From Paris With Love: Photo Diary and Travel Tips

Outfit details: Anne Klein Coat | Marc Fisher Boots (also recommend these boots) | Banana Republic Jeans | Ivanka Trump OTK Boots

Bonjour!! I finally decided to spend some time gathering my photos for my blog again, and I thought it would be best to start with my favorite trip...Paris. I also want to share more about our travels since I spend a lot of time researching so I hope to share some useful travel tips here!

WHEN TO GO
My sister (Jessica) and I went to Paris at the end of October, and it was perfect. The autumn colors were just stunning, and it made everything so magical when walking around the city. We were lucky too because we hardly had any rain while we were there and just a couple weeks after we left, the leaves had all fallen. So if you plan to visit Paris, I highly recommend going right at the end of September (after Paris Fashion Week ends) or in early October. You'll miss the crowds and summer heat, and catch one of the most beautiful seasons in Paris.

WHERE TO STAY
There is no shortage when it comes to choosing a place to stay in Paris. We stayed at Hotel Atmospheres which I was very happy with. It was centrally located and within walking distance to many attractions (about a 5-10 minute walk from Notre Dame), restaurants, and shops. Their breakfast was a little expensive, but it was also one of our favorite meals. Their croissants were amazingly delicious and fresh and their coffee was the best coffee I've ever had.

GETTING AROUND
One of my favorite ways to see all the tourist spots when I travel is on the Hop-on-Hop-Off tour bus. If your not familiar with these tours, they are double-decker buses that stop at pretty much every main attraction. You can listen to the audio tour guide as you enjoy the ride, and then you just hop off at any stop you like. The buses come by every 15-20 minutes, and then you hop back on until your ready to get off again. Not only is it a great way to get to all the must-see places when you visit a city, but it's also super budget friendly. For Paris, a one day pass is $36, but a three day pass only costs $45. It's also helpful to find a hotel that is near one of the pick-up/drop-off spots since it makes it easy  to start the tour. (There is a pick-up spot about 5 min. away from Hotel Atmospheres). Of course, it can be a little slow getting around sometimes, so I suggest using the subway or Uber when you need to get around the rest of the city.

FAVORITE SPOTS
It's amazing how much there is to do in just one city! We were there for about a 9 days and I feel like we barely scratched the surface of exploring Pairs. Some of my favorites spots I recommend visiting are:
1. Tuileries Garden: This place was so perfect to me. Definitely my favorite place I visited in 2015. Take a stroll through the garden, enjoy a cup of coffee, or if your up for the challenge on your vacation--go for a run (it's a popular running spot).
2. Eiffel Tower/Trocadero: The main Eiffel Tower strip is overcrowded, so try to avoid the crowds by finding some quiet spots off the main pathway or in the surrounding neighborhoods. You'll get just as good views (or even better views) without all the people.
3. A good restaurant: Sometimes, the best places are the ones you find on accident. And it wouldn't be Paris if you didn't take the time to sit down and relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee (while people watching of course).

And last tip--if you're going to a popular attraction, be sure to get there right when it opens! There won't be any lines and it will be a lot easier to get in a great photo! :)

P. S Most of my photos in this post were taken with my phone since it's easy to carry around while on the move (so sorry if they are a bit pixelated) and a few of the photos were taken by Olivier Wong. I came across his page on Instagram right before we went to Paris so I emailed him about shooting together. He has AMAZING photos so be sure to check out his IG (@wonguy974)!