Paris bound!!!

Oh where to begin?! I was hoping to post in sequential order but after being internet-less for the Paris adventure I'm not sure my mind will remember in order. So here goes...

Trains are the way to travel in Europe! Way more leg room than airplanes, no seat belts or airplane rules, Pat gets to relax/sleep/drink beer unlike when driving his big yellow beast. Our train left Lichtenfels (a town two north of us) and headed to Frankfurt where we changed to an ICE train- super fast- which took us to Paris. We arrived in Paris at night and took a metro to our hotel which we found after our tour guide, yours truly, wandered the neighborhood saying 'it should be right here!'. But it was actually at the other end of the street. Our hotel was gorgeous- right in the middle of town in the Tuilleres section, nice and old but all modernized. I spent a few minutes :) online trying to find the perfect hotel- location location location and comfy beds (Euro beds are not known for their comfort). Check out pics at http://www.hotelducsdanjou.fr. Ends up it was right next to the famous shopping mall too, I swear I didn't know that when I booked it!

We went exploring that evening and immediately ended up at a fountain (oldest fountain in Paris), then a gorgeous church (St Eustache) and then stumbled upon the Louvre. The Louvre is beautiful at night- a bright new pyramid surrounded by thousands year old ornate buildings. 

St Eustache

sculpture outside St Eustache

the Louvre

the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower for NYE in the background

While goofing around with pictures we were distracted by the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower off in the distance so off we went! What felt like hours later, and two hurting feet later (even though my boots are beautiful they are not what I would call walking shoes), we came out from under an archway and there it was- all lit up for Sylvester (New Year's Eve) and stunning. I couldn't even see the whole thing we were so close! It was breathtaking. But people were streaming in from all directions, hoping for a Sylvester fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower. We got donners and brat sandwiches (in a long baguette of course) and a bottle of champagne from the street vendors and then decided we didn't want to wait another 30 minutes for midnight & the ensuing human traffic jam. 

Heading to a metro station we walked along Rue Magenta- better I assume than Rodeo Drive. Every single designer you have ever heard of had a store here. But these are just window shopping stores- I don't think my kind would even be allowed in! We hit the metro and boy were we wrong! The metro was an absolute crush of people trying to get to their celebrations before midnight. We couldn't even move- imagine the claustrophobia of thousands of people, underground, in tiny little metro hallways and staircases, alcohol, kids, old people, teenagers, tourists. Ugh! It was awful! But we made it out of the metro right at midnight, just in time to celebrate a new year in Paris, together, finally :)