Happy Tuesday everyone! I have to admit this was not the best day for us, but I’m here to tell you about it anyway. My family set an alarm for 6:30am so we could get ready and eat breakfast in the hotel before our day tour that left at 8:15. Our morning didn’t start off the best because I got a bad sleep last night and the breakfast buffet was more limited today, there wasn’t any fruit or eggs. I actually have caught a cold while traveling and sadly it really hit me today, especially with the cold weather and rain we got.

Originally we thought the tour was just going to Versailles and back, but it actually stopped in Giverny at Monet’s house and gardens first. It took almost an hour to get there, so I just relaxed and dozed off. There were lots of vibrant flowers and photo opportunities, but I didn’t find the actual house very interesting. It was very colorful and there were lots of paintings inside (recreations of Monets), but there wasn’t too much to see; the gardens were definitely the best part. The day started going further south here because we were supposed to meet back at the tour bus at a certain time but lots of people came back late, getting us off schedule for lunch and eventually the drive to Versailles.

Lunch was at a very small restaurant in a scenic location nearby Monet’s house, located alongside some sort of small stream or river. There were other tour groups there and it was very understaffed so this furthered the issue of being late, but at least it was a pleasant setting. It was a three-course meal included with the tour of fish, chicken, and then apple cake for dessert. I didn’t eat the fish but the chicken was pretty good and the cake was excellent, a perfect combination of sweet and crumbly. We left at about 2:00pm for Versailles, another hour long ride in which I took a nap.

The Palace of Versailles was very impressive, but it was still somewhat disappointing because on our tour we were not allowed to physically go into the gardens. Every room displayed opulent wealth, and there were carvings and pictures and molding filling almost every square inch. We stayed for about 2 hours walking through the rooms and admiring the gardens from afar. Upon departure we had to wait for people that were late coming back to the bus again, and it ended up being two hours back to Paris because of rush hour traffic.

After getting back, we immediately found a place to eat dinner. It was raining so we rushed into a small burger place and it was actually really good- the bun was fresh and the meat was juicy. Between the rain and cold weather coupled with my cold, I wasn’t feeling too well so we stopped at a pharmacy to get tissues and medicine and went straight back to the hotel. I felt bad for holding my family back from doing other things, but we were all tired and museums and such were closed by this point anyways even if they had wanted to go. The rain also put a damper on things as it was hard to walk around outside and it was much more crowded. We got back at 8pm and my parents were going to try and do our laundry at a laundromat, but it was closed as well.

It wasn’t the most successful day which was disappointing given tomorrow is our last day in Paris, but such is life (c’est la vie!). There were still some good food and good moments, and it’s for the best that we’ll get better rest tonight. We’re going to try and do laundry tomorrow morning and see the last few places we’ve been wanting to, hopefully ending up with some extra time to just walk around and enjoy the city before we leave. I’ll check back in with what we end up doing!

-Brooke

The pond and lilypads in Monet’s gardens.

Monet’s house with some lovely roses outside.

A view of the gardens from upstairs in the house.

The Palace of Versailles as seen from the entrance.

A particularly detailed room in the palace.

A view of the gardens from far away.

Hi everyone! Today has been a full and exciting day of exploring Paris. I didn’t get the best sleep last night (I woke up at 3am and it took a while to fall asleep), but it surprisingly didn’t affect me throughout the day. My family and I ate breakfast in our hotel buffet, which surprisingly had a lot of options. They had multiple types of pastries, fruit cups, cereals, breads and juices, plus a waffle maker and a fancy coffee/espresso machine. I’m not sure if this is similar at other hotels, but I was impressed considering how small ours is.

We set off walking to the Louvre museum, our first destination for the day. We all bought “The Paris Pass” before our trip so we didn’t need to buy tickets which made the process of waiting in lines a little faster, but it was still a fairly long wait. My personal favorite pieces were the chandeliers and fancy furniture of former royalty. I enjoyed seeing the Mona Lisa as well (the room it was in was HOT and packed of course though), but it wasn’t particularly fascinating to me. My family only made it through 3 out of the 4 floors of artwork because we had seen everything we wanted to and were hungry for lunch, but some other highlights were the Egyptian hieroglyphics and artifacts, and the many sculptures/statues.

We walked through the park, garden-like area across from the Louvre and ate at a cafe that had a view of the whole area. I got a chicken sandwich so it wasn’t anything special (I’m a very picky eater, from my food descriptions so far you can tell I’m not a foodie) but the bread was excellent. After that, we walked to the nearest bus station to get on a hop-on, hop-off bus tour (another perk of The Paris Pass). It took us past many buildings and museums which we didn’t stop at, but we got off at the Arc de Triomphe. I took some pictures and we went through the underground passageway to get closer up and see the eternal flame burning, but we didn’t spend too much time there.

My parents didn’t want to spend too much time walking down Champs-Élyssées since it was mainly high-end shops and American stores, but we still wanted to have the experience. We made our way down until we stopped at the Ladurée store, where we waited in line for a ridiculous amount of time to buy some of their famous macarons. I only tried plain chocolate, but it was AMAZING- I highly recommend it if you like macarons and have some free time to spare, and they have stores in some US cities.

We got back on the bus and stayed on it to just get a new view of the city and see some other historical buildings, and we were planning on getting off at the Museum d’Orsay. However, we didn’t realize it was closed today so we are hoping to go back tomorrow night or Thursday. Instead, we got off the bus at the Eiffel Tower area and took some pictures. There was a snack cart nearby so we got some yummy Belgian waffles. We were on the side of the Eiffel Tower away from the park/green area so we knew we would come back later (we did!) when it was lit up at night, but from there we took the bus back to a stop closer to our hotel and went to find a place to eat dinner.

We ate at a little Italian place we stumbled upon while walking back in the direction of our hotel. I got pasta (rigatoni with their house sauce) and luckily they also had some great bread. There have been copious amounts of bread at every restaurant and place we’ve been in Paris, and I love it! After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and rested for a bit while we figured out what we were going to do for the rest of the night. My dad suggested we use our Paris passes to do a river cruise on the Seine, and we could take the Metro to get there using our passes as well. Taking the Metro was super fast and efficient since there is a station right down the street from our hotel, and the cruise dock was actually right near the Eiffel Tower so we just ended up back there again. It was only about 8:45 so it was still light, but we got better pictures from that angle/side since it was the opposite side of where we were previously, and we could walk through a green area.

The cruise was very fun and there was a beautiful sunset to accompany it. We passed all the main buildings and highlights of the city again, and the views of the Eiffel Tower were unmatched. We started out at the top of the boat but it got very chilly halfway through the ride as it was actually getting dark, so we went down to the lower indoor deck. I stepped out onto the railing to get a picture of the Eiffel Tower lit up right as we were docking and the cruise was ending and it was absolutely perfect. Everyone was exhausted and ready to go back to the hotel, but we wanted to take pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower during nighttime/while lit up so we had to stick it out a bit longer.

We didn’t realize the light show was about to start so we were confused and frustrated when a bunch of tour buses showed up and parked, obstructing our view from the main place to take pictures. When the tower started sparkling it was a pleasant surprise and we moved our way back up just to watch and attempt getting pictures. I still can’t get over how beautiful the twinkly lights were, and it was even more special as a surprise. After that the buses pulled away, so we took our pictures with the “normal” lit up tower and headed back to the Metro station and our hotel.

I am absolutely in love with Paris and I wish we had more time here- there is so much to explore and an interesting place on every street corner, not to mention dozens of museums! I don’t want to leave, but I must say I am looking forward to Italy’s food as I love Italian food but am too picky for most French foods besides desserts. Tomorrow we are headed on a day trip tour of the gardens of Versailles and hopefully will have time for other excursions back in Paris after. I’ll keep you updated as always!

-Brooke

The famous glass pyramid at the Louvre.

An ornate chandelier and ceiling in the Louvre.

The Arc de Triomphe and eternal flame memorial.

My delicious macarons and the Ladurée store!

Our beautiful view from the Seine River cruise.

The Eiffel Tower lit up at night- the first picture is from the special sparkly light show.

Good morning/afternoon/night everyone! Today was the second (technically first) day of my trip, when we actually landed in Paris!! I am currently writing this at the end of the day in my hotel room, exhausted since I barely slept on the flight overnight. It’s still light outside in the city even though it is past 10:00, which is crazy to me!!

Even though I couldn’t fall asleep, the flight wasn’t horrible. I watched a lot of Netflix and snacks were provided free of charge so I kept myself occupied. We landed around 3:00 and then went through security again. Side note- we used the bathroom and it was so interesting to see how different they are here! Every bathroom I’ve used today has been somewhat unique compared to what I consider a “normal” bathroom back home; they’re much smaller and high-tech here.

My mom had previously arranged for a driver to take us from the airport to the hotel, so it was easy to find our way into the city. My dad met us there with Belgian chocolates in tow from his past week of travels. We are staying at Hotel d’Espagne, a cute little hotel in the middle of Paris. Our room is quaint but nice overall, and very clean. There’s also a fresh, free breakfast buffet (looking forward to that for tomorrow) and complimentary wifi that works great, so those are huge pluses!  

My mom, my brother and I were all exhausted but we were also hungry, so my dad guided us through the streets as we searched for a place to eat. Ironically, we stopped at an American style place for burgers called The Frog and Underground. I enjoyed it; the burgers were flavorful but not too greasy.

After eating, we continued to walk through the city. Our hotel is in such a great location- there’s endless amounts of beautiful streets to walk down, and it’s only about a 20 minute walk from the Seine River and Notre Dame cathedral. We stopped to admire many of the buildings, but I was absolutely in awe of the Notre Dame. There was stunning architecture on every street we saw, and I can’t wait to see more.

Something about Paris just feels so open, more so than any other city I’ve ever visited. I have to admit, when we were first driving into the city I was a little disappointed as the areas we were driving through were dirty and I was worried it wouldn’t hold up to what I had imagined it was like. After settling in, getting some rest and food, and walking through the city I can confidently say it is even better than I imagined, just in different ways. The style and attitude of Paris is just so unique, just as I had always assumed. I feel like I’ve been transported to another world, and I can just see the history dripping from its every nook and cranny. Tomorrow I think we’re doing a more in-depth tour of the city so I’ll check in!

Brooke

My view from the window before we landed- everything seemed so green and spread out before we got closer to the actual city!

A shot of the Notre Dame- both ginormous and stunning.

A shot of the street I liked mainly because of the red neon sign.

A view of the Seine River.

A low quality picture of the view from my bed in the hotel- it was 10:55pm when I took this!

A picture I took of some locks on a railing surrounding the spectator area of the Seine River.

Hello everyone! Today has been an uneventful yet eventful day, as it marks the beginning of my family vacation to Europe! The first half of the day included me frantically packing and cleaning my room, as no one wants to return home from vacation to a dirty space. I’m never this last-minute with packing (ask anyone that knows me, it’s quite the opposite), but yesterday was my last day of school and this past week was finals week so I pushed packing aside as long as possible.

My family really wanted to pack light, and we all are using carry-on suitcases for the two and a half week trip (which was very difficult for me). My dad was the only one who brought a checked bag because has already been in Europe for the past week for a Rotary club convention, and he’s visited Germany, Amsterdam, and Belgium while my brother and I were finishing up school. I might share some of his experiences and pictures from his solo travels in a post later on because he has been gushing about them and they are all amazing places to visit. I will also make a post about what I packed and how I fit everything for my trip in a carry-on bag and a personal bag/backpack, but it will most likely be at the end of the trip so I can gauge the effectiveness of my packing and what I would’ve done differently.

My mom, my brother, and I left our house in the late afternoon today (Saturday, June 8- our first day of summer!) to catch our 8:00pm flight. We actually arrived quite early, as this is our first international trip and we wanted to make sure everything went smoothly. After checking in and going through security, we ate dinner at a sandwich place. It was actually really good; I got a turkey sandwich and an Oreo chocolate chip cookie which was delicious! I’ll add the place’s name if I can remember it. We got snacks and water, relaxed at the gate, and boarded around 7:00.

We’re flying Norwegian Air and even though we are currently only a couple hours into the flight, so far I would definitely recommend it! The service and workers have been very attentive, and nothing has gone wrong or been out of the ordinary. (Side note: the tickets were also a very good deal!!) We took off at 8:00 right as the sun was setting, and it was a beautiful view. The sun finally went down as we just began flying over the water, and then we could see the lit-up LA skyline. I personally love flying and I haven’t been on a plane in almost a year, so it was wonderful to feel the sensation of takeoff accompanied with a sunset view.

The flight is 10 hours so I’ve just been typing away so far, but I’m going to try and get some sleep since we will land at 2:30pm local time; from there, we’ll immediately meet up with my dad, check into our hotel, and start sightseeing. It is now completely dark outside, and the nearest lights I can see from my window seat are still extremely far away. We’re flying over Utah right now according to the flight map. It’s pretty late and I downloaded the season of Riverdale that just got added to Netflix and a documentary to watch, so that’s the plan for the rest of the night other than trying to sleep on the plane! I will check in tomorrow once I am in Paris and the trip has actually begun. Happy travels!

                                                                                    Brooke