Bonjour!
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We're back from Paris and we had a great time. Instead of trying to upload all my pictures here I've posted them at www.flickr.com/photos/jewels07. We spent a lot of time shopping, but we also made time for the tourist things. We went to the Orsay, Louvre and Picasso museums as well as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles and the Père LaChaise cemetery where a bunch of famous people are entombed. We didn't miss the Catholic monuments- we saw The Madeleine, Sacrè Coeur and Notre Dame. We also took a fun and relaxing boat tour down the Seine river where we saw the golden flame which was built in memory of Princess Diana and is near the tunnel where she died.
There is so much amazing art, history and architecture (and some pretty darn good shopping) in Paris. If you haven't been you should definitely go. Yes, Parisian's are a little rude, but not much worse than Americans. They don't like to be bothered.
We spent a LOT of time in the subway- I can't believe I didn't think to take a picture of us down there. Their subway system rivals NYC (perhaps it's better) and we went everywhere on it. The only cab ride we took was to the airport Sunday morning. Our feet were sore every night from walking all day. Even in the subway system you can walk a mile from one train to the other.
Our Hotel was near the Gare St. Lazare right in the big shopping district (for those of you who've been to Paris, it's near the Madeleine and Galleries Lafayette/Printemps). Camille made her mother proud by shopping like a champ. It seems we spent most of our money at H&M, which we have in the USA, but not in Seattle. We also used McDonald's bathrooms often because they were decent and usually had toilet paper. No toilet seats, but paper...
I have to mention that they don't believe in air conditioning over there, so I wouldn't recommend a mid-summer vacation in Paris. They all leave for a few months and go to the ocean down south. Now we know why. The humidity is something to be reckoned with also. We did quite a bit of sweating!
Our favorite shopping was on the Rue d'Alesia- lots of 'Stock' stores which are designer outlets of last year's merchandise. Since Paris is at least a year ahead of us in fashion it's not like the stuff is out-of-date, right? Camille bought a humongous leather purse - it's almost bigger than she is. She loves it.
I did my share of shopping, but mainly for souvenirs for the kids. I did buy a purse and two pairs of shoes, of course. Who can resist a Furla purse for 30 euro? Well, I can't.
The trip home was an absolute nightmare. If you go to Paris, fly direct. That's all I can say. The lines in London and L.A. were astounding- comparable to Disneyland. We weren't able to get onto the British Airways website to get our seat assignments 24 hours prior to our flight (why don't they just assign seats when you buy your ticket?) so it ended up my worst nightmare- the back row next to the toilet. If you haven't had the joy of being in the back row, your seat only reclines about 3" while the person in front of you is in your lap. Absolutely heinous. I had a total nervous breakdown when I saw our seats on that flight (which was, of course, the London to L.A. 10-hour flight).
Now go see my pictures- I'll be adding more once I get my mom's and Camille's pictures downloaded.
Au Revoir!
There is so much amazing art, history and architecture (and some pretty darn good shopping) in Paris. If you haven't been you should definitely go. Yes, Parisian's are a little rude, but not much worse than Americans. They don't like to be bothered.
We spent a LOT of time in the subway- I can't believe I didn't think to take a picture of us down there. Their subway system rivals NYC (perhaps it's better) and we went everywhere on it. The only cab ride we took was to the airport Sunday morning. Our feet were sore every night from walking all day. Even in the subway system you can walk a mile from one train to the other.
Our Hotel was near the Gare St. Lazare right in the big shopping district (for those of you who've been to Paris, it's near the Madeleine and Galleries Lafayette/Printemps). Camille made her mother proud by shopping like a champ. It seems we spent most of our money at H&M, which we have in the USA, but not in Seattle. We also used McDonald's bathrooms often because they were decent and usually had toilet paper. No toilet seats, but paper...
I have to mention that they don't believe in air conditioning over there, so I wouldn't recommend a mid-summer vacation in Paris. They all leave for a few months and go to the ocean down south. Now we know why. The humidity is something to be reckoned with also. We did quite a bit of sweating!
Our favorite shopping was on the Rue d'Alesia- lots of 'Stock' stores which are designer outlets of last year's merchandise. Since Paris is at least a year ahead of us in fashion it's not like the stuff is out-of-date, right? Camille bought a humongous leather purse - it's almost bigger than she is. She loves it.
I did my share of shopping, but mainly for souvenirs for the kids. I did buy a purse and two pairs of shoes, of course. Who can resist a Furla purse for 30 euro? Well, I can't.
The trip home was an absolute nightmare. If you go to Paris, fly direct. That's all I can say. The lines in London and L.A. were astounding- comparable to Disneyland. We weren't able to get onto the British Airways website to get our seat assignments 24 hours prior to our flight (why don't they just assign seats when you buy your ticket?) so it ended up my worst nightmare- the back row next to the toilet. If you haven't had the joy of being in the back row, your seat only reclines about 3" while the person in front of you is in your lap. Absolutely heinous. I had a total nervous breakdown when I saw our seats on that flight (which was, of course, the London to L.A. 10-hour flight).
Now go see my pictures- I'll be adding more once I get my mom's and Camille's pictures downloaded.
Au Revoir!
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