Hi everyone! Welcome back to An Eclectic Place! This is a longer blog post all about my first solo trip where I traveled to Paris, Copenhagen, and Sweden. If you want to know how I planned the trip check out this blog post. I hope you enjoy it!
Flying to Paris
After all of the research and planning it was finally time to head to Paris. I left on a red-eye flight out of Boston International Airport on a Monday night in October. My flight was delayed and I was a little worried that I would not make my connection in Lisbon. The flight went well, but I checked the flight tracker and realized that there was no way I would be able to make my connection. I landed in Lisbon, slightly anxious because I was in a foreign country and would need to figure out how to book a new flight to Paris. Thankfully because so many people on our flight missed their connections I was automatically given a new ticket and I just had to wait 2 hours for my plane. I was able to get some more water, breakfast, and re-group.
Before I knew it my flight to Paris was here and I was so excited! I’m pretty sure I slept the whole plane ride because I was so exhausted. Then I found myself in the airport knowing how to get to the hostel, but not sure which metro ticket to buy. Thankfully someone was there and helped me purchase the right ticket. To get to my hostel I had to take a tram to RER B to line 6 metro, then walk for about 5 minutes. It took me about an hour, to get from the airport to my hostel. Luckily, I was able to check in early and go right to my room.
I was so exhausted, so I relaxed for a bit. Then I went to the grocery store right down the street to get some food and eat in the dining room at the hostel. I had a salad and some of my favorite yogurt then headed up to my room to try to not fall asleep. The nice thing about the private room is that I had a little balcony with a small table and chair, so I sat out there and enjoyed the city before I went to bed!
Day One
My first full day in Paris! The first thing I wanted to do was see the Eiffel Tower. I know it’s a very touristy thing, but I always love seeing it! I took the line 6 metro to Bir-Hakeim station then walked to the Eiffel Tower. My plan was to walk to my favorite crepe stand, but I didn’t see it, so I headed down Rue de l’Université. I saw a video that said that it was a cute street to take pictures from. I ended up finding a cute cafe for breakfast where I had a cappuccino, orange juice, and a croissant.
My plan afterward was to walk all the way to Jardin des Tuileries. For this trip, I decided I wanted to walk as much as I could and read at parks. I made my way along the Seine stopping along the way to admire the views and take pictures. My walk consisted of going on the Passerelle Debilly (a bridge) to get a pretty view of the Eiffel Tower then walking past Pont Alexandre lll (arched bridge with art nouveau lamps) to Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor (a modern wood and metal pedestrian bridge) into Jardin des Tuileries.
I walked into the right side of the gardens and found my first reading stop of the day, a nice seat near a fountain. Then I stopped at a café to get some lunch. I had a baguette sandwich and some Sour Haribo Orangina gummies, which were delicious. I continued walking around the gardens and ended up walking all the way to the other side. It had a great view where you can see Place de la Concorde (18th-century plaza with Egyptian obelisk) and the Eiffel Tower in the distance. There were lots of chairs, so I found a nice spot and spent the afternoon reading.
I decided to head to Le Jardin du Luxembourg since I had never visited it before. It was a lot bigger than I thought it was and I was quite tired, so I found another nice place to sit and read. I didn’t end up staying that long, so I decided to head back towards my hostel and check out a park near there. Unfortunately, I ended up getting lost trying to find that park, but I did pick up some different Kinder products, so the time wasn’t wasted. I never did find the park, so I headed back to my hostel to relax before going out to dinner. However, on the way, I discovered Boulangerie Marceaux (a bakery), which was right down the street from my hostel. I obviously bought a pain au chocolat (buttery, flakey pastry filled with chocolate), which is my favorite pastry!
Back at my hostel, I went to relax on the rooftop patio, which had an amazing view! I discovered that I could see the top of the Eiffel Tower from there! I relaxed for a bit and then headed to a restaurant down the street from the hostel. For dinner, I had pasta with tomato sauce, parmesan, and burrata cheese, which was pretty good. When I got back to the hostel I made a plan for the next day and wrote in my travel journal before bed!
Day Two
I was up and ready for my next day in Paris! My first stop was to Boulangerie Marceaux for a pain au chocolat then I took the metro to Musée d’Orsay. I had never visited this museum before and I was excited to see all of the Van Gogh and Monet paintings. When you walk into the museum you are greeted by a stunning hall with a glass ceiling! The way the sun was shining through was mesmerizing. Walking through the hall there were many statues and then off of the hall, there were rooms filled with artwork. One of my favorites was Le Chat blanc by Pierre Bonnard.
I then made my way upstairs, where I could view the statues I just walked through from above. Off of these walkways, there were more rooms where I saw one of the notable Metropolitain signs for the metro stations. Then I made my way into the next section of the museum where I walked over a bridge to get there, which again gave me great views of the hall and the glass ceiling. I went into the next room where there were a lot of Vincent Van Gogh paintings, including two Portraits of the Artist. They also had cutouts from the shadow theatre at The Chat Noir cabaret, which I really enjoyed!
The last section I visited had lots of Claude Monet paintings, including the different Water Lily Pond paintings and Poppies (also known as The Promenade). The last painting I was excited to see was by Pierre Auguste Renoir called City Dance Country Dance. I originally thought this was the painting from the Gilmore Girls episode called The Festival of Living Art, but it is not, however it is very similar. I had a great time exploring the museum and spent about 2 hours there.
Musée d’Orsay is right across the Seine from Jardin des Tuileries, so my plan was to walk the Seine in the opposite direction to my favorite bookstore. But first I stopped for lunch, where I had a cappuccino and a ham and cheese crepe. I continued down the Seine stopping at The Bouquinistes of Paris, which are the green book boxes that line the banks of the Seine near the Notre Dome. The first time I visited them I purchased a French edition of the fourth Harry Potter book. This time though I bought a print of the Eiffel Tower. After stopping to admire all of the books and artwork I made my way to Notre Dame. It is currently closed because it is under construction, but it was nice to see how far along the construction was from the last time I was there.
Now to my favorite part of the day! Bookstores! One of my favorite bookstores to visit is Shakespeare and Company. This is my second time visiting it and I was determined to buy a book because last time I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t get one. This is such a magical bookstore, there are floor-to-ceiling shelves and tight walkways, and quotes are written everywhere! You can’t take any pictures inside, but I believe everyone should visit at least once! I then made my way to a new bookstore called The Abbey Bookshop, which is just down the street. This is the epitome of a tightly packed-used bookstore! I loved it, but I wish I didn’t have any bags with me because it would have been more enjoyable. I would like to visit it again, but I would plan differentlty, so I could easily walk along the tight, crowded shelves.
At this point, I was getting tired, so I decided to find a park to sit in to read. I found a park with a view of Notre Dame. After reading for a bit, I decided to keep walking along the Seine, so I looked up a metro station that would connect me back to my hostel and started walking. I walked along the waterfront and found a cute park to stop and read. It was about 4 pm when I headed back to my hostel, so I could relax before going to dinner. I stopped at the boulangerie once more for another pain au chocolat. I was quite tired, so I got a salad from the grocery store to eat at the hostel. That night I discovered I could see the top of the Eiffel Tower from my room, so I stayed up late enough to see it sparkle!
Day Three
My last day in Paris! It was a bit rainy in the morning, but I still decided to stick with my plans. My first stop was, I bet you couldn’t guess! The boulangerie! Where I bought another pain au chocolat! Then I took the metro to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. I had never been before, but I decided not to go inside, but to explore the area around it instead.
Afterwards, I started to make my way to a fun photo booth. It is an original vintage analog black and white photo booth. Unfortunately, I got a bit lost, and then my phone froze! I was panicked because I couldn’t figure out where I was on the paper map. Also, I couldn’t figure out how to unfreeze my phone. I was trying to ask for help, but many people didn’t understand me. Thankfully these 2 women did and one of them called their son to help and was able to unfreeze my phone!
I was back on track to go to the photo booth! I found it and had fun taking pictures! Then I made my way to Le Mur des Je t’aime and explored the shops around there. My plan was to head to Galeries Lafayette, but the weather turned so nice that I didn’t want to be inside, so I headed to le Arc de Triomphe. Then I decided to walk the length of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées instead. The only stop I was planning to make was at Ludrée to get macarons. I bought a pack of 8 with the flavors: Rose, Orange Blossom, Chocolate, Raspberry, Lemon, Marie-Antoinette tea, Passionfruit Ylang-ylang, and Pumpkin Seed. Marie Antoinette tea and orange blossom were my favorites. I ended up stopping at the Disney store and a pop-up Stranger Things store.
After I walked by all of the shops I decided to walk back to Jardin des Tuileries, which is at the end of the Champs-Élysées. On the way I bought a ham and cheese street crepe then went back to my favorite spot with a view of the Eiffel Tower. I ate my crepe, and the macarons, and enjoyed the afternoon reading and people-watching. When I had to go to the bathroom I decided to sit on the other side of the park with a more stunning view.
After spending 4 hours at the park I decided to head to an early dinner because I needed to be up early tomorrow. I went to Bouillon Chartier, which is one of my favorite restaurants to visit. I always order the chicken and fries, but this time I didn’t think it was as good, maybe because I went early. Then I took the metro back to my hostel and packed up my bags because I had an early flight to Copenhagen the next morning.
I have to admit my feet hurt really bad at the end of the day. For my 3 full days in Paris, I walked about 16,500 steps on the first day, 13,500 on the second day, and 24,500 on the last day. So about 54,500 steps in 3 days! OMG, I can’t believe I did that! Even though I was wearing sneakers or comfortable boots my feet were rough!
Copenhagen
As I mentioned in my How I Planned my First Solo Trip post, my friend was in Copenhagen and I knew I wanted to visit her! I woke up early and had to take an Uber to the airport because the metro wasn’t running that early. The ride was only 20 minutes. Luckily I got there early because even though I had checked in online I still had to wait in the check-in line to get a paper ticket. Then I went to security and even though my toiletry bag was the correct size, they made me take everything out and put it in a ziploc bag. Unfortunately, it didn’t all fit, so I had to throw some things out. C’est la vie! I found a place to sit and wait for my plane, then boarded and was on my way!
My plane landed in Copenhagen around 9 am then I met my friend at the airport. I was so happy to see her! Then we took the train to her exchange home outside of Copenhagen to have a delicious breakfast. She made scrambled eggs and we had cardamom pastries and chocolate spread on bread, which was just the most delicious thing ever!! After we eat we took the train back into the city where we were meeting up with a friend from Sweden. We had met her when we took our backpacking trip in 2019 and I had stayed in touch with her since then. It was so nice being able to all hang out together!
We headed to Nyhavn to see all of the colored houses then decided to walk to Christiania, which is an autonomous area started by squatters. It was not what we thought it would be like so we didn’t stay for long. The weather had cleared up a bit, so we walked back through Nyhavn to take some pictures and then found a spot for lunch. We went to Café Europa 1989 and I had an Orangina and a delicious club sandwich with curry sauce and fries with tarragon sauce.
After lunch, my friend had to go to class, so my friend from Sweden and I went to Tivoli Gardens, which is an amusement park, but with stunning gardens. It was also all decorated for fall! We walked around to explore everything and had a nice time catching up! Then it was time for her to head home and I met back up with my other friend to head back to her place. We had a nice evening and then planned our day for tomorrow.
Sweden
We started our morning by going to La Glace, a cake and tea shop for breakfast and then take the train to Malmö, Sweden. The cake shop was absolutely delicious! I had la glace tea, which was black tea with orange, vanilla, roses and cinnamon. Then for cake I had Forårskage (raspberry and chocolate) and we split Efterårskage (all chocolate). Afterward, we walked around the shops on our way to the train station, where I found a canvas bag by Ivan Alexis with sunflowers on it. Now, almost a year later it is my favorite bag!
We took the train to Sweden and saw all of the windmills in the water as we passed by. Once we made it to Malmö we walked to Malmöhus Castle, which is a museum with art exhibits. Some of the art exhibits we walked through were, “Growth, what is that?” and “Modest Fashion”. I think my favorite one was about growth because there were a lot of varying installations and interactive pieces. Afterward, we headed back towards the train station to find a place to have a late lunch and stop at a gift shop. For a late lunch I had a margarite pizza and we split fries with aioli. Everything was delicious!
We decided to head back around 5 pm so we could have a nice evening before having to wake up early to go to the airport. We ended up watching a movie and only geting a few hours of sleep before I headed to the airport. She nicely drove me because the trains weren’t running that early. Then I ended up having to wait to go through security because it wasn’t open yet. My flight home was uneventful and I had a layover in Lisbon again. Luckily, I was able to sleep for some of the flight, so I wasn’t completely exhausted when I got home!
Will I Travel Solo Again?
I am so incredibly happy that I took a solo trip! I was able to prove to myself that I could do it and that I want to do it again! A few things I learned are that I need to know how to unfreeze my phone, always have a book with me, and don’t be afraid to ask someone to take my picture. If I were to do this trip over again, I would remember blister bandaids and instead of having my small backpack, a small purse, and a tote bag, I would use a slightly bigger backpack and my trusty small purse.
Would I do it again? Absolutely! I think that if you are interested in solo traveling you should go for it! Just be smart and make sure you are always aware of your surroundings. I’m hoping to plan another solo trip next year, but for now, I’m enjoying traveling with my friends and family.
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Take care and stay safe,
Renée