The first day here we found our apartment. It is on the 5th
story… which doesn’t sound like a problem till you have to unload all your
stuff and carry it all up 5 flights of stairs! We brought way too much stuff!!
It is a really nice apartment, but would be even nicer if it had an elevator,
or we were on the bottom!! J
After we unloaded we went to see the Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower!! But before we left we ate some Belgian
Waffles! Haha
We took the Metro to go see everything, that was very
confusing! Good thing I had people to follow or I would have been lost!
The Notre Dame was breath taking! So pretty we went inside
and the walls were lined with huge alcoves, where confessions would take place.
There was a church service going on while we were there and it was unreal.
Stained glass everywhere, enormous columns, and light fixtures everywhere you
turned! It was beyond breath taking!
We then walked the little streets of Paris, lined with
little restaurants and cafes. Each had two to three tables outside their doors
in the street and everything else was stuffed inside. At the door of nearly all
of them people would be standing waiting for you to walk by. They would try to
entice you into entering. Above each restaurant sat more apartments, all with
windows open and flowerboxes full, blooming with bright vibrant flowers against
old cream colored buildings. There were restaurants of all types… Thai,
Chinese, Greek, “American”, English “Fish and Chips”, Mexican, German, French,
Italian, Pubs and Grills. The smells were mouthwatering! We stopped at one little
restaurant that had a chicken, duck and a pig in the window all on a
rotisserie. I ordered a steak…. It was not a Texas steak, big and juicy, but
instead, a thin piece of meat that looked like it was chewy and grey… but still
very good!
I also learned if a menu is advertised in the window… it is
probably cheaper than the one they hand you initially. Wait a minute or two and
they will bring you the one from the window or ask… but don’t ask for “LA
menu”… hahaha it just makes you look silly!
We then went and walked along the river. Imagine the river
walk in San Antonio, but, the river is larger and more inviting, the sidewalks
are large and spacious with a ledge to stop you from falling in, cobble stone
everywhere the street, the walls everything ! There were also no shops along
the river. We then walked back up to street level and took a right, and then
all of a sudden we saw… The Eiffel Tower! It was amazing!!! We stopped and took
several pictures of it in the sunset. We then went to go catch the Metro so we
could go and actually see it. BEAUTIFUL!! It is so huge, so tall, and so
perfect! It was absolutely enormous! Not only did we look at it from the ground
but we went up to the Second Floor of it! SO HIGH!!!! But the view was beyond
breath taking! You could see everything, The Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame,
EVERYTHING! We spent quite a while up there looking down then instead of taking
the tram car down… Manon wanted to take the stairs! SO… we climbed down from
the second level of the Eiffel Tower! We were way too high off the ground to
begin with… But that really put it in to perspective! Millions of stairs, all
wrapped into one leg of the tower! It was very neat but I tried not to linger
too long on them and just get down on the ground! I was told that on the third
floor you can feel the tower shake and move with the wind… that pretty much
sealed the deal and there was no way I would go up there!! After the never
ending stairs, we took the metro back to the apartment… more stairs! 5 flights
does not seem like that much but after a day of walking Paris and climbing down
millions of them 5 flights seemed like the end of the world!! Needless to say I
slept like a baby!
Yesterday we ate bread for breakfast, (Breakfast, Lunch and
Dinner all have some type of bread) and then were off! We drove to Versailles,
A MILLION MORE TIMES BEAUTIFUL THAN ANYTHING I HAVE EVER SEEN! A gate made of
Gold, a chateau accented with a Gold outline, and buildings all around that
have been standing for hundreds of years! Never in my life have I EVER seen
something so magnificent! Beyond breath taking, it was so elaborate, not a
single detailed was skipped over. Statues everywhere, paintings lined the walls
and ceilings. Extravagant fabrics, Gold accented doors, Marble everywhere it
was simply the most beautiful thing I have EVERY laid my eyes upon!
As if the palace itself wasn’t enough there were acres of
Gardens to still be explored! But first we had to stop for lunch. We ate at the
little restaurant inside the chateau. We each had a sandwich and of course it
was on bread. A long Baggett cut in half filled with cheese and meat are a
typical lunch! Instead of Diet Coke here it is called Light Coke! Lemonade is
actually Sprite here too! After we ate our massive sandwiches we then continued
out into the 100 degree weather! What is sad is this was cool compared to what
it felt like inside the chateau, because in Europe… they don’t have air
conditioning! We took a quick picture outside in one of the many Gardens then
left… it was WAY too hot!!
The chateau was breath taking! I would love to go back one
day when it is cooler and not so crowded! The only thing that I didn’t like
about it was that, on the stairs along either side along the railing, if you
looked, you could see the stones dip in from millions people walking on it
while holding onto the rail. Once I noticed that it felt more like a museum
that had been walked through millions of times and less like magical chateau
where kings and queens lived. There were also a few places where you could tell
things had been changes and made more modern. They also told you that Marie
Antoinette’s room was not what it actually looked like but a replica of what it
would have probably looked like. Regardless it was still extravagant and
breathtaking!
I love it here in Paris! It is amazing! The streets are just
as you imagine! It is so quite spectacular!
Today, WE walked all over Paris!! We climbed up a HUGE hill
to see the city! Streets were lined with restaurants and artists! I was
bombarded by people asking to paint me…. Hahaha that doesn’t happen in Texas!
We then stopped and ate… This was the first time since I
have been here that I have actually been hungry!! We then walked to the Arc de
Triumph and then to the Louvre. We also saw the old train station that was turned
into a museum. We passed so many museums! IT was crazy! We didn’t go inside any
of them though… our feet were all too sore to even think about concurring that!
WE also walked through a spectacular garden!
Then we headed back to the apartment. Then I took a nap! I am starting to
really love taking a nap before dinner!! Tomorrow we leave for Southern France….
It is supposed to rain though L
But I don’t mind… that gives me a reason to take even more naps!!!!
