An American in Paris: Part IV

"The Wheels on the Bus"
I woke up Sunday morning and my legs were so sore and so tight. They were refusing to cooperate (I didn't blame them) but eventually I convinced them it would be OK. I promised that we would NOT do that much walking today. So, we decided to do the open bus tour. You know, you've see those double decker bus tours. The top level is open to the elements and you can see out really well. They had 4 different routes that covered pretty much the whole city.
Not great for pictures taking with the constant movement, but great for seeing a little bit of everything...

We did get off the bus to have lunch and walk around a little bit. I finally found Amorino's Ice Cream (gelatto, actually) and it was so good!! We also spent a good chunk of the afternoon at a large garden (I forget which one). This was the view from our chairs:
This is us in the chairs. So good to sit down!

FYI- I've got 4 more chapters planned of the Paris trip. Sorry if that's annoying, but I personally, would rather read a lot of short posts than 1 or 2 really long ones. And I just might finish it off with a giveaway! Stay tuned!

An American in Paris: Part III

"Effin' Stairs"
Saturday morning we had to switch hotels, so we loaded up our stuff and headed out on the train into town. (more on the room later).
We were true tourists, shorts and tennis shoes included(no one there is too into shorts or tennis shoes), and hauled our butts all over town. Seriously, if I had been wearing a pedometer it probably would have said "00003" because it had rolled over already.
We walked to the Eiffel Tower, which was several blocks away. It really is quite something to see. We got there and waited in line to go up. By up, I mean 340 steps to the second level, where we went. You had to pay more to go further, I think.
Up there, you had amazing views of the city in all directions. The weather was quite warm for Paris (maybe 82 degrees) so Shannonwe needed a break before heading back down.

We left the Eiffel Tower and headed uphill to get on the train (thankfully) to go to the Arc d Triomphe. Even once we got off the train, it was a good walk to the actual Arc. And of course Steve wanted to go up. That was 284 more steps.

Again, lovely views of the city from up there. Next, we got back on the train and headed to the North end of town to Sacre Cour, a really old church on a big-ass hill. Add 225 to the step count...

I don't know what it is about this church, but there were people everywhere! Sprawled out on the lawn, having a beer, listening to street performers, you name it. Oh, and some annoying scammers trying to tie strings on us??? We didn't get it.

My legs were killing me at this point. I had climbed 849 steps in addition to all the regular walking. So we walked ourselves to a cafe behind the church and we sat and had a few beers. Ahhhh.....

We finally made it back to our room later that night, where I had to walk up 12 steps to get to our room. Effin' stairs...

An American in Paris: Part II

"Put Your Big Girl Panties On"
After I had a little nap Friday morning, I got some breakfast and then decided to venture out because Steve was working all day. At first, I played it safe. The hotel was just outside the airport and not in downtown Paris. It was in a little village called Roissy. I strolled through town and the local park.
After an hour of that, I decided to put my "big girl panties" on and head downtown. to Paris. on the train. by myself.
I managed to get back to the airport to the train station, buy my train ticket, get on the train and get off downtown successfully. Because 75% of the tracks are underground, most of the stops are underground. Maybe it seems like not biggie to some of you, but for this country girl, making my way out to the surface felt like I was crawling out of that mountain of doom in the last Lord of the Rings movie. But I finally made it and it was lovely!
The weather was gorgeous, we were right by the Seine river and I was in Paris! I took in the riverside vendors, the flower shops and even had a real French crepe!
I felt pretty safe and everyone I spoke to knew at least a little English. Sure, I saw some very rude people during the trip, but I also saw some very nice people. The train was pretty crowded by the time I headed back to the hotel, but I made it. All by myself!

An American in Paris: Part 1

"That's My Cue"
Overall, the trip was very nice. We has a good time and Paris is a lovely city. However, I feel like I spent and enormous amount of time waiting to get there and even once I was there, waiting in line (cue).
Originally, I was to fly out of Charlotte at 2:30, fly into Philly and from there to Paris. Well, US Air being the competent dears they are, didn't let that happen. Long story short: after waiting at the gate, a gate change, lots of misinformation, and 1 1/2 hours in line at the check-in counter, I miraculously got booked on the 4:30 flight direct to Paris. Oh, look. It's 4:20 now. What?!?! So the check-in counter lady runs me to the front of the security line (which was very long), I hurry through and am running down the concourse - just like you see int he movies! I'm completely out of breath as I hand my boarding pass to the agent. Whew! A 7+ hour flight later and I finally arrived at the hotel around 8:00 am Paris time (2:00 am EST) and took a much needed nap.
That night, Steve and I were both tired after our evening out and decided to call it an early night, so we got on the train at 9:45, hoping to be back in the room by 10:45. Nope. We got stuck on the train and it was hot and stuffy and this couple next to us was making out! Ugh! We didn't get in until 12:00 am PT (Paris time).
Other time "well spent" in line included waiting for Steve to finish work and get back to the room, standing in line 45 minutes to buy a train (subway) ticket, multiple train delays on Friday, and standing in line to go up the Eiffel tower. Add that to the 8+ hour flight home, and I spent a third of the trip waiting.
Want to hear about the rest of the trip? Sorry. You'll have to wait for that.

Bon Voyage!

I'm off tomorrow morning to go catch up with Steve in Paris! I'm excited, but since I've only been planing this trip about 2 weeks, I'm not crazy-excited. That and the shitty job and house news I got this week (we probably will NOT be moving in the week of the 15th).
I've looked a lot on-line to try and figure out what to do, where to go and what to eat (besides the fries, dressing and toast). Foreign hotels sorta scare me so of course, I looked that up, too. Even though this info came straight from the Best Western website (BW in Paris? who knew?), it was obviously written by someone whose native language is not Engligh:
"Our 34 rooms offer exceptional comfort in a contemporary style with modern warm colors and exotic prosecutors. All rooms have air conditioning, with a flat screen, WiFi access, individual safe, trays of courtesy, hair dryer, and quilts. Our team welcomes you with attention."
Exotic prosecutors? What does that even mean? Samoan lawyers? And trays of courtesy? I think they mean all the little shampoos and lotions that I stuff in my bag.
And this occupancy notation was on there, too:
"Child Policy: For Every Two Paying Adults, One Child 2 And Under Is Free In The Existing Bedding."
Dang! I left my kid home with grandma for five days. I sure don't want another one, even if it is free and comes with it's own blankie.
Until then, au revoir!...I think...I don't know a lick of French!