Dad
"Finally got some sleep after a long day yesterday. I was really excited to go see the Eiffel Tower again, but unfortunately my health wasn't up to it so Katie and I waited at the bottom while the others went up on the elevator ride to the top. After they came down [a bit under two hours later] I was feeling better and we walked to the Louvre along the Seine river, which was beautiful.
At the Louvre we saw hords of antiques, lots of beautiful stuff that I wish I could melt down (laughs), lots of treasures in that building, too many to mention.
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| Dad and the Mona Lisa - being goofy. There was a woman whose only job was to stand next to it and prevent shenanigans |
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| The Louvre! (and Pipi in the center!) |
After that, we were pretty tired, but we managed to crawl our way over to the Notre Dame, where we saw one of the oldest churches I've ever laid eyes on. Very beautiful and lots of work was put into making that place.
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| Inside the Notre Dame |
Took lots of pictures then we wandered over to the Luxumburg Garden and Palace, everything was really pretty, bought a sugar crepe, gobbled that down.
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| At the Lumumburg Gardens |
Then got on the metro back to the hotel where we each had a small pizza apiece, took showers and went to bed, it was a long day. It was a good experience, hopefully I won't forget it, but like you say, gotta live for the moment, and that's what we did today...til tomorrow! A new adventure starts."
Pipi
"My day was very filled with tons of walking – I got more than my 4 miles in – I never knew Paris could be so crowded and noisy with so many tourists...but it was all worth it there was so much to see, you just can't possibly see it all and the food is good, it's different, and I think the highlight was going to the summit of the Eiffel Tower. Never done it before, it was one of those one in a lifetime things that you never really think about but once you do, you think, wow, that was something.
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| Walk along the Seine River with the Eiffel Tower poking out of Dad's head. |
We're cramming so much in...the tour guide is great, she's saved us a lot of work and money, showing us where to go and how, it's invaluable. What else...it's just, seeing Paris as a tourist....I was here in the army.... it was all work and just rest on the weekend and see a few things with the boys, but this is different. Things are good and we're looking forward to going to Normandy tomorrow."
Anica
"Today was absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful weather, sunshine and the highlight was the Notre Dame Cathedral, I've read about it and watched the movie but nothing prepared me for what I saw today. It was just a grand experience, thinking about the past, where the people built, how much effort was put into it, how many feet walked through it, how many masses were held in the place...Gorgeous architecture... And somehow, it gave me a jolt standing in that cathedral, almost a thousand years old, and that's a lot of history. Some written, some unwritten and some things that nobody will ever know.
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| Inside of the Notre Dame |
And the Luxumburg Gardens were absolutely beautiful, and the Louvre....wish we had a little more time because it's really just unimaginable history and the works that are there in one spot, the whole world is in this one place, works of art from Egypt and Greece and Italy...how did they ever get it all together? Got to see the Mona Lisa, the original behind some glass....I'm sure nobody can get to it!
And seeing part of the mass at the Notre Dame...that lady was singing like a lark, I got goosebumps on my skin. And all that behind the alter...there are so many different kinds of chapels and saints, there's so much to see.
But there's no senior discounts here!"
Donna
"Today was just a beautiful experience. Waking up to a croissant, unlike any croissant I've had in the US. I like our hotel. I like this area, walking to and from everywhere. I even like the outdoor toilets (laughs). Going to the Eiffel Tower is quite an experience, it's so much bigger than I had imagined. To ride to the top – wow, I mean, we went from the ground floor to the mid-level then to the top, you can see way past the Arc de Triomphe, all the way to Versailles. We saw a panoranic view of Paris. I really enjoyed the river walk. Even the annoying people selling stuff everywhere are interesting – it's all part of the experience.
From there we went to the Louvre, which was pretty awesome, I like the Mona Lisa the best, and the statue with wings but no head...(laughs)...
All the statues were beautiful. I liked walking to and from all the sights, too, instead of taking a bus you can see and experience being right there in Paris. You get to see all the people and stop along the way to have a drink at a cafe. And then Notre Dame...very, very beautiful church. I liked the outside better than I liked the inside, actually. I really enjoyed the gardens, I loved being outside...you get to see all the Parisians enjoying the sunshine and being outside and having a crepe was pretty awesome, and to experience it with everyone...I feel very blessed to be with you and your family."
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| Ending the day with a walk through the Luxumburg Gardens. |
And me? Well, I'm still trying to absorb the fact that my family is here with me in France and that I get to show them around! It really is such a pleasure. It's been such a wonderful past few years traveling to and fro and being able to share stories and discuss it with me family, but for them to actually be here and see how it is, what it's like - that's so special to me.
Love from all !
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