You guys…. I went to Paris!

I still can’t believe it, but me and a group of my great girlfriends went on a mini vacay to Paris last October and it was absolutely life changing. It was my first international trip ever, and I can honestly say, the women I travel with are some of the best to do it with in the world. I’m so thankful that I had the experience of visiting Paris with them.

Carmeon, ShaVonda, Samilia and Quaneshia

The conversation around traveling to Paris came up on New Year’s Eve 2020, so we started a group text, figured out dates and where we wanted to stay and although there were a few mishaps (like me initially booking my return flight a MONTH from the actual return date but only realizing it a week before we left), the trip itself was fun and went relatively smoothly.

So here’s how everything went.

First off, Paris is 7 hours ahead of us (9 hours for Shavonda), so the first and last day were loooong travel days. This gave us 3 days to actually bop around the city, and because of that, my goal was to travel with a carry-on only. I try to do that anyway (I have an irrational fear of the airline losing my luggage even though it’s never happened), so to prepare for the trip, I created a semi-capsule wardrobe to help limit what I took. I wasn’t planning to shop when we got there (although I did buy some jewelry at the Galeries and skincare products in the duty-free shop), so I was able to give myself a few extra options for clothing. It was going to be chilly and rainy the entire time and I had to take a coat, so I kept that in mind when I put outfits together. At first I was only going to do solid neutrals, but I found a really pretty floral maxi dress plus a few other pieces a few days before we left so that plan went out of the window, lol.

Initially, we were supposed to all stay at the same hotel, but procrastination got the best of us and I had to book my room at a separate hotel. Luckily, they were literally right next door to each other so it wasn’t a big deal. We wanted to stay someone really cute and not too Americanized, so we booked rooms at boutique hotels. I stayed at the Snob, which was uuuuuuber cute and modern, yet quaint.

I’ve never been someone that “cared” about hotels when traveling, but I’m so happy we chose the hotels that we did. They were smaller, but I was ok with that, because they were a little more on the luxe side. We didn’t necessarily have great views (but no view in Paris is bad, if I’m being honest), but we were in a fantastic location. One of the things that I loved about Paris was that it’s such a walkable city. There are shops and cafes on literally every corner, so it was very easy for us to get out and explore before we headed to our actual locations. We also used their metro system in addition to Ubers to get around the city and everything went smoothly.

Once we got settle in, we took a quick nap, freshened up and then headed to Au Pied De Cochon, a quintessentially French restaurant, for dinner. One thing to note should you ever visit Paris, is that meals will last between 2-4 hours. Not because service is slow, but because they operate at a more leisurely pace. I noticed almost immediately that while there is energy buzzing through the city, the people do not operate at a frantic pace. They still get things done, but the feeling of “hustle” wasn’t there. Once we sat down for dinner, we drank champagne and wine, ate bread, and really talked and laughed while enjoying our meal. Carmeon was feeling adventurous and wanted to try escargot, so we all tried it and it honestly wasn’t bad! The food was buttery, decadent and delicious.

After dinner, we hopped on the metro and headed to L’ Epicier, a cool speakeasy with a mediterranean vibe, for drinks. We stayed out until around 2am; another thing to note is that the city doesn’t necessarily sleep until around 3am or 4am, so it wasn’t uncommon to see people of all ages walking around during “late” hours. Obviously we were very careful and paid attention to our surroundings, but we didn’t feel nervous being out that late at all. I could still hear people milling about below my hotel room once we made it back.

The next morning, we grabbed mimosas and a bite to eat from Au Pere Tranquille, one of the many cafes that were within walking distance from us. After that, we stopped at currency exchange to get some Euros and then took the metro to the Louvre. The Louvre is MASSIVE, so it was our main destination for the day. Half of us took a guided tour while the other half just went through for a general visit. If you love museums and learning about the history of them and some of the pieces that they carry, then I highly taking a guided tour, especially if it’s a museum that is as busy as the Louvre. The guide of the group that I was in was incredibly knowledgeable about the museum, and they took us through to see highlights of it, vs. us trying to see every single thing there.

We could have spent the entire day at The Louvre, but we wanted to pack as much as we could into our days, so after we did a little shopping + stopped for a cocktail at Washington Poste (we split up into 2 groups for this), we found Le Bistro Marbeuf and had dinner. My phone died before I could capture anything about where we were, but just know that the food was delicious! We were all exhausted after this, so we headed back to our hotels for the night.

The next morning, we headed to The Eiffel Tour for a Big Bus Tour. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS ENOUGH. I usually don’t care for tours like this, but if you’re visiting a place and you’re limited in time, this is the best way for you to see landmarks throughout the city without being caught in traffic and it taking up your entire day. The cool thing about this type of tour is that there are designated stops throughout it, so depending on which tour you have a pass for, you can hop on/off the bus and you have about 20-30 minutes to get on the next one during your ticket’s time frame. There’s a recording that you can listen to throughout the tour vs. trying to listen to a live guide, so you can really zone out and get into the history.

After our tour, we head to Galeries Lafayette Haussmann for shopping. I LOVE the way that this mall is designed. Floors are dedicated to beauty/skincare, gifts, luxury designers, and sportswear/high street brands (think Alexander McQueen, Fendi,  Bottega Veneta, Balmain, UO, Never Fully Dressed, Anine Bing, and Pierre Herme pastries. They even had a vintage shop). It is absolutely decadent and gorgeous. It was founded in 1864, and has an art nouveau glass dome. I love to shop like anyone else, but to be able to take in such opulence while you peruse the different shops throughout the building is heaven.

One of the things that I learned during the tour was that the French wanted to maintain the architecture and old world charm that it is known for, so they’ve found different ways to integrate modern businesses into the historical architecture, and the Galeries is a prime example of that. The photos don’t do it (or the city for that matter), justice, so you totally have to go to see it in person.

After shopping, we wanted to see the light show at The Eiffel Tower, so we took the metro (which is extremely easy to navigate) and headed there for a few quick photos. After that we headed back to the hotel. Some of the girls went out that evening for one last hoorah, but that is their story to tell if they so please, lol. I am NOT a morning person, so I stayed in to pack and get a little bit of rest before our flight the next day.

I was told by a friend that a trip to Paris would change my life, and honestly, it did. It opened my mind (even more!) to the wonders of travel. There was so much that I didn’t get a chance to do (the morning we had brunch I tried to get the quintessential croissant and latte at a cafe shot with Q but the cafe we went to had stopped serving them!), but we covered so much ground during our short time there. Which leads me to say, we were not there long enough. If you plan to visit, give yourself at LEAST 7-10 days. Travel takes up at least 2 days, and due to the pace of things, you want to be able to spread out your activities so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. It was nowhere as expensive as I thought it would be, and we did not scrimp on our food or activities. The key is to (loosely) plan and take advantage of group tours & guides that are available. This will ensure that you can get a good mix of touristy activities while also freely exploring. I could literally just walk around every day and be happy with whatever I discover (which is a trip that I want to take) because of how the city is designed, but it’s great to know you have so many options when it comes to planning your trip.

Also, research your hotels/the best time to visit and book your room as early as possible. If you’re not using a travel guide, check directly with the hotels because we were allowed to “book” our rooms without having to pay any deposition; we just paid for the rooms once we got there. If you use a travel site, they may not allow that (but you may get a cheaper rate, so do whatever actually fits your budget best). Paris is such a walkable city, so obviously make sure you’re staying somewhere safe, but you really can’t go wrong because it’s so easy to get around via foot, bike, metro or Uber.

Finally, love the people that you travel with. Whether it’s with friends, family, a beau, or a travel group, make sure you’re traveling with people who you care about, and also share interests with. This makes traveling SO much easier and more pleasurable. We all have different personalities and enjoy different things, but there are a ton of commonalities between us all in our friend group, which allows us to travel together effortlessly. I’m so thankful that I got experience my first trip to Paris with them, and I can’t wait for our next adventure!

Have questions about my trip? Ask below!

france girls trip lifestyle paris travel