Paris Day 1

December 9, 2009

Adventure #1: Eurostar

We arrived at the London train station more than an hour earlier than expected. We had two options: hang out in the terminal or request tickets for an earlier train. Luckily, Jim married a very persuasive wife and before we knew it we were on our way to Paris, one hour earlier than expected!

(Below is an ice sculpture we saw in the London terminal.)

Unfortunately, a train before ours broke down, leaving us stuck under the English channel for over an hour. The good news, Eurostar has an excellent PR team and because of the inconvenience they caused us is offering 1/2 off roundtrip tickets or free one way tickets on our next trip. So...we still got to Paris at 12:45 (our original time) and we came out with free tickets for our next trip. Sweet!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we not only were bumped to an earlier train, we also got a free upgrade to the nearly-empty business class. We loved the extra space, especially Talmage in his big boy seat!

Adventure #2: Grand Hotel Lafayette

I promise you, for the price we paid for this place it was a steal and a half. We weren't planning on relaxing in the hotel (we were in Paris for heaven sake) so we stayed in a super budget place. We were, once again, upgraded (this time for no apparent reason) and we liked our home base.

That last picture was taken on the last day of our adventure. The beds were made very nicely when we checked in!

The Grand Hotel's only downfall...their sad excuse for a hair dryer. It was seriously just a hose (really hot hose) coming out of the wall!

Adventure #3: Palais Garnier

As luck would have it we lived just minutes from one of the places I wanted to visit most, the Palais Garnier. This opera house is possibly most famous for one of my personal favorites, Phantom of the Opera. It is gorgeous inside. We stood on the steps where the cast performs Masquerade, and marveled at the intricate details of the walls and floor. There were people rehearsing on the stage, and I ooed and awed at the box seats. It was a great way to start our trip!

Adventure #4: Crepes and McDonald's

When people asked me what I wanted to do in Paris, the answer was simple...eat crepes! What is more french than a crepe? I had at least one crepe everyday. I ate crepes with nutella, I ate crepes with cheese, I ate crepes with chocolate, I ate crepes with strawberry, I ate crepes with ham. I have one word for you. YUM. They are delicious my friends, and way worth the trip to Paris!

Of course we can never leave a city without testing their McDonald's. The boys obviously enjoyed their meal. I personally think it tasted different in France, maybe it's because they use dijon instead of French's mustard!

Adventure #5: Arche de Triomphe and Notre Dame at night

Pretty. Tall. Cool. Closed to the public because of a crazy strike (which unfortunately you'll be reading lots about in posts to come). Oh well.

Pretty. Tall. Cool. More info later when we visit Notre Dame in the day!

I wish the pictures did justice to the amazing things we saw, but alas, they don't. If you're not satisfied by our pictures above use google images...I was temted to include them in my post!