Our stay in Paris is already coming to an end, and we haven’t posted yet! That can be explained by how busy we’ve been, and how much we’ve been out, seeing the sights and all.

Arriving
The journey here took a full day, despite the closeness of the two cities. We took a bus into the city from the airport, and then another bus from the Arc de Triomphe to the American Church of Paris, where we’ve been staying for the last week. A family friend of Whit’s, Tina, is the associate pastor of the church, and offered her place to us during our visit. On our bus ride to the church we were excited by the view of the Eiffel Tower as we approached our stop. The Tower is a short, fifteen-minute walk from her apartment, where she lives with her husband Marvin and daughter Gillian. We were also informed that by looking out their window, we were looking into the apartment of the famous Italian fashion designer, Valentino.

Day One
On our first full day in Paris we walked about the Rive Gauche towards the Ile de la Cite, where the Notre Dame Cathedral is. The weather was pretty bad with light rain and a heavy wind - never a good combination. We walked by the Hotel de Ville, the George Pompadieu center and had a crepe, and then gave in to our cold hands and headed back to Tina’s place. Later, when the rain stopped we took a quick walk to the Eiffel Tower. That evening we went out for a very nice French dinner at a bistro with Tina, Marvin, and Gillian. The food was delicious, and we enjoyed the ambiance.

Day Two
We woke up to a blue sky, and caught the bus to Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre. It was so much fun to walk up the hill to the Sacre-Couer church, winding up cobblestone streets filled with merchants, souvenir shops, artists, and cafes. Along the way, the Sacre-Couer was peeking above and around buildings, and we couldn’t help but be reminded of the movie Amelie. When we reached the top, the view was incredible. Paris is a pretty flat place, so being up on a hill offers quite the view. We took that in, and then looked around Sacre-Couer, which was one of, if not the most, beautiful buildings I have seen during our travels. The inside was lovely, but the outer architecture was really incredible. On the way down the hill, we visited an artisans market where you got continually propositioned to have your picture drawn by artists on the street. We walked past the Moulin Rouge en route to the Arc de Triomphe, which we stopped at for a visit. The arc itself is impressive, but I don’t think there is a more intense traffic circle/round-about in the world, its insanity! There are no definitive lanes, and there is a constant influx of cars merging in and out of at least six streets. Anyways, after seeing the Arc we were pretty tired of walking and stopped for coffee on the Champs-Elysee. Then we finished the trek back to Tina’s place, buying her some birthday flowers on the way. The day finished off nicely with a home-cooked celebration dinner.

Day Three
Versailles, it took all day. Granted, we didn’t get out there until about noon. We took the train from near the Eiffel Tower, and arrived in Versailles about 40 minutes later. A ten-minute walk had us in front of the Chateau, looking beautiful and grand on a sunny spring day. Versailles is a fun place visit, mainly because every time you see something, you don’t think it could be more extravagant or ornate, and then the next thing knocks your socks off. We walked around the gardens first, not covering even half of them before we went in the Chateau. The landscaping is incredible, especially when considering what went into maintaining 200 years ago. There are something like 2,000 fountains on the grounds, as well as hundreds of statues - most of which were covered in tarps to protect them from the rain. Highlights of the interior of the chateau were the chapel and the opera. Overall, it was a great side trip, well worth the effort to get out there. The conservation of the place is amazing; its easy to see why the French have invested the effort. Before getting on the train, we had a beer and some frites, and thought we saw Steven Speilberg in the cafe. It wasn’t him, but we realized how tired we were and went home.

Day Four
Incredible that tomorrow we’re off to Brussels - we just haven’t had enough time! Still, we took it easy and stayed in until lunchtime; Tina gave us a tour of the church, which is full of interesting history. Then, we visited Rue-Cler, which is a street/market in the neighborhood. We found a creperie that hit the spot, and saw about four other American couples (one from Sunnyvale!). After lunch a few of the shops were visited, primarily an authentic fromagerie (cheese shop), that reeked of Brie, Camembert, and chevre. We had read that the Musee-Louvre granted free admission after 6pm, so thats where we spent our final evening in Paris. Despite the crowds, it was a great time. The collection is very impressive, but the building is also a site to see. And, you can actually get a Da Vinci Code audio guide if your heart so desired. We saw the Mona Lisa (through about 7 rows of people) then visited the Medieval Louvre, and the French Sculpture section - those were the highlights at least…

On our walk home, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated, along with the rest of the city. Its been a great week, although short, and we are sad to be leaving so soon. Hopefully Whit will have a video together soon, so check back for that.

Time to pack up for our journey tomorrow morning to Brussels!

xoxo

Claire (& Whit)