Skip to main content

Paris (part 1)

IMAG0001.jpg Norte Dame.jpg


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...

Comments

Richard Dickinson said…
brilliant site! happy to be here.

Popular posts from this blog

Our Disaster of a Day!

My in-laws just left after a five day visit.  I don't mind it being a five day visit, but then again, five days of your house not being your own is always a bit unsettling and although I don't look forward to their departure when they are here, I can't say I'm sad to have things go back to normal. As a treat for my son's birthday, we took him to the Museum of Natural History in London on Thursday.  He chose to go because we took him last year (he's been crazy about dinosaurs since he was three years old).  They give out adventure packs at the museum which consist of a back pack, safari hat, and binoculars with an adventure to follow during their visit.  The back pack has clues in it to solve a mystery.  Last year it had a dinosaur claw, a tooth and a sample of dinosaur skin he had to match up to one on display.  He had a great time solving the mystery and even remembered which dinosaur it ended up being. Last year's trip was wonderful.  We walked right in,

Playing with my new lens...

I got a new camera lens for my birthday last week.  I don't have a lot of time to play with it, but this is one of the first shots I took...

Beside myself

I had to spend my morning trying not to watch the news knowing because of the time difference, it would be many hours before I could call my loved ones back home (in NJ & NY).  To help pass the time, I took my son to the movies and started making calls on the walk home.  I spoke to my parents, sister and a few friends getting confirmation of my family's safety and most of my friends.  I still can't reach my best friend who lives in Staten Island, NY.  I've been trying to call her once and hour every hour for the last five hours, but still haven't reached her.  Every hour that goes by makes me more and more anxious and I am beside myself with worry.  I spoke to her yesterday.  She was supposed to be evacuated, but chose to stay.  I tried to talk her into going, but couldn't change her mind.  I made her promise she'd call first thing in the morning, but it didn't happen.  Large portions of Staten Island have been devastated by the hurricane and I can't