Paris Day 5

The adventure starts here.

I wanted to do some major shopping while in Paris, but Champs-Elysees was a little too rich for my blood. So, Harrison found the perfect place:: Rue du Commerce! This street was full of affordable boutiques, bakeries and restaurants!

I shopped til I dropped! I scored my friends and family lots of goodies. I also picked up a beautiful mustard yellow leather purse. We had lunch and dessert here, as well! It was a great day!

For our last evening in Paris, Harrison bought us dinner and a show at Moulin Rouge. 

That was the most incredible show I've ever seen! The solo acts between sets were amazing, too! My favorite was a roller-skating couple that did amazing acrobatics on a small, circular, wooden platform. 

We met a nice couple from New Zealand that were sitting beside us. Her and I were gasping and oohing and awwwing at the show! We had such a blast! 

And that concludes our whirlwind, amazing, awe-inspiring trip! I miss Europe so much! I loved it there and can't wait to go back! I would definitely live in London! 

I would need to learn French to live in Paris. But, a girl can dream.... 

Paris Day 4

The adventure begins here.


On our 4th day (1st full day in Paris), we walked down to the Eiffel Tower and took a riverboat cruise on the River Siene.

After that, we got on a Big Bus and toured all around Paris. 

 

 

Very ancient Egyptian Monolith. 

We jumped off to tour the Louvre. We saw the Mona Lisa, Greek sculptures and a lot of Delacroix art. 

We also had lunch at the Louvre, on the balcony overlooking the pyramid. 

Then, we hopped back on the Big Bus and started to head back to the hotel. The Arc de Triomphe is very close to our hotel. So, we got off there and took photos. Then walked to the hotel to start getting ready for an evening out! 

That evening we had dinner on Avenue des Champs-Elysees and then found a pub where we had drinks and met some fun people! 

~~ to be continued~~~ 

London/Paris Day 3

The adventure starts here.

On the 3rd day, we had breakfast in London and then headed to St. Pancras to ride the Chunnel to Paris. (and yes, I called it St. Pancreas a few times. haha)

Heading to Paris! Think they'll let us in?! 

Paris is beautiful! Open sides cafes on every corner... literally! 

Our very french hotel, Victor Hugo. 

Our french doors opened up so this view below. 

Headed out on our first night in Paris to eat dinner at a cafe and then to walk to the Eiffel Tower. 

I am so proud of myself for taking this photo with my iphone! haha

We sat in the lawn staring at this view, drinking wine out of plastic cups! It was so surreal! 

~~ to be continued....

London Day 1

It has been just a few weeks since returning from London and Paris, but it feels like a lifetime ago. We had such a whirlwind trip that I get sad with every passing day as the memories are not as clear and crisp as they were a couple of weeks ago. Thank goodness my girlfriend is coming up this weekend so we can work on our travel journals. (She just returned from Norway). I need to get these memories, stories, laughs, feelings, smells all on paper before they become too fuzzy. Luckily, someone every day has asked about my trip. So much happened that I actually tell different stories to each person that asks; always remembering something else .... and then hurrying to put that memory down in my iPhone notes before I forget.

There are so many wonderful photos that I don't want to narrow them down anymore than I already have. Therefore, I am going to break up the trip into multiple posts. I hope you enjoy!

We spent the first 2 nights in London. I flew into Manchester and we took the bullet train into London. I really loved London way more than I thought I was going to. I truly love the hustle and bustle of this beautiful city!

The first day walking around, I said to Harrison, "This looks like some Harry Potter sh$t". He looked it up on his phone and said "That's because it is!". (yes, I am a Harry Potter fan). Leadenhall Market (below) was right across from our Hotel. It served as Diagon Alley in some of the HP movies! 

When we got to London, we pretty much beelined it to The Tower of London. It was mid afternoon and I had been up for 28ish hours at this point.

side note: I needed to have slept on the plane over because that would have put me waking up when we were landing in Manchester at 8am. However, with nerves, excitement... I did not sleep... at all. In fact, it was not a good flight for me. I was so fidgety, getting claustrophobic, couldn't watch a movie in its entirety. It was not good. 

However, I was energized and feeling fine (at the moment), so off to Tower of London we go! 

Wow, oh wow! The Crown Jewels... holy smokes! Amazing!! 

This is the chapel in the Tower of London. Underneath the alter is where Anne Boleyn is buried. 

Below is the place where she was beheaded. 

The Shard

We got dinner at a pub around 6:30pm. At this point, I had been up for 31 hours. And this is the point where my equilibrium reflected the lack of sleep. Everything started spinning and Harrison said I looked like I was about to pass out. So, off to our hotel we go. We were both passed out by 7:30 on a Friday night, our first night in Europe. haha

~~ to be continued...