While we we riding the subway on our last day in Paris, I said to Wayne - I don't know how I'll write about this without making it too long and boring. The key to blogging is not boring readers. he suggested I break it up into several entries throughout the week and I'm taking his advice...
To make our train on the Eurostar to Paris at 6:30AM, we had to get up at 3:45 in the morning. I wasn't sleeping anyway; like a kid at Christmas, I hadn't really slept well since he told me we were going. We got up at the right time, but still manged to miss our train (which I'm sure Wayne would tell you was my fault) . We caught the next one and were in Paris by 10:30 (Paris time).
We got off the train and headed for the subway so we can drop the luggage at the hotel. On our way to the subway station, Wayne mistakenly walked me right up to Notre Dame (trying to surprise me with it later). when I saw it, I got very excited and started to skip down the street and Wayne instantly scolded 'no skipping' (knowing I looked like a crazy American tourist). I just can't help myself. I get very excited by such things and become a real child.
After we dropped off the luggage our long morning became a very long day. We walked all over Paris (jumping on subway trains along the way). We started by going into a small cafe' for breakfast (because the menu in the window had English translations under each item). It wasn't the best start because they didn't take too kindly to my asking for a non-smoking table when we walked in (foolish American) and then our very friendly waiter (being sarcastic) didn't speak English. I very quickly became aware of why Wayne didn't like to travel to France.
After breakfast, we went directly to Notre dame. It's quite the spectacle. It's beautiful and It's huge - much bigger than pictures could ever do justice. We took the audio tour, but I didn't really pay attention to it because it was more religious than historical and I didn't need a refresher course on my catholic school education. So, I walked around and snapped picture after picture, knowing full well in the back of my mind that without a tripod, I didn't really have a chance in hell of any coming out (and I was right). I just couldn't help myself. It was beautiful and surreal. I was inside Notre Dame!
Check back soon for Paris part 2...
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