Andrea Finally Goes to Europe, Paris

We left on a Friday morning, April 11th early in the morning. If I remember correctly, Josh took us to the airport. I think we met my parents there. I was nervous to fly so far and for such a long time. We boarded our plane, it was a direct flight to Paris. I think it took about 10 hours. It was a really long 10 hours, and I don't think I slept more than a few minutes here and there. I was so happy to get off that plane, and I couldn't believe I was actually in Paris, France! We bustled around the airport, and managed to get a ride to our hotel. It was a quaint little place with tiny little rooms, but a big comfy bed. We were all exhausted and it was now Saturday morning in Paris, so we agreed we'd take a nap for an hour and then head out to sight see. We only had two days in Paris so as painful as it was to force ourselves out of bed, we did it and were off to see the City of Love!

Our Paris Hotel

Here's our fancy room, basically four walls and a little room between them and the walls :)

Our crazy neighbors, a stone's throw away (he actually threw an orange into our room, I believe ;))

With maps in hand, we went straight for the tour bus office. The bus was the perfect way to see a lot in a short amount of time which is just what we needed. I was so tired, I was having a hard time staying coherent, but everything around me was incredible. I loved everything I saw, every corner was charming. Everything was so old, but still so sturdy and functional and beautiful.. It was so fun to just drive the quaint tree-lined streets and take in all the sites.

Just a random, beautiful street from the bus ride

I believe the first place we stopped and got off the bus was at Notre Dame, it was amazing. We walked through it and marveled at it's massive, formidable presence. It was huge and so so impressive.

I still can't believe that's me in front Notre Dame de Paris!

After that we walked over to the Sainte-Chapelle, on a recommendation from Melissa. I am so grateful she told us about it, because I know we would have missed it, it's tucked away just a block or two away from Notre Dame. The Sainte-Chapelle (Holy Chapel) is in the process of renovations, but fortunately we were still able to go in and see the breathtaking stained glass.

There was panel after panel of beautiful detailed, biblical scenes that went on and on around the entire room. It was stunning.

We walked along the Siene River which was so thrilling and reminded me of scenes from "Charade" with Carey Grand and Audrey Hepburn.

Driving by the Louvre was another definite thrill, but kind of a painful one knowing we didn't have time to go in, someday I'll go back and spend hours and days in all the museums!

I was so tired, but it was all so amazing. It was all a little bit fuzzy in the moment because of jet lag, but it's really fuzzy now 10 months later. After the Louvre, our bus drove down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe and then to the Eiffel Tower. I know we got off at near the Eiffel Tower and walked down around the base. I decided the thought of going up was too much for me, but it was beautiful and shockingly huge. It was all beautiful and awe-inspiring and exhausting.

After the Eiffel Tower, we caught a bus back towards our hotel and walked around looking for a dinner spot. We found a quaint little patisserie and were grateful to sit and eat. Our waitress was very nice and spoke fairly good English which was a welcome change. I was so surprised how much language was an issue, it was a frustrating obstacle. Another downside was how many people smoked. As we walked the beautiful streets there was a constant and potent smell of smoke everywhere. I couldn't believe the always progressive and fashionable Parisians were so behind on the coolness of smoking!  Anyway, we enjoyed a lovely meal and by the time we finished we were all thoroughly pooped! We tiredly stumbled back to our hotel for the best night's sleep I think I've ever had.

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