The Grand Duchy: A Day Trip to Luxembourg
My last full day in Paris was rainy and bleak. I walked around Le Marais for a little while, stopping at Sandro to shop (fun fact: it's cheaper to shop it in Paris, check out this post for more on why), and wound up at a cute cafe nearby called Ob-La-Di. After lunch I made my way to check out Merci, a popular and trendy concept store and cafe. Then I dropped my shopping bags at my hotel and met up with my friend to head to Versailles for the afternoon. All in all it was a very laid back day.
On Saturday, we'd decided to take a day trip to Luxembourg. We woke up bright and early and I almost didn't make the train. Then we fell asleep on the train and luckily our destination was the last stop because a nice French woman had to wake us up and say "Are you going to Luxembourg...we're here." The first thing I noticed: it was freezing. I knew the forecast, I'd been told several times, and I knew the elevation would be higher. Yet I still did not dress quite appropriately. Oops... We began to wander around rather aimlessly, having made literally no plans and done zero research. We followed signs into town and stopped into the tourist information center for a map. The map designated a walking tour to see the main things (as may be obvious, it's not a very large city or country) so we took the tour. It was a grey day and looked almost on the brink of snow so we stopped into as many stores and churches and museums as possible for warmth. We spent a lot of time in the Luxembourg City History Museum, not only to stay warm, but also to learn a little more about the place we'd randomly visited. The city was a huge fortress for most of its history and shared ties with France and Germany. After a long and delicious lunch near the museum we trekked down into the historic neighborhood, Barrio Grund, and made our way along the river. By this point we were both frozen to icicles and headed back up the hill on the other side of the river, making a beeline to the train station, where we sipped hot chocolate and waited to return to Paris. So, I can now say that I've been to Luxembourg--at least for 6 hours. If you have a meal there it counts, in my book. Finally, back in Paris, we ate my final dinner at a great restaurant called Grand Cœur, and I headed back to sadly unpack and leave the magical week behind.
