Thursday, September 25, 2014

Paris - Part 2

Day 3 was one of our busiest days ... we had a wonderful breakfast ...


and then hopped the tour bus and off to Champs de Elysee ... we were so lucky with the weather ... it was sunny and about 75 degrees with a lovely breeze .. couldn't ask for more perfect weather ...

This was the first view we had of the Arc de Triomphe.

We spent some time window shopping along Champs de Elysee ... has we walked towards the monument ... and what an impressive monument it is ...



you get to the monument from underground ... these views are the main floor of the arc




they you can walk or take a lift to the top of the monument ... we walked up the first set up steps and then took the lift to the very top.  There are no words for the views you can see from the top ... breathtaking and overwhelming come to mind ... we walked all around the top ... here's a few pictures










We hopped the bus again to head over to the Eiffel Tower ... we didn't have much time to spend around the Eiffel Tower, but the experience of seeing her in person was one of the highlights of the trip for me.  We got to see the tower at night too ... but I'll talk about that in another post *smile*




We stopped for a quick bite and potty stop ... I think all food vendors should offer champagne!
When Lisa and I were planning our trip, I emailed with Edgar a couple of times ... after all he's the Paris expert these days *smile*  Imagine our surprise when we found out that we would be in Paris at the same time!  Jumping for joy!  A few years ago Terry and I were vacationing in San Fransisco and had an opportunity to have dinner with Edgar ... I was very excited to see him again ... what a treat!  We met up at a quaint little cafe called Odette's ... we had a great visit and very yummy pastries ...




I'm grateful for new adventures ...

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Bonjour

This year I turned 60 ... I really wanted to do something special to celebrate.  I mean 60 is a major milestone, don't you think?  So I talked to my best friend Lisa about going to Paris with me.  I've wanted to go to Paris for years and since we both turned 60 this year it just felt right.  Terry was very ok about me going to Paris without him, this time.  He knows the bond Lisa and I have and understood why we wanted to celebrate together.  Lisa's husband wasn't quite that gracious *smile*.

So last Saturday morning we set out on an adventure I will never forget ... and plan to do again!  Unfortunately American Airlines didn't have champagne ... but we made do with vodka for screwdrivers, courtesy of our stewardess when she learned we going to Paris for the very first time.
We were really pleased with the hotel we picked ... just a little 80 room hole in the wall ... the beds were comfy, the staff was so very nice and the location turned out to be fairly centralized for getting around.
 This cafe was across the street from the hotel ... The morning we arrived, after checking our luggage in, we decided to have some breakfast and get familiar with city maps.  The next day we started our day here and they remembered us ... they didn't speak very much English and we didn't speak very much French, but it all worked out ... we enjoyed a few meals there ...
The rest of the first day was spent walking around and getting familiar with the streets of Paris.  Not many pictures because my camera was in the suitcase and my phone had died :(

Monday we purchased a 2 day pass on L'OpenTour buses.  Great way to get around Paris, you can get off anywhere and pick up another bus from most anywhere.  We started our sightseeing at Sacre' Coeur.  OMGosh was a lovely lovely church.  It's not one of the oldest churches in Paris, built around 1912 and has the most incredible views of all Paris.





This gentleman was playing his harp on the stairs ... just a nice sound ...






There were many fountains and sculptures around the church ... The bird sitting on his head gave us quite a giggle ...


The birds really enjoyed the fountains ...

Later that evening we went to a wine/champagne tasting at O Chateau.  We had so much fun and learned quite a bit, especially about champagne.  Our Sommelier (like how I use those big official words?  lol), Nickolaus, was informative and funny.  Joining us in the tasting was two women from New Jersey, two women from Denmark, a couple from Zimbabwe and a young woman traveling by herself from Cairo.  I think this was one of the things I enjoyed most about the trip ... all the different and interesting people we ran into. 

And on the way back to our hotel ... dessert called to us ... omgosh it was good!



Walking back to our hotel we passed a shop that looked like a dry cleaner.  In the front window were these incredible old sewing machine ... there must have been 12 or 15 of them.  Because of the glare I could only get pictures of a few of them ... love love love!



Day One and Two done ... of course these are only some of the highlights ... many more pictures to come ... if you can stand it *smile*

Bonsoir

I'm grateful for travel ...