Paris

 We had a great time in Paris did a lot while we were there!
 Warning:  this is a very long blog!

Day 1:

We met up with Alex, Amy, Malcolm, Leo, and Milo at the Luxembourg Gardens which were a block from our hotel.

Then we went to Saint-Sulpice church, where the Meridian Line was featured in the Da Vinci Code.

After walking around for hours and many miles later we decided to go back to the hotel and take a short nap.

Napped and refreshed we met up with Alex and the family and walked down to the Montparnasse.  The Montparnasse is familiar landmark in Paris that is 59 stories tall and is visible all over Paris (which is good when you are lost and trying to find your way back to the hotel in the dark :).  That night we had Pizza for dinner and then headed to bed.  (pictures of Montparnasse to come when Mom sends me her photos)

Day 2:

We met Alex & Leo, got on the subway and headed to Montmartre.  Unfortunately we were 10 minutes late and missed the walking tour.  So, Alex led the way up to Montmartre and showed us around.  Montmartre is a hill, in which the district was named after that the steeples of the Basilique de Sacre can been seen from most of Paris.  Many famous artist had studios in Montmartre: Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, and many others that I have never heard of.

After touring the Basilique de Sacre we got on a trolley and toured Montmartre and the surrrounding areas, including the Red Light District.

Before heading to the hotel Bryan and I made a detour to look for someplace selling Donar Kebabs! He had been craving them since we got on the plane to go to Paris.  They are kind of like gyros, but a little different.

After more hours of walking around Paris we headed back to the hotel and got ready for our night out at the Moulin-Rouge cabaret show and a stroll down the streets of the Red Light District of Paris.  One of the names of the 'dance club's was the Sexodrome!

Day 3:

We bought 2 day tickets to ride the Paris City bus tour which pretty much takes you all over Paris and you can get off and back on at many stops along the way.  We attempted to go to the Louvre, but the line was way to long so we decided we would do it on Day 4 (Tuesday). We rode around some more saw pretty much all of Paris and then went to Notre Dame, ate lunch, and then got back on the bus. We got off the bus again at the Arc de Triomphe on the tip of the Champs-elysees which is in line with the Arc du Carrousel and the Arche de la Defense.  And, I finally had my first chocolate croissant.

Day 4:

We woke up to rain! So, it was a very very cold and wet day! We planned on getting up early and beating the crowds at The Louvre, so we headed out at around 8:30 to get in line before it opened at 9:00am.  We got there with plenty of time to spare and there was no line at all! We thought because it was raining and it was early.  But, we soon found out there was no line because the Museum was closed on Tuesdays! So, we decided to have breakfast and make new plans for the day. We asked the water if the Eiffel tower was closed on Tuesdays too and he said that it was.  We thought that was weird, but we went along with it and decided to go to the nearest hotel and catch a cab back to our hotel.  The concierge there said the Eiffel tower never closes and didn't know why the water told us that.  So, we got a cab and headed to the eiffel tower! But, once we got there it was still raining and very foggy and we could barely see half of the tower, which would make going to the top pretty pointless. We then told the cabby to take us to the Pompidu Museum instead.  He took us there and dropped us off.  Once again no lines because it was closed too on Tuesdays! Would have been nice if Alex and Amy would have told us that!

The rain had let up so Mom and I decided to just walk around....Mike didn't like that idea so he decided he was going to get a cab and go back to the hotel, because he didn't want to "roam around Paris".  Which was fine with us we would do our own thing, so the boys took off looking for a cab while Mom and I looked for places to shop.  But, for some reason they didn't get into a cab and decided to follow us around. :)

We were close to the city boat tours which were included in our 2 day pass so we decided to take a river boat tour and see the sites.  It was a long tour that sheltered us from the rain, but also very very long and I fell asleep a couple time...woops!  But, the tour made it's way to the Eiffel tour which had came  out of the fog so we got off and preceded to start our wait in line.  I am not a very patient person and this was a killer wait! Lines after Lines! 2 hours later we were finally at the top of the Eiffel tour and the view was fantastic! That night Alex took us to an Argentinean Steak house and we had some great steaks, which was a nice break from the french food!

Day 5:

Bryan and I took a half day trip to the Palace of Versailles.  After we got back to Paris we decided to walk to The Louvre.  The line was not that bad and we managed to get into the museum in 30 minutes!  The museum is huge and there was no way we could see everything, but we did manage to see the Mona Lisa and walked around other areas a little bit and then started our walk back to the hotel.  2 1/2 hours later we arrived back at hotel, we made it back in time to change and head out to dinner to the Pompidu with Alex and Amy.

Day 6 (New Years Eve):

Bryan, Mom, and I went to Normandy for the day.  It was an experience that we will never forget. Utah beach is still covered with craters that were caused by the bombings and still have the bunkers that were built by the Germans.  We also went to the memorial which was incredible.

We also switched hotels and now were staying at the Lutetia, which was the headquarters for the Gestapos.  We got ready for a night out and headed out to eat and back to the hotel for drinks and to watch the fireworks, which was kind of a let down compared to how America celebrates the new year.

Luxembourg Gardens

Montmartre

The Donar Kebab

On the bus tour (it was so cold!)

Palace of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors

The original Moulin Rouge windmill

Mom & Mike in front of Notre Dame

Craters on Utah Beach caused by the bombings on D-Day

Les Braves, memorial for the fallen soldiers

Cemetery

View from our hotel on New Years Eve

New Years Eve, the view is foggy but you can see the beacon at the top of the Eiffel tower.

Copy and paste the links below for more pictures of our vacation:
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