First Blog Post!

New to the BLOG world...

I have always been a blog fan! I love getting lost in home updates, diet tips, holiday ideas, and fashion trends; however, I did not have the courage to create my own blog until now. I decided that 2014 would be a fun and fresh start to my somewhat online diary. So what's a better way to start than to blog about my recent trip to Europe over Christmas break!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

After a five hour flight, we arrived an hour early into the Charles de Gualle airport at 5:00am (Paris time). We quickly met our driver outside the airport who drove us to our hotel, the Holiday Inn at 4 Rue (street) Danton. The hotel rooms were much smaller than you see in America but very cozy and quaint. The hotel was decorated for Christmas but had modern decor with pink and silver accents. Since we made such great time, we arrived before check-in and decided to store our bags at the front desk and take the quiet stroll along the Seine River before the city awoke.

(The Seine River at 6:00 a.m.)

 

Our first walk along the city streets was so much different than I had anticipated, as the only people in the city seemed to be the city street cleaners. Apparently everyone in Paris stays up late and sleeps in even longer, partly because the sun did not fully rise until 9:30a.m. After our walk, we eventually found the perfect cafe where we all had a nice warm breakfast, and I had an authentic croque-monsieur, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, to start the trip off right, 

(They serve every meal with a salad) 

After breakfast, we returned to the hotel for a very quick cat nap, before we took off to the Notre Dame Cathedral!  What a magnificent piece of architecture, the Gothic design and the amazing attention to detail was so breathtaking.  Surprisingly, it was a very quick line to get into the Cathedral, and once in, we did our own tour.  We actually were able to witness the beginning of Mass, very cool.  After the tour, Richard and I stood outside in a line for about an hour so that we could have the opportunity to climb the Cathedral and be up close and personal with the Gargoyles.  We walked up what seemed like 500 spiral narrow steps to our final destination…the top.  As we made it to the top, the first thing we saw peering through the sunlight was the Eiffel Tower in the very close distance.  It was so shocking to realize how close we were!  Perhaps the most amazing thing was being so close to these iconic Gargoyles, and being able to share all of this with Richard.       

                        

( The view from the top of Notre Dame & our first view of the Eiffel Tower )

 After 36 hours straight, we had one last nap before Richard, Leslie, and I decided to explore the metro (the Paris subway), which was a zoo.  No one spoke English and it was very old and cold. Since John was still getting over his broken leg, we decided to take a test ride to the next stop from the hotel, which was the stop for Musee d' Orsay.  Outside Muss d’Orsay was a small food vendor, where I had a delicious crepe Nutella and Richard had a Tomato and Mozzarella Panini with an Orangina.  We enjoyed these treats as we sat by the Seine River at sunset and watched the river boats pass by.

 

(The Louvre from the other side of the Seine River)

We were so tired that night so we decided to do a light dinner.  During this meal, I realized that the common stereotype that the French are rude couldn’t be further from the truth.  Our waiter was so nice and engaging.  In fact, he told me that, “he loves the way Americans smile.”  I also realized one big rule for the French…wine is cheaper than anything else on the menu.  We all “wined and dined” as we watched the locals take life easy, this café was no “tourist-trap.”  The Parisians would take a sip or two of espresso, go out for a quick smoke, and then back on the move.  They all seemed at ease with no worries.

(Average serving size of wine- 1 liter for 3 euros)

After dinner we took in the city one last time for our first day as we rode the elevator to the 9^th floor and had a wonderful night view of the Eiffel Tower.

(View from the top of our hotel at night)