PARIS! PARIS!!! PARIS!!!! (Saturday, May 31st - Monday, June 3rd)

What a busy day we've had today.  After breakfast this morning with Michele and Francine we drove into Paris.  When we reached the city we decided to stop by our hotel first and drop off our baggage before we turned in our rental car.  What our GPS didn't know was that since September 11, 2011 the streets adjacent to the U.S. Embassy have been closed to vehicular traffic.  Since our hotel was on the corner of the street where the embassy is located, this was a problem.  So, we had quite a time finding it.  However, after a lot of persistence we managed to arrive at the Sofitel Paris, our home for the next few days.  We were about a block from the Place de la Corcorde, so it's a great location.  Our room was a bit on the small side and our balcony overlooked the street but the hotel was absolutely beautiful.  We decided to splurge on our hotel in Paris and go cheap the rest of the time :).  Luckily, the weather improved here and it was quite nice.  A little bit warm, but very nice.

We spent a couple of hours this afternoon reorganizing our suitcases and decided to send another bag home by FedEx.  We'll be taking the train to London and want to have a minimum of suitcases to tote.  That means doing laundry in the sink each night :(  However, it's worth it when we don't have to carry around too many heavy suitcases.

I'm excited because tomorrow morning I can say "we'll be back in the U.S. this month!!!!  This world journey has been a trip of a lifetime but we are pretty exhausted after six months of traveling and are ready to be back in the good ole USofA.  There truly is no place like home!!!  Tonight after dinner we'll take a walk into the plaza and watch the Eiffel Tower as it is illuminated and the lights begin to twinkle.  Can't wait.  I know it will be beautiful.  Paris really is the most beautiful city of lights.

We woke up early this morning to get an early start on our sightseeing day in Paris  It's been a few years since we've been here and I had forgotten how absolutely breathtaking this city is at all times of the day.  Everywhere we look there is magnificent beauty, both natural and man made.  Since we turned in our rental car when we arrived, we walked through the city today.  We bought the Paris Pass so we had admission, without lines, to most of the major sites  We went into one very strange "museum" which was a combination of mirrors, lights, moving images and wax figures  It was very unique but not exactly our cup of tea so we moved through fairly quickly and went on our way  We spent some time window shopping at the very high end stores.  Can't believe much people can pay  for clothes, shoes and handbags.  Bob is thrilled that I prefer jeans, t-shirts and tennis shoes!!

In the late afternoon we returned to our hotel for a brief rest and to get ready for our amazing dinner on the Eiffel Tower  Oh my goodness, what an elegant and fabulous experience.  We had a perfect window table overlooking the river, Trocadero, and the carousel.  The food was incredible.  Everything from lobster bisque to chocolate cake with sort sort of alcoholic sauce, and wine - extraordinary!!!!  After dinner we returned to the hotel and put on more comfortable clothes and shoes.  Then, later that evening we walked back to the Place de la Concorde to watch the lights of the city illuminate the Eiffel Tower, bridges, and city streets.  It was such a breathtaking sight.  At exactly 10:00p.m. the lights came on and within a couple of minutes all of the lights on the Eiffel Tower began to twinkle.  Even now, as I write this note, I get chills.  Absolutely beautiful!!!!  I feel like I'm in the middle of a Disney light parade.  Everything looked perfectly choreographed.  I LOVE IT HERE!!!!

The next morning we got up early and set out to take a cruise on the beautiful river Seine.  Soooo gorgeous.  We floated under gracefully arched bridges, houses with magnificent gables, and beautiful old brick buildings.  This is a magnificent city from every angle.  We were blessed with incredibly beautiful weather for our cruise.  After a lovely morning on the river we traveled across town to tour the chocolate factory!!!  As soon as we walked in the staff invited us to taste the chocolate.Wow!! I was in heaven.  We walked through the museum learning about how chocolate is grown, harvested, processed into various products and distributed.  Afterward there was a chocolate making demonstration with, you guessed it, more tasting.  Yay!!!  Happy days are definitely here!!! 

After we waddled out of the chocolate factory we visited the Louvre Museum.  We hadn't been there in years so we were in for a shock.  The crowds were unbelievable.  Last time we were there it was not at all busy.  In fact, we were the only people viewing the Mona Lisa painting.  This time we had to battle the crowds and elbow our way to see the painting.  The museum is HUGE and the entire place was filled with thousands of people.  In fact, as we exited a fellow asked us if he could buy our ticket since the museum was sold out for the entire day and they weren't selling any more tickets!!!  Just remarkable.  Also, it was tremendously hot in the museum.  If there was air conditioning it wasn't working very well with all of the people.  Everyone was walking around fanning themselves.  Not my favorite conditions - lots of people and high heat!! 

After our visit to the museum we walked back to our hotel and started packing our belongings for our move tomorrow to London, England to begin our tour of Great Britain. We had one last evening to enjoy the city lights but then we had to leave.  Really hard to leave this beautiful city.  It truly is a remarkable place.  I have decided that since our house was built in the French Country style I'm going home and "French" it up a bit by adding shutters, lace curtains, metal railing for the balconies with flowers hanging over the edge, and changing the house color.  The French have a beautiful sense of design and I hope to return in the not too distant future.