Thursday, July 25 = Paris! I've been looking forward to this for a really long time. A reallllyy long time. We were up early to board the Thalys, a crazy fast high speed train (why don't we have these here?)
It was about two hours on the train. Some of our posse took naps but I was too excited. So I put Lotte's buttons on my bag.
... took some pics out of the window. It was tough because we were going SO FAST (peak speed 186 miles per hour). It was like you were in fast forward mode the entire time. I did get a couple of shots.
... I also watched the guys try to figure out the Paris map. Naturally, Ineke had it down. She's only been there a couple of times but home girl is always prepared. She held all of our tickets and all of our maps. Whenever we got off the subway in Paris ... we'd surrender our tickets to her so she could keep track of them.
We arrived. And, after pit stops, made our way to Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
We got a great view of Paris from up here too.
From there, we went toward the Champs de Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc, which everyone knows, was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon in 1806. Everyone has seen it in movies or on television at some point. But there's more to it than just the arc.
For one, the detailing on this thing is mind-boggling.
Le triomphe circa 1810, one of four main sculptures on the arc
On the inside ... you have artwork that honors important French generals.
Under the arc (actually kinda to the side) is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
Like Kennedy's grave, it has an eternal flame.
The fellas.
I wanted this randomly selected photog to take the picture vertically (duh) but she didn't.
Next it was the plaza de la Concordia where the Obelisco de Luxor is located.
This area ... the Plaza de la Concordia was where Madame Guillotine once stood.
It was Plaza de la Revolution back then.
The Luxor Obelisk.
It is 75 feet high and was once located at the entrance to the Luxor Temple in Egypt. It's has a twin and both are 3,300 years old and it's hieroglyphs praise Ramses II. It was given to France as a gift in 1829.
Then we went down the Champs Elysees.
"Il y a tout ce que vous voulez, Aux Champs-Élysées"
I had to frantically run down this world-renowned stretch of concrete after thinking that I left my cellphone on the sidewalk after I was trying to Tide stick a new stain on Tijl's shirt. (Ineke was totally impressed with the Tide stick).
The road leading to the "Petit Palace" ... one of Louis XVI's residences.
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel with the Sun King sitting atop it. Also, the entry to the Lourve
Outside the Louvre ... we didn't go in because the line was outta control
From there, it was over to the Pont de l'Archeveche (Archbishop's bridge) where all of the locks are found. It's also been called Lover's Bridge. This is a relatively new tradition with that started in 2000. They do it on structures in other places like Italy and Russia too.
The deal is - you bring a lock with a key, put it on the bridge and toss the key into the Seine. It's supposed to make your love last forever.
The bridge runs over the Seine ... the Seine! Boy, it's seen some sh*t.
And this is me putting the lock on the bridge.
SO MANY LOCKS.
Josh's only thought was - naturally - the whether or not the structural integrity of the bridge would be affected with all of this added weight.
From there, we went over to Notre Dame. We didn't go inside ... too crowded but it's enough just to look at it from the outside.
The rest of the day was spent trying to find the other big-name attractions on our list like the Napoleon's tomb and Père Lachaise Cemetery where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde (among others) are buried. Sadly, it was closed by the time we got there - boo.
We did get a lot of time at the Eiffel Tower though. We took a long rest on the lawn in front of it. It is so impressive. Photos don't even do it justice.
A shot inspired by Bobby Haven
As we were walking away, I was internally freaking out, worried that we weren't going to get a shot of the four of us together in front of it. But, low and behold, this girl stops me to ask if I would take a photo for her and I said "Sure, if you'll get one of me and my friends." Perfect trade.
It's a framer. My favorite pic of the week fo sho.
But look how short we look. Look at me. I barely come up to Tijl's shoulder.
After that, we waited to take the train back home to Antwerp. That was a good thing because with all the walking ... my ankle was PISSED. I mean it hurt and was swollen. In fact, I lost my "ankle" ... it was just a big cankle (calf meets foot, cut out the middle man). It was probably the worst it had been since the day after. Eitherway, I was so happy just to BE there. The city is very much alive.
We made our way to the north train station and through the neighborhoods surrounding it ... aka Little India.
Beautiful station
The kids decided to stop and grab a bite. Josh was thrilled to find a McDonald's comparable joint.
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