Our 1st Full Day in Paris 6.14.2005

This morning, we slept in!! It was soooo great! We got up around noon, Paris time. We got around and got ready to go out and start our day. Of course, I had to have a 1.50E coke light to get myself going. We decided to start our day at the Ile de la Cite, so, we retraced our steps from the evening before and crossed the Seine on the Pont Neuf (oldest bridge in Paris) to get onto the island.

We began at Ste. Chapelle, inside the Palais du Justice. We were able to see the outside of the Cathedral - but Jeff balked about paying the entrance fee to view in the inside. Our second day in Paris and my husband (self-proclaimed "cheap stingy bastard") was already complaining about the prices of everything (which even I admit were steep). We purchased a 3-day museum pass before coming to Paris, and Ste. Chapelle was included - so, we refused to pay to go in before we could use the pass. Of course, we did get some great pics of the outside. We did see the inside later in our trip.

From there, we were off to see Notre Dame de Paris. I was covered in goosebumps when we turned the corner and saw her splendor. I just stood in awe of the beauty and enormity - and truly of someone's vision to build a structure that grand in the 1100's. I can't imagine what the groundbreaking must have been like - and then to die before it was ever finished (it took 200 years to complete). We took pictures outside and then reverently wandered in.

The small chapels around the nave were ornate and beautiful. I was just amazed by the architecture and the enormity of it all. The artwork and sculptures inside certainly match the majesty of the structure. I just felt so small standing in front of the famous stained glass rose windows. Everything was just breathtaking.

After seeing the cathedral, we wandered outside to the rear courtyard to admire the flying buttresses.

After hours spent admiring Notre Dame, we wandered onto the smaller island behind the Ile de la Cite, the Ile St. Louis. It is an adorable spot - apparently known for a famous ice cream vendor that is supposed to serve the best ice cream in Paris. Jeff's lactose intolerance kept us from indulging - I would've felt too guilty eating the best ice cream in Paris in front of him! The Ile St. Louis was a perfect spot to see the narrow Parisian streets with lush windowboxes. Jeff particularly loves the Smart cars and motorcycles that fit on the streets.

We left the Ile St. Louis and headed across the river to the Left Bank and the Latin Quarter. At this point, we were getting hungry - so, we sought out a quaint cafe hoping for lunch. The restaurants in Paris only serve meals at limited hours, which we had missed due to sleeping late. Instead, we settled for a refreshing Perrier, Orangina and some Brie and Baguette.

We proceeded to wander around the Latin Quarter - getting disoriented on the narrow and windy streets. For the first time in my life, I didn't really mind wandering aimlessly - not really knowing where we would end up. After a while, we did consult the map and found that we were not far from the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens. We agreed to end our wandering and walk with purpose to check it out. It was magnifique! The gardens were gorgeous - and full of people lounging, sunbathing, reading, writing, etc. What a great place to sit and think, or to just relax. It was a beautiful sight. The pictures just don't capture its beauty.

We took some time to soak in the glory of Luxembourg, and to plan our next destination. From there, we headed to St. Sulpice, which is only a few blocks away. This church, most recently famous again in Dan Brown's Da Vinci code, felt completely different than the gothic style of Notre Dame. It was great to see them both on the same day to compare and contrast their very different structures and beauty. St. Sulpice feels more open - with high, round windows that make the church have an light, airy feeling. In retrospect, I guess it feels more heavenly.

In the rear of the church was an ornate sculpture of the virgin Mary and Chrust ascending into heaven that was golden and magnificent.

More to write later about this day later... as you can tell, our days were packed full of adventure!

Arrival in Paris - 06.13.2005

We began the day of June 13th over the Atlantic Ocean on our way to France. Once we got our drinks and pretzels, Jeff and I settled in for bedtime and decided to watch a movie. Side-by-side, we both watched Robots on our separate video screens. It was rather disappointing because we would both laugh at different times. Jeff was a minute or two ahead of me, so he would look over and say "you have to see this part". At one point, there was a glitch in Jeff's screen and I am unsure if he ever saw the end of the movie. Knowing him, he probably got bored and fast-forwarded to the end.

During the movie, they also served a very late-night dinner. I originally asked for the chicken, although traded for Jeff's pasta when the chicken didn't look all that appetizing. After eating, we again attempted to go to sleep. I think we both did a poor job of getting any shut-eye. When I finally dozed off, I woke up to find breakfast in front of me - yogurt, peaches and an egg-mcmuffin-type sandwich. I nibbled on breakfast and attempted to fall back asleep. As I just dozed off, we started our descent to Paris - which, of course, meant that I had to put my seat in its upright position.

We landed at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris at about 11:15am, Paris time - following an 8 hour flight. We taxied for another 30 minutes to our gate. Finally, we were able to get out of the plane and head towards customs. Jeff was very bummed that they did not stamp his passport on his way through. We crossed our fingers as we headed down to baggage claim. I was worried that our bags may not have been as patient during the layover in Detroit and decided not to make the flight to Paris. Luckily, the Deloitte & Touche duffel bag came rounding the bend with the other luggage.

With our luggage in tow, we sat out to find our driver. We passed a group of drivers, however, none were holding a "GILMORE" sign as we were promised. So, we went in search of him. I assumed he had left us because our plane was almost 1 hour later than we expected due to storms we avoided in flight. On our second pass by the group of drivers, an additional one had appeared with the "GILMORE" sign - we were greatly relieved! As we followed him to the car, we learned that he did not speak english. Instead, he was from Columbia and spoke only French & Spanish. We struggled to communicate with him all the way into the city.

The driver dropped us at our hotel around 1:00pm local time. Check in was very smooth and easy. The lift was very small - so, Jeff went up to our room first and dropped off the first set of luggage. I waited until he sent it back down and then took the lift up myself with the remaining luggage to room 32 (on the 3rd floor - which actually would be the 4th in the U.S. - our "1st" floor is their "0"). We had a lovely view!


When we finally made it up to the room, we both crashed. I was the first one down - Jeff still cared enough to brush his teeth before his nap. We woke up at 5:00pm local time. Immediately, I set out to get our room in order. I can't stand a messy room! After things were stowed to my satisfaction, we set out on our fist exploration of the city. The concierge provided us with a map that clearly marked our hotel location, so, we felt comfortable that we would not get lost on our first evening in Paris.

We set out down the Rue de Turbigo to the Boulevard Sebastopol. Our goal was to head south towards the Seine. It was a quick and refreshing walk - after so much sitting in the airport and the airplane, it was great to stretch our legs. The river was very close to our hotel, so it was just enough to get us moving without tiring us further. The Seine was beautiful... everything I thought it would be...

Not wishing to get lost after dark, we began to head back towards the hotel as the sun began to set. We eventually slipped into a cafe for dinner and a drink along the Rue de Turbigo, not far from our hotel. I had a croque madame with a salad and Jeff truly ventured out with his club sandwich and frites (fries).

We made it back to the hotel around 11:30pm where we retired for the night.

Day of Travel - 6.12.2005

We kissed the labradors good-bye at about 9:30am as we loaded up in my mom's car headed to the airport. My wonderful mother refused to just drop us at the terminal and instead parked to accompany us inside. After getting our boarding passes, we gave mom hugs and launched through security. Jeff was pulled aside as they searched through his carry-on luggage. He had carried his anti-rejection medication for his transplant with him, and I think this must have caused a slight scare. After security, we stopped at an airport cafe for breakfast. We were looking for bagels, but they claimed to not have any... instead, we shared a veggie omelet.

We left breakfast just in time to begin boarding for our flight to Detriot. Once seated, Jeff sat by a red-haired woman with an enormous engagement ring and a large bag that she refused to put in the overhead bin and instead tried to shove under the seat in front of her. I sat by the window. We did check one duffel bag for the trip, but carried everything else in our Victorinox wheeled backpacks and daypacks. It proved to be an excellent and efficient way to travel.

We arrived in Detroit just after 12:00pm. After having a late breakfast in Columbus, we weren't quite ready for lunch - and, we knew that we had a 9 hour layover ahead of us. Our flight to Paris did not depart until 9:24pm that evening. So, we hung out in the Northwest wing of the Detroit airport. We walked through the new terminal - which had a very cool fountain and a neat overhead train that ran the length of the building. We did check out the train and got off just in time to visit a neat store for pets. They had some really cool dog toys from Planet Dog (ps - the dog on the front page of their website looks just like Nash!). We decided to drop by on the return flight to pick up a bone for the boys.

We ended up eating lunch at the Chili's in the airport. I refused to eat at McDonalds, even though Jeff was having a craving for Big Macs.

We found our gate around 7:30pm. Around 8:00, they asked for anyone who would be willing to take a later flight because they had overbooked. Jeff went up to check it out. They offered the two of us $500 vouchers to fly into Amsterdam and then connect from there to Paris and arrive in Paris around 4pm. I declined - at that point, I had my fill of airports for the next week or so. We boarded the plane by 9pm and were on our way to Paris, France.

(I already missed my Nash who was having a ball swimming in the pond at my parents' house)

Paris Vacation

We are back in Cincinnati after 12 days in Paris. It was a fabulous trip! Now, we are officially rested up, so I can finally stay awake long enough to update some Paris memories! I did keep a journal while I was there, so I'll be posting some excerpts to describe our exciting adventures.

For starters, I'll post a picture of my favorite spot in Paris...

This is Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris. This picture was taken from my favorite spot in Paris - sitting with Jeff along the Seine. It was just beautiful to sit along the river and watch the sun set over Paris and La Cite Lumiere come to life. Oh, how I long to throw aside the worries of today and return to that very spot.