My Trip to Paris For Christmas
One of the ways that I’ve learned to manage the amount of stress that I’m regularly under, is to nearly always have an upcoming vacation on the books. I realized last August, with the busy summer, and crazy upcoming Fall, that I had nothing planned and panicked a bit. After some consideration, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to plan a family trip to Paris in December!The first time I went to Paris in 2011 I had a horrible time. The city was cold, had a certain stench about it, and I didn’t feel safe. I’ve avoided the city ever since! In 2018 I went back in the Spring, a different kind of traveler, and loved it. The city surprised me, the food was delicious, and I had a completely different experience. Since then, I’ve wanted to take my Mom and brother there to experience Christmas in Paris.As always, when planning a vacation, I try to approach it with the right balance of exploration and tourism with relaxation time. That’s exactly how I designed this trip!
Christmas in Paris
We connected through Heathrow Airport before landing in Paris. If you know me, you’ll know I enjoyed being back in London, even for a few hours!When we arrived in Paris, the mood was tense. There were transportation strikes happening all over the city, making traffic difficult. We were lucky that our drive from the airport to the city centre was lovely! The trip took longer than we anticipated, but we still enjoyed seeing the Parisian streets.Our flat was in Le Marais, a fashionable district within Paris. It’s a lovely place filled with trendy boutiques and galleries, and was the perfect little home for our Parisian getaway with beautiful views overlooking the streets of Paris. We had plenty of natural light coming through the big windows, which is always something I can appreciate and enjoy.The first evening of our trip, we walked down to see the Notre Dame and enjoyed a little meal in a cafe near the Seine. It was pretty magical and a great way to start the vacation.
Favorite Parts of the Trip
Despite the tense atmosphere on our first day with the transportation strikes, the rest of the trip went very smoothly! To the surprise of no one who has ever read my European Adventure series, some of my favorite parts of the trip were related to eating and drinks. Especially the mulled wine which we enjoyed while strolling through markets, and relaxing in coffee shops. We also went to a delicious restaurant called 404 where we enjoyed a wonderful delicious Moroccan dinner.
My favorite evening was spent wandering along the Seine from Notre Dame to a Christmas Market at the Louvre. There’s something so vibrant about the streets of Paris! We ran across a little show of live music that truly made the night perfect.I was so charmed by the atmosphere and being surrounded by all the festive decorations and mood. Enjoying the Christmas Markets and spending time with my family was the perfect way to spend my holidays. This entire trip was everything I needed to recharge with my family and have quality time with them.I used to be a workaholic and dealt with burnout more often than I like to admit. After starting Daydreams and having more control over my time, I prioritized time for rest and relaxation. It is one of Daydreams’ biggest values and one that Sara and I both share.Working to plan events with our clients is a dream come true and having the opportunity to choose when I can rest and relax is also important to me!This Christmas in Paris trip and spending time with my family was exactly everything I needed to recharge and rest again. I already hard at work to get my next trip on the calendar!