Paris

Paris - one of our favorite places...

Once in Europe our travels between locations were done on really cheap (commuter) airlines that take you from place to place for about $50. Looking back at the trip I am really impressed that we managed to figure out the transportation system. We had our plane reservations, and our hotel reservations, but no travel to and from the airport or any sort of transportation during the stay. We took the trains and subways and managed to read the maps and communicate enough to get pointed in the right general direction. All in all this method worked out well, and only had us wandering with our luggage for minimal amounts of time. The night we arrived in Paris we didn't get in until almost midnight and we hadn't eaten anything. We traveled on the subway about 40 minutes and when we walked out onto the main street it was packed. Everyone was out, all the restaurants were packed and even Sephora was still open. It was great! No one eats until at least 8 or 9 and it has the vibe of New York City.

Champs De Elysee - Right outside out hotel.

The Eiffel Tower

We decided to take the stairs up the Eiffel tower rather than the "lift". Partly because we wanted to say to took the stairs, partly because the lines for the lazy people that took the "lift" were way too long, and partly because we felt cheap and didn't want to pay the extra money.

One of our favorite things on the whole trip was a sunset dinner cruise in Paris. It was a four course sit down dinner with our own private table and live music on the boat. It had the best views in the city and was absolutely amazing. Here are some pictures of our night...

Side note for the picture below - it is rated PG13. Half way through our cruise we hear laughing and cheering. We look, only to see a group of "kids" (I am sure they were college students) mooning every boat that passed. Wade of course had to take not one, or two, but three pictures of this. I picked the picture with the furthest distance that showed the least...but at least it made him happy that I posted it....have I mentioned how easy it is to please him?

Notre Dame

Outside the Louvre

Moulin Rouge - We took a subway just to take a picture in front of this. Not much else was close to it and it seems that most the other people around us did the same.

The last day we went to the Louvre. Most people would plan at least a day here if not two...it is absolutely huge. We lasted about an hour and a half. I love art, but it was so crowded and after seeing the Mona Lisa and some Michelangelo's work, there is only so many huge paintings of naked people that you can see.

You can see we made the most of our time in the Louvre....

We finished at the Louvre and had the whole afternoon to spare. We decided to hop a train and see Versalles (where Marie Antoinette lived).

On the train to Versalles enjoying one of our favorite lunches in Paris (the best bread ever!!! Wade bought 2 loaves of bread...just for himself).

Versalles was amazing and I enjoyed it so much more than the Louvre. I really enjoyed seeing how they lived back then and it helped me imagine it much more than I can through Jane Austen movies.

The grounds and garden were beautiful and so huge...I would have loved to spend a whole day lounging in the gardens with a loaf of bread and a book...too bad it was only about 50 degrees and stormy.

All in all Paris was definitely a place we would like to visit again. There is so much to do and it is busy no matter what time of day...but you can also get lost in the parks and fountains and spend a day doing nothing as well.