EUROPE PART 2:PARIS

Lets just start this off with a bang! The best picture of Cody and I...sleeping on the Chunnel. The train that takes you from London to Pari! Can I just say I LOVE PARIS! Don't get me wrong though. I absolutely loved London but there is a difference that is hard to explain. 1st of all Paris was warmer, and that always gets points in my book. It was obviously more then that though. The city is just so amazing. Breathtaking at some points. Paris is just like you see it in the movies, the small cafes on the corners, the creperies, the amazing shopping, etc. We just loved it!

We had to wake up early.

Some of you know Cody does not do well with early mornings!

Harv and Lara surprisingly awake!

We were so excited to be in Paris we didn't waist any time. We headed straight to the Opera Ganier. This is the place that inspired the Phantom of the Opera. You know the huge chandelier that comes down into the audience at the beginning of the play? The real one is here. This place was really pretty amazing though. They talked about how back in the day when people would come here to see the plays they would come 3 or 4 times a week dressed to the 9's with there huge dresses and jewelry that was so expensive that they kept it in a safe around the corner from the opera house. Pretty cool!

In front of the Opera house.

Mascarade! The stairs that were mimicked in the play.

I am a dork!

Later that night we headed to the Arc de Triomphe where we climbed 248 stairs to the top. I didn't realize how big this was. I always heard that things in Paris were a lot smaller then you would think.

The view of the Eiffel Tower was amazing! Our first real look at it. I have been wanting a picture of Eiffel Tower in my house for a long time now but thought I needed to actually see it before I got one and even better taking my own picture of my own. So needless to say I went nuts.

Here is just one of the many!

We started the next day off with the Louvre. Where we found that you don't pronounce it "Loove" its Loove ray" Weird. Good to know I guess. I will probably continue to call it what I was calling it before. I can't do the fancy throaty R's that they do anyway.

In front of the Pyramid.

This is actually where you enter. You go under ground and then connect with the surrounding buildings. Apparently they just built this part a few years ago and it was a big controversy because it obviously doesn't fit the rest of the architecture. The four of us took a vote. Harv and Lara liked it. Cody and I did not. It just didn't fit.

Some of the paintings are huge!

Saw the Mona Lisa. You can't even get close to it. We were as close as we could get and it is protected by glass. It was cool to see it in person though!

After the Louvre we walked down the street to the Musee d'Orsay. We couldn't take pictures inside but we saw paintings from Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, and Renior. We saw Van Goghs self portrait. I starred at it for a good 10 minutes. So much better in person then in books. It really blew my mind.

After the Musee we grabbed a cab down to the Notre Dame. We got there just a few minutes before it closed so we couldn't go to the top.

The next day we headed to the Palace of Versailles. I still can't believe how huge this palace was. I guess its called a palace for a reason.

In front of the chapel inside the palace.

The Hall of Mirrors.

After Versailles we sent to a place called Montmartre where we walked around at some shops and went to the Sacre Coeur.

Harv and Lara trying to look like Parisains!

Then it was time to head to the Moulin Rouge! Don't worry we didn't see a show but some of the peeps in our group wanted to. I won't name names. I was hoping to run into Ewan McGregor or Nicole Kidman. Didn't happen. Hmmm.

That night we went on a dinner cruise on the Siene river. Fun, but the food was not very good.

Then since we were right by the Eiffel Tower we thought we would go check it out. Then it started to rain. Then then next thing I know I am hiking to up about a million stairs in 3 1/2 inch heels. What? Not sure how that happened. If I would have known I would have reconsidered my choice of shoes.

Us walking down. Excited that we made it!

My heels. Yikes!

Lookin a bit beat up from the rain and the hike!

The last day we left open to hang out and to do some shopping.

Us in front of our flat.

We ate about a million crepes a day but this is the only picture we got of them.

Lara and her nutella and banana crepe!

We wanted to get some pictures of the Eiffel tower in the day time. So we went back and a photo shoot. We are dorks! That is all I can say!

Not a normal picture for us. But hey we were in the city of love!

Not sure waht we are doing...

Like I said...dorks!

Our last night in the Paris. We were not ready to go home.

Thanks Paris! Hopefully we'll make it back someday. We enjoyed your beauty, your history, your shopping, and above all...your pastries!