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This post is part of our Eurotrip Series. You can find the rest of the series here.
Eurotrip Day 15 was our final full day in Europe. On this day, we explored the Louvre and visited Notre Dame Cathedral. After hitting these two essential stops in Paris, we simply wandered through the streets on our way back toward the hotel. We stopped for an authentic crepe on the way back to the hotel, and we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the restaurant next door.
- Air Travel/Transportation – How we got home.
- Adventures – Write-ups of the activities we enjoyed during our visit.
- Hotel Spotlight – Where we stayed and our review of the accommodations.
Air Travel/Transportation
American Airlines – 18,000 AA miles + 7,915 Barclay Arrival+ miles each
We booked our flights back from Paris to Charlotte to Kansas City using American Airline miles. Since we booked this before the devAAluation, our flights were only 20,000 AA miles each, with a 10% rebate for having the Citi AA Platinum card. We paid the fees using our Barclay Arrival+ miles. We were very fortunate to find both legs of our flight on American Airlines metal, so we didn’t have to pay fuel surcharges. Otherwise, we would have had to build our route to avoid these crazy fees!
Adventures
The Louvre
Absolutely no visit to Paris would be complete without a visit to the Louvre! We learned that the main entrance tends to have quite a long line, so we decided to find the “secret entrance.” This isn’t really much of a secret anymore, but we did find the line to be quite a bit shorter. The entrance we used can be found by going down a set of stairs near the Arch de Triomphe du Carrousel and walking through a shopping mall area.
Once inside the museum, we set a course to see the more famous pieces of art, including the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Seated Monk, Ancient Egyptian pieces, and of course, the Mona Lisa!
We wandered through the massive complex, often getting very lost, but thoroughly enjoying all of the masterpieces around us. We also thought the Napoleonic Apartments were fascinating! That guy really knew how to live a life of luxury!
As I have mentioned before, neither of us are big art buffs or fans of museums… however, there was definitely something special about the Louvre. We even stumbled upon this strange painting, and I insisted that my wife pose with it, just for our lovely blog readers!
Notre Dame Cathedral
After spending a few hours indoors at the Louvre, we were ready to be outside for a bit. We walked along the river for a while, before crossing a bridge onto the island where Notre Dame Cathedral is located. Didn’t know it was on an island?? Neither did I! The whole walk took about 20 minutes.
When we arrived at the cathedral, we learned that entry is free, unless you want to wait in a very long line to climb to the top. We chose to simply walk in and see the gorgeous interior. We particularly loved the massive, ornate stained glass windows. The sheer size of these European cathedrals amazes me every time I walk into one.
Dinner – Ristorante Lo Spaghettino
This tiny restaurant was right across from our hotel. We snagged the last seat in the restaurant (maybe 7 total tables) and were warmly greeted by Daniella, the waitress and owner! We immediately felt like locals. Daniella was a true delight and we were impressed with her ability to speak FOUR languages. The wine, lasagna, and gnocchi were our choices, but honestly, everything here sounded delicious. Daniella’s husband was the cook, and he prepared two of the best dishes of our entire trip. We LOVED this spot!
Hotel Spotlight
See Day 13 for our review of the Acadia Hotel.
Conclusion
What a great way to end the trip, with a leisurely day to stroll through one of the most famous art museums on the planet. Notre Dame was beautiful and awe inspiring, and our dinner was top notch! After 2+ weeks away, we were ready to go home and sleep in our own bed. I hope you have enjoyed following along with our Eurotrip… What was your favorite part?
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