It’s wild to think that Zack and I are coming up on our 10th wedding anniversary (and 15 years together), which means we’re so close to our special trip to Paris. This will be our second visit to the City of Light.
The first time was during our study abroad trips to London in 2005; Zack and I had been dating for just under a year and had the good fortune of doing overlapping programs. We traveled to Paris with my parents for a long weekend when they came to visit us in London.
I had been taking French since sixth grade and always wanted to visit Paris one day. We packed a lot into a short amount of time, but I have been dreaming about going back for another visit. It feels like there are so many more resources available for planning a trip, from Airbnb to TripAdvisor to recommendations from friends and family. There is so much we didn’t see!
We’ve been spending the last several months making reservations and booking experiences for our trip. And, in the last month or so, I’ve been working on some of the practical things, like buying outlet converters and ordering our Paris Museum Passes.
But one of the biggest things I had to work on was having comfortable, stylish, and practical walking shoes.
I remember when we went on study abroad that I wore ballet flats and flip flops… not exactly the most practical of walking shoes. I really don’t know how we managed to get around so much on foot with those things. As someone who now lives for the arch support of a Birkenstock Gizeh sandal, I knew that I needed to have better walking shoe options this time around.
There are so many newer options available online, from Allbirds to Rothys to Birdies, that I spent a lot of time reading reviews on blogs and retail sites to figure out the best style and brand for me. Zack has a pair of the wool Allbirds that he received from my brother and sister, and he has always said great things about them. My friend Ellen also has a pair of the wool sneakers, and said they felt like walking on clouds.
In researching a bit more, I learned about their Tree line of shoes, which are made from tree fibers instead of wool. I loved the different tree styles, but ultimately ordered the Tree Skippers in Chalk. I love that these are a sneaker style while not looking like gym shoes, especially when I’m planning to wear them a lot of the time with dresses.
I really loved the packaging when they arrived:
I didn’t want to wear these too much before the trip, especially so they wouldn’t get dirty. Still, I did want to make sure they were comfortable, so I took them out on a couple of test runs. I wore them to a church corn roast, where they proceeded to get pretty filthy thanks to my youngest daughter constantly stepping on my feet. Still, sure enough they felt like I was walking on clouds:
I also wore them around Mackinac Island, where they were put to the test even more:
When we got home, I put my shoes in the washer and also used a stain stick to get them looking good as new again. That’s definitely one perk about the Allbirds. I think these will be great for walking around during the days in Paris and work with many of the things I’m planning on packing.
I was also looking around for a sandal shoe that could be worn during the day and also transition into night. My Birkenstocks are comfortable, but not nice enough to wear with dresses in the evening time. I had been seeing a lot of ads for Crocs featuring Zooey Deschanel, whose style aesthetic is definitely one I admire and try to emulate.
After looking at reviews and photos of different styles, I ordered these Serena Embellished Sandals. I especially loved the flower details and that these didn’t look like typical Crocs, but still had the cushy footbed:
I’m planning to bring a pair of black leather ballet flats and something that will go with my tan/brown outfits, but otherwise I think these two new pairs will get a lot of mileage in Paris.
I can’t wait!
Do you have a favorite brand or style of shoe for travel?