Paris Day 5

It's only Monday and I feel like I've seen Paris from top to bottom, literally! We've done a boat tour along the Seine and have successfully navigated our way throughout the Metropolitan (subway) and today we climbed the estimated 400 steps to the top of Notre Dame! So far we have had beautiful weather but this mornings started out cloudy and cool. We bundled up and made our way to ND and got in the queu (I'm trying to use my new British terms) aka line. The wait wasn't too bad and an hour later and one new British friend named Scott it was finally our turn!

The staircase was very narrow with slippery, well worn stairs and every once it gave you a sneak peek out skinny little windows of the view to come. Once we reached the top it was hard to catch your breath because the view was breathtaking! Your first view is through two gargoyles perfectly framing the Eiffel tower. It was still a bit cloudy but definitely starting to clear up. The gargoyles were so unique! The most perplexing was the elephant. There must be a story behind that. We took several silly gargoyle like photos and even got our stuffy new British friend to do it too! We met a few other Americans at the top and all took turns taking pictures. There was a very small door with even smaller stairs that led into the bell tower and Scott ( doing was boys do) smacked the bell! We climbed a little higher up onto another deck and the sun fully came out so I took a lot more pictures.

By this point I practically had learned Scott's life story (you know me and strangers, I should probably wear a sign that says "beware I like to talk") and he seemed like a nice chap so as we twisted our way down all the steps and he asked when I'd be back in London and if I'd like to meet up I agreed! Now will it actually happen? Who knows but c'mon, how fun is it to say that I met a guy in Paris while climbing Notre Dame and he wants to see me back in London before he goes back to work in Singapore (he's one of those rich banking guys!).

Our next stop of the day was to get the REAL BERTHILLON, only to get there and find that it's closed! We found a nearby cafe and dined on croque Madames then walked a few shops down to get some glaces (ice cream).  We then metroed over to the Arc de Triumph, which is surrounded by one of those crazy traffic circles and there seems to be no order at all. It really amazes me the people on motorcycles taking their life in their hands...and even worse the occasional bicyclist braving these crazy roads without helmets on! We walked all the way down the Champs Elysse and window shopped at the big names and popped in a few more affordable shops. My favorite stop along the champs Elysee was at Laduree, birthplace of the macaron. It was SO cute and the delicacies were delicious. We found a street cafe and had our first champagne. We were quite classy, mixing with the elite luxury shoppers.

Paris Day 4

Sunday 16th

Since it was the day of rest, we took it easy and slept in until 9 and took our sweet time getting ready, then heading to the grocery store to resupply our breakfast  stash and stopped by a nearby Starbucks (the only American chain I let myself visit) and surprisingly enough they spelled my name right...but T and her mom's were a bit interesting! Our agenda was pretty open so we strolled through a nearby neighborhood while on our way to the Louvre. I really feel that I had several magical moments in Paris, and this was one of them as this particular morning I said "I'd really love to find a market and buy a baguette to munch on as we walk around" and as we rounded the corner we ran into a thriving street market filled with freshly baked items and local produce! It was amazing!

After we split our baguette 3 ways we continued our walk to the Louvre. Surprisingly it wasn't as busy as I'd anticipated and T and her mom were so patient to help me take some silly photos before going in. We bee lined it for the Mona Lisa (is it bad if I say she isn't that impressive?) and then meandered through some French paintings dating back to the 1300's (cray-cray), then over to the Napoleon furniture collection. The Louvre is huge and we skipped a few sections because you could spend all day there and probably not see it all, and we were getting hungry so we headed a few blocks over to a cafe and ate ham 'n cheese sandwiches on the most buttery croissants...oh so buttery! Once our tummies were satisfied we headed over to the Musee D'Orsay. I really loved this museum as it was in the old train station so there was great character to the building! They also had an excellent display of Van Gogh, Renior, and Monet. On the very top floor there was a balcony with some great views of Montmartre but I personally liked the view of it best through the giant clock.

After we'd had our fill of art we walked over to the Invalides, where Napoleon's grave was, snapped a few pictures and continued our walk towards the Eiffel Tower. I think I took about 100 pictures here and several of them are of my very horrible attempts to jump in front of her! Yeah, not my most graceful or flattering moment! After our photoshoot we surveyed the line to to go to the top, decided it was too long, and began our search for a dinner spot. We ended up just a few blocks away at Les Cocettes by Christian Constant and it was DELICIOUS! During my trip here I'd really grown fond of the Rhone wines and their's was so good! We ordered a patee appetizer (my first!) and it was so yummy! Then I had my first veal stew, also quite good. I'm so glad we found this place! We had a truly delicious meal here and it was the perfect place to catch up on our wonderful time we were having in Paris. The atmosphere was very trendy, energetic, and it really seemed like this was "the place to be", I highly recommend if you're ever in the area!

Paris Day 3

Saturday 15th

This morning we got up early and made our way to the Musee D'Orsay to catch a tour bus for our Wine & Chateau tour. After 2 hours on the bus (and our first experience at a French gas station---can we talk about how amazing their gas station food is? oh, and those instant deluxe latte machines, lifesavers!) we escaped the hustle and bustle of city life and relaxed in the country life.

Our first stop was the Chateau de Chambord which was built as a "hunting lodge" by King Francois I was never actually completed, and proved to be quite unlivable to the French nobility so mostly it's a gorgeous castle that's been empty for years! The roof was architected to mimic the skyline of a town and inside there is a double helix staircase believed to be a work of DaVinci. This chateau is mostly known as being the inspiration for the castle portrayed in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

PICTURES

By now it's midday and our next stop was about an hour down the road to a smaller chateau that is a small, family owned winery. Our tour here began with a wine tasting, and the proprieter was quite a "jambon" (ham in French). He then led us into a small banquet room where we feasted on local cheese, bread, and a meal of rustic chicken, tomatoes, and potatoes. It was so simple but so delicious! And it was unlimited wine during the meal...and it was good! After our dinner, and dessert of Apple Pie (how American of them!) Jack, the owner's son (a.k.a. most beautiful French man, and my future husband) gave us a tour of the grounds. The chateau was simple but elegant, and the on-site chapel so pretty! We also learned all about the pigeon coupe and how back in the day the number of pigeons nesting there represented how many acres you owned. Sadly we had to leave and Jack couldn't come with us :(

PICTURES

Our final stop of the day was at Chateau de Chenonceau located in the Loire Valley of France. This was a beautiful area full of history, mostly related to the King's wife and his mistress' rivalry of power. King Henry II's wife and mistress fought over the Chateau and eventually the wife won out and created a rival garden to outshine Diane's former influence there. All this to say, both Catherine and Diane's gardens are beautiful! In more recent French history the chateau served as a hospital during WWI and a refuge from Nazi's during WW2

The ride home took a bit longer because of traffic, but the bus dropped us off near the Louvre and we walked through the illuminated pyramids then made our way to an Irish bar for dinner. By the time we got home it was quite late, only to find that the cafes on our street carried the echoed conversations throughout the neighborhood and cars raced down the narrow streets late into the night...leaving our apartment very noisy at night! We turned on the stove's vent as a makeshift "white noise" and went to bed. 

Paris Day 2

Friday 9/14

We slept in, ate some yogurt then headed for the closest Starbucks (yes, we had one just 2 just blocks away) where I made the sad discovery that a) there is NO Pumpkin Space Latte outside of the US and b) it's harder to order a coffee (an American kind) than you'd think! After finally getting some caffeine we hit the metro and started our day off exploring the area known as Marais. Tonya had bought a fun set of walking tours called City Walks and there are 3x5 cards that you can carry with you that have a 1-2 mile journey on them and point out a restaurant to try, or a shop to visit, or some sort of sightseeing thing. They are quite fun and we enjoyed walking around this neighborhood, dodging in and out of it's cute boutiques. Paris was filled with lots of bow accents (you know me, I'm quite the girly girl and I love a good bow accent) so I rushed into a store, tried on several sweaters with sweet bow accents, only to walk away empty handed while Tonya and her mom got some great deals! Oh well...I quickly got over my disappointment when we found a Patisserie that served the most divine chocolate eclairs! We kept walking and found this fun little courtyard on our way to a sculpture garden...which wasn't really a sculpture garden but it did lead us to the small island that was filled with touristy shops and lots of Berthillon!

A lady at UVA had recommended this place "Berthillon" to me and told me how to get there and that the ice cream there would change my life and here we had stumbled upon it, not meaning to! I was SO happy! We had walked right to a shop that had ice cream stained glass windows and an ice cream cart outside proudly displaying "Berthillon". We secured a small table (You pick your own here, no hostess to escort you) ordered ham 'n cheese crepes and some French Cider and THEN we ate wonderful ice cream! I had the coconut, but Tonya's Caramel and Chocolate with nuts was just as good! I couldn't believe our good fortune...and then we walked just steps down the street and around the corner and I realized, that wasn't "the ONE". We had eaten at the wrong one! We laughed, it was still good, and decided we'd come back again for the "real one". Turns out Berthillon was advertised everywhere!
MARAIS PICS, BERTHILLON, CREPE

We headed north on the island to the bridge connecting it with a larger island that houses Notre Dame. We walked around taking lots of pictures and marveling at it's great architecture. I got caught up taking pictures for other tourists out front (surprise, surprise!) and lost sight of Tonya and her mom. After scanning the crowds out front, and with the beginning rain I raced inside to look for them. The church is just beautiful! It's so hard to understand just how old it is and how they were able to complete such detail without our modern day advancements. I did a quick loop around, not spotting them, so I did a more leisurely loop around to take some pics and just marvel at this historic monument. I was here, in Paris, in a building that is HUNDREDS of years old! Eventually Tonya and I ran into each other, we met up with her mom and went outside to check the line to climb the 400+ steps to the top. The bell tower was closed so we headed across yet another bridge and walked through the Latin quarter where we picked up a few more souvenirs and stopped for wine at a cafe, Saint Severin, and then back home for an early morning bus trip.
NOTRE DAME, WINE

Watch out Paris because here I come!

We took morning train to Paris (fairly uneventful, except for the super slow service at Au bon Pain that almost made us late...yet I still love you for your delicious butter, and we got there around 1. Originally T (Tonya) wanted to take a cab to our apt but after looking at the metro map it didn't seem that hard to get there so we opted for the cheaper route. OOPS! Paris has no escalators or elevators in their stations so here we were, 3 ignorant Americans who had overpacked, lugging our suitcases up and down stairs, breathless and overheating! We navigated the way to our apt quite easily, met up with Franck who gave us a quick intro about using the door's lock pad system, laundry, wifi, and what direction to find food and then we were on our own in Paris, staying in a quaint apartment downtown!
INSERT PIC OF STUCK SUITCASE, TRAIN RIDE, AFTER METRO

Our first stop was to the grocery store to pick up some basics (juice, WINE, yogurt, snacks). After dropping our groceries back at home (climbing narrow, worn out, slick steps up 2 flights), we explored the neighborhood around us. We found a cafe to have our first French wine at and toasted to people watching and lots of adventures!
INSERT LOCAL PICS, FLOWER GIRL

We continued walking and came upon an old church, lots of great architecture, corner cafes, and some really massive building (a.k.a. The Louvre!). Walking a little further towards the water led us to the "Love Lock Bridge" which glistened so pretty in the afternoon sunshine! I'm not sure what the actual name of the bridge is, but people but their names/initials and date on a lock hence the nickname. How Romantic!!!
RANDOM PLACES, LOVE LOCK PICS

We found a cute cafe and had our first official French meal. This place wasn't anything that would blow you away but it was warm and had food, enough said at this point in our day. We then made our way across the bridge to Pont Neuff  to catch a boat for a night light cruise. The boat wasn't scheduled to depart for another 5 minutes yet there we stood on the dock waving our tickets and yelling for them to come back! This was our first taste of the characteristic "rude French" experiences you hear of. They did come back, we got on, then they again pulled away from the docks when even more people had come to get on as well! It was so odd, the boat had plenty of seats and it still wasn't time to leave. Do you not need the business?! Oh well, we were on, freezing but ready to experience this "City of Lights". I highly recommend doing a night time cruise because it's one of the best ways to see the city as everything is illuminated! It gave us a really good feel for the layout of the city as well. We passed by so many important sights like Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and more! I think I took 100 pictures alone just during this 1 hour ride! I'd consider our first day a success!
INSERT FIRST DINNER PIC, GIRL ON BIKE, EIFFEL TOWER, BOAT PICS

I'm in London!

Tuesday 9/11

I arrived in London around 8 in the morning. I had an overnight flight and maybe got 3-4 hours of sleep. The other time was spent chatting with the person beside me or watching movies. I don't sleep well on any form of public transportation :(

I made it through customs, picked up my bag, and quite quickly spotted Tonya and her mom (insert big sigh of relief). We hugged, rearranged a few things, exchanged some money, pumped me full of caffeine, and got on the tube. We made it back to her place fairly easily (although these brick roads and sidewalks are not easy to pull a suitcase across!), I ate, showered, and we hit the ground running! No rest for the weary. They say that staying awake is best to help with jet lag and I'd have to agree. This day might have been a bit of a blur but I slept like a baby that night!

Our first London adventure was to the Tower Bridge, for those who watched the Olympics this is the drawbridge that the big rings were hanging from. Once we crossed the bridge we were at the London Tower which is an old castle/village and gave us a really great intro to the British history. We did a tour with a real Beefeater (free, only offered at certain times) and it was amazing! Ken, our Beefeater guide was quite a ham and so full of humor and facts! A few highlights here included seeing some Crown Jewels and a torture chamber!
INSERT TOWER BRIDGE PICS, CROWN JEWELS, TORTURE CHAMBER, KEN

My metabolism was highly thrown off so I demanded we stop for a snack and I tried Coronation Chicken. It's basically a light curry sauce with raisins and it's so yummy! After the food I was feeling more refreshed and we took the tube to Westminister Abby. Unfortunately it was closed for the evening but we still got to walk around, and snapped some fun photos of Big Ben and the iconic red telephone booths!
INSERT PIC OF WESTMINSTER, BIG BEN, RED PHONE BOOTH

Just a short walk across the bridge took us to Tonya's hospital and the London Eye. We walked along the waterway admiring the views and Big Ben now just across the river. We came upon a Cantina where I tried Pimm's for the first time. Pimm's is hard to describe. It's a liquor that you mix with cucumber, oranges and mint. It's like a really weird, but yummy sangria (minus the wine!). We were trying to wait out the lights coming on but we were getting really cold and hungry so we headed back home. We picked up some Chinese take out and had a quiet evening just catching up with one another. And then FINALLY I was allowed to go to bed, and it was wonderful!
INSTERT PIC OF LONDON EYE, BIG BEN, PIMM'S, CHINESE

The Journey Begins

Monday 9/10/12

I woke up early, did a last minute run through on my suitcase and carry on bag, cleaned my room (who wants to come home to a dirty room?), said goodbye to my roommate, made a stop at Sbux for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and hit the road right on time, leaving Charlottesville in the rear view. Today was the day! I'm crossing the big pond to have an even bigger adventure!

I drove up to Baltimore w/o any traffic problems, met up with my friend Alicia (she was so kind to babysit my car for me during my trip so I didn't pay an arm & leg to airport parking lots), drove to Dulles airport again w/o any traffic issues and had a nice leisurely dinner and dessert together (Chipotle and Sweet Frog).

It wasn't until we were pulling into the airport that the butterflies in my stomach started and it was all sinking in, "I am leaving the COUNTRY! I'LL BE GONE ALMOST A MONTH!" I know that lots of other people do this and some for way longer (shout out to Missionaries & Military peeps) but not me! I'm just 5'1" Lindsey Kraft, travel nurse within America! Who am I to go on this fabulous European adventure?!

I checked in, my bag was actually 10 lbs under weight,  and made my last minute calls to the family. This is it! It's happening!