Romance in France*

*So the title of this post was a bit trickier than the other two, because very little rhymes with "Paris."  But since we traveled to France with three couples, I thought this title would still work!

Anyway, our last stop on the trip around Europe was in Paris, France.  This is a city I have been anxiously waiting to visit for a very long time!! I took French classes in high school and have collected Eiffel Tower and Paris themed decorations since college.  So, needless to say, I was really looking forward to this part of the trip.

La Famille à La Tour Eiffel

Highlights of Paris:
The Eiffel Tower - Obviously, this is a must-see in Paris.  Many people have actually told me that the tower is ugly in person.  However, I thought it was absolutely beautiful!  It is much more intricate than I expected when you see it up close.  We were able to take an elevator ride to the top of the tower, but only after waiting in line for over an hour.  But it was so worth it, just check out the pics...
 

Intricate designs on the Tower

The Family at the second level of the tower, with views of Paris

The large building in the top right corner is the Sacré Cœur

View of the Arc de Triompe from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Conversations in French - As I mentioned earlier, I took a bit of French lessons in high school and I spent the past year reviewing my skills using the Rosetta Stone program.  However, I am nowhere near being able to speak fluently, I just know enough to get by.  I actually managed to have a decent conversation with a man sitting near us at a cafe one day.  He saw us looking at the menu slightly confused (this place only had a French menu) and made a suggestion that we try the "Filet de Boeuf avec pommes de terre" which I understood to mean "Filet of Beef with potatoes"  So then he started just talking to me in French!  He was kind enough to speak slowly and only use simple words, so I was able to have a small conversation with him!

Flirty Frenchmen - So, everyone says "Oh, the French are so rude!" and while we ran across a few rude people...the majority of the people we came in contact with were soo nice!  They graciously spoke English with us and were very helpful.  Some were even very humorous, like the man who helped us at the tourist info booth, who was extremely flirtatious with me!

The Louvre - Of course, we had to go to the most famous museum in the world!  Although, it was full of people and, just like the Eiffel Tower, we had to wait in a long line to even get inside.  The wait was worth it, though because we got to see famous works of art such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi.  Just beware if you ever visit...it is a giant museum and impossible to do in only one day!

Outside the Louvre

The craziness that is the Mona Lisa room

Other adventures included: the Musee D'Orsay (which I actually preferred over the Louvre - just as many beautiful works of arts and way less people!) the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Élysées, where we ran into a New Years Parade!  We also saw the tomb of Napoleon and the armory museum.  And we walked through Notre Dame and climbed to the top of the dome in the Sacré Cœur.  Phew, it was a busy few days!

Musee D'Orsay which is converted train station

Arc de Triomphe

View from the Dome of the Sacré Cœur

The Sacré Cœur

Tomb of Napoleon

Notre Dame

Another unexpected highlight of our trip to Paris was running into an old high school friend, Kelli, who was in Paris with her new fiance!  I have not seen her since 2005 when we graduated.  Such a nice surprise to realize how small the world can be and run into people you know in a foreign country! 

Friend from high school - Kelli

Au revoir et à bientôt!