Friday evening I boarded a plane headed for Paris, France. Rob had left on Monday for meetings and I was heading to meet him so we could spend a few days exploring Paris together, finally.
I am not a fan of flying, the poor kid seated next to me kept glancing over as I gripped the arm rests and focused on my deep breathing during the take off and landing. But I have to say that Delta did a great job of keeping me fed, my diet coke full, and providing a good selection of in flight movies. 9 hours later, and Saturday morning, we were touching down in beautiful Paris France.
I figured I would go to the hotel and sleep for a couple hours before heading out, I had tried to sleep on the flight but it didn't happen. When we got to the hotel I had gotten my second wind and was ready to explore so we called a taxi and headed downtown.
Driving was an adventure, there are not many roads with marked lanes so the cars just squeeze in where they can. The roads are very busy and it takes a long time to get the 15 miles into downtown. There is a lot of honking and speeding up and slowing down quickly. I didn't want to have to drive in Paris, but I wasn't a fan of being a passenger either.
Montmartre - the highest point in Paris. I climbed out of the taxi and looked up to see the beautiful Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur. I stared at it in wonder while Rob paid the driver. I stood there convincing myself I was actually here, and trying to make sure I took it all in.
It was cloudy and rainy so we couldn't see the full view of Paris, but the view we did see was breathtaking.
They don't allow photography inside the cathedral, but it was beautiful, and like all of the old buildings I was amazed they were able to create something so detailed and beautiful with such basic tools.
From here we walked down the hill through a bunch of shops filled with pastries, fresh fruit, meat, bread, and flowers. I was in Heaven!! I was starting to get hungry so we ducked into a bakery and bought some bread, a pastry, and a sandwich on the most delicious bread filled with fresh meat and cheese. I knew right then that Paris and I were going to become best friends.
Moulin Rouge was on the way down the hill, I spared Rob and didn't bust into my rendition of "Lady Marmalade" right there on the street.
I was fascinated by this large group of railroad tracks and we would soon try to become good friends with the trains that ran along it. Boy was that an adventure by the third day we had it down though.
I was thrilled to walk around looking at all the buildings, they all had so many beautiful details and each seemed to be unique but similar. Most of all I was surprised at how clean the streets of Paris are. I think I was expecting to see a dirty old city with garbage and scum everywhere, but it was not at all.
Arc de Triomphe - We eventually gave up on walking in the rain and decided to ride a train down to the Arc de Triomphe. The station came out right at the arch, it is beautiful and full of so much history. The detail on the Arc de Triomphe is amazing, just like everything in Paris, but the ceiling was my favorite part.
Champs-Élysées - We walked down the Champs-Élysées and checked out all of the different shops. The window displays are all artistically done and so fun to look at. I even enjoyed all the car show rooms. I am certain they had every store you can think of except for a kitchen store, which I was hoping to find.
We headed towards the Eiffel Tower and found the cutest little book shop along the way. I wanted to buy 2 things while I was in Paris: a French cookbook for my shelf and a crepe pan. I never did find the crepe pan, but I did find the biggest, most beautiful dessert cookbook. It is HEAVY and Rob was my champ hauling it around for the rest of the night.
Eiffel Tower - We ended our night wondering around and checking out the Eiffel tower from every angle. I was surprised at how big it really is. My favorite view was when we walked up a hill towards our train stop and turned to see the tower was sparkling.
We returned to the hotel, my feet were soaking wet and I was exhausted. I was also so in love with this beautiful city and grateful I was there. We enjoyed dinner at the hotel before heading up to bed. I hit the pillow and didn't wake up for 10 hours. It was the best nights sleep I have had in a LONG time and I was surprised it happened in a hotel room.
What a fun adventure!!! And I'm glad to hear you handled the flight ok. I dread airplanes. Not a fear of crashing or anything I just feel so cramped and claustrophobic and moron sick. But maybe I could brave a Europe flight after all someday!
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