Paris!

The day began early, too early, in my opinion. Four am is too early to be getting up, but there we were, all five of us, in the lobby getting ready for our first European adventure.  The group was Jenna, Laura, Emily, Chris, and I.  We gathered our luggage and found our way to Liverpool Street where a bus would take us several hours to the ferry.  We crossed the English Channel and returned to the bus for another two hours.  Nine hours later we were in Paris, and although exhausted, ready for sightseeing. 

We took a boat tour, and although we saw a lot of interesting architecture it was like a teaser.  We couldn’t actually get out and see any of the places we were passing. After the boat tour, we took a bus tour through the city, and received some helpful insight from our tour guide about how to navigate the city.  Around nine o’clock we finally reached our hotel, exhausted and hungry.  The girls went off in search of fine French cuisine on a budget.

We ended up in the quaint area with cobblestones everywhere.  We selected the best restaurant we could afford and although under dressed, we went in.  We tried these amazing French cheeses with a bottle of wine for the table; then, Laura and I split the duck for our main entrée. I was apprehensive, but surprised myself and loved it.  Dessert was chocolate mousse that was rich and creamy and wonderful. 

We returned to the hotel, and Laura and I made plans to go to Pere Lachaise`in the morning before our tour began.  Seven thirty found us still tired, but we took off, determined to see Jim Morrison.    We made our way there, only to get caught up in taking pictures of the amazing headstones, and all maps in French didn’t help much.  We made it back just in time to meet up with our tour group, and decided we would try again the next day to see Jim. 

Our day of sightseeing was amazing.  We began at the Cathedral of Hearts (which translation I don’t remember) where there were no pictures aloud, but was breathtaking.  I said a prayer, and had a rather spriitual experience as I saw part of my name spelt out in the ceiling. 

The market where locals sold their paintings

St. Peter’s was around the corner, and was another gorgeous church.  Stained glass everywhere, amazing attention to detail in everything you saw.  Across the courtyard, was a market where local artists were selling their paintings.  Talk about talent! They were incredible, and I decided when I come back to Europe (as an accomplished career woman) I want to buy a piece of artwork from every country I visit.  Walking around this market were French military men holding automatic weapons. I wanted to see if one of them would take a picture with me, but everyone was too scared to go with me. 

Notre Dame

Moulin Rouge was next on our stop, which was cool to see, but since we didn’t go in, it was just another tourist destination.  Notre Dame was beyond words.  To think that it was built in the 1300s just boggles my mind.  I can’t fathom how people were physically capable of creating such a marvel.  From the stained glass to the Stations of the Cross, to the attention to detail, it was just mind blowing.  The statues were unbelievable.  Even with tourists everywhere taking pictures and trying to whisper, the presence of Christ could be felt.  There was a book where people from all around the world could sign and leave a message.  I left a message for my Grandma Karen, who is very religious and would have loved Notre Dame.     

From there we wandered the streets with our free time.  We found a great hole in the wall for lunch where we all bought homemade crepes from the vendor.  They were fantastic! Everyone got Nuetella and bananas except me, I got strawberry jam.  They were incredibly filling, only a few of us could finish them. 

Me in front of Versailles

We met up with our tour group and headed on a bus to Versailles.  It looked like something out of a romantic novel or a movie.  The entrance was these huge gates covered in gold.  The palace had twenty feet high doors with gold detailing everywhere you look.  Vaulted ceilings covered in paintings, every inch of space contained a decoration of some kind.  There were over a thousand rooms, the king, queen, and daughter all had their own separate wings of the palace.  There was a lift for the king’s favorite mistress to come up secretly for rendezvous. 

Victorian reminiscent art was everywhere.  A hall of mirrors was incredible to view.  Unfortunately it was a really overcast and very rainy day, so we were unable to go walk through the gardens, but it was absolutely amazing place to see.  Visions of women in ornate Victorian dresses spun through my mind all day. 

When our time there was done, we met up with the group and were dropped off in Central Paris.  My feet and legs were throbbing with pain.  We must have walked over four miles that day on little sleep.  For dinner we were all broke, and stopped at a local grocery store for some baguettes and cheese.  We ate on the side of the street, and probably looked like we were homeless.  Laura’s big find that day was wine in a juice box.  We were all amazed by this discovery.

The infamous Eiffel Tower was next up, and we spent several hours there.  We made it all the way to the top and the view was amazing.  There were people all over trying to sell you souvenirs, bargaining with you to try to get you to buy anything.  They were not only ruthless but annoying.  After we made our way back to the AllSeasons hotel, we decided to try to see Jim again the following morning.

I woke up that morning in the same position I fell asleep in, and dragged myself out of bed.  We headed back to see Jim, excited and as refreshed as we could be.  Unfortunately, the cemetery didn’t open til nine am on Sundays, and we had to be back to meet up with our group.  We waited until 8:30 hoping someone would let us in early, but eventually we had to leave, and Laura and I left disappointed. 

That morning we had a real breakfast, and then headed to the Lourve.  Jenna and I mapped out what we wanted to see, so we could maximize our time there. At this point, exhaustion is setting in and our feet were really dragging.  We mustered up as much energy as we could and headed to see the Mona Lisa.  We also saw the Venus de Milo and a great collection of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts. 

We got back on the bus for the nine hour journey home utterly exhausted, and slept as much as possible on the bus.  Another interesting point I don’t want to forget, is we drove through the tunnel where Princess Diana was hit.  There was a memorial of sorts erected in her honor there.