Paris!!!

With a 40th birthday (that I was somewhat panicking about) last fall, I figured it was a good excuse to do something special and what could be more special than a trip to Paris!  Thanks to a scheduled work trip to Ireland in September, tagging on a side trip to Paris made a lot of sense.  I was traveling to Ireland with Yelena and convinced her to join me in this Paris adventure.  Then amazingly our friends Julia and Celeste decided to join us there as well rounding out the perfect foursome!

Yelena and I finally met up with the girls around 10 PM and of course we couldn't just sit around the apartment when there was an amazing city waiting outside.  We ended up taking a walk and eating crepes.  And stumbling upon the Statue of Liberty!

Yelena and her selfie stick were in full force.

The selfie stick again in action.

On our first full day, we were ready to hit the museums (after several hits of coffee).  First stop was the Musee d'Orsay.  The Musee d'Orsay is a railway station that has been converted into a museum.  I think my favorite site at this museum was the view of the city through the museum's clock.

There were many many sculptures to be seen and us, not especially being art aficionados, had a little fun with them...here's Yelena

Celeste

And Julia

I have to assume most museums were happy to see us leave.  We were shushed more than once.

As little as I know about art, I did enjoy seeing the collection of Van Gogh pieces.  There were also a number of Monets and Renoirs.

After a morning in the Musee d'Orsay we visited the Rodin Museums and got to see "The Thinker".

After a lunch break, the museum tour proceeded to Napoleon's tomb which had amazing fresco's throughout.

Yelena "loves" Napoleon so she had a period of mourning here for her man...

...until we realized that this was the actual Napoleon's tomb.  She mourned at the tomb of a relative.  Same sentiment applies.

Napoleon's tomb was followed by a trip to the Luxembourg gardens.  The gardens contain a palace and numerous pools and fountains.  I think we were just happy to sit down for a little bit.

After a quick rest up at the apartment, it was time for the Louvre.

By this point in the day, we had seen so many strange sculptures, it was time to imitate some of our own.

Celeste was most interested in trying to sneak through nooks and crannies that were forbidden. If there hadn't been so many soldiers walking around with machine guns, I'm sure she would have gotten into a few places.

I had to elbow my way through a Japanese tourist group but we got to see the Mona Lisa.  The amount of security surrounding this picture can't be overstated.

It was dark by the time we finished up in the Louvre and Paris is amazing at night.  Here's a shot of the ferris wheel from the Louvre grounds.

Celeste and Julia taking a break along the Seine.

Day 2 included a visit to a flea market followed by a trip to Versailles.  Versailles was the seat of French political power from 1682 until 1789.  Yes, this palace is HUGE!

We toured the palace but unfortunately didn't get to see a lot of the gardens as they were closed for a fireworks show (that we weren't committed to spending another 40 Euro to attend).  We did get to see some of the gardens further down from the palace and meet up with some relatives of Julia's husband who live outside of Paris.

We decided to walk around the river area later in the evening and discovered this amazing view when we got off of the metro!  To say the Eiffel tower is impressive may be the biggest understatement ever.



Time to walk to the tower...which way do we go...


By the tower, there were guys selling beer and champagne everywhere!  We talked this guy down from 40 Euro to 10.  That warranted whipping out the selfie stick.

Celeste, Eiffel tower, champagne, and legs.

Champagne and tower selfie.

Did I mention that this thing is amazing?  Be happy I didn't share all of the hundreds of pictures I took of it.


No trip to the Eiffel tower is complete without some ice cream, though Julia's had a little trouble.

Mine, however, was perfect!

Day 3 started the best way possible...food tour!  The amazing food in Paris isn't a myth.  It's incredible.  We had a great time eating croissants, meats, and cheeses from a local market.  We even got to enjoy some oysters!

The food tour wrapped up with some wine tasting.

The marketplace was beautiful.

Even the vegetables looked amazing!

You never know what you're going to find in a bathroom though...

Lunch was followed by a visit to Notre Dame cathedral.  It was Sunday of course.  Construction of this church began in the 1100s and was completed over hundreds of years.  We did not meet Quasimodo.

Nearby Sainte-Chapelle is smaller but has the most insane stained glass I have ever seen.

We took a river tour of the Seine later that evening and got to see many of the famous sites from a different viewpoint.

We weren't ready to head back to the apartment after the river cruise so we went to Montmartre and walked up to Sacre-Couer.  Since it was later in the evening, it was closed but seeing it lit up was incredible.

Day 4...being 4 females, we of course had to do some shopping.  Yelena stole the shirt, and corresponding torso, off a mannequin.

Obama seems to be rather popular overseas...

We found the fanciest Abercrombie & Fitch store ever.  There was actually a hedge lined pathway to get to the entrance.

We visited the Arc de Triomphe which involved a lot of stairs.

Did I mention the crazy stairs?

It was totally worth the hike to the top for the view though.

Yelena and Celeste at the top of the Arc.

The girls on Champs-Elysees with the Arc in the background.

Another group selfie, this one from the top of the shopping center.

No trip to Paris is complete without an arm wrestling competition.  Well, at least not for us.  The big championship match ended up being Yelena and I going head to head.  This was serious business.

Not too serious though since Yelena and Celeste hugged it out after Yelena's win over Celeste.

We took the Paris metro daily everywhere we went.  Thanks to Julia managing the app, we managed to not get too lost and only had to get off and go the other direction a few times.  Despite perpetually smelling like urine, it was a great way to get around the city.

Checking my phone after the trip, we averaged walking about 10 miles per day which helped to work off all of the amazing food we ate.

The 4 of us have joked since then about who goes to Paris to become great friends but we did.  I can't imagine taking this trip with three better friends and traveling companions.  We had so many laughs and such a great time.  Trip of a lifetime for sure.