Quarantine Diary: Springtime in Paris

Immediately following our winter wonderland trip in Tromso, we would be visiting springtime in Paris with a few friends!

The Magical Idea

With our friends, Megan and Joey, coming across the pond for big France trip, we decided to meet them in Paris. Because we been to Paris a few times, we looked for new things to do. First of all, we would try and go to the Louvre as we still haven’t been due to the strike last year. Plus, we would probably do a baking class or other fun activities with our friends. 

Then, Mary Frances had her magical idea - Disney Land Paris. Long a bucket list item, we would wake up really early and spend a magical day at Disney before returning late at night. It was a winning idea!

Planning our Travel

Because Paris is really easy to reach from London, there are many different ways. In the end, we opted for the easy Eurostar for the convenience!

Easy Eurostar

Since we returned from Tromso late on Wednesday night, we wanted a late morning or early afternoon train or flight. While I am all for the efficiency of flights, there is definitely a cost and benefit analysis! My strategy is always the flight price + the train to/from the airport in both London and Paris compared to the Eurostar price. Usually, it is equal if we check the prices early enough! 

Lodging

Unlike our past trip hotels in the 3rd/4th district, we chose a completely new area for us - the St Germain area! Filled with tasty restaurants and cafes, it is a great area to spend our time! Plus, it was close to the “Disney” metro line as well as our friend’s hotel! 

Although there are plenty of hotel options, we went with a simple, highly rated AirBnB studio to save some costs.

Delicious Food & Drink

While there is no telling which amazing new bakeries I would have found or any great new cafes, the only definite reservation was at Le Poulbot. Other than that, we were going to try a new place but hadn’t begun any research. However, we always have our Google map pins...

Springtime in Paris Activities

As I mentioned earlier, the main highlight of the trip would be seeing our friends, followed by DisneyLand Paris. Thus, we had to fill our remaining time! Here are a few of the ideas that we were debating before the trip fell apart…

• DisneyLand Paris: During the winter, Disneyland was running a great sale on their tickets. Since Mary Frances is obviously a subscriber, she immediately wanted to buy them! She even had our entire day planned out with Disneyland guides.
• Louvre: After our failed visit last year, we really wanted to cross the Louvre off the bucket list. On the day our trip was cancelled, I almost bought tickets so it was so thankful. 
• Food Tour: During the year, I saw mouth-watering photos of a great Parisan food tour. Thankfully, they posted a link to the Parisian Food Market and Tour AirBnB experience and it was available for our trip!
• Croissant Class: Because we love cooking classes in foreign countries, how could we not do a croissant and pain au chocolate class in Paris??

The Fail

When we first heard about developing situation, we knew this trip was in trouble because it was second trip in line. Then, our friends had to cancel their trip. Shortly afterwards, the EU closed it’s borders and France restricted travel within the country. Thankfully, we were able to obtain either travel vouchers, refunds, or a transferable ticket for all of our booked activities. Then, it was an easy decision to cancel! However, we will always have Paris…