We're back from Paris, and so so so tired!
So tired that I just made about ten typos trying to spell that out. And this too.
Oi vey.
Paris went by in such a flash that I hardly feel like it happened! Thank goodness for the bajillion photos I took. And this is only day one...
We woke up early and got a nice head start on the day on Friday. We walked to the Louvre, stopping at a small boulangerie to get pain au chocolat and coffees. When we got to the Louvre, it was only about 10 am, and a weekday, so we were able to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and much more without the huge crowds. We walked through about half the museum trying to find one painting that my friend loves, and turns out it was in the room right next door to the Mona Lisa {where we went first} the whole time! Ah well, at least we got to see a lot of the museum!
After the Louvre, we walked along the Seine towards the Eiffel Tower, diverting down some side streets to stop and buy freshly baked baguettes, cheeses, fruit, wine, chocolate, and macarons at the small shops in the neighborhood, before settling down on the grass right in front of the Eiffel Tower to each our lunch picnic-style. And okay, these baguettes... you know in the movie Ratatouille when Colette is telling Linguini how to tell when the bread is fresh, and she squeezes it and it makes that glorious soft crackling sound? Well, that's exactly how these baguettes were! And the smell.... oh god.
Excuse me while I go wipe the drool off my face...
Okay, now I've done that, next we walked around to the vantage point where we got some good photos of our group with the Eiffel Tower behind us, then continued on to the Arc de Triomphe. My friend, Dee, and I took the stairs {oy, the stairs... workout of the day right there} up to the top of the Arc and got pictures from the very top of the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysées. Then, we walked down the Champs Elysées and over to the area of Montparnasse, where we had galettes {dinner crêpes} at a crêperie. Then we went back to our hostel {finally taking the Metro because we had walked all over the city and our feet were killing us}.
We regrouped briefly before setting back out to the Eiffel Tower to take a river cruise down the Seine - highly recommended, it was only 12 euros and the views were beautiful at night! We ate crêpes for dessert, went on a carousel, and watched the light show on the Eiffel Tower before calling it a night and going back to the hostel for some much-needed and well-deserved sleep.
It was the most magical day.
So many experiences that I'd only ever dreamed of before!
I accomplished so many dreams in just one day, crossing so many things off my bucket list!
You guys, I can't even tell you...
I don't know if I've ever been happier.
And that was only day one!
Day two comes tomorrow...
