One Weekend in Paris (France... not Hilton :) )

Well I am back! I must say tho, this was perhaps the best part of the entire trip so far. It is pending on the British Open next weekend. I loved Paris! The only thing that would have turned me off from the country is the language barrier. It is hard to get around there if you don't know French very well. Granted, alot of people do speak English but it is still rough. I was surprised since I thought France hated Americans that everyone seemed so nice and very patient with us and our English-only. Well, now for the breakdown of the trip!

We left at about 6 AM on Friday morning. We took a coach to Waterloo station and got on the Eurostar to go all the way to France. The only thing everyone was looking for during the trip was the Chunnel (the underwater tunnel between France and the UK). We saw it on the way back, nothing special. I slept thru it on the way there (go figure, me sleep in a vehicle :)). The trip went smoothly and the train was just like an airplane on the ground pretty much (the station was similar to an airport). Once we got to France, we went to the hotel. It was the Villa St. Martin (3 star hotel) and it was very nice! Once again, everyone there was so helpful. The people at the desk would draw us out directions and let us use a laptop they had behind the desk.

After we checked into the hotel and everything, we took off to see the city! First, we needed a way to get around. We found the station and eventually got underground passes. This is another area in which Paris seriously lacks compared to London. The underground seems fairly rundown and most people just jump the ticket turnstyles. Nobody seems to care there about the UG, but it worked just fine for the weekend. Our first stop on the journey was the Louvre. It was AMAZING! We got to see the giant glass pyrmaid when we entered (CHECK OUT THE PICTURES!). After getting inside, we walked pretty much straight to the Mona Lisa (no pictures, couldn't take em in there). We walked around there for a good hour or more. After that we walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower. It was a long walk but it gave us a chance to see more of the city on foot. We didn't go up to it on this day but just kinda walked around the area. Finally, we worked our way back to the hotel on the UG. When we got back, we relaxed for a few minutes and then left again to go watch the fireworks for Bastile day! We went up on a hill and saw a nice skyline view of Paris (CHECK OUT THE PICTURES). Awesome view, the pictures won't do it justice at all! We didn't really stay for many more fireworks then the individual ones people were lighting off because we had to get back on the UG since it closed at 12:30 or so. That was day one.

Day two was the best day of the entire trip. I was on my feet literally from 9 AM to about 2AM Sunday morning. We started out the day by going the day with a bus trip around the city of Paris. It was a guided tour of sorts from a coach bus. The tour lasted about 3 hours and we stopped back at the Eiffel tower. From there, we went to Notre Dame and walked around inside. Once again, check out the pictures even tho they don't do it justice at all. After Notre Dame, we went and saw a memorial for the 200000 that were deported from France during WWII to the concentration camps (sorry no photos out of respect for the monument). After the walk around Notre Dame, we headed off to the market. This market was pretty cool. People were selling all over the place. I didn't buy much of anything but the girls went crazy with all the stuff. After the market, it was about 8 PM or so, so we went back to the hotel to meet up with the group that had split off at the market. We then headed back to the Eiffel Tower but this time we went up to the TOP! This was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen (if not the most). PICTURES! I even took a video or two of it going up to the top. The line to get in was like 3 hours to the bottom floor and then about another 1 to the top... lines everywhere! We got a night view of the city! STUNNING! We eventually made it back down and had a heck of a time finding a way back. Paris night transportation is pretty much Taxi only. We got a taxi and got in at about 2AM. LONG FREAKIN DAY!

Today, we went back to the market for the couple hours that we had left. I bought a Rolex (yes Mom and Dad, I put it on the credit card, don't worry! ;)) We got on the train at about 6 PM and now, here I am! Back to London.

I am working on putting the pictures up. Make sure you find the link that says SEE ALL ALBUMS. I have more that might not show up on the main page when you log in so you may have to click that!