Paris!

I spent the last four days in Paris, and it was amazing! I am going to make two posts about it, so don't forget to read both!Get ready for a whole lot of excitement!

Our tunnel Train to Paris left at 5:25 in the morning, so we had to take the 4:04am bus to the station. Now that is what I call an early morning! We made it on time, and we were off to the city of love! The countryside on the way to Paris was absolutely beautiful.

When we got there, we caught a cab to our hotel, left our baggage in the safe there, and went out to lunch. We picked a pretty authentic looking restaurant. Unfortunately, authentic means that they don'e speak a bit of English! One of the girls in our group took two semesters of French, and managed to order us all ham and cheese sandwiches on bagettes. Delicious!

After lunch, we met up with a walking tour guide who happened to be friends with one of the girl's mothers, so he gave us a free walking tour of Paris! First stop: Notre Dame!

This is actually a picture of the back of Notre Dame. The front was absolutely crowded with tourists, so I couldn't get a really good picture. The inside of Notre Dame was absolutely stunning. The Gothis architecture took my breath away! But we couldn't use a flash, so once again, no good pictures.

Just outside Notre Dame is a place they call "Zero Kilometers." As you travel further frim tis point, you say, "I am 5k out of the city." This means that you are five kilometers from this point!

Later that night, we went over to the Louvre. This building is bigger than I ever imagined! It stretched over 1/2 a mile long, and there are three separate wings to it, each with several stories, including a basement! 

We had to be very selective what we saw, because there is no way you could ever get through the whole thing in one day! I went and saw the classical sculpture and the Mona Lisa. I took about 100 pictures, but here are the collest, I think!

Day two in Paris was equally spectacular. We split into smaller groups. My group fist wet to see Saint Chapel. 

Saint Chapel is a gothic style cathedral that is famous for the breathtaking stained glass windows. Let me tell you, there is a reason it is famous! Each wall has enormous stained glass windows that thell the stories in a particular book of scripture. From Genesis to revelation, the entire bible is shines through the most beautiful glass windows! It really is remarkable.

After Saint Chapel, we went and relaxed int he Louvre gardens. The gardens were beautiful, and huge! Spending time in the gardens was one of my favorite things. I just felt so relaxed and peaceful.

Where the Louvre gardens end, The Champs Elysees begins! The Chamops Elysees is probably the most famous street in the world. There was some sort of march that ended in some sort of victory, that then spurred the creating of the Arch de Triumph at the end of the street! Did I mention that the last stage of the Tour de France always takes palce on the Champs Elysees?

After that, we hit up the most famous tourist destination in Paris: the Eiffle Tower! We rode the lifts to the top, and it was an awe-inspiring view. The city just never, ever, ever ends! I love the top of the tower!

When we got down from the tower, evening was approaching, and we decided to take a boat tour. As we were on the tour, looking at the beautiful tower in the night time, something magical happened! The tower sparkled! Literally!

Paris truly is a magical place! Even the Eiffle Tower sparkles!

I will post abotu the rest of the trip soon! The second half of Paris was my favorite, so stay tunned!