An American in Paris..a quick trip to France...Finally Completed! About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you're writing again [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Looking forward to more!! Keep it coming (especially the pictures) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[WishIwasinDisney]

Day Four part two.

We walked along the Seine and saw all the artists painting portraits and the boats doing tours of the city from the water. We would have loved to do that, but not enough time.



I can’t explain the feeling when you walk up to the Notre Dame. You see it in pictures and on TV but the actual building standing in front of you, just amazing.






Right in front of the Cathedral near the street is Point Zero this is kilometer one, the spot from which all distances are measured in France (little tid bit of trivia for you). The line to go to the top of the tower to see the gargoyles and view of Paris was so long by this late point in the day there was no way we could go up. We decided to go inside and see the Rose Windows. When you get to the front entrance of the Notre Dame, there are signs asking you to be quiet and signs warning you of pickpockets! Is there no place that is safe in the world? You need to be worried of pickpockets in a church? How depressing. [img]graemlins/pout.gif[/img] There was a choir practicing so we sat to listen and got a slight taste of what mass would be like had we been able to stay for it.

One of the people I was with wanted to go and find Sainte Chapelle. We have a French citizen that works with us and he gave us a list of “must do” things in Paris. We tried to get to them all but they were all over the city and we were on time constraints. We thought the Sainte Chapelle was close so we started walking. At this point I was exhausted and ready to head back. We stopped and had ice cream. I had one scoop of coconut and one scoop of pomegranate, it was the best ice cream I’ve ever had! [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] If anyone knows where I can get this in the US, please let me know. We walked all over the city and never did find our way to Sainte Chapelle. We took the metro back to the hotel to take a rest. We headed out so early and now it was 4:30 of a day of non-stop walking.

At 6:00 we headed back out deciding to visit Tuileries and La Concorde. I wasn’t going to go on this adventure as I was really exhausted, the heat and time difference were really starting to do me in, but I figured, I’m only in Paris once and headed off. Big mistake. We ended up walking from La Concorde to the Louvre. Of course at this point, the Louvre was closed so we decided to go find some dinner.



We walked all over the Opera quarter reading the menus. My companions were not very happy about my “pickiness” when it comes to food. I told them we could go to any restaurant, I did not care, I’d have bread (great bread in France) but they insisted that was not enough for dinner! So we walked and we walked and we walked, ok you get the picture. At this point I’d had enough, I told them that I was catching the train at the next metro station and heading back. I would grab a sandwich on the way to the hotel. They decided to come with me and we ended up having, you guessed it, Italian for our last night right on Rue Washington, right near our hotel. I decided to call it an early night and headed back to the room at 10:00 telling them to go on without me in the morning, I was sleeping in! They were planning on the Louvre but I was just too exhausted. [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

Next up, day five, the things you do for your kids.

[chezp]

Great installment! I know exactly what you mean about the Notre Dame, it's a beautiful building. Was that scaffolding I saw on the site of it? They're not still restoring it, are they? When we last went to Paris in November 2000, they were working on the front, which was a real disappointment to us. By the way, we've never been to the Louvre in all our visits to Paris. We've seen it from the outside and that's been enough for us! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[AKLRULZ]

Nice update and postcard perfect photos! [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Thanks for the update [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[WishIwasinDisney]

Sorry for the delay in finishing this report. We went back to Florida for a long weekend. But here is the rest.

Day Five, Home Again.

Even though I decided to sleep in today I was awake at 4:00. This time difference thing is killing me. I had told the girls to go on without me today but they wanted us to enjoy our last day together so while they had breakfast I got ready. We chose not to try the Louvre, being the Sunday before Bastille Day Monday, we thought the place would be mobbed so we decided to stroll along the Champs-Elysees.



We started early so most shops weren’t open but the fountains and flowers were beautiful. We walked down one side of the street and then up the other. The most surprising thing? The Disney Store! I couldn’t believe there was a Disney Store on the Champs-Elysees. So of course I went in and shopped (in case you were wondering, got a plush Mickey with Paris embroidered on his foot and a photo album). After window shopping a little more we needed to head back to the hotel to check out.



We packed our stuff and met in the lobby of the hotel. As we were checking out I noticed a flyer for the Hard Rock Café. My son is an avid pin collector, both Disney pins and Hard Rock pins. How could I go to Paris and not get my son a Hard Rock Paris pin? [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] We had about two hours until the driver was to pick us up for the airport so we pulled out the map and found our way to the Hard Rock Café. We would need to take two subways there and two back, this would be an experience. We made it to the Hard Rock with only a few minutes to do some shopping, no time for lunch even though we were starving. After buying our souvenirs we had to make the return trip.

We stopped at the little market near our hotel and bought some water and said goodbye to the shopkeeper that we had become quite friendly with over the last couple days. He was sorry to see us go and gave us some candy for our trip. By the time we got back we were exhausted. The things you do for your kids! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

We waited in the lobby of the hotel for our driver for only a few minutes and off we went. Time to go home. Our driver had apparently forgotten to shower this morning and I was seating directly behind him so the ride seemed a little long but he was very friendly and we learned a lot from him including:

The Eiffel Tower was closed because they were on strike. A common occurrence in France I gather, bad timing for us though and the people we saw marching down the Champs-Elysees in full regalia were actually marching because of the strike. We naively thought they were practicing for the parade the next day! [img]images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

When we got to the airport we checked in and went through security, which is much less than here in the states. We asked an employee where we could find a restaurant and he pointed us towards McDonalds and a sandwich place. We settled on the sandwiches, they were alright. After eating we headed towards the gate and passed many, many restaurants. Why didn’t he send us there? Did he think because we were American we only wanted McDonalds? Oh well. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

We had about two hours to kill and decided to take a nap. The neat thing at CDG airport is that they have seats you can actually lie down on. Now that is nice. The weird thing, you can smoke right up until you get on the plane! Our flight left on time and was uneventful. We arrived in NY around 11:00 p.m. and took the shuttle to Boston and were home by 1:30 a.m. Back to work tomorrow.

Overall the trip was excellent. The experience of Paris and of course Disneyland Paris was priceless though I think if I ever went back I would have much more fun with my family. Hopefully some day I can convince them to go. It was interesting to go to Disneyland Paris and WDW so close in time to each other, I was able to compare the parks with each fresh in my mind. While DLP is beautiful, I think I will stick with WDW right here at home for now [img]graemlins/usa.gif[/img]

Thanks for reading.

[chezp]

Great to read the last part of your report - the bit about the strikes doesn't surprise me at all, the French are well known for being on strike! [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] I've really enjoyed reading this and I'm sad to see it come to an end. I hope you get to bring your family over sometime in the future. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[loobyoxlip]

Very cool, Jenn. Thanks for finishing this up. Can't wait to read your WDW TR now [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Great finish Jennifer [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Thanks for sharing [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[AKLRULZ]

Not a fan of strikes! [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] Sorry it impacted you. Thanks for your report and photos - very enjoyable read!