Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Paris ‘16, Day 5 – Sightseeing and Angelic Pretty Shop


Monday July 11th was our last day in Paris. We had breakfast at the McDonald’s one final time and then went back to the hotel to pack. We were done pretty early and after checking the whole room one more time we dragged our heavy suitcases downstairs. We were allowed to leave our luggage in the hotel’s basement so we were able to walk around freely around Paris for one more day.
I don’t really remember when we decided it, but at a certain point my mom and I decided to take a bus tour again! Our metro tickets had expired at midnight, so we had to buy one day tickets to travel around Paris. One of several tourist buses, Les Cars Rouges, had a stop right in front of our hotel. This tour bus had two different routes, as our cute hotel guy showed us on a map, which gave us the perfect opportunity to travel around Paris and do what we loved so much (my mom and I adore bus rides in Paris)!
We waited for the first bus that showed up and hopped on. Unfortunately, their cash machine was broken (?) so I had to pay by credit card. But well, we got our tickets! ^^
My mom and I love tourist bus rides!

As I said before, there were two bus routes: the blue Montmartre route, which passed by our hotel, and the red classic route, which passed almost all the big sights in Paris. We decided to take the bus to the transfer point (the station where the two routes intersected) and hop on a red line bus. Then, after we’d finished the red tour, we’d visit Angelic Pretty one final time and then return on the blue line to Gare du Nord to pick up our luggage and head home. A pretty solid plan. ^^
Checking out the two bus routes on the map.

The weather was very changeable that day, but luckily it started out very nice. The sun was shining and sitting on the roof of the bus in the open was quite nice. My mom and I enjoyed just looking up at the beautiful buildings. In Paris, looking up is often a very good idea, as the buildings have so many beautiful details that can easily be overlooked.
Riding the bus in the sunshine was so nice!

We got off at the transfer station and waited a while until the red route bus arrived. The poor staff guy must get the ‘How an you see which bus takes which route?’-question at least 500 times a day! (Answer: there is a piece of paper at the front of the bus saying which route it takes, haha). We got on a red bus and got settled. ^^
To be honest, there is not that much to say about the tour other than that it was very nice. ^^ We drove past the big sights, which was very nice. The weather changed a lot, at one point it almost started raining! Luckily it never did.
I liked driving around the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysées the most. ♥
Some of the famous sights we passed: l’Opéra, the Eiffeltower,
the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame.

I was really happy we had decided to take this tour. My mom and I just like seeing Paris from a bus (or boat) so much! It was a lot of fun. ^^
Mom and me. ♥

Finally we arrived back at the transfer point, so we got off the bus and started walking in the direction of Angelic Pretty. I wasn’t 100% sure where to go, so we just followed our instincts. We only missed the shop by one street, but this caused us to walk past a McDonald’s with McCafé and since we had gotten quite hungry we decided to have lunch there. ♥
I went to the toilet and when I came back we could carry our freshly ordered food to a cute little table outside. We had ordered hot chocolate, apple pie for my mom, cheese cake for me and some raspberry macarons. Everything was so good! ♥
Our delicious lunch!

We even had some cheeky birds flying over to our table in hopes of stealing some crumbs! My mom held up her hand and they took it right off! So brave and so cute! ♥
We went on our way again to Angelic Pretty. The store hadn’t changed much after our last visit (haha), but it was a lot more quiet. ^^
I still cannot believe we have an actual Angelic Pretty shop in Paris again!

We entered the shop and just walked around looking at pretty things. There was more room to look at dresses, so my mom and I took our time. Also, Mila was there so we chatted a bit.
Unfortunately, the necklace I was hoping to buy (a lace cross necklace) was sold out. Instead, my mom was quite enamoured with the Holy Sheep necklace, which is basically a derpy sheep wit wings wearing a cross. But because she thought it was so cute, I fell in love with it too! XD Sooo I ended up getting that one instead! My mom is actually a bad influence. x)
One of the sheep necklaces had a flaw (it missed the little cross), but I decided to get one with the cross. I paid, thanked the shop ladies and then we left the shop.
Naturally a purchase picture in front of the shop needed to be taken.

Aaah I am so happy we have a new Angelic Pretty shop now! I heard they recently painted the shop front pink! I can’t wait to see it…
A little peek into Angelic Pretty Paris…

My mom and I somehow found our way back to the tour bus transfer point and this time took a blue route bus. The route was alright, but not very spectacular. At one point I think we even almost had an accident! The bus was driving very slowly through a narrow street, when suddenly the left side (where I was sitting) drove of a small ledge and fell down at least a meter! I hurt my shoulder on the rail next to me and I am pretty sure that was not supposed to happen. It was quite scary for a moment, but we survived.
We arrived back at Gare du Nord, where my mom and I got off. We picked up our stuff and went to find something to eat for the train ride. We still had plenty of time, so we walked around for a bit and finally chose a sandwich + drink + pastry menu. Then we went to sit outside for a bit until it was time to head for the train.
Waiting in the sun.

After a while, we decided to head for our platform. And what a good decision that was! Remember how I complained there were absolutely no security measures at Amsterdam Central Station? Well, France clearly takes the terrorist threat a lot more serious! We had to stand in line and have our bags checked by an actual scanner! It took quite a long time and we had to run for our train like crazy despite being so on time! A staff lady almost threw us into the train! XD So yeah, good that they take precautions but at least mention it somewhere? Our tickets said: ‘Make sure you are at the platform 2 minutes max before the train leaves’, but no sign of any checks! Oh well, we made it in the end.
The train departed and we left Paris. I waved at the shrinking Eiffeltower ad Sacré Coeur in the distance and we ate our food.
Expensive but good train food.

The journey home felt long, but my dad and brother came to pick us up which was really nice. It had been an amazing adventure. ♥
Purchase of the day

And to end this post with, here is the video I made about our bus tour and visiting the Angelic Pretty shop! I hope you’ll enjoy it!


Thank you for reading! ~☆~

4 comments:

  1. I bought the same necklace in pink at the store :D

    Now after reading your post, I want to take a bus ride in Paris too the next time I'm there, so much more relaxing than dealing with the Metro and the tons of people xD

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  2. Oh that little sheep really is a bit derpy, isn't it? So cute though!

    I have to say, a sightseeing tour by bus seems like a really nice way to end a vacation in a scenic city like Paris.

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    1. Hahaha it's the rhinestone eyes that make it look so derpy! x)

      It's really amazing! It's always a bit colder on the bus, so in summer it's great. ^^

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