Saturday, July 21, 2012

National Lampoon's Family Vacation - Bonvouloir Style: Day 1

Day 1: Paris


Sacré Coeur
After coming home from Sweden, I repacked my bags and headed to the airport the next morning to pick up my parents and Todd. I arrived at the airport around 7:15 or so and the first thing my parents say to me when I get there is, "oh thank god you are here because we have been waiting for 40 min and everyone is miserable." Nice to see you too! Once we said our hellos we jumped on the RER and headed to our hotel to drop off our luggage. We were staying near Sacré Coeur so we decided to make that the first stop of the day. Because it was so early, there was no one there and it was so nice. Usually there are tons of people and it can get annoying. We made our way through Montmartre and down to Moulin Rouge and then stopped to have some breakfast/lunch. Afterwards we got back on the metro and headed over to the Bastille. From there we wandered down rue du Rivoli, passed through Victor Hugo's housing quarters, and walked by the Hôtel de Ville (state house) before reaching Notre Dame. 

Victor Hugo's Quarters

Hôtel de Ville

Inside Notre Dame

Notre Dame


Notre Dame from the Lock Bridge
From there we went to get Berthillon ice cream on the island behind Notre Dame. I had a scoop of cantaloupe and black current – very delicious. Todd fell asleep while we were waiting to get ice cream because he was so tired. It was pretty funny. From there we headed on to the Louvre. We couldn't go in because it was Tuesday and it just so happens that it is closed on Tuesdays. Everyone was pretty tired and kinda done with walking around so we took the metro back to our hotel, checked in, and went up to our room. We had a nice view of Sacré Coeur from our window, so I opened it up and rested my hand on the railing to find out that they had just painted it. I was then covered in black paint which didn't wash off with soap and water. I had to go down to reception and wait for the painter to come with paint thinner to get it off. After a little nap, we were up and ready to go again. We were in search of a place to eat dinner and after what felt like forever we agreed upon an Irish pub. I must say, the food was pretty delicious. Todd went back to the hotel to sleep while my parents and I walked through some of the art galleries of Montmartre and then sat down and enjoyed a glass of wine.

Bertillon Ice Cream

Gothic Architectural Metro Sign

View from Our Hotel

No comments:

Post a Comment