France Days 6, 7, and 8

Day 6

We got up early and headed back up to Paris on the plane. We decided that instead of taking the metro back from the bus station we would try walking a bit. That turned out to be a great idea as on the walk we turned a corner and faced L'Arc de Triomph directly in front of us. It was surrounded by an INSANELY huge round-about that appeared to be practically 6 lanes wide, however since there were no actual lane lines it was difficult to tell where the cars were going and impossible to understand how they were not constantly running into one another. They just kept zigging and zagging around one another and then shooting off onto one of the many roads that met at the arc.

After walking half way we took the metro the rest of the way to save Ben's leg for future walks and met up with Laurie again (Ben's cousin). Laurie took us to Notre Dame and was a wonderful tour guide. We walked along the Seine (which I now know is pronounced 'sen') and eventually made our way back to the apartment for a short rest before heading back out for a nice dinner with Laurie and her family.

Day 7

Bike tour of Paris! Ben and I decided to take a tour of Paris by bike thinking we could get around better and for a longer time than if he were on foot and could see more than if we went by bus..we were so very right. The bike ride was amazing. We toured all around Paris beginning at the Eiffel Tower and stopping every few minutes for history lessons and amazing background stories you may not get from a textbook.

It rained a little but it didn't matter, we had a blast, learned a lot, and finished four hours later with some sore rears (adding to the horseback riding soreness) and a yearning for some more. After finding out that we could get 50% off the night tour because we had already done the day tour, it was inevitable that we would do the night tour the next evening.

Some of the places we visited on our tour include: The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, Napoleon's Tomb, Arc de Triomph (no we did not bike the round-about), Les Invalides,

and much more that I can't even remember the

names of! (I was never really good at history). These two pictures are of a church built only for the royal family to use, but it is no longer a church and is now where Napolean's tomb is. The garden in front of it was also really beautiful.

Behind this building is Les Invalides (see below), which was originally built as a hospital and place for veterans to live but is now a museum dedicated to everything military related, the bushes in the front of the building are even shaped like bullets! (Grandpa, I think you might find this place quite interesting, have you been?)

After the tour we met up with Laurie and went to the Musee Rodin, where we saw a lot of statues (including The Thinker).We were exhausted by the end of that and headed back to the

apartment and joined Laurie and her family for a dinner out. We ate at a nice Chinese restaurant with Laurie, her parents, Aldrich (her brother) and Lia (her grandmother). Memorable Moment: at the end of the meal the waiter came by and asked if any of us would like a shot of sake; only Ben and Lia partook. In the bottom of each of the tiny shot glasses was a glass bubble that seemed a little odd but nothing really noteworthy. However, the waiter poured the two shots and Lia peered into hers before drinking it. Ben took is without a look. Then we found out that that little glass bubble in the bottom of the glass has a picture in it that you can only see when there is liquid in the glass. Ben had not looked at his and I was curious so I cheated a poured a little water into the glass. Looking in it took me a minute to focus but eventually I could just make out a tiny imagine of a woman...ok, I thought, that's nice...oh wait though, that's a boob, oh and another boob, oh and..some more. Wow! I looked up at Lia (a grandmother remember) and laughed and she handed me hers. Ben and I each peered into the glasses, this one even more scandelous with a man AND a woman (I'll leave it up to the imagination for this one, let me just say it was not a picture you want to be looking at while sitting at a dinner table with a family you have merely just met!). It was a good laugh and something I had never seen before, what fun!

Day 8

Our last full day in France...and we filled it! In the morning Ben and I explored Montemartre and Sacre Coeur. It was a beautiful view from the top of the hill and the building was amazing! We didn't stay long because we had a packed day, but we certainly enjoyed the views.

We met up with Laurie and Alrich for some lunch after our time at Sacre Coeur and then visited Lia's husband Charbonne (no idea how to spell that!) in the hospital (he had fallen recently and was in the hospital for a few days to get checked out). He is a very sweet man and it seemed to make him very glad that we had stopped by, it was well worth it.

After our morning/afternoon adventures Ben and I went back to the apartment and got ready for our evening bike tour! We bundled up because it was chilly and went off into the busy streets of Paris. This tour was much quicker, with fewer stops, and much scarier biking! A few times I even had to stop a car from continuing by sticking out my hand and shaking it at the driver. It was certainly something I would not like to do on a regular basis, but I enjoyed it all the same. (Ben and I were the only ones who wore helmets, including the kids!).

Highlights of the tour:

1. The Eiffel Tower at night. It sparkles at night for about 10 minutes every hour, it actually made me gasp when I saw it start, it was crazy, the pictures could not capture it.

2. Biking through the central area of the Louve around a circular fountain with my head in the air, surrounded on all sides by the towering walls of the Louvre with detailed sculptures light up from beneath. All the silence of the streets vanished and all I could hear was the quiet peddling of our fellow bikers and a small giggle in my throat from the awe of it. We took no pictures of this as I think it would have ruined it. It was the most amazing moment of my trip, I could have stayed there for hours just biking in circles.

3. We stopped for some amazing ice cream behind Notre Dame.

4. The tour ended on a big boat where we were given wine and I stood at the end of the boat with my face in the wind as we road for an hour up and down the Seine, all the lights of the city transforming it completely from its daytime appearance.

After the tour Ben and I went to the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower and just sat in the grass looking up at it until we were too tired to stay any longer. What a way to spend our final night in France.