Patrick and I returned on Memorial Day from a fantastic trip to France! We spent time in Paris, including a trip to Normandy, then traveled to Bordeaux for a couple days. Here's a summary of our adventures...
[Background: we decided to go to France around Christmas. Patrick had never been to Europe, and we really wanted to experience a trip like this before we have children (eventually) and while I had a break from school. France was a good choice for us there's LOTS to see and do, but unlike Italy for instance, if we didn't get around to something, no biggie (for us at least). A good learning experience if you will. And I've been to Paris once before (much more briefly than this trip), so that helped a lot with the planning.]
So, without further ado...
Day 1: We arrived in Paris on Friday morning, pretty dazed and confused to say the least. Neither of us slept much on the plane, so we were exhausted and a little overwhelmed. We dropped our bags off at the hotel, but we couldn't check in yet and take a nap, so we basically just wandered around the city. We walked through Luxembourg Gardens, went into Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Severin (beautiful cathedrals), and walked by Notre Dame.
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| Luxembourg Gardens |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Our little hotel room at the Hotel du Parc |
Once we were finally able to check into our hotel (which was in the Montparnasse district, if you're familiar with Paris) we took a much needed nap then had dinner at a cafe near our hotel.
Day 2: Saturday was a MUCH better day than Friday. We were well-rested, and actually felt like doing the things on our agenda. First on our agenda was the Montemarte district. We took to Metro to a nearby stop in order to see the Moulin Rouge (one of my favorite movies!!)...
We ended up having dinner at an Italian restaurant, which was sooooo delicious, then went to bed...apparently much earlier than everyone else in Paris. I could still hear people partying outside our window at 5am, which in my half-asleep state sounded a whole lot like the second French Revolution. C'est la vie.
Day 2: Saturday was a MUCH better day than Friday. We were well-rested, and actually felt like doing the things on our agenda. First on our agenda was the Montemarte district. We took to Metro to a nearby stop in order to see the Moulin Rouge (one of my favorite movies!!)...
which turned out to be in a really sketchy area...so we hurried out of there and walked up the hill to Montemarte to see the Sacre-Coeur Basilica. It's at the very top of the hill, and there's a beautiful view of the city from there!
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| Sacre Coeur Basilica |
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| Looking out over the city |
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| Hanging out in a beautiful little park behind the basilica |
We then walked back down the crowded hill, filled with artists and people and cafes and shops - down to the National Opera House.
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| Standing on the balcony of the opera house |
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| It's a bit extravagant... |
Since we had to meet our tour group for Normandy early the next morning, we walked around and found the place where we were supposed to meet - which happened to be close to a certain familiar art museum...
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| the Louvre |
Day 3: Sunday was one of my favorite days of the trip. We went to Normandy - including Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, and Juno Beach.
We have sooo many more pictures, but I'm planning to upload them to Facebook. These were just some of my favorites! This day was amazing, especially since we were there right before Memorial Day.
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| We started at a museum dedicated to WWII and specifically Normandy |
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| German bunkers at Utah Beach |
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| Patrick said a big machine gun sat here |
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| Memorial at the Point du Hoc |
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| Utah Beach - the American soldiers scaled these cliffs! |
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| Bullet holes in the bunkers |
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| Graves of American soldiers at the Normandy American Cemetery |
Day 4: Monday was designated Louvre day. It was insanity - the Musee d'Orsay was closed that day, and it was raining...so of course EVERYONE went to the Louvre. Nonetheless, we managed to cover nearly the whole thing in about 5 hours - which, if you've been the the Louvre, you know is quite a feat.
After we left the Louvre, we went in Notre Dame (since the line wasn't as long as on Friday).
We had a crepe that afternoon in the Latin Quarter, and dinner later at a cafe close to our hotel.
Day 5: Tuesday we went to Versailles, which again was PACKED (the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays).
When we got back to Paris from Versailles, we walked up the Champs-Elysees over to the Eiffel Tower.
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| oh hey Mona Lisa |
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| Notre Dame |
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| One of the beautiful rose windows in Notre Dame |
Day 5: Tuesday we went to Versailles, which again was PACKED (the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays).
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| Driving around the Arc de Triomphe...what is going on here? |
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| Louis XIV was a bit...extravagant |
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| Louis XIV himself...so silly |
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| The gardens at Versailles |
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| the square in Paris where "everyone got beheaded" during the French Revolution |
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| Arc de Triomphe |
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| On the Eiffel Tower |
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| The wind gave me a French mustache...ha! |
That's it for part 1...part 2 coming soon :)
