We arrived on Friday morning at about 10 am. The Keipers didn't get in until 11 so Eli and I waited for them at the airport. When they landed we all shared a cab to the hotel. It was a looong and expensive cab ride. 80 euros! The guy took us along "the scenic route" which we were not thrilled about. Rose and Daryl both had to get to work meetings so it was sort of stressful. When we finally got checked in, Rose and Daryl went to their meetings and Eli and I grabbed lunch with the kids. Then we walked around our neighborhood, but our hotel was a bit far from the action of Paris so there wasn't much to see. Thankfully though, we were right next to a metro station so getting into town was a breeze.
When Rose and Daryl got done with their meetings we decided that evening would be the perfect time to see the Eiffel Tower. We waited in line for about two hours but it was well worth it. The sights from the tower are stunning. The highlight for me was making it all the way to the top because the last time I was there we didn't make it past the second story, which is pretty damn high--not like the second story of a building. Anyway, we made it to the top via elavator and took lots of pictures and made fun of the people who were at the top of the Eiffel Tower playing games on their ipads. Seriously! Who does that??? By the time we were done it was about 11:00 pm, so we went back to the hotel and crashed. We were exhausted after being up since 5 am.
Saturday was our big touristy/shopping day. We tried to cram as much in as possible. We did our usual routine and got on those double decker hop on/hop off buses and saw the sights. We got to see Notre Dame, The Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side and we got rained on for much of the day. We still managed to have a good time though. And the highlight for me? Going to the world's largest Louis Vuitton shop on the Champs Elysees and getting myself a new handbag. She's so pretty guys...wait till you see her! Rose, Amaya and I had a blast in the store. Amaya kept trying to get me to buy more things saying "They're not that expensive!" I don't think she quite understands conversion rates yet. I could have stayed there for hours just drooling over everything, but the boys were waiting outside and we had a dinner cruise to get to!
So granted, a dinner cruise might be a bit cheesy but it was seriously awesome. It was such a great way to see the city. I never realized there was so much action on the banks of the river! You can't see it from the streets unless you know about it, so for us it was great. We saw all these little makeshift bars and couples picnicing by the water. They even had outdoor dancing. You could see all the couples dancing along the banks of the river. It was so sweet! At the end of the cruise they took us down towards the Eiffel Tower and we got to see it all lit up and glittering one last time.
On Sunday we went to Montmartre which is by far my favorite neighborhood in Paris. If I ever get back, I'm staying in that area. It's sooo cute! It's where the Moulin Rouge and all the other famous cabarets are. There are also so many cute little shops, cafes and bars there. And let's not forget the red light district. Oh la la! Obviously, we didn't spend much time there since we were with the kiddies, but we did make it up to Sacred Heart. My one regret from my last trip was that I never made it up there so I was so happy to finally see it. It's on this great big hill and you get the most amazing views from Paris up there. We climbed all the way to the top of the dome and it was just breathtaking. And let's not forget the cathedral itself...gorgeous!
After Sacred Heart we went back into the heart of the city to take pictures at the Lourve and try to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France which was ending in Paris. We did catch a glimpse, but not of the actual riders. We saw all their team buses and cars but we got tired of waiting and the crowds were insane. We just gave up and had crepes at a cafe and watched the race on TV! Kind of lame I guess, but we were over it. Our hunger overpowered our desire to see the race. Apparently an Australian won it for the first time ever. Go Australia! After that it was time to head back "home" to London. Aurevoir Paris! (I'm sure that's probably spelled wrong.)
I must say, our weekend did have a sad note to it. While watching TV at night we learned of the devastating attacks in Norway and the death of Amy Winehouse. I was a huge fan and I'm saddened by the loss. RIP Amy.
P.S. Sorry about the lack of pictures. Eli's camera died so we barely have any. The thing made it through Iraq but I guess Paris was just too much for the little guy. Daryl took a bunch though, so maybe I'll be able to post them later. Or just check facebook.
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| Amaya and I at the Eiffel Tower! |
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