Jessie and Kevin's World Travels: 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!