Saturday-Tuesday- 6/11-14/11- Paris
Bonjour, from Paris! It is amazing, but it is also by the grace of God that we are here and safe haha! It was smooth sailing from Amsterdam this morning. We made it to our train early and rode first class straight to Paris. We had booked these reservations upon our arrival to Amsterdam. First class included snacks, sandwiches, drinks, and a delicious lunch. We were spoiled and apparently let it get to our heads because as soon as we got to Paris things went wild. First, we wanted to book our next train to Interlaken, but we went to the wrong desk. Then, the right desk could only book us on a train with three stops departing at 7:00 in the morning on the 14th. We want to stay on schedule, so we booked it. God willing, we will be able to find and make it to all four trains! After that stress, we decided to buy a three day unlimited metro pass for transportation in the city. That worked out for a while. The first time we ran the tickets, the gates closed on my bag, which Cody was rolling. Haha, he was trapped, and no one would help. Finally someone came up behind and swiped their ticket and the gates opened again. He was free again. Now here comes the worst part; on our way through the subway to the hostel, the door to the train closed behind me, and left Cody standing on the platform. There was no opening it. That's right, I was now alone with hundreds of Parisians and no husband, AND he had the map, my phone, my train tickets, and the money. Surprisingly, after all I had heard, all of the people next to me tried their best to help. One man tried really hard to pry the door open, another offered his phone, and one woman who spoke English tried to talk me through what to do. The phone didn't work. All I got was some French recording. I got off at the next stop, but jumped right back on because I was afraid Cody wouldn't see me. I decided to get off at the stop where we had intended to get off and I waited. Finally the next train pulled up to the platform, and there he was. I cried, but you can leave that part out when you read this to Dad. After we were reunited, our three day train tickets for the city stopped working, and we had to have them fixed, but we found our hostel easy enough. Praise God, it is a single room with two twin beds and our own bathroom!!! We need it tonight :) After settling in, we headed out to see, what else but The Eiffel Tower!!! It truly is BEAUTIFUL!! We walked around the park and had sandwiches and wine for dinner as the sun was setting! It was seriously surreal! Tomorrow we see the Notre Dame Cathedral and take a walking tour of the city :) We are so excited to be here, and every Parisian we have spoken to has been so kind and polite. Weird, huh? We love and, miss you! Write me and let me know how things are!
So, yesterday we took the walking tour, and we had a great guide from Los Angeles. Haha. He was really knowledgeable and told great stories. The tour was three and a half hours long. We saw many old bridges and buildings. All were beautiful; most are now museums. One of our favorite sites was unexpected. It was a bridge built by King Henry the III, I believe. He was known for being a party animal. The ¨New Bridge¨ is now the oldest standing bridge in Paris. The thing that makes the bridge so great is that after taking years and years to build the new stone bridge, upon its completion, the King decided to have a big drunk party. The 300 guests cleared out the Kings vast wine cellar and, as a souvenir, the king had his portrait painter paint their portraits. The next day, he decided to have a stone carver carve theses portraits into stone and attach them to the bridge. They are very amusing. Three hundred drunken noblemen forever preserved on a bridge is humorous to us :) Anyway, on to the things that, may interest you. We saw the place where Napoleon is buried, the site where the guillotine stood that cut off the head of Marie Antoinette, and the Arche de Triumph. After our tour, we went to the Louvre. It is by far the largest building I have ever been in. There was art from the beginning of time in that place. The Mona Lisa was much smaller than expected, but still really cool to see. We also saw a few more famous pieces like the Venus de Milo, and The Law of Hamurabi (Cody knew about this); it is the first written law or something :) After being awed by the Louvre, we made our way through the Metro back to our side of town where we did laundry. Then we went to a local bakery, bought bread, and went to a supermarket for cheap food and wine. Back at the hostel we hung our clothes, and then took the metro to the Eiffel Tower for its light show which happens every night on the hour starting at 10:00 PM. It was beautiful! We recorded some of it on my phone, so I will post it later :) Having wine with dinner had its consequences haha. We ended up lost in a very unfamiliar part of Paris on the way home. It was close to midnight, but we eventually arrived safely at our hostel. The three day metro ticket we bought has been a lifesaver. We have become pros (when we haven't had too much wine) at traveling through the city, and it is saving our tired feet. This morning we woke up, had breakfast, which consists of a baguette and jelly, and decided to take the train to Notre Dame Cathedral. It is beautiful, and free :) The stained glass is so intricate and beautiful. After saying our goodbyes to Quasimodo's home, we headed out to Montmartre, which is home to the highest point in Paris and a beautiful view. This was our favorite part of our visit here. Montmartre is the Paris of movies. There are cafés, cobble-stone roads, artists painting, and musicians playing all over the streets. There are also scam artists and pickpockets all over the city, but we have been oh so careful :) We climbed to the top of the hill to see the view, which was gorgeous, and wondered into the church (google it, it has spherical points on its roof) where we happened into a traditional Catholic prayer service just beginning. It was all in French, but it was AWESOME! Neither of us had ever seen anything like it. When the service was over, we walked through the streets, and had a sandwich from a local vendor. Then we took the train down two more stops to Moulin Rouge. It is housed in the "Red Light District" of Paris, but is tame compared to Amsterdam's. After seeing that, we tried to get our tickets for tomorrow exchanged, but it was a no-go :) Looks like tomorrow will be an adventure! Just as this entire trip has! Ha. All in all, we love Paris. The people have all been very kind, and it is mostly beautiful. The streets in a large part of the city are dirty, as is the metro, but after our visit to Montmartre, we feel like we have seen the real Paris, and we appreciate it and its beauty. It was so great to hear your voices yesterday. I miss ya'll, and we go longer without seeing each other when we are home. Haha. I guess it's the distance :) We both love you and will keep you updated. Kiss Max for me, and tell Mason and Jordan we love them. Bonsoir!
Bonjour, from Paris! It is amazing, but it is also by the grace of God that we are here and safe haha! It was smooth sailing from Amsterdam this morning. We made it to our train early and rode first class straight to Paris. We had booked these reservations upon our arrival to Amsterdam. First class included snacks, sandwiches, drinks, and a delicious lunch. We were spoiled and apparently let it get to our heads because as soon as we got to Paris things went wild. First, we wanted to book our next train to Interlaken, but we went to the wrong desk. Then, the right desk could only book us on a train with three stops departing at 7:00 in the morning on the 14th. We want to stay on schedule, so we booked it. God willing, we will be able to find and make it to all four trains! After that stress, we decided to buy a three day unlimited metro pass for transportation in the city. That worked out for a while. The first time we ran the tickets, the gates closed on my bag, which Cody was rolling. Haha, he was trapped, and no one would help. Finally someone came up behind and swiped their ticket and the gates opened again. He was free again. Now here comes the worst part; on our way through the subway to the hostel, the door to the train closed behind me, and left Cody standing on the platform. There was no opening it. That's right, I was now alone with hundreds of Parisians and no husband, AND he had the map, my phone, my train tickets, and the money. Surprisingly, after all I had heard, all of the people next to me tried their best to help. One man tried really hard to pry the door open, another offered his phone, and one woman who spoke English tried to talk me through what to do. The phone didn't work. All I got was some French recording. I got off at the next stop, but jumped right back on because I was afraid Cody wouldn't see me. I decided to get off at the stop where we had intended to get off and I waited. Finally the next train pulled up to the platform, and there he was. I cried, but you can leave that part out when you read this to Dad. After we were reunited, our three day train tickets for the city stopped working, and we had to have them fixed, but we found our hostel easy enough. Praise God, it is a single room with two twin beds and our own bathroom!!! We need it tonight :) After settling in, we headed out to see, what else but The Eiffel Tower!!! It truly is BEAUTIFUL!! We walked around the park and had sandwiches and wine for dinner as the sun was setting! It was seriously surreal! Tomorrow we see the Notre Dame Cathedral and take a walking tour of the city :) We are so excited to be here, and every Parisian we have spoken to has been so kind and polite. Weird, huh? We love and, miss you! Write me and let me know how things are!
So, yesterday we took the walking tour, and we had a great guide from Los Angeles. Haha. He was really knowledgeable and told great stories. The tour was three and a half hours long. We saw many old bridges and buildings. All were beautiful; most are now museums. One of our favorite sites was unexpected. It was a bridge built by King Henry the III, I believe. He was known for being a party animal. The ¨New Bridge¨ is now the oldest standing bridge in Paris. The thing that makes the bridge so great is that after taking years and years to build the new stone bridge, upon its completion, the King decided to have a big drunk party. The 300 guests cleared out the Kings vast wine cellar and, as a souvenir, the king had his portrait painter paint their portraits. The next day, he decided to have a stone carver carve theses portraits into stone and attach them to the bridge. They are very amusing. Three hundred drunken noblemen forever preserved on a bridge is humorous to us :) Anyway, on to the things that, may interest you. We saw the place where Napoleon is buried, the site where the guillotine stood that cut off the head of Marie Antoinette, and the Arche de Triumph. After our tour, we went to the Louvre. It is by far the largest building I have ever been in. There was art from the beginning of time in that place. The Mona Lisa was much smaller than expected, but still really cool to see. We also saw a few more famous pieces like the Venus de Milo, and The Law of Hamurabi (Cody knew about this); it is the first written law or something :) After being awed by the Louvre, we made our way through the Metro back to our side of town where we did laundry. Then we went to a local bakery, bought bread, and went to a supermarket for cheap food and wine. Back at the hostel we hung our clothes, and then took the metro to the Eiffel Tower for its light show which happens every night on the hour starting at 10:00 PM. It was beautiful! We recorded some of it on my phone, so I will post it later :) Having wine with dinner had its consequences haha. We ended up lost in a very unfamiliar part of Paris on the way home. It was close to midnight, but we eventually arrived safely at our hostel. The three day metro ticket we bought has been a lifesaver. We have become pros (when we haven't had too much wine) at traveling through the city, and it is saving our tired feet. This morning we woke up, had breakfast, which consists of a baguette and jelly, and decided to take the train to Notre Dame Cathedral. It is beautiful, and free :) The stained glass is so intricate and beautiful. After saying our goodbyes to Quasimodo's home, we headed out to Montmartre, which is home to the highest point in Paris and a beautiful view. This was our favorite part of our visit here. Montmartre is the Paris of movies. There are cafés, cobble-stone roads, artists painting, and musicians playing all over the streets. There are also scam artists and pickpockets all over the city, but we have been oh so careful :) We climbed to the top of the hill to see the view, which was gorgeous, and wondered into the church (google it, it has spherical points on its roof) where we happened into a traditional Catholic prayer service just beginning. It was all in French, but it was AWESOME! Neither of us had ever seen anything like it. When the service was over, we walked through the streets, and had a sandwich from a local vendor. Then we took the train down two more stops to Moulin Rouge. It is housed in the "Red Light District" of Paris, but is tame compared to Amsterdam's. After seeing that, we tried to get our tickets for tomorrow exchanged, but it was a no-go :) Looks like tomorrow will be an adventure! Just as this entire trip has! Ha. All in all, we love Paris. The people have all been very kind, and it is mostly beautiful. The streets in a large part of the city are dirty, as is the metro, but after our visit to Montmartre, we feel like we have seen the real Paris, and we appreciate it and its beauty. It was so great to hear your voices yesterday. I miss ya'll, and we go longer without seeing each other when we are home. Haha. I guess it's the distance :) We both love you and will keep you updated. Kiss Max for me, and tell Mason and Jordan we love them. Bonsoir!
The Eiffel Tower
Antiqued photo of us at the Eiffel Tower
The Seine River
Love Locks on Pont des Arts
The Louvre
The Louvre
Lunch during our walking tour
The Winged Goddess of Victory at the Louvre
The Mona Lisa!!! WOW!
Venus de Milo
Law of Hammurabi
Trying to figure out the Paris Subway
Eiffel Tower at Dusk
Cathedral de Notre Dame
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris (AKA Sacré-Cœur Basilica) in Montmartre
Montmartre, OUR FAVORITE PART OF PARIS
Moulin Rouge
Breakfast, Haha!
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