Eurotrip 2023: Day 14 – Last night in Paris, Jardin du Palais Royal and Seine River Cruise

It was our last full day in Paris (and Europe!), and we have spent the entire morning packing our bags.

We brought one of those electric air compression devices, which helped a lot with the packing of our bags with the several souvenirs we bought since Rome.

On the other hand, we had our last surprise of the entire stay. We had some issues (again) with the AirBnB, that almost messed up with our last day. It took a while for us to move forward, and we eventually decided to move on and figure things out later.

We still had some exploring left to do in Paris.

Given the slight delay we had that morning until past lunchtime, we just ate a late lunch at the Vietnamese restaurant across our AirBnB. Mon and I got pho, while Mama and Papa got loc lac again.

We only spent around 30 minutes eating before we dashed out again. Our next stop was La Madeleine.

I could count how many times we had been inside a church in France. Madeleine was just the second.

I only found out the day before from the internet that despite the scaffolding we have see on our second full day in Paris, the church was still open. So from Bonne Nouvelle, we traveled all the way back to Madeleine.

Outside, the Madeleine looked like Greek temple, and reminiscent of the portico of the Pantheon in Rome.

We were a bit lost where the entrance was, and almost gave up and go somewhere else. Fortunately, we saw someone enter from the back, and we spotted a small entry to the church. We finally made it inside.

There was a choir practicing inside, which was awesome with the acoustics of the church. Mama also lit some candles again, and eventually sat down with Papa to pray.

Mon and I went around to have a look at the artwork. The most captivating was François Rude’s sculpture ‘The Baptism of Christ‘ by the left vestibule.

There was also a gift shop, where Mon and I bought matching lava rock bracelets.

Before going to the metro, Mama and Papa wanted to use the comfort room. There was an underground one between La Madeleine and the train station, but it cost € 2 each. Ouch. We had no choice though.

At around 3:30 pm, we left from La Madeleine for Pyramides as we’d go next to the Jardin du Palais Royal.

Before that, we made a quick stop at Le Royal for coffee and desserts (i.e. crème brûlée, île flottante and la gaufre du jour). Mama expectedly got a cup of hot choco, which she did not love that much.

Despite us nearing the end of our trip, we still had no souvenirs bought for our fur babies. We had a look at the map and saw a per store a couple of blocks away from Le Royal.

We bought a couple canned cat food and some dog treats. We had a great time choosing options, that we also bought a cat toy for the babies to play with.

From the pet store, we then walked to the Jardin du Palais Royal. It was already almost 5:00 pm by that time.

We were immediately greeted by the colonnes de Buren, but we did not dare climbing on those as most other kids did. There was also a lovely couple who were having what looked to be a pre-nup shoot, judging by the wedding gown.

Mama and Papa spent most of their time just sitting and resting their feet. Mon and I managed to walk around a bit and took some photos.

There were a lot of people basking on the afternoon sunlight, while Mon and I spent most of our times cowering in the shade. #AsianThings

I also felt a bit awkward with my hair. I usually get a haircut every 5-7 days, as I’d like to keep it very short on the sides. Even by our 8th day, my hair grew and it felt off. Papa even commented how my hair has grown much.

At around 5:30 pm, we decided to go home. Ikle was supposed to drop by our AirBnB so we could all go to dinner later that evening.

I also had to chance to a fully sequined sweatshirt for our last night in Paris because ✨ ✨✨.  We also had a cruise at 10:00 pm from GetYourGuide with some waffles.

At around 7:30 pm, we left for dinner and ended up at Geoge V at Place de l’Alma. We thought it would much quicker to reach Bateaux Parisiens at Pont d’Iéna.

We ordered our usual pasta, salad, sausage, and fish, while adding another Parisian staple: escargot. We just ordered a plate not as a meal for one person, but for everyone to eat one.

Even Mon who was not a fan of anything out of the ordinary tried one. He thought it wasn’t too bad as he expected it to be.

At around 9:25 pm, we were done eating and thought that a leisurely walk from Pont de l’Alma to Pont d’Iéna would be enough.

We were wrong.

While the walk itself was not an issue, the line for the river cruise was no joke. Everyone likely thought they’d get the last 10:00 pm trip to see Paris with her lights on. We did not even have any time to get our free waffles.😅

We fell in line for around 15 minutes. It was a bit slow moving but the staff assured everyone we’d be able to do the cruise.

I guess one memorable thing to happen during that queueing was Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ playing on the radio. While it would have been perfect to hear ‘Take Me Home’, hearing her in Paris was so great and a bit nostalgic.

I began listening to her in the early 2000s and fell in love immediately. Her Paris-themed music video ‘Take Me Home’ was also the stuff of dreams when I began learning French. How nice was that?

At around 10:15 pm, we eventually managed to board, and the river cruise started.

There was a special reason people flocked to that last hour for that cruise. Paris is beautiful in daytime, but Paris does transform once the sun sets. Her moniker as the ‘City of Light’ did not come out of thin air, and the cruise was the perfect way to see her live up to that name — and in our last evening.

Our trip was drawing to a close, yet it still felt surreal I was there with some of the most important people in my life. =,)

We passed by the Parisian landmarks one by one. While there was a guide who had been explaining in 3 languages what was in the environment, I was hardly listening. I was just taking in for the last time that moment we were doing that.

By the time we reached Quai Saint-Bernard, it was full of people dancing. Some even waved at the bateau as it went by.

Then by Pont au Change, we were startled when there was suddenly cheering on the boat: someone just proposed. That was the second proposal we have witness during our stay. I was not sure if they is any significance to us passing Pont au Change, but it just seemed befitting of its name – ‘change’.

Or, perhaps they also forgot that in Victor Hugo’s ‘Les Misérables’, a conflicted Javert flung himself to death from that bridge as his moral dilemma got the best of him after Valjean saved his life.

The river cruise ended at around 11:30 pm. As soon as we got out of the boat after a round of photos, we then went to Pont d’Iena.

It was already almost midnight but we were still wide awake. I kissed Mama and Papa, and hugged Mon and Ikle for such a memorable trip. We could not have ended Paris with a better activity.

And as we thought the day would end just like that, there was another couple who got engaged right at the middle of Pont d’Iena.

What a punctuation for that part of the trip.

From Pont d’Iéna, we walked all the way to the Trocadero station. We did try booking a FreeNow around Place de Varsovie, but eventually decided to continue our (what felt like) trek to Trocadero.

As walked at Place du Trocadero, I had a last look behind me. The Eiffel’s lights were out, and realized we were back at where we started on our first morning in Paris.

It was such a full circle moment for me. Paris finally happened, which was not even something I thought would happen, let alone with the people I was with that time.

We’re going home the following day, but we’ll always have Paris. Pour toujours.

Steps: 12,979