Paris Trip

Last weekend, we took advantage of a holiday on Tuesday (Veteran's Day) to "complete the bridge", as the Italians say...that means I took Monday off and we had ourselves a 4-day weekend. We had originally planned to go somewhere else in Europe, but as we looked into details, it just didn't seem right. Somewhere in our conversations, Paris came up. Neither of us was dying to go to Paris, but it was something we thought we should do before leaving Europe. Then, I found out that Bill had NEVER been to Disneyland...or any Disney theme park, for that matter. I was appalled! Remembering that my friend Rachael recently went to Paris and enjoyed a day at EuroDisney, Paris suddenly became a lot more enticing. I decided it was time for Bill to experience the wonder of Disney and that while we were there, we could see a few Parisian sites! So, plans were finalized for Paris.

Now that we're looking back on our trip, I have to admit that I'm proud of us. We managed to see a lot of Paris in our short time there. And, we had a lot of fun. Our main problem was the cold. We had anticipated the rain, but not the coldness! It was VERY cold and we were not dressed appropriately. Our first night in Paris, we took advantage of the opportunity sellers on the sidewalk and bought gloves and hats. We wore them every day! Another thing I did not expect was the wind...it was very windy, all the time, which made the temperature feel even worse! Here's a recap of our trip.

We departed Rome early in the morning...well, we were supposed to leave early. Our flight was delayed for 15 minutes, then 30 minutes more, then it was delayed indefinitely. We prepared to stay there for a few hours when suddenly our flight was ready to depart. Who knows why...they say it was mechanical, but this is just the way things happen in Italy. Regardless, we made it to Paris fairly early in the day. We stood in a long line to get our Paris Visite tickets...basically a ticket that allows us to ride the buses, metros, and trains for our entire 4-day visit. The tickets were well worth it. Then we made our way in to Paris on the train. We found our hotel easily and checked in. It was a small hotel, but the location was great. After dropping off our bags, we walked toward the Eiffel Tower and got a croissant sandwich on the way.

This was our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. We sat in the park and ate our lunch.

After marveling at the Eiffel Tower for a while, we bought our tickets for a bus tour. They have the same tour in Rome and we affectionately call it the "Topless Bus Tour" - because the bus doesn't have a top! Even though we were freezing, we got a front row seat on the top and started our tour of Paris. We may not look cold in this picture, but we ARE!

It was a fun and informative tour. Here we are at the Arc de Triomphe...still on the bus.

After taking the bus tour once, we got off to get some hot beverages. We were frozen solid so we took some time to thaw out. Then we rode around again, but this time inside the bus. We stopped at the Notre Dame Cathedral and bought some souvenirs (this is also where we purchased our gloves and hats!).

Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe and a walk down the Champs-Élysées. It was very cold, but enjoyable. We stopped for dinner at McDonalds (see my previous post of Paris Food for those pictures).

On our way back to the hotel, we walked down Avenue Winston Churchill. I couldn't resist a picture with Sir Winston (I enjoy taking pictures with statues!).

We made it back to our hotel at 10:00 PM. We noticed that every hour, on the hour (after dark), the Eiffel Towel sparkles with blinking lights for 5 minutes. This is our hotel's great location!

The next day, we got up early and had our croissant and coffee/hot chocolate before heading out to Versailles on the train. Again, it was a cold day and we did a lot of walking outside! The Palace at Versailles is amazing and its huge! We took the audio tour through various parts of the palace and walked around outside. Here's a view from the Hall of Mirrors.

We didn't feel like walking all the way around the ponds and fountains so we took advantage of the Petit Train. Its a little train that drives around Versailles and stops at various locations. It was fun...but very bumpy and also cold!

We took a few more pictures outside this awe-inspiring location.

After spending most of the day at Versailles, we went back to Paris for more sight-seeing.

Next, we took a boat tour down the Seine. It was similar to the bus tour but this time we were on the Seine in a glass-topped boat. We were warmer (because we were inside) and we enjoyed the audio tour.

After dinner (Baguettes and Crepes) we took the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Earlier in the day, there was a massive line to get to the top, but surprisingly, the line was gone by night time. We were cold on the ground before going up so when we reached the top - we were absolutely freezing, and the wind was fierce! But, it was thrilling to be so high above the City of Lights and to recognize all the sites from above. Here's the Louvre Museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral and a boat tour on the Seine as seen from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Did I mention it was WINDY up there....it was!

We were on the tower at the top of the hour so we saw the blinking, twinkling lights from the inside this time. Here is the top of the blinking Eiffel Tower.

After a long day, we were ready to head back to the hotel.

The next day was guaranteed to be exciting. It was EuroDisney Day! Again, we got up and ate our croissants in the park before taking the train to the Happiest Place on Earth (in Europe). It was a rainy day - probably our worst weather day - but the park was still crowded. We didn't have to wait in line too long for any ride (although the line for lunch was horrendous) and we were able to enjoy everything we wanted to. My favorite ride - and our first one of the day - was the Mad Hatter's Tea Party - a.k.a. the Spinning Teacups. I LOVE the teacups and all the spinning!

Our second ride, but just as enjoyable, was the classic: Its A Small World. Bill really enjoyed this one...well, maybe not, but at least he was a good sport and smiled.

We spent the whole day at Disneyland and had tons of fun. We rode most of the rides and even went on Space Mountain twice. It was really great and I think Bill enjoyed his first Disney experience! We took the train back to Paris and ate dinner at a sidewalk cafe. We were cold and ready for bed by the time we returned to our hotel!

Our last day in Paris was a short day. We had to be at the airport shortly after noon so we only had time to see a few things. After our standard breakfast of croissants in the park, we went over to the Notre Dame Cathedral...but this time we went inside. The stained-glass windows were absolutely amazing.

I don't think anyone noticed, but I specifically (and appropriately) wore my Notre Dame (University) shirt to Notre Dame (Cathedral).

Next, we walked over to the Louvre Museum. I know there will be many people that are deeply disappointed in us for not going inside the Museum, but we just didn't feel like we had the time. We wanted to see more of Paris than the inside of the museum. We walked from Notre Dame Cathedral to the Louvre to see the pyramid (or triangle thing) outside.

Coincidentally, the museum was closed that day - so we'll use that as our excuse, even though we weren't planning to go in! :o)

After buying a few more souvenirs, we headed off to the airport via the train. We arrived to find out that our Alitalia flight had been canceled - they were on strike in Rome. Luckily, we were booked on Air France and they put us on their next flight out so we weren't really affected. Just another reminder of the way things work in Italy.

We had a great trip to Paris and I hope you enjoyed this summary. We're looking forward to our next trip some time next year. We were planning to travel in December, but we've decided to postpone our trip until after Christmas and New Year's. We need to spend a little time here in Rome and we're looking forward to having family visit us!

Au Revoir and have a happy day!