Paris Continued

Mom and I went to the Charles de Gaulle International Airport on Tuesday, July 27th to get on our flight back home. When we got to the check-in counter, the United representative asked us if we would be willing to volunteer our seats on the flight on Tuesday and return home on Wednesday. They offered to put us up in a hotel with our meals covered, they offered us a business class upgrade on our flight the following day, and they offered us each $800 in travel vouchers! It sounded too good to be true! We got to the gate and they called us up to the counter, and sure enough, they needed our seats. Within about 3 hours, we had reclaimed our luggage, received our vouchers, and checked into our new hotel. We had a quick lunch and then journeyed back into the city. We got to the airport around 9:30am and ended up back in Paris around 5pm. It was difficult finding our way back into the city, but we made it! We didn't have the chance to go into the Eiffel Tower earlier in the trip, so that was our mission with our extra day. We waited in line for almost an hour just to get tickets. Then we went up to the second floor and waited in line for another half hour to get tickets to the top. When we got to the ticket counter they would not sell mom a ticket because of her cane, and the fact that if the lifts broke, it would be more than 1,000 steps down to the bottom! We were a little bummed, but we still got to see the view from the second floor.

Eiffel Tower

Mom and I on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.

Paris and the Sacre-Couer

The Champ de Mars

One of the two lines to get tickets up to the second floor. Crazy!!

We went back to the airport around 10am on Wednesday morning and when we checked-in at the ticket counter the agent said we didn't have confirmed seats on the flight. Too good to be true? I guess so! Somehow instead of confirming us on the flight, they waitlisted us! That was not part of the deal and they knew that. So after some finagling and about 30 minutes of waiting, we were confirmed on the flight. It was a lot of trouble, but totally worth it to fly so far in such nice seats! It made the flight go much faster! I also enjoyed having some time with just Mom and I! We had so much fun, but as I always say, it is so nice to be back home!

Paris!

Saturday, July 24

We left the Hotel in London around 9:30am to catch our 10:25am train to Paris. Unbeknownst to me, we needed to be at the station and checked-in for our trip 30 minutes in advance, and when we got to St. Pancreas Station at 10:10, we had to be escorted through security, passport control, and to the platform only to get on the train 3 minutes before it left! I have traveled on trains in Europe before (however never between two different countries) and I have never had to go through all that trouble! Lesson learned!

Mom and Julie in front of the train that took us through the Chunnel! I still can't believe we made it on that train!

We arrived in Paris around 2pm and took a taxi to the hotel. We quickly dropped off our stuff and grabbed some lunch, complete with French Onion Soup and a meat and cheese plate! It was delicious! After lunch we started walking in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Walking was a great way to see the city! When we got to the Eiffel Tower we saw tons of people having picnic's on the grass with wine and cheese, so Julie and I went to the bottle shop and the supermarket and got the supplies we needed in order to fit in with everyone else! Every hour on the hour, starting at 10pm, the Eiffel Tower has a 5 minute light show, and we sat there long enough to experience 2 shows! It was such a great way to spend the night and welcome us to Paris!

Incredible French Onion Soup. The first and best bowl I had!

Overlooking the Seine River that runs through the middle of Paris.

Mom and I in front of Les Invalides, where Napoleon Bonaparte is buried.

 

The Eiffel Tower!

Enjoying our wine and cheese along the Champ de Mars.

All lit up! So beautiful!

Glittering during the light show.

Sunday, July 25

I left the hotel on my own this morning because I didn't want to lose any valuable time to explore this new city! I walked up to the Paris Opera house with the intention of just seeing it from the outside, but decided last minute to go in! The interior of the building was absolutely exquisite! I had to remind myself to pick my jaw up off the floor! I am so glad I decided to go in!

The outside of the Paris Opera House - the theatre where "The Phantom of the Opera" takes place! A theatre lover's dream come true to be in this mystical place!

Standing on the Grand Staircase!

Overlooking the Grand Staircase.

Overlooking the theatre from one of the boxes. Unfortunately, not Box Number 5!

The famous chandelier from the Phantom of the Opera.

I spent about an hour at the Opera House and then met Julie back at the hotel. We went out for breakfast and then staked out our spot for the Tour de France Finale! We were told that the race would come through around 3pm so we found our spot around 1:30pm and didn't move. We waited and waited and the race didn't come through until 4:30! It was a long wait, but totally worth it! Here is a video of the 1st lap of 9 around the Champs Elysees! We were so excited to finally see them!

It is not the best quality of video (especially with all the hands in the way), but you can get the feel of the moment! The two people you hear talking in the background were a very nice couple we met from New Jersey!

The guy in the yellow was the winner of the the 2010 Tour de France - Alberto Contador.

We watched 8 of the 9 laps in person and then watched the final lap at a bar around the corner. It was really cool to see the end of the race on TV after watching it live in person! Mom did not have any interest in watching the race, so instead she rode the hop on hop off bus. After the race, Julie and I met Mom at Notre Dame. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, we couldn't go into the Cathedral, but it was still impressive just to see the outside! We were all pretty exhausted so we started walking back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped at the Louvre and took some evening shots of the famous Pyramid.

Notre Dame in the background. How do you like the shirt?

The exterior of one of the stained glass windows.

The back of the cathedral with the famous flying buttresses.

The sunset on Notre Dame!

Our first glimpse of the pyramid.

Le Louvre!

Monday, July 26

We got a fairly early start again and started the day off right with a cup of delicious hot chocolate from Angelina's. Angelina's is a pastry shop that the couple from New Jersey recommended to us during the race. It was the best way to start the day! After our filling liquid breakfast, Julie and I walked over to the Champs Elysees and up to the Arc de Triomphe. Mom traveled on the hop on hop off bus again. Before heading to the Louvre for the afternoon, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower again, to get a different view of the incredible landmark.

Yummmmm!

This is a beautiful fountain near the Champs Elysees. The palace behind the fountain is where France's current President - Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni Sarkozy - currently reside.

Looking down the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe.

The massive Arc de Triomphe!

The Eiffel Tower from the other side :)

After our morning walk we went to the Louvre. We got there around 2pm, stayed until closing at 6pm, and still only had enough time to just barely touch the surface of all the incredible artwork on display!

The whole museum! It's massive! You would have to spend days to see it all!

The crowd of people waiting to take photos with The Mona Lisa! It was beyond insane!

Does she really need an introduction?

Me and Mona!

The Venus de Milo

The Inverted Pyramid. Remember "The Davinci Code"? According to Dan Brown, this is where Mary Magdalene is buried.

After the Louvre closed, we got in a taxi and went up to the Moulin Rouge. We had hopes of seeing the show at the Moulin Rouge, but we didn't make reservations early enough and couldn't get tickets. It was still neat to see the famous windmill. We had a nice dinner before making our last stop of the trip at the Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart). It was a great trip!

The home of the Can-Can!

The Sacre-Couer

One last photo of the Eiffel tower! I love this one overlooking the Paris rooftops.

London

Saturday, July 17
Kevin and I arrived in London around 12:30 pm. After checking-in to the hotel and freshening up a bit, we went out to get some Dinner. Come to find out, this is not a simple task at 4pm. Everywhere we went was either closed or only serving drinks. Finally we stumbled upon the George Inn, which to our surprise was featured in Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit.” It was a great place to grab dinner and a couple drinks before we crashed. I had full intentions of exploring the city a bit before falling asleep, but we did not prevail. We fell asleep around 6pm and woke up at about 10:30. Instead of tossing and turning in the hotel, we went out to Piccadilly Circus and had some more food! The trains stopped running at about midnight, so we had to walk back to the hotel. It was only about 2 miles and it was neat to see some of the buildings all lit up!

The London Eye all lit up. We passed this and the Houses of Parliament on our walk back to the hotel.

Sunday, July 18
We hopped on the train to Harwich and worked for most of the day (actually most of the day was spent traveling on the trains). Got back into the city around 6pm and went for a walk over to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Then we had a fantastic dinner at a really fancy Thai restaurant near Trafalgar Square. The food was soooo good! I think we will definitely try to return there!

Waiting at the train station in Harwich

In front of St. Paul's Cathedral

Trafalgar Square

Monday, July 19
Kevin planned the whole day for us! I had no idea where we were going and it was so fun! The first stop of the day was at Harrods Department Store. Kevin likes to refer to this store as Macy’s on crack. It is huge! This is truly one-stop shopping – it has everything that a normal department store would have, plus fresh produce, a wine cellar, a full bookstore, toys, and much more. If you are interested in learning more about it, you can Google it. Our next stop was lunch which consisted of some great Dim Sum! I never thought I would enjoy Thai, Chinese, and Indian food so much! While we were at lunch I got the notice that Mom had landed at London Heathrow and we made plans to meet up with her a little later in the day (this way she had a chance to freshen up and unpack). So in the meantime we went to the Museum of Natural History and the Science Museum. They were both very fun, but certainly don’t compare to any of the Smithsonian Museums. It was a great way to spend the afternoon though! We met up with Mom around 4pm and went to The Shakespeare’s Head to grab some Beer, Cider, and food! This is where Kevin and I enjoyed some great Indian curry to add to our Eclectic tastes. Before going our separate ways for the evening, we took Mom around Piccadilly Circus to give her a feel of the night life! It was another great day, and I am so excited to have this experience with my mom!

With the Harrods bear!

Kevin at the Museum of Natural History. That is one big dinosaur!

In the pub. One of the few photos of us together!

Can't go to England without one of these photos!

Tuesday, July 20
After taking the morning a bit slower than the last couple days, Kevin and I planned to meet my mom and Julie (a friend from Colorado Springs who joined us on the trip) at Westminster Abby at 11:30am. After waiting for about an hour for them to join us we decided to go into the Abby without them. Come to find out, they got lost in the tube and then tried to get into The Houses of Parliament instead of the Abby, making them quite a bit late. Needless to say, we all still enjoyed the beauty of Westminster Abby separately. An audio guide was included in the price of our ticket and it was a great addition to the self-guided tour. It was a great way to learn and understand the history of this beautiful building! Kevin and I left Westminster Abby and went up to the British Museum, with the thought that Mom and Julie would meet us later, but they were so jet lagged and tired, they decided to go back to the hotel and relax instead (can’t say I don’t blame them). We spent about an hour at the museum and before heading to the last event of the day, we went up to King’s Cross Station and visited platform 9 ¾ from Harry Potter. Now, you would think that this platform would be between Platforms 9 and 10, but it wasn’t. So, Kevin had to ask for directions, which was quite hilarious! “Excuse me. Can you please tell me how to get to Platform 9 ¾?” Very funny! The day culminated with Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” at the Globe Theatre. The theatre was so cool because it had an open roof and looked just like you would imagine a Shakespeare theatre would look! It was such a neat experience to see Shakespeare in London! And the tickets were only 5GBP (about $7.50)! Kevin and I went back to our hotel after the show so we could pack up our things.

The clock tower - aka Big Ben attached to the Houses of Parliament.

The entrance to Westminster Abby. Unfortunately, we couldn't take photos inside.

The mummy exhibit at the British Museum.

The Rosetta Stone which helped translate and understand Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Platform 9 3/4. There used to be a trolley stuck in the wall, but someone must have stolen it.

Inside the Globe Theatre.

In front of the stage. We stood through the whole show, but I thought it was totally worth it! The show was hilarious (Kevin begs to differ)!

Wednesday, July 21
Kevin flew back home to Colorado in the morning, so I left the hotel with him and moved my stuff over to Mom’s room. We left the hotel around 11am and went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We got to the Palace just before the ceremony started and it was so packed we couldn’t see a thing. We snapped a few photos and then went to sit in St James’s Park. Kim and Johnny (good friends of mine from high school who now live in England) met us at the Palace and then we walked up to the tube station and went to the Tower of London. We had lunch at a pub and then Mom and Julie went into the Tower while Kim, Johnny and I stayed at the pub and chatted. When Mom and Julie were finished at the Tower of London, we left the pub, Kim and Johnny went home and we went to London’s West End to see the musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert. The show was about 3 Australian drag queens traveling through the outback. The music was straight out of the 80’s and so much fun! I can’t wait until this show comes to Broadway!

The guards at Buckingham Palace!

Guards on their horses.

In St. James's Park with Kim!

Julie and I in front of the Tower of London.

Mom and her tour guide at the Tower of London.

All of us in front of the marquee.

Thursday, July 22
We were forced to get an earlier start today because we went on a bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. The tour left around 9am and dropped us off at Windsor Castle around 10am. We had about 1.5 hours to explore the castle on our own before heading for the next stop. The castle was beautiful and is still a location that the Royal Family uses regularly. Because our time was limited we only had a chance to see the exterior of the castle and the State Apartments. The State Apartments were incredible! Again we had an audio tour and it was fascinating to hear all of the details about each room and how each room is still being used today! I would love to go back there in the future and have some more time to explore! The second stop on our trip was Stonehenge. It took us about 1.5 hours to get there, but the drive through the countryside was beautiful. Our tour guide gave us some history before arriving and then we had 45 minutes to explore. One of the coolest aspects of Stonehenge, is that it is in the middle of nowhere! In the middle of the English countryside there is this exquisite man made masterpiece. This is a work of art that seems nearly impossible to have created over 4,000 years ago and it is still standing today! It was mystical! We had lunch at the Stonehenge Inn and then drove another hour or so to Bath, England. Bath is a town that was created by the Romans in 43 AD as a spa resort. The Romans built a resort around the hot springs, which are still present today. The building around the baths has been rebuilt; however the ruins they found are incorporated into the new building and museum. It was incredible to see history so old and beautiful! We had about 1.5 hours again to explore on our own and then we got back on the bus and drove about 2 hours back to London.

In front of the Round Tower at Windsor Castle. It started raining as soon as we got off the bus! The one day I didn't bring my rain jacket!

We got to see the Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle. We had a much better view than the day before!

The exterior wall of the castle.

Mom and I at Stonehenge!

Just me!

In front of the spring overflow and the source of the hot spring water. 

 

Mom and I in front of the Great Bath.

You can see the steam rising from the Great Bath!

Friday, July 23
We started this day with a visit to Abbey Road. Mom was a huge Beatles fan and actually got to go to a Beatles concert when she was younger! It was so special to experience this moment with her! The next stop in our day was to Notting Hill and the Portobello Road Market. Notting Hill is a neighborhood in London that was the setting for the movie “Notting Hill” with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. The Portobello Road Market is a street with shops full of antiques, fresh produce, t-shirt shops, and more. It was a great way to spend our last afternoon in London! We topped off the day and the trip with the West End production of Oliver! I thought it was rather fitting to see this show in London of all places. The show was great and our seats were incredible. Mom got us tickets from TKTS in the Prince’s box! When Prince Charles, Henry or William watch a show at the Royal Theatre, they sit where we sat! It was awesome and for a discounted price!

No explanation needed!

Mom crossing the famous zebra stripes! I think she looks a little like "Where's Waldo".

Julie and I in the crosswalk. That pose is very difficult to master!

Mom signing the wall in front of Abbey Road Studios.

In Notting Hill, there was this store - Jessie Western!

The Portobello Road Market.

This is the Travel Bookshop that Hugh Grant works at in the movie "Notting Hill".

Such a great show! It was interesting however, to not know any of the performers! The guy who played Fagin was a very well known British star, but we had never heard of him.

You didn't think you would get through this whole post without this famous photo did you!?!