Honeymoon Archives - Cherise and Shine

3 Days in Paris

October 11, 2017April 5, 2023 Cherise and Shine

At long last, finally a blog post about my favorite landlocked city in the world! (Yes, I know that’s oddly specific.)

We went to Paris as the last stop in our 2-week whirlwind honeymoon of 12 cities, eight flights and six ferries. What better place to end a honeymoon than in the city of love? It was my third time in Paris, but my husband’s first, so we had to make the most of our time there!

Which meant seeing all your quintessential Paris city sites, PLUS Versailles and Disneyland Paris!

Wednesday Night (Day 0.5)

We arrived in Paris around 4pm on a Wednesday, and lucky for us, the sun doesn’t set during the summer until almost 10pm.

We stayed in an adorable Airbnb in central Paris that I would ABSOLUTELY recommend! It was much cheaper than a hotel, but very cute and central. Being near Châtelet-les-Halles, it was a straight shot via RER lines to the Charles de Gaulle Airport, Disneyland Paris and Château de Versailles.

We checked into our Airbnb and then took public transit to Montmartre, home of Sacré-Cœur Basilica. It was a beautiful evening to walk around!

The only thing I regret is not properly checking hours of operation ahead of time. We were able to walk around Sacré-Cœur, which was our objective, but couldn’t climb up to the observation part because it had just closed. Regardless, the view of Paris was lovely from the hill, and the church is just so beautiful.

We then walked to dinner at a charming bistro called “Chez Michel.” It was probably the most authentic French food we had on our brief trip, and everything from the pate to the famous Paris-Brest was delicious.

They also brought us a variety of complimentary dishes—champagne, sea snails and strawberry dessert. Because we were on our honeymoon!

We then strolled around and explored until we retired to our Airbnb in order to wake up early for Notre Dame and Disneyland!!!

Thursday (Day 1.5)

We walked from our Airbnb the next morning to Notre-Dame Cathedral, a must on anyone’s Paris list.

The cathedral opened at 7am, but silly us, we didn’t check what time the tower observation decks opened! So once again we didn’t get a high vantage point of Paris/the Eiffel Tower. However, it was still worth it to be there early in the morning before other people were.

After this, we took the RER A line straight to Disneyland Paris. We did research ahead of time to see what was unique to these parks.

We had such a blast! We only spent a half day between the two parks, but we planned our time out carefully. I won’t take too long detailing our trip, but here are the highlights I would recommend:

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS PARK

RIDE: Crush’s Coaster – Line up for this one when the park opens as there are no fast passes for it. This is a unique “roller coaster” that simulates riding a current in a shell. It’s righteous, dude!
RIDE: Ratatouille: The Adventure – Get a Fastpass for this one and journey along with Rémy as you shrink down to his size and follow him in the kitchen in a 4D experience.
RESTAURANT: Bistrot Chez Rémy – You MUST go here!! We made reservations two months in advance, and it was totally worth it. Sit down and enjoy a meal prepared by “Rémy” as you take in the darling décor set up so that you feel the size of a rat. Every set meal comes with ratatouille—of course!

Also, fun story–I was obsessively photographing the 25th Anniversary chocolate that came with my espresso. A puzzled server noticed and asked me, “You are photographing the chocolate?” Embarrassed, I said, “I like chocolate.” He disappeared and then brought me MORE CHOCOLATE!

DISNEYLAND PARIS

RIDE: Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain – This is very different from the other Space Mountain rides at the other Disney theme parks. It’s more thrilling and intense, and the Star Wars aspect of it is taken seriously.
RIDE: Phantom Manor – If you ever wished the Haunted Mansion was a little creepier and actually had a narrative, this ride is for you.
ATTRACTION: Dragon – There’s a dragon under the Sleeping Beauty castle (which in itself you should walk through, because it’s so charming and magical)!!

After this, we grabbed some refreshing iced coffee in Disney Village (Paris’ Downtown Disney) and spent the remainder of the evening walking around Paris and exploring Le Marais and the general area around our hotel.

We turned in early because the next day we woke up at dawn!

Friday (Day 2.5)

I’m lucky to have such a kind and patient husband. He cheerfully allowed me to wake him up at 5am so we could get to the Place du Trocadéro by 6am for sunrise pictures! We had a magical time taking in the views and having the place to ourselves—save for a few other couples who were actually getting professional engagement pictures done.

In comparison, we were no professionals—I kept setting my camera up on random ledges or piling our bags and hats underneath it (I had no tripod!), and then running into the frame for shots! I can only imagine how silly we must have looked to everyone else.

But got some magical shots—one of which has been printed and hung above our bed. <3

After this, we continued on to Versailles Palace. To avoid lines, we had purchased in advance a guided tour: The Private Apartments of the Kings. I would HIGHLY recommend doing this!

For 7€ extra a person, we got a guided English tour through the Kings Quarters—areas of the palace that the general public doesn’t get to enter!

This included Louis XV’s bedchamber, clock room, clothes cabinet, the dogs’ room (yes, for the king’s favorite dogs), private chambers, library (which a door hidden in a bookshelf!!) and many other fascinating areas.

I so badly wanted to sing songs from the “Beauty and the Beast” soundtrack while walking throughout the palace. Chateau de Chambord may have been the original inspiration for the 1991 film’s castle, but Château de Versailles had so many charming and grand things that reminded me a great deal of the movie, too!

We were able to skip all the long lines and learned a great deal of fascinating information. Also, at the end of the tour, our guide opened a secret wall that allowed us to get back into the Hall of Mirrors—which was incredibly crowded by this point!

We continued wandering around, and grabbed Ladurée macarons before heading outside to sit out and gaze at the gardens.

We could only make a tiny dent in exploring the grounds! They’re so vast and beautiful, but we were there on a particularly hot and humid day. After we had gotten our fill of seeing the mazes and fountains, we headed out to Rue de Satory outside the palace to find lunch.

Once we had eaten and rested, we went back to our Airbnb and plotted our next moves. First up—find crepes. Second up—go to our early dinner we were able to reserve at Bistroy Les Papilles!

I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Paris. The food quality is amazing for the price you pay. It’s a 4-course meal for 38€/person, plus extra for a bottle of wine. There is no flexibility whatsoever with the meal, and you can’t know in advance what you’ll get—you arrive, sit down, and the chef comes out and explains the menu.

We had a DELICIOUS deconstructed mushroom soup (broth was poured on top of the ingredients), homemade chicken pesto, cheeses (naturally) and mango panna cotta. Safe to say we were very stuffed at the end—and very pleased!

Walking back to our Airbnb, we stopped at Le Cavaeu de la Huchette—an underground jazz club. I didn’t get any pictures due to how dark it was, but this was one of the highlights of our trip for my husband!

Saturday morning (Day 3)

At long last, our last half day in Paris. Our flight was departing at 3:20pm, so we woke up early to go explore the Champs-Élysées. While we didn’t go inside the Louvre, we enjoyed exploring the grounds when they were completely empty.

We then grabbed breakfast and hot chocolate at Angelina. Delicious, quintessentially French and very rich! It was a little pricey, but the experience was so lovely.

After this, we walked down to the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile. I took my husband because this is a must for anyone visiting Paris for their first time. Gazing out over the city and staring at the romantically moody Eiffel Tower, it was a fitting way for us to say goodbye to Paris.

Conclusion

And there you have it!! Of course, we wished we had more time to spend in Paris and there were many things we had on our list that we didn’t get to do. But if you want to see a wide variety of Paris and still get in Versailles and Disneyland Paris, this is how we did it. I can undoubtedly say that we will return very soon to the City of Love.

PARIS TRAVEL TIPS

Currency: Euro

Languages: French (some people speak English, but try to learn a little bit of French to be polite! Even starting a sentence with, “Pardon, parlez-vous anglais?” can go a long way)

Transportation: The public transit system in Paris is incredibly easy to use. We purchased a 3-day Navigo pass at the airport from a help counter (which includes the RER lines, metro, buses), and it was perfect for us. I strongly recommend getting this all taken care of at the airport or lining up at an official ticket counter for help—I regret to say one of my first trips to Paris I was scammed by someone offering to “help” me at Gare du Nord station when I was trying to figure it out myself at a ticket booth. Always be safe!!

Food: Pretty much everything is delicious in Paris, but you would be remiss to not get pastries, local cheeses, foie gras, duck confit, wine and crepes…yum!

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1lL2FdmnGRyC8u6jVsts-hmVlxWQ&w=640&h=480]

Lifestyle

A Day in Rhodes, Greece

September 29, 2017April 5, 2023 Cherise and Shine

Hi Everyone!!!

This post is reaaallllly overdue, but I want to tell you all about this beautiful and thoroughly underrated Greek island that quickly became one of my favorites.

First off, we really did not have enough time there, but we made the most of the time we did have. This was our first island stop on our whirlwind honeymoon, and we loved every moment of it.

BACKGROUND
A bit of history—Rhodes is technically part of Greece but is located closer to mainland Turkey, and therefore has a lot of Turkish influence. You’ll likely find that people speak Greek and English, but also speak Turkish and sometimes Italian and German due to the rich history of cultures. Basically, they’re pretty cool.

Rhodes’ nickname is “The Island of the Knights,” due to the medieval Catholic Hospitallers (or the Knights of Rhodes) that were based there. The Medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes is a World Heritage site, and Rhodes was also home the Colossus of Rhodes—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Rhodes is the largest island in the Dodecanese chain, and as such I would highly recommend getting an international driver’s license and renting a car. Many of the sites we were interested in were 1+ hour away from each other, and buses are fairly frequent but often shut down operation early in the evening. To avoid the trouble (and frequent stops), we decided to get ourselves around.

OUR ITINERARY

We arrived around 9:45am to the Rhodes International Airport. We quickly got our rental car and then drove ourselves about 45 minutes to Rhodes Town, where we stayed at a small hostel called “Hotel Anastasia” which was run by an adorable couple and situated in the middle of Rhodes Old Town.

While the location was convenient, figuring out parking gave us a headache—there are signs and colored curbs, but we weren’t sure what any of it meant and as a few locals told us, the locals didn’t care much about following parking rules, so it left us confused about what to do. After unsuccessfully trying to street park, some helpful locals pointed us in the direction of a paid parking lot across the street from “Parko Therme,” right next to the Palace of the Grand Master Knights. It wasn’t too expensive, and we could leave our car there overnight, which was fine with us. I’ve heard people say there is free parking near Mandraki Harbor, but we didn’t stumble upon it ourselves.

Once we were settled, parked and the owners generously let us check in early, we set out on foot to explore the Old Town!

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (or simply the Kastello) is a medieval fortress and one of the few Gothic structures in all of Greece. It was built in the 7^th Century as a Byzantine citadel, but would later be occupied by the Knights Hospitallers. Even after that, it would become a holiday home for King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, and Italian architects would restore the castle.

Once you get inside the palace, your breath is taken away. Cobblestone, grand arches and stone mosaics as far as the eye can see. I would advise to get here early in the day before it gets too crowded and kitschy with the souvenir carts and fast food places trapping tourists (honestly, the worst meal we had in all of Greece was inside here).

It’s a grand, beautiful place to explore and you will want to spend a decent amount of time walking around and willing yourself to believe you didn’t step back in time.

After we were done exploring, we hopped into our car and drove out to Lindos Town (30 miles/48 km), while making sure to stop at beaches along the way. Even with our beach stops, this drive took us about an hour (while a bus would take 1h 30m).

Our beach hopping was certainly a highlight, because many of these areas were completely unspoiled and breathtaking in the shadow of the mountains. We also found quite a few mountain goats—one even tried to jump in our car with us!!!

Whereas Rhodes Town feels medieval and Gothic, Lindos Town has a truly Greek charm with white-washed houses, donkeys, cats galore and—oh yeah—its own Acropolis.

Once we reached Lindos, we parked in a free parking lot just outside the town and walked in. The town of Lindos, although steep, is tiny and is strictly traversed by foot or donkey. To save the poor donkeys some grief (and to also get ourselves into better shape), we opted to walk around. Most other tourists did the same.

We hiked up the long path to the Acropolis, and let me tell you—it did NOT disappoint!! Truly, this was one of the highlights of our honeymoon. The first thing we came across when we entered was an ancient fortress of the Knights of St. John (14^th Century). Once we climbed up the fortress, our eyes were greeted by the beautiful Doric Temple of Athena Lindia—which dates back to 300 B.C.

While the Athens Acropolis is truly remarkable and a must-see in your lifetime, I would actually say that I enjoyed this Acropolis just as much if not MORE.

We were able to walk freely throughout this Acropolis, stand under pillars, take in the sights in awe and look out AS THE ACROPOLIS IS SURROUNDED BY WATER. Seriously. You get amazing views of Lindos Town, but also of the beautiful Aegean Sea and a beautiful heart-shaped bay.

It was a thunderstorm-y day, and I was very lucky to capture this LIGHTNING BOLT shot!

The bay, known as St. Paul’s Bay, is supposedly where the Apostle Paul shipwrecked in 51 A.D. it is said that Paul was caught in a storm, and a lightning bolt split a rock in two—opening up this bay and providing him with safe haven to land. He then went on to preach Christianity to the local Rhodians.

An icon (and some believe it was a coin) of Paul was unearthed in this bay in 1920, which led to a small church being built in 1951 to commemorate his visit.

After our visit to the breathtaking Acropolis, we walked back to the town and got in our car again to go down to St. Paul’s Bay to a restaurant called “Tambakio.” It’s a little off the beaten path, but I would highly recommend going here!

You are literally situated in the bay and it is a wonderful place to watch the sunset over the Acropolis.

What’s more—“Tambakio” means “tannery,” and a tannery is what Pauls’ church was built over. They’re very proud of the history, and have placemats to tell the story about it!

The tiny beach restaurant was also one of our favorite meals. We were one of two couples there, and at times it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves. The seafood is fresh and delicious, the prices are good and the seating areas are all on the sandy beach. Eating dinner while the ocean waves gently lapped against the shore was nothing short of romantic.

After dinner, we hopped in our car once again and made one last stop before driving back to Rhodes Town—at Lindos Ice Bar! I had been to an ice bar in Barcelona, and my husband was fascinated by the concept and thrilled to check it out.

The location is the only longstanding ice bar in Greece, and is certainly an experience to remember. we paid 12€ for entry, which included a parka, gloves and a drink. Once inside, we chose cocktails in cups made of ice (premade) and huddled together while enjoying the chairs and structures made of ice.

Couldn’t stay inside too long, but really enjoyed the experience!

After that, we made the drive back to Rhodes Town and slept in eager anticipation of our next day—which was a day trip out to Symi Island. You can read all about that here!

We also had time early that morning to see the windmills of Rhodes and grab a quick coffee before our tour boat left the next morning at, funnily enough, a Starbucks right in Mandraki Harbor.

And then after we came back from the day trip, we had just enough time to head over to Tamam Restaurant for dinner. This meal was another delicious highlight, and I would highly recommend it as well.

And that’s it! The next day we had to wake up around 4am to get to the airport in time to make our 6:40am flight through Athens to Santorini. We left, bleary-eyed but bushy-tailed and quite happy with our Rhodian experiences.

RHODES ISLAND TRAVEL TIPS

Currency: EUR (Euro)

Languages: Greek (official), Turkish, many people speak English, Italian and German

Transportation: Rental Cars, Buses, Taxis

Food: As in any coastal region, fresh seafood is always an excellent choice! In addition to that, any traditional Greek foods (particularly Souvlaki, Gyro and SAGANAKI) will be tasty—especially if they have a Turkish fusion flavor to them. Also, Italian food is surprisingly good here!

*NOTE: I have a gluten allergy and actually wasn’t feeling too good during the evening. This was really my fault, though, as I was being too shy to ask questions about what was in certain meals. Plenty of places in Rhodes seem to cater to gluten allergies if you ask them—in particular, Tamam is good about accommodating!

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1o6TIWuiMAbYo2PDp9yr_8yRO42c&w=640&h=480]