Paris in Springtime!

What a thrill to go to Paris from London on the Eurostar!  The train was traveling fast. We were going about 150 miles an hour! This was our first experience taking the Chunnel and it’s the only way to go. 

Once we got out of the city, we went through the English country side,  then for about 30 miles, we were underground, under the English Channel, about 225 ft. below the surface of the water and into France.

Bonjour! 

Coming out of the train station, we immediately got hustled into taking a taxi for a lot more money than we had planned. But! When we got to the hotel we decided to let it roll off our shoulders. The Hotel is on Rue Bergere,  in a wonderful location and walking distance to many great sites. For instance, Corcoran’s Irish Pub for a pint or a glass of French wine.  

After unpacking and getting settled in, we walked the 30 minutes up hill to Montmartre.  I was wishing I had my fitbit with me, would like to know how many steps I took that day.  Just when we thought we were there, is when the real climb would begin. As you’ll see in the pictures, there’s steps that take you to the very top, unless you do as we did and take the funicular, the cable car. 

The beautiful church, Sacre Coeur and the gorgeous view of the city is there to greet you.  There are lots of restaurants, pubs, artists painting, sketching and doing characterizations.  One of the best things about being in Europe, is being able to sit outside while having dinner.  The weather has been warm and sunny and the flowers are beautiful.  On our way back down, we stopped at Bella Italiano for spaghetti and yet another glass of French wine.

 

Our next day, we took the City Bus Tour (The Big Bus).  It was a great tour of Notre Dame, The Louvre, The Arch de Triumph, Champs - Elysees and the magnificent Eiffel Tower.  We ended the tour with ice cream at Isle St. Louis and a walk along the Seine.

Paris is a city with tremendous personality. Everything and everyone seems to be making a statement.

So joyful! So alive! The air is filled with romance.  A very inspired city.

It’s always hard to leave Paris, and I am grateful to have submitted once again to her splendor  

London

Our flights from Las Vegas to London Heathrow were very smooth and when we arrived we decided to try Uber to get to our hotel.  We were pleasantly surprised at the good value and how easy it was to use in Europe.

Our first full day in London was amazing.  On the recommendation of a friend, we went to “The Wallace Collection.”  There are 25 stunning galleries in this national museum, which include French 18^th century paintings, beautiful antique furniture and porcelain along with a world class armory.  The museum is free and manageable, and in no way overwhelming as many museums can be. This historic London mansion can be seen and enjoyed in a matter of a few hours.  






The Tube (London’s underground rail system) is a wonderful way to get around at a minimal cost and offers great flexibility.  After the museum, we took it to the Covent Garden area, the fabulous theater district.  There are so many great plays showing here, I’m sorry we’re not going to have time to go to one.



Our friends Dwight and Lillian Brown met us at the Hilton Kensington Hotel on our second evening in London.  They came earlier to spend a few days with Lillian’s son Jay who’s stationed in England with the Air Force.


























On Saturday we caught the On and Off bus tour which took us past many of London's main sites, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Harrods,  Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, and the Parliament buildings, just to name a few.  All along the bridge adjacent to the Parliament buildings were people paying respect with bouquets of flowers for the injured from last week's terrorist attack.

There is so much to see and with only two days here, the On and Off bus is a great way to see most of the sites, giving you a taste for what you may want to spend more time at next trip.  

At the end of the tour, there was a cruise on the River Thames and that was really the highlight, I would say of the whole trip.  The guide was  knowledgeable and very entertaining. We saw the “London Eye,” which is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is also known as the Millennium Wheel. It is almost 450 Ft. tall and when it was built in 1999, it was the tallest structure in the world. it is now surpassed by the “High Roller” in Las Vegas, at 550 ft.

The London Eye rotates very slowly allowing those who wish, to see a wonderful view of the city from high in the sky.

Just to the right of the “Eye” is the 95 story Shard which is not only the tallest building in London, but to date the largest structure in all of Europe. There are 95 floors in this glass structure and has an incredible observation deck on the 72^nd floor. The cruise ended at the Tower of London, which is an infamous historic castle.


It was a lot of fun these past couple of days in London but I have to say, I’m really looking forward to Sunday’s adventure. Going to Paris via the Chunnel. YIKES! More on that next post.