Christmas Vacation Part Deux

So we rode the Chunnel into Paris (it’s the train that goes under the Channel – it’s not as exciting as it sounds. You don’t even see the water before you go under it, it just feels like you’re in a tunnel, but nevertheless it was an experience).  We get to the metro station and we’re trying to figure out what trains we need to take, where we need to switch trains, and how to buy a ticket. NO ONE was helpful. NO ONE spoke English.  It was rough.  I kept saying I want my mom and John kept saying I want to go back to London.  So word to the wise – learn the basic French words if you go to Paris.   When we finally figured it out and made it to our hotel (they have Best Westerns in France!!) we were shocked by the size of not only our room, but the hotel in general. It was tiny. We had to basically ride on top of our suitcases to fit the two of us into the elevator.  Each floor had maybe 4 rooms. The tub and nozzles were located under the sink’s counters (I have pictures of it that I will post when we get home).  It was actually a really nice room, and ended up being all the space we needed…we just weren’t used to it.  Once again, it was an experience.  So for that night we quickly just went to all the hotspots just to get pictures  – The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel), Arc de Triumph, Champ de Elysee, Musee de Louvre (<--how’s that for French?!).  We got dinner at a cute French café and had a crepe for dessert. 

The next day we went to the Louvre again, but the line was outrageous and we really didn’t want to waste our only full day standing in line to see the Mona Lisa, so we just walked through the gardens at the Louvre, got more crepes of course (I got nutella and banana, and john got strawberry jam), toured Notre Dame, went up in the Eiffel Tower (I thought I was going to die it was so cold), went back to Champ de Elysee, stopped for dinner at another cute café, and went back to the Louvre after the gallery was closed. You were allowed to enter through the glass pyramid, which was probably more exciting than seeing the Mona Lisa and we just walked around in the underground mall there where we stumbled upon a McDonalds and the Apple store, so John felt like his day was complete after that. 

Before we left the next morning we got up early and went to the Musee d’Orsay. They have a ton of Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh paintings.  I thought John would hate it but he actually enjoyed it.  He said he liked the Van Gogh paintings because he felt like he could do just as good of a job.  We both loved the impressionistic paintings, especially Monet.  We really wanted to go to the L’Orangerie museum, but we got the days it was closed mixed up and ran out of time. 

I think we actually accomplished a lot in the small amount of time we were there.  But honestly, I would have been fine with just walking around. Everything there is GORGEOUS.  Your eyes really never stop being fascinated with the beautiful buildings.  There are some creepy and rude people there, but it was amazing.  We went to the same bakery twice to get the same pastries because they were SO good.  We both had a total of 3 crepes each (not all at once!!).  I’d love to go back in the spring or summer, just because I’m sure the flowers and sun would paint everything in a more beautiful light. 

So now we are in Innsbruck, Austria!  It has already been very interesting.  To leave you a cliff hanger, we went sledding today down a 3-4 mile run…had to take the bus back up the mountain.  Sledding in the Alps…awesome.

(Sidenote: When you travel with two people, picture taking is rough, it's either of one person, or self taken because asking foreigners to take pictures of you is just embarrassing and awkward sometimes)

Au revoir! 

John throwing up the WV sign in front of Notre Dame

The Louvre at night.  I never realized how BIG the Louvre actually is.

Arc de Triumph

Illegal picture of the inside of the Musee d'Orsay.  You're welcome.