France with a little bit of Belgium

You stumble, and you soar. And, if you’re lucky, you make it to Paris for a while. –Amy Howard

I guess I must be lucky because on black Friday I book my trip to Paris for my sister’s spring break and my mother’s 60^th birthday. This would be my second time in Paris,  and since I already been, my only request was to spend a day in Belgium.

I love Paris because there is so much history to learn about, the pastries are delicious, you can eat a whole box of macaroons and not feel like you gained 5 pounds, and let’s not forget how photogenic it is.

We stayed in a hotel conveniently located right across from Charles De Gaulle airport. Staying close to the airport has its pros and cons- the chances of missing our flight are slim, but we were also outside of Paris which meant the drive into Paris was about 35 minutes. We decided to rent a car, not because we stayed on the outskirts but because my 7 month nephew said he wanted to come.

 

 

I convinced my family that we should end our trip by eating some waffles and chocolate in Brussels. It almost didn’t happen because time seemed to have gotten away from us, but I was not backing down, and I was determined to get there with or without them 🙂  So Thursday morning we woke up and drove to Brussels. It was about a four hour drive through the county side, we decided to avoid the toll roads not knowing how much the tolls would be. However if you ever are in Paris and want to visit Brussels and don’t mind tolls the ride from Paris to Brussels should be about three hours.

Once we arrived in Brussels our mission was to find food and let’s just say we were not disappointed. Every dish we ate was either waffles, chocolate, or both.

Places we visited:

Some of the places my family wanted to visit, I previously visited my first time in Paris but sometimes when seeing things a second time around, you see things you missed the first time.

• Arc de Triomphe
• Eiffel Tower
• Notre Dame
• Musee d’Orsay
• Louvre
• Palace of Versailles

Places we ate:

• Cafe Mabillon- Shrimp Risotto
• Angelina’s- Really good hot chocolate and Macaroons
• Cafe di Roma- Great pizza
• Holybelly- Great pancakes
• Peck 47- Charcoal Latte
• Gaufrerie- Best waffles

The first time I went to Paris, I ate brunch at Holybelly and when I decided to go back to Paris this year I just knew I had to bring my family there. Last time I had the champ, which is a stack of pancakes, a fried egg, bacon, and mushrooms. Who would think to put mushrooms on pancakes, but I was very impressed. This time going back I decided to do the sweet stack, the pancakes are so delicious.

I love how easy and affordable it is to visit different countries while you’re in Europe. You can’t just go to one country you have to visit at least two! Trust me, its worth it.

Comment and tell me what’s your favorite thing to do/eat in Paris? And what’s your favorite European country..I need ideas for my next trip 🙂