Sortie

Paris is absolutely wonderful. There is love all around us. When we first arrived at our hotel we were greeted by a very old, solely French speaking woman. She did not understand us and we did not understand her. I used my limited French knowledge to communicate and get us checked in. She was so sweet, it amazes me how people can still comprehend each other while speaking completely different languages.

Our room is very small and cozy with 4 twin beds lined across the room. Our window opens to the fresh air and just across the street is a beautiful park where we can hear children laughing and playing every day. We spent the first day in Paris walking around and getting acquainted with the area of our hotel. I asked a local on the street a favorite eating spot for dinner and we were referred to a quaint little place just around the corner from our hotel called Plein Soleil. We were sat at a nice table open to the outside air and enjoyed delicious food complete with a bottle of wine. Half way through our meal the sky opened up and rain started pouring just feet from where we were sitting. The rain felt warm and smelled amazing. I can't even put into words how it felt to be sitting in Paris amongst this beautiful setting. Blissful. Needless to say it was the best moment thus far in this journey for me.

The next day our sights were set on seeing the Eiffel Tower. We ventured onto the metro and were on our way. Paris has a great metro system, the best I have seen anywhere. They literally have a metro that runs anywhere and everywhere you want to be and they arrive within 6 minutes of each other at all hours of the day. This helped us out so much transporting around town. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of turning the corner and seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. It is breathtaking and almost overwhelming. The fountains and green grass surrounding the Tower only add to its magnificent beauty. We took photos and sat on the lawn for awhile, then walked the streets grazing art stands and souvenir shops.

The famous Arc de Triomph was walking distance from the tower so we ventured over to see it. We felt almost miniature standing under the massive Arc. All the walls are scripted with the names of dead French soldiers and under the Arc sits a memorial for the unknown solider. The sculpture art is so detailed and emotional, you can feel the passion that went into making this beautiful memorial. After our sight seeing we stopped for some dinner. French Onion soup is the most delicious soup in the world and go figure, it's perfect in France. It's safe to say I didn't let a day go by without some FOS. I'm going to miss that.

Besides the delicious tasting food, seeing some incredible monuments and practicing our French we also visited the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral. An overwhelming feeling of calm immediately consumes you as you enter the large wooden doors. The vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows stare down upon the thousands that enter this church everyday. We walked around in silence absorbing the peace and serenity. It was wonderful.

Unique to this city visit, I tested my fear by going deep underground in Paris to visit the Catacombs. Everyone else was very excited for this trip, however, I did not feel the allure about surrounding myself with hundreds of thousands of skulls and femur bones buried deep under the city. All in all, it turned out to be a remarkable experience and yes, not as scary as I may have thought.

Collectively and individually we did and saw amazing things in Paris, now it's off to Italy :) Au revoir!


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Location:Paris