“Do you want to go to Paris with me?” It was a simple question and the answer popped out of my mouth immediately – “Yes!” After all, who wouldn’t want to take a trip to Paris in the spring?
My college roommate called one afternoon in March because she wanted a girlfriend to travel with her in a few months. Her daughter was studying in Paris for the semester and she had a milestone birthday coming up. My roommate wanted to be there for her daughter’s 21st birthday on May 1st. The trip would be only five days total.
Passport in a hurry!
After I got off the phone, I rifled through my files to find my passport. Unfortunately, it was good for 10 years but mine had expired a year ago. With the trip less than six weeks away, I knew I would have to act quickly.
Trying to get a new passport by mail in that time frame was a risk. Going online to the U.S. State Department’s website, I found out that I could get a same day passport at the Washington DC Passport Express office by waiting until the last two weeks before traveling. I called and made an appointment and gathered all the required documentation. Visiting the office in downtown DC that day, I was amazed that I had my passport in less than an hour!
Weather forecast
I am a planner and I love to do research. My first question when preparing for a trip is what will the weather be? Luckily weather.comprovides forecasts for anywhere in the world. I looked up the 10-day weather forecast for Paris. Although the temperature would be warm and lovely leading up to our arrival in late April, the weather was going to turn much cooler and rainy during our five day stay. So much for bringing spring sandals and sleeveless tops!
Packing tips
Next up, looking up packing tips and recommendations for what to wear in Paris in the winter (because that is what the temperature would feel like). Based on the weather forecast, dressing in layers would be key. The main clothing items I packed included:
- one hip-length sweater in cotton
- one thin waist-length fleece jacket
- 4 long sleeved tops
- 3 jeans/pants in neutral colors
- I knew I could easily accessorize with jewelry and scarves to add interest. Since rain was in the forecast and space would be at a premium in my carry-on, I bought a small compact umbrella and borrowed a friend’s anti-theft travel pursewith RFID protection for my passport and credit cards. Luckily, the purse was roomy enough for the umbrella, my 35mm camera and my lenses which felt safer and less obvious than carrying them in a camera case.
It’s no secret that Paris is known as the fashion capital of the world and I wanted to dress appropriately. I also packed Parisian staples – scarves and black boots. I get cold easily, so I splurged and went to Athleta for a well-made lightweight raincoat with a hood. It was perfect because it was water repellent, it blocked the wind and kept me warm, and it rolled up into a small space for packing.
My roommate and I had agreed early on that we would travel light with just a personal item and a carry-on for this quick trip. That would be a challenge for me. Luckily, another friend had recommended packing cubes. I bought a set of five of varying sizes. They were a great way to organize my clothing and pack the suitcase tighter. I loaded tops and pants in one, toiletries in the second, socks and underwear in a third, pajamas/scarves in another, and I left the largest one empty to put dirty clothes in throughout the trip. I have never been a big fan of rolling clothes up in a suitcase but it made sense using the cubes. I packed shoes/umbrella/hair tools around the edges. Unpacking was simple as well because everything was already grouped in cubes.
Travel apps and a guide book
I also loaded up a few travel apps on my iPhone. The five most useful were:
- Next Stop Paris which helped us plan our itinerary using public transport (Metro, bus, etc.). It even provided real time updates when lines were closed due to strikes (fairly common).
- XE Currency allowed us to put in our base currency ($) and see the current value in euros. This helped us figure out how many euros to get out before the trip and while we were traveling.
- Uber was particularly useful when it was raining and we didn’t want to walk to the next metro stop.
- Mobile Pass was invaluable at the end of the trip saving us at least 30 minutes. It allows you to submit your passport and customs information electronically when re-entering the US so you can skip the long customs lines and be processed at the expedited booth.
- Rick Steves Audio Europe has videos on food, museums, travel tips, art and history.
Although I use my phone, iPad and laptop for all things digital, I wanted one book on Paris that would fit in my purse and provide information when my phone went dead or wasn’t near WiFi.
Rick Steve’s Pocket Paris was perfect. This little full color guide included French survival phrases, maps, and a lot of history. It also provided detailed itineraries depending on the number of days you have in Paris which allowed us to better plan our short stay.
Flying to Charles de Gaulle airport
Finally the day of departure arrived. That morning, I remembered to login to the airlines and put in my frequent flyer number for my flights. That one small task made a big difference on the return flight because my seat was upgraded.
The flight to France was packed and there were no open seats. The total flying time from D.C. to Paris is about 7 1/2 hours.
We had one very short layover in Belgium which is a country I would like to stop and explore some day. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be on this trip.
As soon as we walked into the terminal, you could smell the chocolate wafting through the halls. One look inside and it was obvious that the lines inside the airport’s Belgian Chocolate House were too long to buy anything! After I snapped this picture, we asked for the directions to our gate which turned out to be quite a walk.
We made a quick stop to get coffee but we were unaware how close we were cutting it to the time they closed the gate. International flights often board as early as an hour before departure.
At long last, we landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport. As we sped along the highway to Paris in a taxi, I photographed a stadium, some billboards and a few other highway sights. I laughed when I saw the LG building in the distance. It seemed to reflect our feelings with a tall rooftop sign that said “Life’s Good.”
leading to downtown Paris.
Walking and taking the Paris metro
After we arrived at our AirBnB, we dropped off our bags and headed out to meet my roommate’s daughter. It was chilly and in the low 50s. Even on a day with grey skies, Paris is a beautiful city. We felt like we would never tire of the view walking down endless blocks lined by towering historic buildings with incredible architecture.
Like most of the residents and travelers we saw, we walked a lot during our trip (more than 10,000 steps a day according to my iPhone health app). Looking in our guidebook, we quickly learned that the city is laid out like a clockwise spiral in 20 administrative districts or neighborhoods (known as arrondissements). The center of the spiral is on an island in the middle of the Seine river where the beautiful cathedral, Notre Dame, is located. The last two digits of Paris zip codes refer to the arrondissement. For example, the zip code for the Eiffel Tower is 75007 – the seventh arrondissement. If you are booking a hotel, check the zip code to see if it is near any of the major sites you want to see.
We also took public transportation. In addition to buses, Paris has an amazing subway system called the Métro. Although it looks intimidating at first glance, you can get almost anywhere quickly if you know which line to board. In each of the stations, you can buy a basic ticket for about 1,90€ or a packet of 10 (called a carnet) for 14, 70€. A single ticket will let you ride anywhere within the city one way.
Small shops and street markets
Getting out of the métro, we hurried down long blocks buffeted by the wind. It was a nice surprise when we passed a colorful store selling Tin Tin figurines. Tin Tin is a character in a well-known European comic book series which I remembered my sons received in elementary school as a gift from their grandparents.
The first item on the day’s agenda was to meet up with my roommate’s daughter. Her apartment was a 20-minute walk. We were a little hungry, so we stopped at a Monoprix, a well-known small grocery store chain and bought juice, cheese and crackers. After eating, we felt refreshed and ready to head out again.
We spent the day wandering around the neighborhood to get a feel for the area and to soak in the ambiance. As we sat eating lunch and people watching at a little sidewalk cafe, we discussed our plan to brave the crowds and see the famous sights in Paris over the next few days!
