My Journey as a Johnson Girl...formerly a Fedota Doll: Paris Weekend 2nd Time Around!

We loved Paris so much the first time…why not go back two weeks later! How fun is that!?!?! Well, it wasn’t really OUR choice to return…but it was a wonderful opportunity to see the city again…and this time a little slower and more on our terms (as we’d already done the “big” things). This time we could take it in. At our speed.

Getting There:

I was offered the chance to get to Paris with Joe (Dave’s boss’s husband) and his two girls (age 4 and 6). Since Dave and I had looked at flights and were thinking this 2^nd trip to Paris may be really expensive (since we were booking tickets so last minute) we really weren’t too sure what to do. So when his boss offered the ferry idea we talked it over and figured it would be an experience…so why not!? Since the journey in the car was beginning south of Cheltenham I was to take the 5:58 train south for about an hour where Joe and the girls would pick me up and we’d be on our way. Let me tell you…that…was…early! Especially since I wanted to shower and straighten my hair before I took the train! But I managed to do it all…and was ready for the cab to pick me up (and take me to the train) by 5:30! YEAH!!! I was slightly nervous as Kath and I had gone out the night before and I got to bed a little later than I had planned! Oops!

Anyways…I had looked at a map…but didn’t know much about the ferry…or where it left from. Lucky for me, Joe actually talked me through the whole journey as soon as I was in the car. It was about 3 hours to Dover (have you heard of the White Cliffs of Dover? They really are white…it’s actually chalk…and as the chalk wears away it turns adds this beautiful smokey-ness to the water!). Then the ferry ride is about 2 hours (remember…2 small children…the adventure has now been 5 hours). From Caili, France (where the ferry docks) it’s another 3 hours on to Paris! It was a long day! Let me tell you! Wow! The girls were great! Granted they slept for a few hours in the morning and were playing in the playroom on the ferry…but they really were good for being on the “go” for the better part of 8 hours! Wowzers! It was an early to bed night for this tuckered traveler!

Didn't think I'd be spending the summer in jeans and a sweatshirt!

My Day Alone:

Seeing as Dave had to work on Friday I was left to my own explorations for the day. I was glad we had been to the city before because it gave me great confidence to go out on my own for the day! And did I have fun! I really spent the ENTIRE day at Notre Dame! I toured the inside of the church and since there was no line and a wonderful choir performing I spent a few hours just sitting inside listening and taking it all in. I lit a few prayer candles for family members. I took a few pictures…trying my hand at being a little more artistic (clearly not a comfort of mine…bummer!). In the afternoon I decided to take a tour of the bell towers. The wait was a little over 2 hours but I thought it would be worth it. It’s about 400 steps and you are able to climb one tower, then walk between the two, and finish climbing the second. I wish it had been a better day…kinda cloudy and gloomy but I still managed to get a bunch of good pictures. There was a family from the states in line near me and I heard the mom comment that she was SURE as soon as they got to the top the clouds would part and the sun would shine. Now, I can’t say she was 100% right…but when we were all up and the very top the sun did make a short appearance! Kinda like a sign that I was meant to be up there that day! I had a lot of fun looking at all the carvings and gargoyles. My favorite one is nicknamed “The Bored Gargoyle” (see photo). There were some scary ones…but for the most part they were really cool!

Birds along the Seine

trying to be creative in the gardens behind Notre Dame

Yup...the flying buttresses! :) HEHE!

Thought this was really neat...with the cross,
windows and prayer candles.

The guy in the middle is holding his own head! Hehe!

My FAVORITE gargoyle...he's known as the "bored gargoyle".

I told you it wasn't the best weather!

Watching over the city and protecting the church...just doing his job!

One of the bells in the bell tower of Notre Dame!

We all know this famous bell ringer!
But apparently Dave doesn't think he really existed! Hmmm....

Self portrait! Can you see the Eiffel Tower????
Here's a view of the hair...I told you it was a little blond! :)

Random tourist took the pic...didn't understand the concept
of getting the whole church in the photo though! Oh well!
We all get the idea! :)

The guy that took this one told me he wanted to teach english classes...
then asked me out for coffee...ummm...I'll go with
"thanks for taking the photo...but no...sorry!"

He was too cute not to get a photo of!

Another lock bridge...this time with Norte Dame in the back!
Kinda creative...I think...

Cool art work in a tunnel I found...

LET ME IN!!!!!

I walked back to the hotel around 5 but hadn’t yet heard from Dave so I grabbed my nook and headed to a café around the corner…facing the Bastille. The sun was out at this point and, dare I say it, it was kinda hot at times when the sun was out! I read for a while with a glass of wine, met up with Dave and headed out for drinks with his boss.

The Bastille

The cafe I read at...I know you were all wondering what it looked like!

Dave and I standing on the central point of Paris!
I had to take this shot...
Funny though...as soon as we stepped off it a tour
group of like 100 Asian high schoolers took the same pic!
I'm a thinker! :) (And Dave's a good sport!)

Too cute to not post!

Self portrait on the way to dinner

night shot

Our Weekend:

Although Dave had said it wasn’t really at the top of his list (or really on the list at all), on Saturday we decided to deal with the crowds and climb the Eiffel Tower. We probably would have done the bell towers of Notre Dame but I’d done those without realizing it was something he would have liked to do. I really felt bad about it…but was willing to go again. We agreed that if the line were SUPER long we wouldn’t do it. As we stood in a line that wasn’t as bad as we thought (although we couldn’t really tell where it started from) I suggested that Dave investigate how long it really was. He came back saying that the line to walk up the first two levels was non-existent…so a-walking we went! Up! Up! Up! I noticed that there were numbers every 10-20 steps so you really knew how far you were…which helped it not seem so high. Although it wasn’t the height that was an issue…I was a little nervous my legs wouldn’t been too happy with me seeing as I had done a ton of walking/climbing the day before…but I trucked right up to the top! We seemed to be at the right place at the right time. And we listened to Rick (Steves)…we started at the top and worked our way down…HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! The lines to go up on our way down were CrAzY!!!!!!! The views were fantastic! It was a beautiful day…cool in the shade, warm in the sun, etc.

This is the sister to New York's Statue!
She's facing New York! :)
She's the little one! :)

Arch de Triumph!

Notre Dame

He had to point to England! :)
There were flags to hundreds of different countries
around the view from the top...if you found the country flag
and looked out the window...you'd be looking in the
direction of that country.

Can you see us??? This was the only US flag...we had
to settle for LA.

Sacre Coeur

G.Q.

We ended up having lunch on the lower level! I had my first Pizza Cone…yup! You read it here first folks! A pizza cone…think about it! A cone made out of pizza crust and a filling of cheese and tomato sauce…although the beginning was a little tough…I was slightly impressed with the novelty of it and enjoyed it as best I could!

PIZZA CONE

On Sunday we brought our nook books to the gardens at the Louvre and relaxed for a few hours. It was glorious! They have a ton of chairs scattered around the gardens that you can just pop a squat in and watch the world go by! It was sunny and warm and fantastic people watching! Dave’s currently reading Crime and Punishment while I’m working on Little Women. You’d think we were back in high school reading the classics! We had a fun time watching a homeless man on the lawn (where you aren’t supposed to be) chat it up with the police…it took like 20 minutes of talking before they called an ambulance to come remove the man…we’re not sure what was wrong with him…he was kinda just sleepin on the lawn...but who knows!

During the summer in Paris they set up a fair type area near the gardens with kiddie rides, food vendors, and a Ferris wheel. Dave and I decided to see what Paris looked like from the sky (again…apparently the bell tower of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower weren’t enough!) and paid the absurd amount they were asking for a ride on the Ferris wheel. This surprised me because when I first mentioned I wanted to ride in (on?) the London Eye Dave didn’t sound too excited about it...but he was a great sport and we had a fun time on the Ferris wheel. We actually got to go around 3 times!

The Louvre

Eiffel Tower

Sacre Coeur

I really wanted to take a boat tour on the Seine…Dave had taken one with his parents in April but I hadn’t yet experienced the city from the river. Again, he was a great sport and we took a tour. It was about an hour and a half in the sun (and we were both a little sunburned…I guess we forgot the sunscreen at the gardens!). We got great pictures of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame and learned a lot of Paris history.

Who said Riverfront property on the Seine was expensive?!?!

see the sunburn already?!?!

with the shades on

no shades...kinda squinty in the sun!

Since it was a really nice night we decided to again try our luck up the hill in the Montmartre area. We arrived at the top of the hill and were able to really see the skyline of the city…it’s hard to see the Eiffel Tower from where we were…it was behind some trees…but we were able to pick out some of the other great monuments. We sat on the step a few yards in front of Sacre Coeur and listened to a musician playing a lot of American songs. Then there was this man who walked up with a soccer ball spinning on what looked like a golf tee that he held in his mouth. That was impressive…until he began to climb a light post (like a monkey! Talk about upper arm strength!!!) with the ball still spinning above his mouth. THEN he began to hold on with one hand, or only his legs, or just one leg, or his arms with his body out perpendicular to the post, etc….with the ball still going strong! He got quite an applause. So he one-upped himself and began to juggle to ball on his foot or head or knee…while still up on the light post. It was pretty cool!

Dave and I walked around for a while looking at paintings and eating small bites from food vendors. BRING ON THE crepes! I could eat them all day…although I guarantee it would make me ill! We found a few art stores and took our time looking through the paintings and decided to purchase two smaller paintings! We are slowly but surely adding to our little collection. After it was dark we headed to the Moulin Rouge. Being a dancer I could not pass up the opportunity to at least SEE the venue…even though we didn’t have time to take in a show (this time) I still wanted to see the red windmill! What a sight!

Going Home:

On Monday it was time to return to England. I met Joe and the girls early (well…it was 8:15…so really not THAT early), we said our good byes and were off to the ferry. We got to the docks early due to no traffic and faster than I was used to speed limits. We called ahead but were about 30 minutes too late for the earlier ferry so we spent a little time at the beach. It was a beautiful day so the water felt fantastic! Granted we were in jeans and t-shirts…it was fun to be able to put my feet in water! For being as much as a water baby as I am, it has been an adjustment this summer not being able to play on the lake or go to the pool as regularly as I was used to (Dave feels this too!). We made it onto the ferry and found our way to some food, as this time there really wasn’t a playroom for children it was nice to have to get lunch to keep them occupied. Then we all played I-spy for about an hour. We played it differently than I was used to…but I caught on pretty quick. Instead of announcing a color, we played that you stated the first letter in the word. EX: I-spy with my own eye, something that begins with an “W”. The answer being water. Three hours later Joe dropped me back off at the train station and within an hour I was back at the flat in Cheltenham. And I have to say…I was missin’ Paris!