{"id":2039,"date":"2023-11-21T22:50:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/?p=2039"},"modified":"2024-12-09T04:23:58","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T04:23:58","slug":"haute-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/21\/haute-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"Haute Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Activity level: \ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modes of transportation: \ud83d\ude97 \ud83d\udc5f\ud83d\ude8a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a pretty normal wake up despite the late night, so we got ready and headed out. Before we left, Eric made a reservation at a nice restaurant, so we had that to look forward to. Unfortunately, it was fairly cold and rainy, so our hotel let us borrow some umbrellas and we went on our way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Excited for her first outing in Paris! We didn’t have much room in our bags for cold-weather clothes, but we made it work. Sarah pulled together this outfit, which was a collection of items gathered throughout the honeymoon. Skirt, shirt and nails from the Weekend Market in Bangkok<\/a>, tights from the Rome shopping trip with Aunt Nancy<\/a>, and new shoes from Venice! Earrings (not pictured) were from the pearl farm in Ha Long Bay<\/a>. Gloves (pictured later) were from the Penguin Parade in Melbourne.<\/a> Coat was a Christmas present (thanks Mom!).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our first stop was to get some authentic croissants, so we stopped by a boulangerie and ordered by pointing and (badly) pronouncing French words (though, Sarah was impressed Eric perfectly pronounced his favorite: saucisson). It was just the buttery baked good that Sarah needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We made our way through the Paris Metro all the way to the Champs De Mars, where we saw the Eiffel Tower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Eiffel Tower! Sarah insisted we stop and take a photo the second she saw it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
A nice Parisian saw us taking a selfie and asked if we wanted our photo taken. Sarah then asked if she wanted one and the Parisian just laughed and walked off.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After looking at a bit, Eric said: \u201cok, time to go up,\u201d which Sarah didn\u2019t even realize was possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
To the tower! (Editor’s note: We now see the fencing up, and wonder if that was there ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The trick to the Eiffel Tower is that the lines for the elevator are hours, but taking the stairs has no line (and is cheaper). Unfortunately for Eric, the stairs offer panoramic views of the city and distance from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sarah had no qualms about taking the stairs…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eric… not so much. But he was a real trooper! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n


We eventually made it up to the first level, where we enjoyed a macaron and sat for a bit enjoying the architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We still had many more steps to go, though, to make it to the second level. Eric white-knuckled his way up, and we made it in great time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Eric used the umbrella as a stabilizer as he climbed the steps. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From there, we had to take the elevator all the way to the top observatory deck, which sits at a cool 281 meters (922 feet) high. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Eric stayed mostly towards the middle, but Sarah enjoyed the stunning 360 degree views of Paris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sarah asked why the river was so brown and Eric had to explain the history of the Seine. We couldn’t believe Olympian’s will be expected to swim in it in 9 months. Hope they can clean it by then! (Editor’s update: they did! More or less).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
It was very windy and cold and the sky wasn’t exactly blue, but it still was magnificent!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They sold some champagne at the top, so we bought a few glasses and toasted to the last stop of our honeymoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The way down was easier for some reason, and we made it to the bottom in no time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We had some time to kill, so we started to head over to dinner, which happened to be near Mont Martre. On the way, Eric mis-scanned his ticket to the metro and couldn\u2019t get past the turnstile; but some nice man let him tailgate. And they say the French are rude!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We made our way up the hill and stopped to get a hot coffee to stay warm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We continued up the hill and went into Sacre Coeur Basilica, which was huge and beautiful. There was even a choir of nuns putting on a performance, but we didn\u2019t stay long. We stayed on top the hill enjoying the views of Paris for a minute before heading back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sarah wanted to take off her wedding nails, since they had grown out and were getting very impractical, so we found a nearby nail salon and got them removed and re-painted (and we left our hotel\u2019s umbrellas there by accident, which we are only now realizing as we write this post).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sarah was relieved to finally be removing these “claws”.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We finished up just in time to stroll over to dinner which was nearby at a restaurant called Mache. Luckily, the restaurant was pretty casual so we fit right in. We decided to \u201cwhen in Paris\u201d it and order the wine pairing, and Sarah ordered a \u201ccarafe\u201d of water (which seems like a next-level answer to \u201cstill or sparkling?\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wine’d and Dine’d. (Also, new nails, who dis?)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The food was an extraordinarily fancy, creative take on French food (we had no idea what to expect. We also found out right before we went that it also has a Michelin star). We had 7 or 8 courses of many small, interesting dishes. Sarah especially loved the scallop, and Eric loved the steak dish (both only little bites). While each dish was pretty small, there were so many that we were actually pretty full by the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(Try the grey stuff, it’s delicious!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wine was also super interesting. It wasn\u2019t standard French stuff\u2014we had strange orange wines and off-the-beaten-path flavors. One of the courses even paired with sake since it was a Japanese-inspired dish. They weren\u2019t all our favorite, but they did pair well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Cheers!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In true French fashion, there was a couple behind us sort of making out the whole time, which was funny. We kind of wondered what their deal was (but never found out).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner finished pretty late, and we were pooped. We cabbed back to the hotel and plopped right into bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric had to do a little bit of laundry to get us through the rest of the trip, but we didn\u2019t spend long before going to sleep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah and Eric tower over Paris, then have an elevated dinner on a hill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-2039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-france","tag-paris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2039"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3591,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2039\/revisions\/3591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}