Last month D and I got to go on an amazing trip to France...for free! D had to go there for work and since he chose to fly in coach, work paid for my ticket too!
After 2 hours of sleep in 2 days we finally got some good food and saw a little bit of France that looked quite a bit like NYC.
The next day we took a tour of the Eiffel Tower. We almost missed our tour. So much that we finally met our group as they were walking to the tower. So glad we didn't miss it because it was a great tour and the view of Paris was incredible!
The view from the very top looking down.
Love him!
After the tour, we headed to Ameins, France. This is where we spent the week while D was working.
Their cathédrale was stunning. I've never seen anything quite like it. Having lived in Virginia for 7 years, I saw a lot of history and old buildings. But this was even older. The cathédrale began in 1220!
The detail on this building was incredible. This was maybe 1' x 1' section.
And then we walk into the building and it takes your breath away.
One day I found out that you could go up into the the towers. I had a little freak out half way up to the half way part. (There was a little walk out area that I had my freak out in.) But I managed to keep going and got to see Amiens from an entire new way.
And then at night, they light up the cathedrale in its original colors. It was stunning!
Amiens is the cutest town with old cobble stone roads. Half the time I didn't know if I was in the road or on a sidewalk.
St. Leu. Lots of great food.
One day I found a really cool building and wondered it. It turns out it was an art museum.
Some of these paintings were huge!
At the end of the week we went back to Paris.
We ate dinner at this restaurant. The waitress was amazing. The first person who greeted us with a 'hello'. (Which was so nice when you can't understand just about anything around you.)
After dinner we headed back toward the Tower (and our hotel).
We watched the light show twice. It was my favorite night during the trip.
The next day we got up early and explore as much of Paris as we could in one day...our last day. We started with Notre Dame. There was a line and we decided to skip going in since we spent so much time at the cathedrale in Amiens.
The next stop was the Louvre. Thankfully the line wasn't long and we spent about 2.5 hours seeing about 1/3 of the museum.
This was the closest we got to the Mona Lisa.
After the Louvre, we headed toward Musee d'Orsay and there was a long line, so we moved on to Musee de l'orangier. I'm so glad we did. There were no crowds and you could really look at all the art up close.
And then we found Monet's water lilies. My favorite part of the museum, I love Monet.
Then we headed to Champs Elysees in search for some dessert. We finally found LaDuree, a recommendation from dinner on Friday night.
I wasn't sure how I'd like macaroons, mainly because I have filling texture issues. But these, I LOVED! Especially the lemon! I 'm glad I liked them, but also, wished I didn't because now I want more!
The Tour de France was finishing in Paris the next day and they were setting up.
We watched the sun set over Paris and it was breathtaking.
France, you were amazing.
Until next time!
I LOVE THESE PHOTOS!! What an amazing trip.
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