I know we’ve been home for a few weeks but I honestly forgot about the Paris post. So, here it is.
Paris in the spring…is wet, very wet, and cold!!
We arrived on a sunny day, though, and decided to go and see the Eiffel Tower, because it’s supposed to rain the next few days. Since we were staying just down the street from it, why not!
We left Venice on an overnight train to Paris. It was really easy and I would recommend it. But, it would have been weird if someone else was in the car with us. So, if you have 2-3 people and don’t want a stranger in your room, just buy 4 tickets. I don’t remember how much it was but it’s definitely worth it, especially if that 3rd person has a baby or something.
The next day we took the tour and got to go up to the top deck. The kids were a little disappointed because I was telling them how huge the tower was and, of course, they’d already been to the Burj Khalifa, which is about 3 times taller than the Eiffel Tower. It was a very rainy and cold day with a lot of wind. We were not up top for very long. Again, get a tour to the top of you are to go. You get to pass the lines. This was especially helpful as it was so cold and rainy out.
I was in Paris in 1999 and there were no walls and gates around it so it was a shock to see all the security. I thought maybe it was done after 9-11. But, I guess they put it up just a few years ago. When I was there all the street vendors were Chinese. Now, they’re all from Africa. Times change.
The view is gorgeous from the top!!
Next stop, Versailles. Beautiful and grand. Again, long lines so make sure you get the tickets with specific times for entry. We got to the front of the line. It’s early May and the place was so crowded. I cannot imagine being here at the height of summer. The most beautiful part, for me, were the gardens.
At least it wasn’t freezing and raining.
Next, and last stop, the Louvre. Again, so crowded. But, we had to see the Mona Lisa. That was a total cluster f**k. There was no organization at all so everyone was crowding and pushing and taking selfies – actually they wouldn’t let you take selfies if they caught you but the guards were not so attentive. Uggh. oh ya, I made the kids take the train for a pit stop at the Arc de Triumph. Just had to see it and it was a quick metro trip from our hotel.
Overall. I think the kids had a good introduction to both Venice and Paris.
Our trip home was very uneventful, which was good. We took Icelandic air and they offered to check all our bags for free!!! Yaaay. They were great. And, great service. We flew from Paris to Reykjavik, then Reykjavik to Seattle, Seattle to San Diego.
We are home and trying to adjust back to not traveling. It’s hard for me. I’d rather still be traveling but the stability is good for the kids. They’re very happy to be home. Jevyn is back in school for the last few weeks and get to enjoy all the 5th grade end of year activities. Jayden is back to her volleyball. Justyne wanted to go back to school but I think it’s more complicated than we need for the last two weeks of school so she will just finish up on her online schooling as much as possible.
I haven’t really had access to a dryer during our travels so I’m going to try not to use the dryer. Our clothes will last longer and there won’t be so much waste. We are also much more aware of waste and plastic as we saw so much trash and the damage done to our seas during our travels.
We are back to our very comfortable lives here in sunny San Diego, which has been very cold – like Europe. But we are so happy to be able to get any kind of fruit whenever we want, and have access to clean bathrooms. And sleeping in our own beds is always welcomed!!
Thank you everyone for following our travels. Please feel free to ask questions.
We hope to go on more adventures, obviously not to the extent we did last year.
Goodbye for now!!
Higman Travels 