Paris

Ok....

I'm so sorry I've made you all wait so long!  I'm just helping y'all with your patience :)

When we found out that we would be able to go to Paris on this trip it took a long time to decide how we were to get to Paris prior to leaving.  The port the ship was to stop was La Havre, which is the closest port to Paris.  We looked into a car rental and were quickly dissuaded from that idea.  The next option was to catch the train in La Havre and ride  two hours into Paris, but that was a little bit expensive and we weren't quite confident with that option either.  The last option was to pay a fairly hefty price to ride a chartered bus through one of the ships shore excursions.  We decided that for us this would be the best choice, even though we are usually completely opposed to using the ships excursions.

We left the ship at 9 am on a double-decker charted bus headed for Paris.  It was a fairly uneventful ride with the exception that the driver decided to stop at a convenience store just a few miles from downtown Paris!  You can imagine a double-decker bus that is full of people all wanting coffee and a water closet at the same time!  I had the opportunity to sit and admire that French convenience store for an hour.  I was so glad when the bus started to roll again!

In Paris the bus dropped us off at the Eiffel Tower and we were told to meet the bus back at the tower at 4:00 sharp.  I'll have to tell you that we really didn't have a game plan for Paris.  I know, I know...this is so out of character for us!  LOL  Our main objective was food.  We wanted to try everything Parisian and experience sitting on the sidewalk as we dined.  We were VERY successful in mastering that objective!

Here are just a few pictures from out day in Paris:

I know.. I can just hear you now. "How boring, I've seen this picture before."



But, you haven't seen this one before!



Or, this one!



This was just a neat street that we walked down. I loved the tree lined streets and park like areas!



Just some of the Parisian architecture.

And some more...



This is the Seine River.  We had inquired about doing a river tour because Ashley had a muscle in her leg that was causes her some pain when she was walking.  But, after hearing the price, these cheap skates decided to keep walking.  We did take a lot of breaks for Ashley, and of course we sat and ate a lot too!

I loved the window boxes that so many flats have.  I know I'd miss my flowers if I didn't have a yard!





We spent the better part of our day on this street.  It was such a neat area with great shopping and plenty of food!



The fresh food and flowers is something that I definitely would love if I lived in Europe.



One of the many Brasseries.



This is where we had lunch.  We ordered quiche, sandwiches, and crepes.  It was all so yummy.

And a little bit later we decided to have coffee.  This was Ashley's cappuccino.  It was fairly inexpensive, coming in around 10 dollars. Our total for the entire beverage break only cost us about 30 dollars.  Want to move to Paris?

The next three photos Blair has the camera and this is how the conversation goes:
"Ok, Daddy, smile."



"No, Daddy,...smile really big!!" And he replies "Like this?"



"Okay, Daddy...smile for Momma."








Ashley is behind the camera here.  They just love to take pictures of Dad.  Brent and I learned to LOVE espresso while we were on this trip. 


Brent loved this car.



It is amazing how even when it's cold out, the Parisians still sit outside and dine.  Where in America would you find it 40-50 degrees and people still eating outside? 

This is Napoleon's Tomb. 



 And the area around the tomb



And some more area around the tomb



Blair sitting on the wall around the tomb



I just couldn't resist the opportunity to take a picture of this.  I've never seen a street before where the gas pump is curb-side!



We came upon this scene as we were walking back to the Eiffel Tower.  Although we have no idea of what was going on, the gentleman in the tan jacket had a bloody face, and on the other side of group was his wife and children.  The only thing that we could come up with was that he was the victim of being pick-pocketed.   Can you believe that amount of police that responded?



Yet another of the many places that fresh fruit was hanging right on the street!

We had a great day in Paris shopping, walking (everyone but Ashley), and eating.