The Big 3!

The view from the top! 

Notre Dame. 

Me and Mona.

Ended the trip with my favorite meal in Paris (sorry Chipotle, you were a close second). The fresh squeezed orange juice was unforgettable. My salad was delicious and the adorable retired couple we sat next to were great company. A great ending to an awesome trip. 

It's hard to believe our trip to Paris was already a month ago! It exceeded all of my expectations. Paris is an amazing city. It definitely lived up to the hype. Well done Paris! Hope it wasn't our last meeting. 

An Arc and a Palace

We got up early on the second day and took the metro to The Arc De Triumph. The Arc is the center of a huge round about that has 12 roads that lead into it. We walked all the way around and took pictures from every side. 

We asked someone to take our picture with the Arc. Nice picture of half the Arc huh? 

We did some shopping on the Champs Elysees. Genna got new jeans and I bought a T shirt for Reed. Suddenly we realized we had spent a little too much time shopping and then were late to meet our tour for the Palace of Versailles. Luckily, after a little running and a lot of worrying we caught the train and were able to meet up with the group right outside the train station!

The gold fence outside the palace was spectacular!

The gardens were HUGE and very impressive. 

It was very cold and misting. The other people on our tour walked so slow. Genna, our tour guide and I were walking quickly to warm up, but then would have to wait for the others to catch up and get cold again. 

We were grateful for a break and warm hot chocolate in the middle of the tour to warm up! 

All of the statues in the garden were covered for winter. I am happy that we went and saw the gardens of Versailles, but I think it would be better to visit in a warmer month. 

After the tour of the gardens we went inside the Palace. With our Polish Residency card it was free! There were lots of cool paintings on the ceilings. The furniture was pretty cool, but my favorite part was the Hall of Mirrors. At the time the palace was built mirrors were very rare and only made in Venice. So they brought Venetian mirror makers to France and filled the entire hallway with mirrors from the floor to the ceiling. 

The Hall also looks cool from the outside because you can see the reflection of the garden. It looks like you are looking through the palace. 

Before going back to the city we indulged in some great treats. 

We bought an eclair, macaroons and crepes. Yummy! 

Monmartre, Paris

As the sun went down we began our second walking tour of Paris. The Monmartre District. 

We saw the red light district.

The Basilica was beautiful all lit up. 

This is the view of Paris from the steps of the Basilica. 

Monmartre is the art district of Paris. At this square there are lots of aspiring artists who will gladly draw you a portrait for a small fee. 

On the tour we also saw where Van Gough lived, the only remaining vineyard in Paris and the cafe were the movie Amile was written and filmed. 

After the tour we used our newly mastered subway skills to go to CHIPOTLE! 

Genna and I love Chipotle. In college we would make just about any excuse to go to Hudson for a burrito. I've been craving Chipotle since we left for Poland in September. So this was an exciting night! 

We knew what street it was on, but weren't exactly sure where it was. When we saw the familiar sign we ran to the door. It seemed as though we were characters in a movie when we went to open the door and it was locked. There was a brief moment of panic that it was closed, but then we realized we were trying to open the wrong door! Once inside I ordered my usual. Which I am happy to report was delicious! 

Hello Paris

We arrived in Paris Sunday evening and went right to our hostel from the airport. Genna and I got up early on Monday ready for a full day of sight seeing. We started our day with a walking tour. 

On the way to the meeting place we got our first look of the Eifel Tower. When I first saw it, it was a bit like finding the prize in a box of cereal. I knew it would happen eventually, but it still took me by surprise and was exciting.

The tour was great. By the end we saw many of the main attractions of Paris including The New Bridge (the oldest bridge in Paris), The Luve, and Tuileries Garden. See the sea gull on top of the statue's head? I thought it was funny!

After the tour we ate lunch at a cute café. I had an omelet and Genna had French Onion Soup. We thought it was all pretty good, but about an hour later we didn’t feel the same. Unfortunately, something we ate there didn’t agree with us and we both ended up getting sick.

Our marathon of a day continued with a trip to the Orangeria Art Museum. It’s located on the edge of the Tuileris Garden. There were a lot of beautiful paintings, most from the Impressionalist era. The most amazing was Monet’s Water Lillies. They were as big as the room. Looking at them I instantly felt calm amongst hundreds of people and an upset stomach. I wish I could share pictures with you, but photography wasn’t allowed in that gallery.

Our big day continued with another walking tour and a trip to my favorite restaurant! I’ll get that post up soon.