Week 11 was spent in the one and only..PARIS FRANCE!
I have always dreamed of going to Paris! So yes of course I spent it as a tourist. It didn't take long to adjust because I have already been living in a big city with public transportation. :)
Monday we left bright and early. 5:15 am. That means I woke up at 4:30. We finished packing up and headed to catch the very first tube ride to St. Pancras International Train Station. The train ride is only about 2 hours. We got to Paris and hopped on the Metro. It is a lot dirtier and older than London..but it gets you around the city! We made it to our hotel, but our rooms weren't ready for all of us yet. We put our luggage in storage and headed out to explore! First thing we did was go to Notre Dame and clime the stairs. It was a long way up, but the view was totally worth it! After that I got my very first French crepe. You have not had a real crepe until you have a French one. SO DELICIOUS!! Whitney, Kayla, Josh and I then went to Sainte Chapelle and I had my first experience with a multi-gender bathroom. I was SO happy when no one else was in there..even though it was still very dirty. After that we walked along the Seine river past the Louvre to the Orangerie. We saw rooms full of Monet's! We then found a cute cafe for dinner. One of the best things about France: bread baskets at every restaurant. They also have the best bread! Then we headed back to the hotel for the night.
At the train station!
We didn't even try and we got seats right next to each other! We were shocked.
View from Notre Dame
Gorgeous view from Notre Dame
Inside of Notre Dame
Cute little bookstore with original copies of all sorts of books!
Tuesday we all went to the Rodin museum and saw a lot of Rodin's statues. After that we saw Napoleon's tomb in a large church, and went to the Musee d'Orsay. It used to be a train station so there was a really cool clock in the window! Kayla and I then walked along the Champs Elyseses toward the Arc de Triomphe! We even got our first macaroons from the original Laudree in Paris! We made it to the top of the street to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top! Gorgeous view. We then walked down a street leading to the Eiffel Tower! It was a longer walk, but again. Worth it. We wanted to come back and see the Eiffel tower lit up and sparkle, so we walked down the Seine and saw the original Lady Liberty. It is a lot smaller than ours! :) We stopped at another little cafe for dinner and rushed back to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle! I never want to forget that site. SO PRETTY. After that we found our way back to a metro station and headed home.
"All the Single Ladies"..except me. Because I'm engaged!
"Thriller"
Musee d'Orsay
original Laduree
Arc de Triomphe
View from the Arc de Triomphe
Lady Liberty
Wednesday was one of my favorite days! We all met in the morning and headed off to the Louvre! That museum is huge. We only spent a few hours in there, where you could spend a whole day. I saw that Mona Lisa in person, along with the Venus and much much more! It was really cool because an artist was in the grand hallway painting his own painting of the Louvre. There was so much detail in his painting! After that we went to the Love Lock Bridge and I locked Joel's and my love on the bridge! Then I threw the key in the Seine River! The lock came with 3 keys, I threw one, now I have two more so when Joel and I come back one day we can both throw a key in the river. :) After that our little group went to Angelina's for the best Hot Chocolate in the whole world! It is pretty pricey, but good thing I split it. :) It literally is a melted chocolate bar. And we all know how much better chocolate is in Europe! We had to meet back up as a whole group to get a tour of the Royal Opera House. That is the place where Phantom of the Opera is based off of! They even have box 5 reserved for the Phantom himself. After the tour we went up to Montmarte which is the little town on the hill with Sacre Coeur. Again. The most beautiful view of Paris at sunset. Hayley R, Christina, Kayla and I found a adorable cafe for dinner. We even got help from a cute old couple who spoke English, since we couldn't read the menu! The night ended pretty strange..as we were making train switches we were followed through the metro station by a large group of men. They were yelling things at us and banging on the wall. The four of us got pretty scared, luckily they didn't get on the next train with us. I had the true Paris experience! We made it back to the hotel and fell straight to sleep. Being a tourist is hard work!
I 'Louvre' to see the 'Louvre'!
Mona Lisa
Artist painting the grand hallway. Isn't it amazing?!
Venus
Love Lock Bridge! :)
Angelina's Hot Chocolate
Best Hot Chocolate Ever!
In front of the Opera House
"He's there. The Phantom of the Opera!"
On top of Montmarte
We even saw Moulin Rouge!
Thursday we caught a double decker train to Versailles and saw the Palace! It was huge. And the garden were beautiful. I would love to see what they look like in the summer time. We also went out to Marie Antoinette's little Hamlet village. We spent most of the day there, then headed back to the Eiffel Tower! Kayla and I wandered around for a little bit, took some picture in front of the Eiffel Tower then headed up! That is the prettiest view of Paris. It is something that you just have to do while you are in Paris! Then we headed back over toward the Arc de Triomphe for dinner and back to the hotel.
Inside the great Versailles Palace!
We LOVE the Eiffel Tower
I got a beret!
On top of the Eiffel Tower!
It sparkles!
Friday was a relaxing day. The group of girls that I hung out with wanted to do a photo shoot. So we did just that! We had berets, mustaches, cotton candy and ice cream! We tried to find baguettes, but with no luck surprisingly. Friday was probably my other favorite day. We were so exhausted by the end of the week it was so nice to just take pictures and relax all day long!! We met up with a couple more girls for dinner. It was so fun to be with a bunch of girls wandering around Paris!
The many mustaches of Erin. :)
Proud to be an American!
Photo Shoot!
Saturday we had the morning to do last minute Paris things. We tried so hard to find eclairs, but couldn't find any. As we were walking around the streets we passed a store that was having their grand opening and they gave us these HUGE bags! We walked around for a little bit with them, but gave up trying to carry it around. We met back up with our group at 2 and headed to the train station. The way back to London was quick! It felt really good to be back in London. Paris was a great week feeling like a tourist! When we got back to the center Kayla's mission call was sitting their waiting for her to open it! We all met together in the parlor and waited to find out where she would be going! Kayla Rolfe is called to serve in the Cincinnati Ohio mission! She leaves July 10. :) I could not be more proud of that girl! So excited for her!
Large bag!
My last crepe in Paris! :(
One of the best Sister Missionaries! :)
Sunday was one of my last times in my ward. It was fun to talk to my wardies some more! Sunday night we had the opportunity to hear from Charlotte Steinfield who is the first LDS woman barrister in London! She gave us a wonderful fireside.
Paris was a great week!! I am pretty sure I ate a crepe almost every day. So fun to visit. But it feels good to be back in London. My home away from home. :)
