My Little Monkey: 2010

Finally found some internet time--and an internet connection. It has been down in our hotel, so not wanting to hang out at McDonalds for any length of time, I have forgone it. But, we are in business now!

I have posted some pictures on Facebook. I think there are less than 30. I picked a few good ones--and left the other 200+ pictures out. But, I thought it might be interesting to put more of a journal on here and keep the pictures on facebook.

So, here is the first couple of days of our trip...

Friday, March 5th, 2010- Saturday, March 6th, 2010

It was a bitter sweet goodbye as I kissed both of my boys for the last time. They had spent the morning at the Phoenix Zoo with Nana and Granddad so Jim and I could have some last minute time to get things ready for our trip. I thought I was prepared, but dropping them off at Grandma’s where they would begin their overnight stays broke my heart. I cried as we left. I was excited for our trip, but sad that I wouldn’t see my boys for over a week.

Mom took us to the airport and we got there in plenty of time. We checked in with British Airways and our new passports worked just fine! Security was a breeze (much easier without strollers and baby food, etc). Our plane boarded about an hour late. British Airways offered complimentary drinks—including alcohol—and provided two meals. We were seated in Premium Economy which meant we had a little more leg room and seats that reclined back further. But, for ten hours, no seat is comfortable. We slept the best we could, which was minimal, and watched movies on our little screens in our seatbacks.

We landed in Heathrow, London about an hour later than expected. This was difficult for us since we already had our train tickets to Paris booked…and we would be cutting it close getting to the train station! We went through customs, collected our luggage, and got directions from a man at information. We had to take the “Heathrow Express” to Paddington station, then take the underground from Paddington Station to St. Pancreas. Needless to say, we missed our train. We had to purchase new tickets—58 pounds each! Bummer. But, we could leave shortly and still make it to Paris that night.

We worked our way to the Eurostar departure area. We survived our 2.5 hour train ride through the Chunnel—in much more comfort than on the plane! We arrived in Paris Nord train station and looked at the map to find where the taxis were. A man approached us and asked if we needed a cab. We agreed…and he said his cab was right outside—no queue… He said to follow him…and after a few seconds took the liberty of pulling my luggage for me. Terrified that he was going to take off with my suitcase, we followed quickly behind him. He led us to a taxi outside and asked for 20 euros. I thought it was for the driver, but he put it in his pocket and walked away. Our first experience in Paris was not a positive one. Then the cab driver then asked where we were going and off we went. It was further then we thought. The Royal Regency was dark from the outside—not very welcoming. The cab driver asked for 60 euros and I was pretty sure we were being taken advantage of again, but not much you can do when you can’t speak the language. I had researched before we left and the trip from the train station was supposed to be about 50 euros, so we paid and went into our hotel.

We checked in at the Royal Regency. Luckily the man at the desk spoke English, so check-in was no problem. He gave us the key to our room—a REAL metal key and pointed us in the direction of our room. We started down the hallway that was very dark and into another hallway that was even darker. I was worried and confused…We continued down the mostly dark hallways looking for our room which we were told was on the first floor. After no luck, we determined that we were on the “ground” floor and must go up to the first floor. We found the elevator and up we went and out into another dark hallway. We found our room right off of the elevator—and discovered that you have to push the little buttons in the hallway to turn the lights on. Who would’ve known? I suppose it makes sense—and saves electricity, but don’t you think someone would’ve mentioned that to us? Maybe? No…

Once in our room we unpacked a little. We were hungry, but I was in no mood to head back out into the cold. Jim was brave and went to a little store down the block and came back with two bottles of water, two cans of ravioli, and a can of Pringles. We had a quick meal (after cooking the ravioli on the stove as there was no microwave) and headed to bed. After traveling for so long, we were exhausted. We took an Ambien and went to sleep for twelve hours.

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

We had slept for so long thanks to our drugs, that we got a late start. Jim ran to the bakery down the street and came back with fresh croissants and a baguette. Yummy. We had breakfast and headed out. We found the Metro and was very glad that we had some cash as the ticket machines would not accept our credit cards. We took the Metro to the Louve gardens and explored there for a while. It was chilly and the gardens are not very exciting when it is not blooming or green. So we decided to take coverage in the Louve. It was nice because admission to the Louve is free the first Sunday of the month—perfect timing for us! We went up to the top floor of the Louve and started exploring there. So much art—and a lot of it we did not recognize, but could appreciate it for its beauty. We found the Venus de Milo…and went on a hunt for the Mona Lisa. The Louve is such a maze. We were on the correct floor to find the Mona Lisa, but you couldn’t get there from where we were. We had to go up a floor…across a hallway and take an elevator back down. I was so lost at this point, but we found the Mona Lisa! It was behind glass…so it was hard to see—and the painting is smaller than you think. But, we can say we saw the Mona Lisa in person. We also saw the Winged Victory of Somothrace and some other very cool things. After the Louve, we hunted down the restaurant “Breakfast in America” since the Frommer’s guide said that it served American food. I was homesick and needed a good meal that I understood. After a good walk we found the restaurant. We had hamburgers and French fries and coca-cola light. It was good. We took the Metro back to our hotel and crashed early again.

Monday March 8th, 2010

We slept in late again on Monday--but not due to the comfort of our bed, which was severely lacking. We headed out to McDonalds to grab some lunch and see how late they were open since they had WiFi and I had not yet been able to talk to my boys. We ordered at the Kiosk since you could order in English there. The food was pretty much typical McDonalds…but not as good as you get at home. We then headed to the Metro to head back into the city. We started at Notre Dame. What an absolutely magnificent building. The size is immense and the artwork inside amazing. The stained glass, the sculptures, the paintings…everywhere you look is beauty—and history.

From Notre Dame we headed to Saint Chapelle. Another church—much, much, much smaller in size, but no less wondrous. The stained glass was floor to ceiling and was currently being restored. Each panel of stained glass told a different biblical story. From there we headed to La Conceierge...which was a prison that held notable prisoners such as Marie Antoinette. After that it was time for a visit to the Arc de Triomphe. The outside was stately and magnificent. Then we went in. And climed all 234 steps to the top. The view was impressive--especially when I started breathing again! We went from there to the Eiffel Tower which was massive and beautiful, but we stayed firmly on the ground since we had just had a birds eye view of the city from the Arc. We found a nice little Italian restaurant where we had delicious pizza for dinner (Jim's pizza had egg on it and artichoke...strange). We made our long way back to our hotel switching routes on the Metro like pros!

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

We actually managed to get up and out of our room before noon. We grabbed a croissant from our little corner bakery and went to the Metro. We booked a tour to Versaille and had a quick lunch at a quaint little cafe. We had a window seat--and crepes! Oh they were soooo good! Our trip to Versaille was worth the time and money. It was only 12 miles away, but took us almost an hour on the bus. That is Paris traffic! I am not sure how there are not more accidents and we have been unable to identify and lane markings--or flow of traffic. Incredible.

The Palace of Versaille...beautiful. Each room more adorned and decorated than the last. My favorite spot was the Hall of Mirrors. There were the King and Queens rooms...Marie Antoinette's "apartments" the gardens, etc...it was all amazing.

Our trip to Versaille was about 4 hours. We walked through a few shops when we got back and found a little Italian place for dinner. No French restaurants that we can find--except for the cafes. But the pasta was warm and good!

The most entertaining part of Tuesday was that Jim had to pay to use the bathroom. It was like a store...seriously...and you had to pay 1 euro to utilize the facilities. Paris is not cheap!

Until next time...