We were wary whether Paris would be closed for Christmas like Ireland. I was told by a Parisian colleague that most shops would open during Christmas in Paris, as it was a multicultural and large capital city after all. To avoid any disappointments, we planned to visit outdoor attractions during Christmas. We knew these attractions would be open.

A Surprise Statue

When we first arrived by train at the hotel, we could clearly see the “Statue of Liberty” and were confused. Then we realized that there was a copy of the statue 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 the Seine.

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

Christmas Lunch

How convenient — there was a small Christmas Market just at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The market sells mostly food, and they were pricier than normal. Mind you it was less than 4 degrees Celsius and we had to eat lunch outdoors. It was sunny though, but cold. I managed to taste escargot in the market. It was smothered in truffle sauce and that was what I mostly tasted. I was not put off by the texture since I eat shellfish.

Long Walk

We wanted to see Arc de Triomphe after lunch and were 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 took pictures of the Arch — it was a roundabout after all. We saw a few luxury sports cars driving around; maybe it was a good place to show off the car. We did see people at the top of the arch — I imagine it was a good view from up there — but we didn’t want to pay for the ticket.

Paris in Summary

I felt the cliché of Paris was real. It was a beautiful place and the attractions were just as we had seen them in pictures. It was easy to get around with the Metro and RER, and the fares were affordable (when compared to London). I tried to speak French to the staff in shops but they always replied in English. So the French were not as snobbish about speaking English as people say. While walking out of a Metro station, someone opened Winnie’s backpack hoping to steal items from the bag. He managed to undo the zippers of 2 compartments in one go and was quick. All he got was her Penneys beanie as all our belongings were in our cross-body bag underneath our jacket. That was a scary moment for us and a testament to how skilful the pickpockets were.

I was still in 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 could not help but be swept up by the number of young couples there, presumably on their honeymoon.