I’ve been writing about my trip in Paris for the past weeks and it’s still continuing. I spent only two days in the City of Love but I have so much to share!
This week, I will take you to Louvre and see the Bastille Day celebration nearby the museum. In addition, I will also take you to Angelina, a famous cafe in Paris where I had to queue for 30 minutes.
Don’t worry, I also visited other parts of France, so you won’t see many posts about Paris 😉
I was lucky to have my second day in Paris on 14 July 2022, exactly on Bastille Day. It’s a national day in France when you could see military parades, dance, and fireworks at night!
In summary, Bastille Day commemorates the day when Parisian broke into the Royal fortress, Bastille, and released a few prisoners there. It was the first victory against the Old Regime.
Exploring the Louvre, the Express Way
The downside of joining a group tour is you have limited time to explore the Louvre. But I have no complaint as I find the tour price suits my budget. If I had another day in Paris, maybe it would cost more…
So yeah, although we had only 1.5 hours to explore the Louvre, I’m fine with it. FYI, you could spend an entire day exploring the museum on your own!
I asked Gareth if we could go together and he said ok. I didn’t know that he had a super wide knowledge about the world.
He studied zoology but apparently, he also knew a lot about art, history, etc… I felt like walking with a museum guide, him explaining this and that to me 😶😮
We chose to visit the Egyptian corner, dashed to witness the famous Monalisa from afar, dashed to the Roman, Greek, and African corners, then exit the museum.
I managed to walk as fast as I could in my mini heels (Clarks, you’re awesome!). We were so late to meet the group for the Bastille Day parade hence we missed it… Very sorry, guys! 🙏🙏🙏
The Fighter Jets Parade, Bastille Day
Although the group missed the parade, Gareth and I were lucky to be able to witness the military jets that passed by the Louvre. It was memorable!
👏🎉 Happy Bastille Day, France!! 🎉👏
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Ritz Paris — The Last Hotel Where Princess Diana Stayed
We headed for a brief walking tour near the Louvre. Aaron, our tour leader, took us to the Ritz, the hotel where Princess Diana last stayed before the fateful event.
Beside the hotel is the Minister de la Justice building, where they hung the new French flags. So, what’s the difference between the old and new flags?
The new flag has a darker shade of blue (left) compared to the old one that the Ritz hung (right).
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Happy Bastille Day! The Celebration Continued at Angelina Paris
Angelina Paris, the famous cafe that was frequented by Coco Chanel, Proust, and other big fashion designers in the 1900s, was on my list.
But I never thought that what seemed like an aimless walk would bring the group to pass by the cafe! Not far from the cafe, Aaron said the walking tour has ended and we were free to do whatever we wanted.
Since Angelina Paris was on my list and Gareth was a HUGE desserts lover who made a goal of visitting a nice cafe in Paris, we headed to the cafe. Although the queue was long, you don’t need to make a reservation.
Aaand… surprise, surprise! There was a short Bastille Day parade!
We queued for around 30 minutes. Stood behind us was a girl who wandered solo. We talked and got to know that she was a veterinarian who loved to ride horses and travelling.
She also had a SUPER CUTE highland cattle, like this one (but its hair was longer):
Since she came alone and I wanted to try different types of desserts, I invited her to sit together. Coincidentally, the next day would be her birthday, so I asked her to choose a slice of cake (which I also tried, hehe!).
Our lunches at Angelina Paris consisted of:
- Plain croissants
- Hot chocolate
- Strawberry milkshake
- Milk
- Brioche
- Mont-blanc
- Strawberry cake
- Two scoops of ice cream, etc
Yes, holidaying in Paris isn’t cheap. Luckily, I had prepared my budget around two years ago… And since I was already there, I wanted to visit one decent cafe in Paris.
Thank you, Paris! You’d been lovely! 💝💝💝
By the way, here’s another video of the Bastille Day fireworks celebration in Paris, taken by Aaron:
I hope you enjoy this post and have a great week 😊
