We were weary whether Paris will be closed for Christmas like Ireland. I was told by Parisian colleague that most shops will open during Christmas in Paris, it is a multicultural and large capital city after all. To avoid any dissapointments, we plan to visit outdoor attractions during Christmas. We know these attractions will be open.

A Surprise Statue

When we first arrived by train at the hotel, we can clearly see the “Statue of Liberty” and was confused. Then we realized that there was a copy of the status that the French gave to the Americans. This was where we started our walk on Christmas day. The statue is on an island in the middle of Seine.

After a few photographs, we walked to Eiffel Tower for some pictures. We wanted to take a picture from Jardins du Trocadéro but the sun would be at our backs so we decided to give it a miss. We did take photos from many other angles  while walking to Eiffel Tower. We didn’t want to pay the tickets to go up to the tower, the thinking is that the view of the tower is better than on the tower itself. Isn’t it the goal to take a picture of the tower?

Christmas Lunch

How convenient there’s a small Christmas Market just at the foot of Eiffel Tower. The market sells mostly food, and they are pricier than normal. Mind you it was less than 4 degrees celcius and we have to eat lunch outdoors. It was sunny though, but cold. I managed to taste escargot in the market. It was smothered in truffel sauce and that’s what I mostly taste. I am not put off by the texture since I eat shell fish.

Long Walk

We wanted to see Arc de Triomphe after lunch and was deciding whether to take a taxi or walk. Since it was cold and sunny, everyone decided to take a long walk in the cold. We did stop for coffee and hot chocolate at Pret a Manger on the way. We just stood by the road and take pictures of the Arch, it is a roundabout after all. We saw a few luxury sports car driving around, maybe it is a good place to show off the car. We did see people at the top of the arch, I suppose it’s a good view from up there but we didn’t want to pay for the ticket.

Paris in Summary

I feel the cliche of Paris is real. It is a beautiful place and the attractions is as what we see in pictures. It is easy to get around with the Metro and RER, the fares are affordable (when compared to London). I tried to speak French to the staff in shops but they always reply back in English. So the French as not as snobbish about speaking English as people say. While walking out from a Metro station, someone opened Winnie backpack hoping to pick items from the bag. He managed to undo zippers to 2 compartment in one go and was quick. All he got was her Penny’s beanie as all our belongings are in our body bag underneath our jacket. That was a scary moment for us and a testament of how skill full the pickpockets are.

I am still at awe that we managed to visit Paris in our lifetime. I took this trip as a honeymoon that we never had. At least we have our kids taking pictures of us in Paris. We cannot help but be swept by the number of young couples there, presumable on their honeymoon.