Part 2...PARIS!!! It started with a little bit of a panic, but the relief in this photo tells the full story. We got off the train, walked to the metro, tried to tap in and realized we needed an actual pass, walked back to a ticket machine with a really long line, got to the front and realized that Katherine left her pink trip binder on the train! It had everything in it...adresses to hotels, tickets to events, souvenir brochures and postcards from places we had already seen, etc. I told her not to panic but let's go back and see if the train is still there. How she found the right train I do not know. They were already cleaning and almost done. No one spoke English, BUT she got her folder back!
On the first day there we met our friend, Jen, who lives in Paris, and she was our personal tour guide for the day. We started with the Sainte-Chapelle. Absolutely beautiful!!
Each piece of the stain glass tells a story. It starts with creation, goes through Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronamy, Joshua, Judges, Isaiah, John, Jesus, John the Baptist, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Job, Esther, Kings, and the circle one at the end is Revelation.
The stain glass is from around 1242
This is one of the entrances to the Chapel. Everything had some sort of story I'm sure, but we were not there long enough to get it all.
We found the flood...
...and the building of Noah's ark
Next, we went to see Notre Dame. The line was insanely long but moved quickly.
So many people inside!
I am glad we got to see it.
The chandeliers give it a different feel from other churches.
I believe this was restored after the fire.
wood carved scenes from the Bible...we were herded through the church "backwards" so following a storyline was a bit difficult.
But we see Zacchaeus
The rooster at the top of the church that was melted in the fire. They saved it as a memorial to the firefighters who worked so hard to save the church.
That's quite the door!
Then on to the Louvre...well, from the outside only. This was a secret sneak peak of the inside though
One of the arches...I believe it's the Carousel Triumphal Arch
The never ending park...
We timed that well! Cherry blossom season!!
The Arc de Triomphe...and the crazy huge roundabout that goes around it.
Yes, we climbed to the top of it!
views of the city
All roads lead to here...literally so much traffic is funneled into this one spot. CRAZY
heading back down
Ok, I just had to laugh at the big silver suitcase building. Only Louie Vuitton
It's Katherine's trip...she gets to pick the food. She's my hamburger and fries girl :) Five Guys it is
The oldest clock in Paris
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre...I'll never remember this name
but it is famous for all the mosaic art inside
That entire ceiling is mosaic. It was impressive. Some of them looked more like paintings than mosaics
Joan of Arc mosaic
Cute little artsy area
filling her water bottle at the water fountain
cute socks if I would wear such a thing..haha
So, I lost my watch in security at the very beginning of the day. It was a bit chaotic there and I don't remember seeing it. I looked in all my pockets, my jacket, backpack...we even went back and looked through security again. Nothing. So, we assumed that my watch that I have had since college was gone. Then at dinner, I got up to go place our order. When I came back it was just there. We still don't know where it was, but I got it back. Maybe it was stuck to the inside of my sweater? Who knows. And it's a miracle it didn't fall somewhere before then. We were literally everywhere!
Katherine's dinner choice? Wokatine noodle shop. It was just what we needed!
the metro entrances...the do NOT want anyone jumping over! haha
Well, going to Paris this is a must, right?
We got our photo then decided to wait for it to light up.
So we walked a little closer...
...and found a spot to wait.
Then we got back to our hotel and realized that we never took Katherine's picture with the baguette.
The next morning we got another one because it's just a euro for that huge thing and we were about to spend the day at Disneyland and you are allowed to take food and drink inside. So, traveling on a budget! WE snacked on this while waiting in line for rides :)
Awe! Ratatouille! (Which we watched in the hotel room)
I would have bought this if it were not outrageously expensive!! Super cute though!
At the entrance!!
Pluto!!
Our first ride was the cars...I've never driven on this side before ;)
Then she decided to be brave and try Hyperspace Maountain...it was our FAVORITE ride there!! SO much fun!!!
Awe, we also saw the Mandalorian and baby Grogu
Ok, this was a 3D movie ride, but we had so much fun. All of the French that were in it with us were sooo animated. I felt like I was in a tv show where everyone was purposefully being dramatic, but this was just so natural and we couldn't stop laughing.
Sleeping Beauty's castle
Do NOT be deceived...this lone is soooooo long! We waited in line for 90 minutes for a 30 second Pinocchio ride! craziness
Well, we were hoping for Mickey ice cream, but they were sold out. Really? So we got an over priced regular ice cream and a Lion king sandwich that ended up being the tiniest sandwich I have seen...but we still enjoyed our splurge.
Our one meal for the day due to price...a 12 dollar hot dog. Glad we packed lots of snacks and drinks in our backpacks!
I'm not sure which of the two martian pictures I like better so I am putting them both in here.
And we are off! Buzz Lightyear shooting competition has begun
Our FAVORITE ride :)
The last time she tried to pull the sword from the stone I think she was 8
A new roller coaster for us...Indiana Jones
This was no joke...it was the tiniest loop I have ever seen. I'm really not sure how we made it through.
Waiting for the end of day show.
I would say end of day fireworks, but it turned out to be a light show production, with drones and fire and music and a few fireworks. It was much better than I thought it would be. I'm really glad we have the video (although my arm was starting to hurt from holding it in the air for so long)
WOW. The mass exodus from the park!
The next morning we checked out of our hotel and went to breakfast. We decided to eat the traditional savory crepe and sweet crepe. Katherine had a ham and cheese crepe...
I actually had mine on a croissant...
and we split the sweet one. It was filled with strawberries, bananas, and Nutella.
More pictures as we walked around town getting in a few last things before the airport.
Where we sat to try our macarons
We only got 4...but we got to choose our flavor and they came in a cute souvenir tin that Katherine got to keep.
I believe this one was raspberry, litchi, and rose. My other choice was dark chocolate and vanilla.
We stopped at a mall just before the airport so that we could eat dinner at a normal price instead of airport prices. There was quite the security detail presence there. We later saw a poster and it was some famous French actor was doing and autograph time.
We ate at Burger King. This add Katherine hooked....a cheeseburger with fried mac and cheese. Hmmmm. Not for me, but she really enjoyed it.
Eco friendly Franch...reusable cups, no straws, and reusable french fry containers.
We made it to the airport! Glad we ate dinner as prices were worse than we thought...8 euros for a bottle of coke?!
They definitely thought about entertaining their passengers as they wait. Free gaming. Also, fun fact...the airport is built on top of hot springs so it is temperature controlled naturally, no electricity used in the process. I though it was a bit wam myself but that's ok. I'm always "rating" different airports.
