Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Paris, the Quick Version (sort of)

Ok, here's the quick and dirty of the rest of our time in Paris. We visited Versailles. One thing we discovered is that the French often just ignore the last few letters of words. Take Versailles for instance. To spell it like it sounds, I would spell it Versi. Versailles was a short train ride outside of Paris. Again, keeping with the theme, tons of people and long lines. Also discovered that the French aren't very adapt at organizing crowds. The line to get in was just a random zigzag with no rhyme or reason to it. Versailles was built by Louis XIV.







We really could have spent more time here. It was really nice.

Next Paris icon, Arc de Triomphe.






Our hotel was within walking distance of this. We didn't go to the top. Again, crazy crowds.

I thought the Opera National de Paris Garnier was one of the prettiest buildings I'd ever seen. I loved it!! I'd never been inside an Opera House before. I could just imagine the audience in their tux and evening gowns. The pictures don't do it justice.










I'm getting tired. Another quick post to come later. I just can't get it all in one post after all.

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Eiffel Tower

Paris around New Years is apparently a popular time to visit, little did we know but how soon we realized. First night we were there we did the 'must' do tourist attraction, The Eiffel Tower.













We wanted to make sure we went when the weather was clear. So glad we went at night. So beautiful at night all lit up. We had to wait about an hour and a half to get in the elevator to go to the first level. After that we didn't have to wait too long to ride all the way up to the top. It was cold and windy but so awesome to see Paris from that vantage point.






Thanks Mom and Dad for the rocking toboggan!! Came in very handy!















Great views! We rode the lift (very European of me huh?) down to the first level then took the stairs down. I expected the Eiffel Tower to be over hyped and thus a disappointment. It did not disappoint in the least. So worth the wait in the cold.

I promise to not drag my vacation posts out too much this time...

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Location:Paris