Tippa's European Adventures: Trip of a Lifetime! (Part 2)

My very first trip to Paris was back in March 2004 and I was there for 4 weeks for work. I took many (MANY) pictures, but I sent this picture (below) back home. I just thought it was a great shot of the Place de la Concorde fountain and the Eiffel Tower in the background. When I talked to my parents later that night, Mom told me Daddy had pulled out a postcard that my grandfather had sent home from Paris when he was stationed in France during World War II. The postcard was of this exact shot. Cool, uh?!!

I am not sure exactly how long my grandfather spent in France during WWII, but it was long enough to meet, date, and almost marry a French lady. Not sure why they broke up (maybe something to do with distance). Anyway, he spoke a lot about his time in France and I believe that was the main reason my Daddy wanted to visit Paris.

It was funny to see my family's reaction to all things French when we arrived in Paris. One nice aspect about London is the language (English); however, in Paris, things are a little different!! It was time to pull out the French (the little that I have anyway)!

So, here we are...in Paris, France! We were exhausted (due to lack of sleep, tired from walking all over London, etc). On our first full day, we made it over to Notre Dame and stopped for a little breakfast at a sidewalk cafe. Angie opted for no breakfast food and went right on to lunch and ordered poulet and pomme frites (chicken and fries)! There is an inside joke between us and she had been talking about having poulet and pomme frites in Paris for months! Also, Angie is a lover of ice.....and well, in Europe, ice does not come freely. You may (and I mean MAY) get 1 cube of ice, if you are lucky, and have asked for it in advance. While at this cafe, we asked for ice...and they brought her a bucket! We all laughed really hard! It was a great way to start the day! After brunch, we decided another bus tour sounded great! (Can you tell we were tired and wanted someone to drive us around to the sites!!??) It turned out to be the best decision we made the entire trip! I have never been a fan of bus tours...always thought they were too touristy...well, sometimes, it is just smart and worth every penny!

We hit all things Parisian....Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, the river Seine, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Invalides, Statues of Liberty, Opéra Garnier, Notre Dame de Paris, Musée d'Orsay, just to name a few!

Here are some pics!

Arc de Triomphe

Daddy's first view of the Eiffel Tower...

Being silly...

Statue of Liberty!! Confused? Yes, this is a replica of the one France gave the United States to mark the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence.

As a must do when visiting Paris, is to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower! So, of course, we did it! As I mentioned in the London posting, Mom and Angie are deathly afraid of heights. Mom has been to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower on a previous trip, so she opted to sit this one out. So Daddy, Angie, and I jumped in line (and a LONG line it was) and headed up!

In the elevator. Angie was hiding somewhere and not looking out!

We made it!

Views from the top! Arc de Triomphe in the background.

Love how the streets form a "V"...

Place du Trocadero

As I mentioned before, my family LOVES Disneyworld...so when this close to the European version....I had to take them to check it out! (Disneyland Resort Paris)

Right before this picture was taken, I dropped my camera (seriously, it was not a hard fall). It stopped working and I about freaked out. It managed (thank you God) to work on and off throughout the rest of the day so we were able to capture most shots of the day. We bought a disposable camera and used it as a back up. If you know me well, you know my LOVE of photography and pictures...and my camera dying in the middle of a Trip of a Lifetime, was NOT a good thing.

Space Mountain, our favorite ride at Disneyworld. However, Euro Disney (or I think it has been renamed to Disneyland Paris) has come up with a newer version....Space Mountain, Mission 2! And it is awesome!