My Birthday Present: A Trip to Paris

Fun Facts About Paris:
- Time it takes to get from London Waterloo to Paris on the Eurostar: 2 1/2 hours, with check in and unloading - a little over 3 hours... about the same amount of time it takes to drive from Seattle to Portland!
- Approximate # of waking hours Micah and Becky spent in Paris: 36
- # of photographs taken: 525, about one every 4 minutes!!
- Height of the Eiffel Tower: 1,000 feet, though the highest platform is 900 feet.
- Sight visibility from the top of the Tower on a “good day”: 40 miles.
- Sight visibility on the day Micah and Becky were there 4 miles. (just kidding – not QUITE that bad…)
- Paint required to cover the Eiffel Tower: 50 gallons!
- # of chocolate crepes consumed: 2 ½ each.
- # of chocolate crepes we WISHED we’d consumed: 10… or more… each.
- Grande Arche de la Defense: So big that the Notre Dam Cathedral could fit inside of it!
- Musee de Louvre, Europe’s largest and oldest museum: 8.50 Euros (approximately $10.00)
- Seeing the Mona Lisa 8 feet in front of you: Priceless
- One regular sized cappuccino ordered by an American in a French café: 6 Euros ($8.00)
- Sharing a cappuccino with your husband in a smoky, but intimate French café just 100 meters from the Eiffel Tower: Priceless



How do I begin to tell you about our trip to Paris? There is almost too much to describe and to show you through our pictures! I think the best way to do this is in separate posts… I’ll start with some general information and details, and then show you specific sight seeing adventures separately. If I attempted to do it all at once, I’d be at the computer all day loading pictures, and you’d probably never make it through this post. So here it goes…
We’d checked the weather reports numerous times before leaving London on Thursday night, and found that Friday in Paris was supposed to be cloudy and rainy. However, Saturday was suppose to be quite nice and Sunday, gorgeous, so we we’re confident that we’d get some good weather to enjoy the sightseeing of Paris.
Unfortunately, not all weather forecasts are accurate… therefore, many of the photos you’ll see are quite cloudy and dark. J The good news is that due to the cold, wet weather, Micah and I ducked into many French cafes, enjoying overpriced coffee and croissants with the best of them! We were able to get by with our limited French vocabulary of Bonjour (hello or good day), Au revoir (good bye), Merci (thank you), Parlez-vous anglais? (Do you speak English?), and L’addition, s’il vous plait (The bill, please.). I’m not sure exactly how we did it and I’m sure that at times we paid more for something than we should have, but we did it anyway… and we’re still smiling about it!

The Eiffel Tower... as if you couldn't recongize this world famous sight!

(More to come on the Eiffel Tower later)

The architecture in Paris is really amazing... all apartment buildings have intricate detail build into them, and most, if not all, have black iron railings outside the windows. It adds a touch of flair and romaticism to the city that is so unique. The photo below is of a street near our hotel.
The building below is located near the Pantheon, amidst small shops, cafes, and boutiques.
Another part of the architecture that really amazed me was the doors. Most large buildings or central doors to apartment complexes, etc. were very large and ornate. I could have taken hundreds of photos of doors alone - they were so beautiful! It makes the entrance feel like an event, rather than just another place to go into.

Another unique cafe... with vines creeping up the side of the building, flower boxes, and newly planted flowers... so quaintly perfect.
This is the cafe that Micah and I ate our first breakfast in Paris... only 100 meters away from the Eiffel Tower!

The French are proud of their country, culture, and language. Everywhere we went we saw the French flag being flown...
As you may have noticed from my posts about London, I am a sucker for flower shops. I have seen them everywhere in London, and found that Paris was the same. Here is just one example...
I only wish that I could have captured the richness of the color with my camera, but this is the best that I could do...

As much as Micah and I enjoyed the French cafes, we are always comforted by our coffee house home... Starbucks, just a few streets away from The Louvre.
As to be expected though, all of the warnings are in French!
I was dissppointed by two things in Paris... of course these two things were not enough to make or break the trip, but due to my infatuation with British telephone booths and post boxes, I was eager to see the distinctions between the French and the Brits in these two objects...

The glass telephone booth on Champs Elysees... the major boulevard that leads to the Arc de Triomphe...

And La Poste near Napoleon's Tomb...

I must say that the asthetics of the red telephone booths and post boxes in London win over the more modern French equivalents!

As I mentioned above, there is so much to show and tell about Paris that I couldn't possibily to it all right here, right now; therefore, my plan is to be working on posts with specific sight-seeing events in Paris, so stay tuned for more!

Posts to come in the next few days:
Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triomphe and La Defense
Musee Rodin, Jardin du Luxembourg, and Pont Alexandre III
Pantheon, Notre Dam, and the Louvre

One more thing... Micah and I were walking towards the Pantheon and saw this nice Harley parked on the sidewalk... I had to take a picture of it for you, Dad. Wouldn't it be great to ride a Harley in Paris someday? At least they drive on the right side of the road there!