Paris - Da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Matching Scarves

Kaes and I in front of the Eiffel Tower

Best of: The great accompaniment from Kathy and Evon. Although our husbands were busy at work, it was great to have the sweet ladies to see the sights of Paris. Chocolate, wine, and desserts were also a highlight of our trip :)

Worst of: Trying to be proactive and buy the group tickets to the Eiffel Tower in advance to avoid the extreme long lines, BUT buying the tickets only allows you "access" to the summit, not the actual ticket to the summit. In lamens terms, you get to the second story, then have to stand in another (extremely long) line to buy tickets to the top. This is a way for them to monitor how many are going up at a time and therefore can shut down the ticket booth when they have sold too many then only reopen when people are filtered out...

Tips: The metro/RER is very easy to get on and off as a mode of transportation. Taxi drivers do not accept credit cards anywhere in Paris. Taxi rides are not cheap either so be prepared with plenty of Euro. Also, the Parisians were very friendly if you made even the slightest attempt to speak their language. Most of them say they don't speak English well, but they can speak enough to get you where you are going.

Paris, however, was overall an amazing city. From the savory crepes and delictable chocolates, to the pungent cheese and crisp champagne, Paris has a wide variety of tantilizing treats. The city boasts incredible views of the Seine River, beautiful parks, and amazing architecture.

The first day my Paris buddies, Kathy and Evon and myself visited the Louvre museum. The Louvre has 8 million visitors a year, being the most visited museum in the world. The day we went to visit happened to be during school holidays and I believe 2 of the 8 million were there at the same time...

In front of the Louvre Museum

Art. One of many things that Paris is well known to have in abundance. Art is one thing, but there were many "paintings" that I would not classify as true art, but an absurd attempt to display very "exposed" pictures that were a little over the top and quite distasteful... The French are far more liberal and open-minded than Americans. That being said, I still cannot come to terms with the obsession of so much nakedness. After the Louvre museum, we were "arted" out; at least for another day or two.

The Louvre Museum gardens

Our day of sightseeing was brought to an end by a very romantic dinner cruise with the whole meeting group on the Seine River. The cruise began at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, followed the rive gauche (left bank) past: Eiffel Tower, Hotel des Invalides, Musees d'Orsay, Institut de France, Notre Dame de Paris, La Grand Bibliotheque, up to the Finance Minestry in Bercy, Hotel de Ville, Musee du Louvre, Concorde, Grand Palais, Trocadero, Tour Eiffel.

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is known in France as La plus belle avenue du monde, The most beautiful avenue in the world. It runs for 2 km and ends at the west end at the Arc de Triomph. We did quite a bit of shopping and I was happy to find a Gap there to find some reasonably priced clothes that I was used to from back home. Kathy also bought us our matching scarves as seen below. It was a fun-filled day of shopping, eating, and people-watching.

Me, Kathy, and Evon with our matching scarves

The last day in Paris before we all went our separate was was spent in Versailles visiting the Palace of Versailles, musical gardens and fountains, and the Grand and Petite Trianon of Marie Antoinette.

Kaes with the Versailles Palace gardens behind

Overall, our trip to France was romantic and beautiful. Springtime in Paris was wonderful!!!