Paris Day Two 11/28/09

We had our wake-up call set for 6:00am, but when it rang, we chose to ignore it and sleep for three and a half more hours! When we finally got up and got ready, we ventured out to grab a bite for breakfast, and then took the metro over to the Latin Quater. Our first stop was the Church of the Miraculous Medal. It was the site of Mary's apparition to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830. The incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure lies in the sanctuary of the church.
After our stop there, we walked through the streets, stopped to get a taste of french chocolate, and wound up at St. Sulpice.
Our next stop was Notre Dame.

We crossed over to the Ile Saint Louis where I got a crepe with Nutella, made fresh before my very eyes!
After that, we hopped back on the metro and rode up to the Montmartre area. Our first stop was the Moulin Rouge!
We walked from the Moulin Rouge down a very racy street, and headed up the hill to the Sacre Couer Basilica. It was starting to drizzle and was very cold, but we made it up all 350+ steps to go inside the church. We could not take pictures inside, but it was gorgeous! We sat for a minute to rest and get warmed up. There was a group of nuns decorating the altar while we there, so we got to watch them for a little while.





(I "borrowed" this picture of the interior of the Basilica from Google Images since it was so pretty!)
We left Sacre Couer, and by that time, the rain had started to pick up. We went back to our hotel, picked up our bags, and took the metro to Paris Austerlitz train station. We got some dinner and waited in the terminal to board our train to Barcelona. I had to use the restroom, and was desperate enough to pay the fees required to do so! At least it was very clean!!
While we were sitting in the train station, Jonathan and Maureen, a couple about our age overheard us and we struck up a conversation with them. It just so happened that we were all traveling to Barcelona and would be on the same cruise together! Small world, eh? :-) Jonathan and Maureen were so sweet, and we were very glad that we met them! Finally, a little after 8:00pm, we boarded our train. We were in a different car than Jonathan and Maureen, so we said goodbye and see you on the cruise! Natashia and I found our cabin, and had a good laugh at how tiny it was!

The conductor, who was very nice, came around at about 10:00pm to bring our beds down from the wall. Even though I was exhausted, sleeping was not particularly easy, just because of the motion of the train. We were traveling through the Massif Central Mountains and the Pyrenees Mountains overnight, which caused some ear popping and a bumpy ride. I'm not sure what time I finally fell asleep.

See more pictures from "Pari Day Two 11/28/09" HERE

Paris Day One 11/27/09

Five hours after leaving NYC, we landed in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was 6:00am (1:00am at home). It was still very dark (this time of year, it stays dark in Iceland until about 11:30am...I don't know how people there motivate themselves to get up in the morning!), but we could see through the windows that there was snow on the ground! We made a short trip through customs, and then visited a few gift shops in the airport before returning to our terminal to board our next and final flight. Our flight left at 7:00am and landed in Paris at 12:15pm! We got off the plane, and were surprised that we weren't directed through a customs check. We went to baggage claim and we so relieved when our suitcases were some of the first out of the gate!

(Paris Charles du Gaulle airport)

It took us a few confusing minutes to figure out the RER train system that would take us from the airport to downtown Paris, but once we did, we had a great view coming into the city! The first landmark we saw was The Basilica of Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart). It was so majestic set on top of the only hill in Paris...and then we saw the Eiffel Tower! We made two metro transfers, and after much effort lugging our suitcases up and down countless stairs (although locals were generally very helpful in this matter!), we made it to our Hotel...Best Western Au Trocadero! All the reviews I read of the hotel were nice, but the hotel seemed to always be having trouble with the elevator. Our visit was no exception. Thankfully, the hotel staff was very nice and they were able to put us in a first floor room. It did not have the Eiffel Tower view we were hoping for, but at least we did not have to lug our suitcases up more stairs! The hotel was very clean and comfortable, and the staff was helpful and nice. We showered and changed, and then by 4:00pm, we were back out on the streets of Paris! (The view from the front door of our hotel...just a 5 minute walk to the tower!) We walked through the Trocadero to the Tour de Eiffel...and I fell in love with it! We waited in the short line to go up the tower. The top level was closed off, so we only made it to the 2nd level, but I had heard the view from the 2nd level was the best anyway, so I wasn't too upset.





We stayed up there for about an hour, and in the meantime, the sun was setting and the tower was starting its hourly light show! We made our way back to ground level and then headed across the Champs de Mars. We got a great view of the tower lit up, and then headed past the Eccole Militaire (Military School), Les invalides (site of Napoleon's tomb), crossed Pont Alexandre III, to Concorde Plaza. I was so excited...I had studied maps of Paris so intently that I knew my way around without having to look at a map while we were walking around! I felt like I had been there before! We stopped at a crepe stand for a crepe with jambon et fromage! It was warm and yummy! As we ate, we walked along the river to the Louvre. We purchased our tickets in advance, so we were able to just walk right in. We did not spend much time in the museum since we were so tired and jetlagged, but we did get to see the Mona Lisa, Wedding at Cana, and Venus de Milo, just to name a few. After our brief time in the Louvre (about 7:30pm to 9:45pm), we hopped on the metro and rode to the Arc du Triomphe. The Champs de Elysees was lined with Christmas lights, and the Arc at the end was illuminated. We walked from there back towards our hotel and the Eiffel Tower. We grabbed a snack at a food stand and found a seat to watch the almost 20 minute long Eiffel Tower light show at 11:00pm.





After the show, we walked back to our hotel, called home to let our parents know we made it safely, and finally got into bed around 1:00am.

I would like to add that, although we had always heard that the French, and Parisians in particular are not very nice, we found the exact opposite to be true! The people in Paris could not have been more helpful and happy to speak to us and help us when we asked! It was wonderful!



See more pictures from "Paris Day One 11/27/09" HERE

Flying to Paris 11/26/09

Happy Thanksgiving! Instead of having the traditional celebration, on Thanksgiving day, I flew to Paris! I arrived at the Louisvile airport at approximately 9:30am. I was so proud of myself...I managed to get everything into one suitcase (only 42 lbs!), one carry-on, and a purse. At the time, I thought I had packed pretty lightly, relatively speaking! The first leg of my flight was to Detroit. I had a very brief and uneventful layover before boarding my flight to New York's JFK airport. I arrived at JFK Terminal 4 around 3:30pm. My excitement level crept up as we flew over Manhattan!!
I picked up my luggage and made my way to terminal 6 to meet Natashia. She got her luggage, and then we both trecked to terminal 7. We very early began to regret packing such large suitcases...lugging it all that way was not easy!

(Me with a Christmas tree at JFK airport)

We checked in, flirted with a cute security guy, and then got some dinner before heading to our terminal to wait for our flight. Around 7:45pm, we began boarding our Iceland Air flight! Each seat on the plane had its own TV monitor. You could watch movies or TV shows, listen to music, or track the progress of the flight.
We tried to sleep a little, but since it was still such an early time at home, we were wide awake for most of the flight. We played cards...Go Fish and War. I think I only managed to get about an hour and a half of restless sleep on the flight.

See more pictures from "Flying to Paris 11/26/09" HERE

Slideshow - Paris

Bonjour! I decided that I am going to post a slideshow of pictures from each of the major cities we will be visiting on our trip. I want to share some of the fun things we might get to see! First up...PARIS!