First thing that I planned is how to get the visa. Well, it was not that hard to get one and the embassy is just a few walks away from the office :)...then I booked a package tour from Hana Tours.Airfare + hotel was kinda cheap around 799kwon plus tax worth 500kwon. The Seollal holiday was just in time to book for my trip, so i only had 2 day additional vacation leave since there was 2day holiday plus the weekend.
When I got the visa, I convinced my sisters and my Mom to go with me since I'll be all alone. It was hard to convince them at first because first of all- it is a winter trip in Paris. But all ends well, I was able to convince them in no time.
With too much excitement, I didn't bother the 15- hour flight with transfer from Beijing. I even changed my casual clothes already at the Beijing Airport because I was making it in time when I get there for a scheduled dinner at the Eiffel Tower. The12-hour flight didn't bother me having those clothes to sleep on but then again I can't sleep at that time! Because it was always mid-day! There was no dark clouds at all...haha! When I arrived 5pm, i felt the horrible jetlag!
Upon landing in the not-so-classy airport of France- the CDG Airport, a young gentlemen ushered me to the shuttle service all the way to the hotel where mom and my sisters stayed. Yes, I did not stayed in the hotel that was included in the package, well it's too far from Paris Central. I swear I'll never get that package again (grrr!)
While the shuttle van is approaching to the hotel, we passed by the Eiffel, where the whole tower is lighted - and I was speechless! haha! I took the video from my phone of course.
This is my 4-day adventure in Paris. I know it's a quickie vacay, but so worth it! They said we should have stayed for a week to enjoy more places...but I can't...otherwise, I'll loose my job...and if that happens, then I will not have this opportunity to travel more places! lol!
Day 1: Dinner at the Eiffel Tower
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| This is the view from our hotel! overlooking the Paris skyline and of course the Eiffel! |
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| My dinner after the long flight! It did help ease my jetlag... |
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| The view from from inside the Eiffel |
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| Dinner with my family :) |
Day 2: The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Lunch at the Hyatt Regency, Notre Dame and City Bus Tour
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| Palais de Royal |
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| The Louvre Museum |
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| Monalisa painting by L. Da Vinci |
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Arc de Triomphe |
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| Buffet Lunch at Paris Hyatt Regency |
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| Bus Tour in the City of Paris |
Day 3: Tour de Eiffel and Chateau de Versailles
First stop in the morning was the Tour de Eiffel. It was so foggy in the morning that we waited unti the sun comes up at around noon time. Thankfully, the sun was just in time for us to come out from the hotel...it was not a long line though getting to climb up in the tower.
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| A picture worth a thousand words! :) |
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| The view from the top! |
The Château de Versailles- has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for 30 years, is one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful...
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| I can't believe I saw this in the movie, "Farewell, my Queen" (Marie Antoinette) |
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| Inside the beautiful Palace of Versailles! I can't imagine living in this kind of Palace if I were a queen! :) |
Day 4: Liseuix, France (St. Therese' homeland)
When you go visit her homeland, there are 3 places that you have to go to. (like we did) Thanks to our tourist guide, Joan (my sis' college friend). First stop was the Basilica of St. Therese where all the big religious events and celebrations about her is being held. We also went to her parent's relic and tomb in the basement of the church. There's a souvenir shop where you can buy commemorative mementos about her in the building right across the basilica. Next stop is her reliquary in the Carmel Monastery. The monastery where she spent 9 years being a nun. Almost half of her life was spent here until she died at the early age of 24.
The last stop (after we had a very sumptuous buffet lunch) is their ancestral house. Inside their cute and simple 2 storey home is where you can still see her toys, her paintings, books, and clothes in her bedroom. Some of the furnitures were maintained and preserved.
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| The Basilica of St. Therese of Liseuix |
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| The monastery of Mount Carmel |
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| The Martin's home, where St. Therese lived until she bacame a nun at the age of 15. |
