Weekend in Paris — Jun Baniqued Images

Day 1- Uncle Jun in Paris. This past weekend I made a short trip to Paris. Short in the sense that, it was only five days and Bob wasn’t able to come with me. It was Julie Ann’s (my niece) wedding to Geenee (her partner) on August 6th. Even though it was a family occasion, because it was a short notice (what we thought an event that would happen last June when we both planned of going, became a five-week notice as the date was changed to August 6th- changed beyond everyone’s control due to French circumstances), we both decided that I will just be the one that would attend for many practical reasons.

I landed in Paris on Thursday noontime and took the train to Trocadero- a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower- where my niece’s apartment is at. The travel was smooth and it took me about an hour to get to the heart of the city. Julie Ann’s apartment is a walk up, and she lives on the seventh floor- that was fun to climb up. I took some time putting my luggage away and refreshing myself when I finally got to her place; then the fun time begins.

List of French cuisine on first day. Check.

I have my lists of what I want to do, and what I want to eat on this trip, so I told my niece about them- and off we go to the streets of Paris. We first stop in Le Poincare- a local bistro nearby her place. We had some Salmon Carpaccio, Escargot and Tuna Tartare that we shared amongst us- I had a glass of Beaujolais wine, which was refreshing. We savored our food while chit chatting about the trip I just had and the wedding on Saturday. When we’re done, we took the train ride to our first stop.

Pont Neuf. One of the many attractions in Paris, with the view of River Seine near the famous Notre Dame.

Pont Neuf. This quaint place is Closer to Notre Dame with lesser amount of tourists. I haven’t explored this place much the last time; as we stayed mostly within the Eiffel Tower area then. We walked around Seine River, took pictures and just watched people go by. We also found a good spot to sit and watched the tourists enjoying their boat rides at the river. Originally, I wanted to shoot either a sunrise or sunset here, but the day was still young so we decided to hop back on the train and went to Anvers.

Sacre Coeur. The last time we were in France we tried getting inside this church, but we never made it. We were too late so it was close and only the outside that we saw. So after roaming around at Port Neuf, we went to Sacre Caeur next. This time I got to see the inside- the details of its tile works are unbelievable! I took some shots of the altar from afar; then I put my camera away. I walked around the inside, until I saw a quiet place and uttered a little prayer. When we were done, we went up to the dome and see the panoramic view of Paris. It is timely that while we are up admiring the beauty of the city from above, it was also down-pouring. The dark grey clouds we saw moments ago, made their way to the area; so we rested up at the dome while admiring the vast number of houses that eventually lead to the Eiffel Tower. That was quite an experience.

We went back to Pont Neuf hoping the sun had set but unfortunately it was overcast so we really didn’t see much difference since we first came earlier that day. I took some more photos then we all decided to just walk around Rue de Rivoli. While I was taking photo of the quaint cafe Auguste; the overcast sky suddenly turned into a burning sunset. You can see from the horizon (as the street was almost perfectly straight) a red-orange color that lit up the entire sky! I took some shots of the street then ran fast towards the Louvre as I knew the sunset is as beautiful out there.. and I wasn’t wrong😂. I spent almost an hour taking photos of the Louvre on different angles until there were no more colors but just blue reflections of the sky. We stayed at the Louvre for sometime waiting for the lights to come on and playing tourists then after that we decided to go home to rest. Tomorrow is another day.

all the family arrived and met at the Cafe near the hotel.

Day 2- The Arrivals. Because of the time difference between Paris and the US, I woke up earlier the next day. I was admiring the view of the Eiffel Tower from Julie Ann’s 7th floor apartment window and I was also waiting for them to wake up, so we could tackle our day. I promised I would help them with their errands until Nilda my sister, and Damian her husband, arrived from Dublin. Shortly after, they got up, packed their suitcases and off we go to the train station to Clichy. We arrived at L’ Imprimerie Hotel and checked in the first room. I was feeling sleepy, so I took a nap while Julie Ann and Geenee were talking to their event planner. In less than no time, Nilda and Damian arrived. They immediately dropped their luggages off and refreshed themselves, then we were all out to the nearby Bistrot Italien to have lunch. Then Merly my other sister, and her family (Henk- her husband and her kids- Kevin and Selena) arrived from their three hour drive from Rotterdam. they all joined us for a chat as we were finishing up eating. Then we all returned to the hotel so both families can check in and rest. I napped again too.

The view of the Eiffel Tower from Julie Ann and Geenee’s apartment.

At about 4PM, Nilda, Damian and I decided to explore Paris. Merly and her family had their own itinerary as well while Julie and Geenee continued their last minute errands before the wedding tomorrow. We began our walk as we get off from the train station at Avenue des Champ- Elysees to Place dela Concorde, passing through Tuileries Garden to the Louvre to Pont Neuf. We went to see the current status of the Basilica de Notre Dame post fire tragedy a couple of years ago, and it was sad to see that the only remains of once beautiful and intricate structure was just the facade of the front building. In retrospect, I am glad to see the inside one last time during my last visit to Paris in 2018. But I am also glad to see scaffoldings- which means, the restoration is on going. Then we walked some more!

We walked further to the Latin side of town for more of sight-seeing until we had dinner at Cafe Latin. We probably walked more than six miles. Luckily we had another sumptuous French meal as it definitely eased away both the soreness of my feet and the jetlag. It was around 9PM when we navigated the train from Mont Michell station back to the hotel.

While waiting for Justin, my nephew arriving late from Dublin, I invited my sisters to come and join me in my room to chat and catch up with them. Around midnight when he finally texted that he had arrived so I fetched him up from the hotel lobby. We all spent few moments before we called the night to rest for the big event the following day. That was that for my second day.

The newly weds outside the courthouse after the official ceremony.

Day 3- The Wedding day. I set the alarm with the wrong time. I had it set for 730PM instead of AM. Justin and I woke up from Nilda’s knocking on the door. Loud enough to both get us up. We had ample time between eating our breakfast and getting ourselves ready for the big event. By 9AM we got picked up and transported to the city hall for the official wedding ceremony.

The wedding itself was beautiful. Obviously the ceremony was in French, and was a lot different from what I normally attend in the US or in the Philippines, but indeed beautiful. The reception was great as well- it was so alive with music and attendees gracefully dancing in every beats and sounds. I am happy that Julie and Geenee were surrounded of people that support and matter to them most on their special day. I will not write much about the wedding as I intend to write a separate blog for them. So stay tuned.😊

I rested for a bit after the wedding. Around 730ish I invited my nephews and my niece if they want to walk around the Eiffel Tower and watch the light show at dusk while drinking wine and eating cheese ala-picnic style. We also invited Julie and Geenee but they opted to stay in their rooms as they were tired. We all understood. After all, it’s their wedding day. then off we went to the train station. About two miles or so of walking after we got off the train in Trocadero station, we couldn’t find a supermarket to buy our wine and cheese, but rather found a quaint cafe and decided to have dinner instead. I am glad I got the chance to bond with them. I am so proud of the fact that most of them have mostly grown up (Selena is 16, and the youngest of them all). I get to be updated with their whereabouts- schools, work, travels, etc. as we all live different places- Dublin, Rotterdam, Paris and I in Florida.

My nephews, niece and myself wandering around Paris.

What struck me the most is that, during our conversations I realized how much social awareness they have- we never talked about superficial things. We talked about politics ( they were more interested how American politics work, and asked so many questions about its current political climate), we talked about the environment (I am happy to hear that each one of them plays their part in keeping the planet green), we talked about social issues, and random topics about the EU. These surprised the uncle in me! I am really happy to know the young adults in them- I am glad that they all have established jobs, pursuing studies that they want, exploring the world, and mostly with high level of social consciousness. I hope to see all of them again including the three not in attendance- Ryan, Conor, and Bitoy- gather together at once and have conversations like these.

We headed to the hotel before midnight, stayed a couple more hours in Julie Ann’s and Geenee’s room along with my two sisters eating left over wedding cake, telling stories and cracking jokes until we all decided to call the night off. We all headed to our own rooms to finally sleep.

Day 4. Heading Home. Sunday was our sleep in day. Justin and I woke up around 930AM and headed right away to the dining room for our breakfast. This time I enjoyed my first meal of the day- smoked Salmon and some of my favorite French cheeses- Brie, Humbolt Fog and Chevre- with fresh croissant and baguettes. After breakfast, we headed back to our room, got ready and packed for the noon checkout. The rest of the family did the same and we met at the lobby afterwards. Merly’s family left first. They were heading back to Rotterdam after they visit the famous Jim Morrison’s grave; so we said our goodbyes. Then the rest of us took our uber ride to drop off Julie and Geenee’s luggages at their apartment in Trocadero. Justin and I helped them carry their bags- and once again, took the hundred steps up the spiral stairs to seventh heaven. For the last time, I took a glance of Eiffel Tower from their window then we headed down at the lobby where Nilda and Damian chose to stay. And off we go to our new hotel for the night.

Hotel Elysees Union our new hotel overlooks the Eiffel Tower as well. It was still early to check in so we just left our luggages at the hotel attendant and decided to grab lunch at Le Belloy. Yet again, the French menu was superb! The family seemed to enjoy the food- and so was I, even though I only have the Parisian salad. It was my time to shine so this was my treat to the family.🙂

After lunch we headed back to our hotel and checked in. Then we took off and walked by the Eiffel Tower one last time. Then back to the hotel and rested for a bit until we sent Damian and Justin to the lobby as they took off to the airport with another Uber ride. Then it was just the four of us.

Julie and Gennee went back briefly to their apartment while Nilda and I stayed in the hotel. She rested and I started packing as I have an early trip to the airport the following day. When they came back, we decided to go to La Defense- another arc you’ll find in Paris; only on the modern side. I’ve never been in this part of the city- and its good to know this part of Paris. The modern buildings are here; it is the cosmopolitan area of the city- the exact opposite side the old Paris we all come to see. We watched the sunset til it got dark and took some photos too. After sometime, we got on the train to Kleber and looked for a place to finally eat. We found Le Copernic and for one more night, we savored another French cuisine.

It was past 10PM and everyone was getting tired, so we walked two blocks to Arc de Triomphe to see it one more time at night then walked back to the hotel. It was around 11PM that time and the Eiffel Tower started the light show; we were standing by the front door of our hotel as we watched it. It lasted ‘til about ten minutes. It felt so good to end the last night of this trip with that magical light show that I always look forward to whenever I am in Paris.