The Silly Suitcase: Personal Guides in Paris

In light of the recent tragedies in Paris, I would like to share our story of what a wonderful time we had there just over a few months ago on our European adventure.

#PrayforParis

My first time in Paris was over 10 years ago. It was a good experience for a first timer; we saw all the necessities including the Louvre, the Eiffel tower, the River Seine, etc...

Blah blah blah.

Overall it was a great trip

Except:

I was with an ex-boyfriend,

We were on a tight budget,

and I was fairly clueless.

Now that I have a small clue, a bigger budget, and a much better boyfriend- this visit to Paris was sure to be the best.

Oh...and we had unexpected private tour guides!

You see:

A few years ago Ryan and I traveled to Istanbul for a work trip. While we were there, we met a French couple named Yann and Mylene. We ended up hanging out with them while we were in Istanbul and ultimately kept in touch over the years.
Recently, Yann happened to be in Chicago for business so naturally we met up with in which we basically had a dance party in his hotel room until 3 am.

Yann at Lou Malnati's

Yann and I in Chicago

Of course, when we planned this European trip I contacted our French friends and hoped we would be able to meet up for some drinks or dinner while in town.

We had no idea what these guys had planned for us, but they made our trip to Paris extra amazing.

So here is what a trip to Paris looked like with our own friendly guides:

1. We had a personal driver!! Without telling me, Yann rented a van (more like a mini bus) in which he picked us up daily and escorted us around the city. They gave us narrated tours filled with personal and historical stories to explain the city better than any real tour.

Arc De Triomphe

The Notre Dame Cathedral

People making their own "new" Love Lock Bridge

2. They took us to unique restaurants.
From typical Parisian cuisine to trendy bars on boats, we were able to taste it all. There was duck at ¨Chez George," an interesting birthday party celebration on a barge, and mussels and fries in the heart of the city. Paris won the award for the best food overall on our entire 2.5 week vacation. Certainly we owe these great places to our Parisian friends.

Dinner on a Boat

The dance floor opens later

3. We went on a road trip! With such limited time in Paris, never did we think we would be spending a day driving to the region of Normandy, but this proved to be the absolute best day on the entire trip! Our favorite friends took us to the amazing villages of Deauville and Honfleur where we spent our time shopping and exploring. We enjoyed the local specialty of crepes and apple cider at a quaint village cafe. We strolled through the charming towns and watched Brad debate on which cookies to buy. We tasted fresh nougat and chocolate as we forced Yann to pay for parking in each new town.

Yann and Mylene with us

The streets of Honfleur

Hoodie pics

Fresh apple cider

Deauville France

Later in the day, we saw the beaches of Normandy and hiked up to a few of the hidden bunkers that remain in this region of France.

Complaining abut the walking

Entrance to a bunker

Our tour guides

Brad crawling in or out?

One of the beaches of Normandy

So enough about what we saw... lets talk about WHY we were really there to begin with.

Do you remember the point of this trip? It was Brads 40th birthday!! Thats right, the reason we were even on this journey was because Brad (Bradzilla) wanted to experience Europe as he turned into an old man.

He was already old and washed up.. why not make it official?

Unfortunately, due to several changes in our original itinerary, we really had no big plans for Brads birthday (for the record, it was supposed to be spent on a train to London). We knew this was not gonna be good enough for Bradzilla. I mean, he only reminded us daily how this was HIS trip and we should be honoring him.

So we brought a few props from Party City (lugged them around for days) and surprised brad after his morning shower with champagne, macaroons, and dumb glasses for him to wear. We were trying to be sure Brad would start his 4th decade of life looking like a complete idiot.

Who can complain bout this?

One chain

Voila...

I think we succeeded!!

Bradzilla officially turned into an old man in the city of Paris.

Mission accomplished, and our amazing trip was coming to an end. (Brad and Mags would fly home soon, Ryan and I would continue on to London).

So let us recap...

Things I loved most about Paris:

1. The architecture... its the things we read about in books- Romanesque, medieval, renaissance, etc. None of these words mean much until seen in person in a city like this.

2. The cafes- Of course this sounds cliche, and every city has cafes. I am in San Antonio now... there are cafes everywhere. Nothing compares to a real Parisian cafe. It might be in the running for one of the best places to "people watch". (airports are for sure the best, Las Vegas at 4 am is pretty good, Key West at any given time is certainly entertaining)

3. Our personal guides who spoiled us daily! Certainly our trip to Paris was made exceptional because of the generosity of our dear friends Yann and Mylene. My recommendation to you - find your own friends and con them into showing you around.... it was extra extra special!!

Here are just a few more of our favorite Paris moments: