Our Trip to Paris:
The first day we arrived we took the Metro to our hotel, the Novotel Gare Montparnasse. And the first thing we experienced when we got off the Metro was a RIOT! It was a huge spectacle, there were dozens of police with shields trying to keep the crowds under control, young people were standing on cars yelling we didn't know what, it was quite a frenzy and an experience. Then we walked to our hotel, dropped off our luggage, got back on the Metro to go to Notre Dame. Soon after we arrived, a service began, and the "worship leaders" began singing and incense was burned (I have a video and will post that as well). It was a surreal experience for me, to think how this cathedral was built by the hands of three different generations.
After that, we roamed around some of the shops nearby, and everyone sampled some famous ice-cream from the island. Then we went "souvenier" shopping, Mimi and PawPaw wanted to buy each of the grandkids a special gift from Paris, and they let the moms choose the gifts! Yippee! Our first day there, I chose the most beautiful knit (and Parisian) baby doll for Faith. :)
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a little shop, bought paninis, and our first crepes ever! It was a fantastic first day!
The second day, we started out by going to Montmarte and seeing Sacre Creur. One again we browsed the shops but these shops were filled with talented artists paintings and sketches! We were asked by at least a dozen people if we wanted our portrait done, we tried to bargain them down, so we could the girls picture done, but it was far too expensive for a ten-minute sketch in our opinion! So then we ate at a cafe, bought some treats, a chocolate brioche roll, an eclair. Then we experience even more of Montmarte's streets, saw the famous windmills, Moulin Rouge and Van Gogh's house!
Then we jumped on the Metro once again.... I should say that getting on and off the Metro was quite a chore, because there are DOZENS of stairs and we had three strollers to take up and down with us. When we got home I discovered I had bruises all up and down my legs from carrying the stroller up and down and being hit by it (but it was well worth it :). Our next stop was Arc De Triumphe and Haussman Avenue/ statue. Brad's mom is a descendant of the legendary Haussman who was commisioned by Napoleon to redesign and modernize the streets of Paris! So that was pretty neat!
Then we all caught a river cruise to see Paris on the Seine! It was a nice relaxing time for everyone, we didn't have to WALK and it was really a beautiful view! Next on our agenda...see the Louvre! The walk to the Louvre was absolutely gorgeous and we were amazed by how huge the Louvre is. We will confess we only saw the highlights and few other things of interest, but we enjoyed it greatly, and were thrilled to say that we had done it! :)
Our third day in Paris, we went to Versailles. We experienced the palace as well as the gardens and had a marvelous time. (More on Versailles with video). Then, all of the family split up, Brad's parents went to the cemetary to find Haussman's grave (and they successfully found it and took some great pictures), and Beth, Nate and Luke went to Sainte Chappelle to see the stained- glass cathedral! While Brad and I went to the Orsay Museum to see Impressionist Art, as well as to Luxembourg Gardens!
The last day, Brad and I (along with the girls) woke up super early, so we could be the first to go up the Eiffel Tower that day! It was freezing cold that morning and we were not nearly as dressed for the occasion as we needed to be. So Brad surprised me and spent nearly $5 for a tiny cup of hot cocoa that went cold after we had only taken a couple of of sips from it. What we found to be most helpful was jumping up and down, running as fast as we could, and huddling together (Faith was very warm and toasty inside my jacket and was only agitated because she couldn't see anything!). We thought it the perfect ending to our trip to have an aerial view of the city and all the places we had visited on top of the Eiffel Tower.
Paris is a beautiful city and one I will never forget! I feel so blessed that I was able to experience it with my husband, my children, and "my new family". We love you and are so thankful for your generosity in taking us along on this trip! :)
Because we had strollers (THREE of them in all), we got to "ride" the coolest elevator up to the second level of the Louvre (and we got to skip a lot of the line too!).
This is a view of the Louvre from inside the pyramid! Awesome Picture Nate!!!
Upon arriving in Paris, the first sight we saw after dropping off our luggage at the hotel was Notre Dame.
This photo was taken with Brad's parents camera and Faith has the sweetest smile in it. Unfortunately, the sun was behind us, so the lighting was really bad...but it's all about the memories and they are some wonderful ones.
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