintings & sculptures and also the star attraction Monalisa .Even if u take an appointment & have the Paris pass you still have to wait in an hour long Que. The painting adorning the walls in the museum tell you about their history and stories of their culture. We are talking about paintings that are hundreds of years old still preserved so well. There are sculptures of Cupid , centaurs and god's and kings .

Louvre

We had a Nutella crepe opposite the Louvre .

We ended our day with the most exciting part- moulin rouge.

We had taken a guided tour of the city in the night. And we were shown all the attractions with their history in the bus.

It's fun to watch the city glistening with lights in the night . Also we saw the Eiffel tower with sparkling lights. It happens every hour in the night for 5 minutes.

Eiffel-with the sparkling lights

Moulin rouge- As we got seated on a table we were offered a glass of champagne & then the cabaret started. It was a feast for the eyes. A never forgettable performance with dances , juggler, snakes and ponies and a flexible bending performance. It's a must see if Ur in Paris.

Outside Moulin Rouge

Day 2

The day we explore the city with the hop on hop off bus. 

The open roof bus is something I really like and enjoyed though it did get a little cold.

Enjoying on the hop-on hop-off bus.

Our first stop was the Eiffel tower . We took pictures there , & when u get up close u realize the beauty.

Posing at the Eiffel.

I had a cheese crepe there.

Then was Mont Parnasse tower. It has a glass enclosed viewing deck on the 56 and 59th floor. The one on the 59th floor doesn't have a roof. It offers 360 degree views of the entire Paris. It's almost like seeing Paris from a plane taking off.

View from the Mount Parnasse Tower.

From there we head to sacre couer at mont marte . It's a church and it has colorful stain glass and it's dedicated to the heart of Jesus. It's situated at a hill supposedly the highest point in Paris so obviously there it has a view of Paris.

Then we did the wine tasting tour by La caves de Louvre & learnt plenty about wine and how it differs according to the region where the grapes come from.

Inside the La Caves de Louvre for wine tasting.

And finally the siene river cruise . It's a guided cruise on the siene river.

Day 3

We took a self drive car and headed to Versailles. The gardens there are really expansive with numerous fountains.

The versailles Gardens in the Background.

We took a self guided tour of the palace .

We stayed the night near Mont Michel.

This was the most unfortunate day of the trip because we lost 400 Euros.

Day 4 

In the morning we headed to Saint Mont Michel. 

Even from the parking lot you can see it is as beautiful as the pictures on the internet show. It's located on a small hill on an island . It was used as a monastery , church and prison.The layout and architecture of Saint Mont Michel is influenced by the guiding principles of monastic life. Once you enter the abbey you get a glimpse of how it was used for the various puposes in history. It has a view of the sea , a small island and the Normandy coast.

Saint Mont Michel from afar.

Saint Mont Michel Up close.

We stayed the night at blois.

Day 5 

This is the day dedicated to Loire valley.

We decided to do 2 chateaux - Chambord and Clos Luce.

We visited Chambord first. The castle is planned in a square shape with the circular staircase was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. It was a summer palace and mainly used for hunting expeditions of the king's. Thus obviously it has huge gardens with numerous walking trails .

I was in awe of the architecture of this castle and the view of the gardens , and just kept wondering why it was used so little in the history.

Chambord Backside.

Chambord from the front.

Clos Luce is the chateau in which lenardo da Vinci spent the last 3 years of his life. He came to stay at Amboise on the invitation of the king and was given a pension for being the royal architect, engineer and painter. You can see the chateau from the inside with his workshop and the 3 famous paintings he got with his from Italy including the monalisa. The original paintings are in the Louvre but you can still see the replicas. Also one of the rooms has beautiful frescoes. We also saw small models of his innovations and designs, like the paddle boat , bridges made with wheels, tanks, machine guns and even helicopters and planes. These designs were made using the materials available at the time i.e., wood and ropes but were way ahead of their times. These are also screens and TVs to show how the designs would look.

We saw the Amboise chateau from the outside which is a ten minute walk from clos Luce.

Day 6

We started the day with the chenonceau chateau.

Chenonceau chateau.

It has a very unique architecture because it is constructed on a river. From the inside too it has views of the gardens and the river. Like the other two chateaux we saw this one too has many gardens . It also has a maze.

The Maze at chenonceau.

After that we drove down to Bordeaux. In the evening we went to see the place De la bourse. It has water sprayers on the opposite side of the road and thus the lights are reflected in the water in the night and the lights look doubly radiant.

Place De La Bourse at night.

We even walked on the pont de Pierre which is a medieval bridge across the river, watching the joggers cyclists and trams go by.

We spent an eventful hour later looking for our car (we couldn't figure out where we had parked it), while returning back.

Day 7

This was the day Snehal was looking forward to because we were going to saint emilion, which is famous for its wine. We saw wine cellars or as they call it caves . After a walk around the village, we took a toy train ride across the village and it's vineyards.

Train Ride at Saint Emillion .

We then headed towards Toulouse which is famous for its airbus production. There is a museum there called aeroscopia. You can see retired planes there and upgrade your knowledge about the aviation industry.

Aeroscopia from the outside.

Then in the night we took a walk in the city of Toulouse , where we were staying the night. We even saw the capitol.

Day 8

We spent the day at Saint guilhem le desert.

The clamouse caves there are a once in a lifetime experience. They have stalactites , stalagmites and aragonite crystals. You get to be in these caves for for an hour as you start from a labyrinth to the main caves with the formations.

Stalactites & Stalagmites at Clamouse Caves.

The pont du diable is walking distance from there. You can see the river forming a small lake there .

View from Pont du Diable.

The village of Saint guilhem is immensely pretty and fell in love with it as we took a stroll around it in the evening.

Taking a walk around the Saint Guilhem Village.

Day 9

Saint Tropez- once we reached the hotel , we took a bus to the city . On getting down from the bus you are greeted with yatchs all lined up in the harbour.

Saint Tropez Harbour.

We went to the pampeloune beach .

Snehal at the Pampeloune Beach.

Day 10

Nice- we started with place massena.

Then the castle hill. It has a man-made waterfall which is so big that it can be seen from the promenade des anglias .

Waterfall at Castle Hill.

 The hill gives a view of the city, promenade and sea. It's a must visit.

View of Nice from Castle Hill.

Then we strolled down the promenade des anglias. 

We had a jasmin glace( ice cream) and cherry milkshake at fenocchio.

We found a Russian cathedral in the city - cathedrale Russe.

It's best to travel in the city of nice by public transport.

Day 11

We stayed 2 nights at nice.
So we decided  to do saint Paul the vence and antibes the next  day.
Saint Paul vence is really  small. More like  a  village  in a fortress. You can walk up the  village  in 20 minutes all along  the  fortress wall surrounding the village. It has viewpoints  on the  walls. You can  even  see the  sea from  one of  the  sides.

Streets of Paul the Vence.

Antibes - we  walked from the harbour to the old city.
We even saw a wedding there.  As we had a vegetarian foccacia on the  streets in a restaurant,  which was really good( it was like a pizza with veggies on it sans the cheese)  and there was a Brazilian performance with song and acrobatics.

Day 12

Eze  and  Monaco
We reached our hotel in eze in the morning and rushed to Monte Carlo.

View from the room at eze.

The roads leading to Monte Carlo are next to the sea and a feast for the eyes.
We were just in time to see the change of guards at the palace.

Change of Guards at Monaco.

Then we went to the garden and cathedral  nearby.
We saw the f1 track and the casino.

Outside the Casino at monaco.

On the way back we stopped at the fragonard factory where we were given a tour of how perfumes are produced in grasse and cosmetics at eze.

Day 13

Chamonix
Its a 5 hour drive  from eze to chamonix and we drove mostly through Italy. We had to drive through the mont Blanc tunnel which is 11km long.
We are staying at mercure hotel and had a view of snow capped mountain covered by clouds from our room. In the evening we went to the chamonix centre and the houses are just beautiful with flowers on the windows. There are plenty of glacier fed streams in town. The town surrounded  by mountains has a different charm compared to what we have seen so far, more like our hill stations.

At Chamonix town.

Day 14

Chamonix day 2:
We took a cable car to place de l'aiguille du midi. There are 2 stops - one midway and then to the top. On the first stop u get to see the starting of the glaciers.

At Midway.

The top station has lots of terraces giving views of snow covered peaks on one side and the valley and the chamonix on the other side. We were lucky enough to get to see the Mont Blanc (the star attraction). The snow covered alps were the best part of this  trip, and a complete must do if you are in Europe.

Posing in a Glass Bottom room.

At the top with the Mont Blanc.

In the evening we took a train to vallorcine and back, just to see the countryside, and hey isn't a train trip mandatory if you are in europe.

Day 15

Travel to beaune. It's famous  for  its wines and we had one of the best there.

Day 16

Travel to Paris. We returned the car on this day, & then it was too late to  go anywhere because we were staying a bit away from Paris more so near the airport.  

Day 17

On our last day in Paris , we saw the opera. Its opulence is visible even today . It considered as one of the most beautiful operas worldwide. You can imagine how the french elite spent their time here in this grand building. It has lights, sculptures, paintings and mirrors enhancing it's beauty.

As you enter the opera.

Us at the Opera.

We took a walk along the champs de elsees.

Day 18

Flying back to home sweet home.