Paris!

Well, all good things must come to an end. The day arrived that we finally had to say goodbye to everyone and head back to our mundane normal lives. Of course it is always good to get back to that which you are familiar with. My own bed, for example, felt really good. It is, however, a little lonely around the house since there is only the three of us left there. We've been home for a day and a half and we are still putting things away from the trip, doing laundry, and just getting back into our normal routine. Before flying home, we did get the chance to spend a day in Paris. So sit back and enjoy the final few days of our trip to France.

One final picture with the family at the train station as we take our leave and head for Paris. Everybody was crying because it'll probably be another three to four years before we see each other again. Daniele's dad was doing most of the crying and her mom was telling him to stop it because it was making her cry.

Thank goodness we had first class seats on the train rides. It did make the trip a little nicer. It takes about five hours to get from Bergerac to Paris with one train transfer at Libourne. Now one of the things that really irks me about the train station in Libourne is that to get from one platform to the other, you have to go under the tracks which means you have to go downstairs, through a tunnel, then back up the stairs. No problem... unless you are loaded down with a bunch of baggage. I had a rough time with ours because one of them was really heavy. I managed to get everything over to the other platform then I helped some lady who was pushing a baby in a stroller, dragging another along and loaded down with a bag that was heavier than mine. I think she was somewhat surprised that someone would stop to help her.

We stayed at the Campanile Hotel at Roissy en France which is just on the other side of the freeway from the airport. The rate was pretty good but the room was really small. But for 45 Euros per night, what's to complain about...

... except Kellie had to sleep standing up in this closet. Not really! There was a pull out bed underneath our bed but when it was pulled out, there wasn't much room to get around at all in the room. Fortunately, all we did was sleep there. Paris was the object of our visit. Not the hotel room. The hotel had a free shuttle back and forth to the airport where the train station was located so we got an all day pass for each of us to take the RER and the Metro all over Paris.

Paris! I love this city! What more can I say?

First stop for the day was Sacre Coeur. Actually it was about the jillionth stop because we got off the RER at the North Train station and decided to walk over to Sacre Coeur. Of course there are a jillion shops in between so we had to check out all the stores. I did find a bag for 4 euros which I needed because one of our bags had a big hole in it. The bag has some cheesy looking dice on the outside like we went to Las Vegas instead of Paris but for 4 euros, what should I expect? Sacre Coeur sits on top of a hill in Paris. It is a basilica built in the late 1800s early 1900s. The architecture is beautiful and the view from on top of the hill is spectacular. More about Sacre Coeur.

Next to Sacre Coeur on the hill is the Montmartre neighborhood, a popular hangout for artists. We took a stroll through there then...

...got an ice cream cone for Kellie. She has gotten a taste for pistachio ice cream.

Afterwards it was back down the hill and we did some more shopping. This time we got some food for lunch. Nothing like some french bread, fresh tomatoes and sausage. Somehow, however, after this stop, I ended up with a big box of flan mix that I had to pack around for the rest of the day. My arms were getting pretty sore by the end of the day.

To the subway station for our next stop. Of course, the subway station closest to the big religious landmark on the hill is Pigalle which is basically the red-light district of Paris.

Subways are so much fun. Actually, it is quite an efficient way to get around Paris. Generally you are no more than 500 meters from a subway station anywhere in the city.
Paris Metro

Next stop: The Eiffel Tower. What is a trip to Paris without going to one of the most famous landmarks in the world? Kellie was a little too fast on the shutter so you don't get to see us kissing. Too bad. We spent a little time here just relaxing and enjoying the view. It is mid-August and it is full tourist season so with the mile long lines to go up the tower, we just decided to enjoy it from the ground.

After consulting the Metro map then having my Metro ticket eaten by machine, (we had to wait for someone to come to the station to retrieve it.. they said they had been having trouble with that machine doing that) our final destination for the day...

Notre Dame Cathedral. This building truly has some of the most amazing architecture in the world with it's flying buttresses and all. We tried to find Quasimodo but I think he had gone on vacation with all the other Parisians. Again, with the tourist season, there was a huge line just to go inside and look around so we passed on it. Besides, I've been in there a few times already.

So we rested up in the park behind the Cathedral and fed the pigeons. The one in front of Kellie was pretty brave and would eat right out of your hand. After this, it was back to the hotel and we packed up and headed home the next morning.