Paris May 2003

Once we flew to London, we realized that we had accumulated some serious miles. We also got a credit card that gave us miles for every purchase. The airline industry was having issues and they were talking about cutting out some of their perks and programs. We thought that their frequent flier program was one of them. We didn't want to lose our miles after we painstakingly earned them so we planned a trip.

After doing some research, I found that we had enough frequent flier miles for a coach fare to Paris. We had such a great time in London, we thought, let's do it. So we did. Through AA.Vacations, we booked a hotel. Choosing a hotel was a crap shoot. I had no idea about where things were in Paris and what was a good area and what was not. Our only criteria was that it be reasonably priced and that it be near a Metro stop. This hotel had both.

We were a little worried about going because the US had just entered an unpopular war with Iraq. We didn't speak the language but had bought a phrase book. Also, you hear how the French really don't care for Americans. Once we got there, all of these concerns went by the wayside.

We found that space is at a premium in Paris. I think we got one of the nicer rooms and it was small. It was the width of a full size bed with a little room on the sides and the length of two and a half full size beds.
I was a little worried at first but we had our own bathroom so I was happy. We were on the third floor and the elevator could only hold one person with luggage. I went up first, then J.

We went to this little restaurant recommended by the concierge. They seat you family style. Then they want your order. It was a little stressful for me but J was able to order something so I just had what he had. We had steak and french fries. It was REALLY good. We ordered wine as well and then for dessert, I got a torte that was delicious and J got a cheese plate. The two ladies next to us said, "you realize that you just ordered cheese?" and J said yes. I was shocked that they spoke English! We spoke with them for a few minutes and found out they were from Holland. They spoke Dutch, German, French and English. Amazing. When J's cheese came, the lady next to him gave him some of their wine. Apparently, you can't have cheese without wine. They were so nice. They really enhanced our first dining experience in France.

So our first full day, we got up and took a city tour so that we could figure out what we wanted to see. The tour guide was amazing. She was about 20 or 21 and did the tour in Spanish, Italian, English and French.
I just took random pictures from the bus. We stopped at Invalides. This is where Napoleon was buried. Our final stop was the Eiffel Tower.
What an amazing structure. You can't stop taking photos. After the bus tour, we went back to the hotel. The tour had taken about half the day. From our trip to London, we learned we shouldn't rush and be stressed but relax and enjoy. We didn't want to sit in our room the rest of the day so we broke out the Frommer's and figured out how to take the metro to Notre Dame.
They were renovating the outside a little. It was awesome.
The famous Rose Window. The photo really doesn't do it justice. It was absolutely beautiful. They actually still say Mass here. It was a shame that we missed getting here in time for that. How cool would that have been?

The next day we went to the Eiffel Tower. We'd heard stories about how long the lines were, etc but we walked right up and got tickets. We went all the way up to the top. What a view!
The second level of the Eiffel Tower had a restaurant and a gift shop. The restaurant just looked like a tourist trap so we passed.
The next stop for us was the Arch de Triomphe. This was cool. It was in the middle of a traffic circle. These Parisians are fierce drivers and the circle was very chaotic. We sat there for about 10 minutes and saw an accident. It was just a fender bender so the people got back in their cars and moved on.
The next place we stopped was at the Moulin Rouge. We didn't actually go in since it was during the day. We checked out the shows and the dinner options and it was really expensive. Since we weren't really that interested, we passed. About this time, we were hungry for lunch and noticed that right next to the Moulin Rouge was a restaurant called "Quick". It was the French version of McDonald's. So, to use the restroom there, you actually have to buy something. Then at the bottom of the receipt is a code. This is what gets you in. Interesting.

A friend of mine told me that I just HAD to see Sacre Cour if I was going to be in Paris. Never heard of it but I made a mental note. After lunch, we didn't really have any plans so I said to J - what do you think? you want to go over there? So we broke out the Frommer's and figured out where we were and where we needed to go.

Once we got of the Metro, we found these stairs and followed them up. There had to be hundreds. Once we got to the top, we noticed that if we'd kept walking - on the other side of the hedge was an elevator that took you up the hill.
It was worth the climb. It was a beautiful church. One thing that was kind of cool was that we could see the dome of the basillica from our hotel room.
The next stop was Pere Lachaise. That's the famous cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried. The cemetery itself is amazing. Aside from the famous people buried there, the headstones are really old and they have some family mausoleums that are really cool.
I think there's a waiting list to buried here because there is so little space left. I wish we could have spent more time here but we were really tired at this point so we headed back to the hotel.

Behind me are actual family crypts. They look like little house. All the streets within the cemetery had names. It was like a small city.

That evening we took a night cruise along the Seine. It was hard to see things because there was a wall that went up the side of the embankment and it blocked the view. It's a shame because it what we could see was really pretty.
Musee d'Orsay is where they house all the impressionist art. We hadn't been there yet.
A view of the river at night. Not a very good shot because it was very dark out. But you can see the water a little. To the right is the boat we just got off of.
The Eiffel Tower all lit up. I could have taken photos of this all night long. It was so beautiful. None of the pictures I took really did it justice.

The next day was one we'd been waiting for with great anticipation. The Louvre. Our strategy was this: go see the big three first and get that out of the way and them come back and enjoy a leisurely stroll through the museum.
Winged Victory...
The Mona Lisa - which was most unimpressive. I had no idea it was so small. Also, you couldn't get a really good photo. Technically, you were supposed to take any photos. There were two guards standing there ignoring everyone taking photos.
Venus di Milo.

Ahh..now to stroll through and enjoy the Musee d'Louvre. One of my favorite paintings was the Coronation of Napoleon by David.
I can't think of any room in my house that would be big enough to hang this picture. I happened to stand next to a tour group and heard that the artist actually painted himself into the picture.

We strolled around for hours just looking at paintings. We got hungry and went over to the snack shop and bought sandwiches and drinks and then went outside into the courtyard to eat.
The controversial pyramid by I.M. Pei. This is the main entrance to the Louvre.
That's where we had lunch. They had all these little benches in the courtyard. The weather was beautiful. It was very peaceful even with all the people milling about.
We made our way back inside. These are the crown jewels of Louis XV. Very nice. The Louvre also used to be where the Kings lived. Part of the museum housed the apartments of Napoleon III.
Red seemed to be a favored color.
We spent the rest of the day just walking around and looking at things. We probably didn't even cover half of the museum. It was so big, we probably could have spent three days there and not seen everything.

The next day we went to the Musee d'Orsay. This was an old train station that was converted into a museum. It houses all the impressionist art.
Monet's Water Garden. They had Manet, Tulousse LeTrac (he painted the can can dancers) and a lot of other painters. This turned out to be a take it easy day. After the museum, we wandered around a bit. We sat on the banks of the Seine and just soaked it all in.
The Musee d'Orsay from across the river.

Our last day, we did a tour to Versailles and Chartres. The Palace of Versailles was cool.
The place was packed with tours so it was hard to hear out tour guide.
The King's bed. The bad thing about this visit is that it was so crowded. It was hard to take photos without getting jostled around or people pushing you from behind so that they could see as well.
This is the throne. They must have been very small people.
The Hall of Mirrors.
Next stop - Chartres. This is the cathedral of Chartres. I think every cathedral built around this time was built like Notre Dame. This looks exactly the same - it even had a rose window. That didn't make it any less beautiful. While we were there, there was a funeral service going on. The tourists were so rude. They just kept talking out loud.
A view of the village.

What an amazing trip. I have to admit, I was hesitant to go to France because of the language barrier. One thing we found was that a lot of people spoke English. Also, if you made an attempt to speak French, then people were more likely to be friendly and helpful.

We found that the food there was excellent. No sandwiches for us (except at the Louvre). We had some truely amazing meals. We tried a Mexican place just to see the French version of Mexican food. The margaritas weren't good but the food was not bad. I've had worse Tex-Mex in Dallas. I also had this sandwich like concoction that had a fried egg on it. Oh kids. That was yummy. We tried Chinese here and found that to be pretty good as well.

We have to come back here. There were a lot of things that we didn't get to. I wanted to get a loaf of french bread that I saw people walking around with. I wanted to get a table outside a little French coffee shop and just sit there all day and people watch.

This trip was very relaxing as well. The thing we (I) learned from this trip was not to be afraid to try anything. I thought the fried egg concoction was pretty adventurous eating for me. All the sauces and the wines - just be open minded and try it all.

Ahhh - we'll always have Paris.