Come Fly With Me

Carlos and I spent Easter weekend in Paris, and it was like a dream. We loved it--much more than I could ever have imagined. The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the D'Orsay (which I loved more than the Louvre--thank you Monet and Renoir!), Saint Chappele, the Paris Opera ("Tosca"), Versaille, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Ellyses, a river boat tour, church, and a romantic stroll or two along the river (which may or may not have included kissing on every bridge). All of Carlos' travels from last year have really paid off with our free hotel points we've enjoyed all this year. We've almost used them all up, and boy have we been spoiled! We even had free room service. (I'd just like to know who actually pays $50 for French Toast, and $16 dollars for a glass of pulpy orange juice--that's highway robbery people!). On Saturday night we had a picnic across the river from the Eiffel Tower--baguettes, cheese, tomatoes, and the most delicious French desserts (I have no idea what they're called but they were good). After that we hiked up to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower, which is quite the feat--especially if you've already walked several miles that day, and more than that the day before.The weather was perfect--it only rained for 30 minutes while we were there--and that was during our river cruise so we stayed dry. 

The city was packed but we managed to avoid most of the crowds--or at least waiting in lines. We did have a 2 hour wait at Notre Dame--but other than that we really didn't have to wait in any lines. Apparently Europe gets several days off for Easter break, so everyone was travelling. We saw the Mona Lisa, which was pretty sweet--minus the masses surrounding it. I tried really hard to not break out into song. I also tried to remember places from The Da Vinci Code--the few minutes I actually watched where my eyes were not closed.

I insisted that we spend almost a full day at Versailles, and it did not disappoint. I was absolutely giddy--Carlos was laughing at me. You have to give credit to the French, they really do have style. The rooms were amazing, and the gardens just kept going and going. These are just a few of the pictures--we have hundreds. If only we knew how to actually work a camera. :) Oh well, this is what you get.

Definitely one of the best trips we've been on. If anyone's going to Paris anytime soon--we're experts now, so we'd be glad to give you some tips. We spent weeks planning every detail, and in the end it paid off. I was so glad to get to go after we had to cancel our original plans to go last October. I'm very glad we got to see it all in the spring though.