Travels in London - Day 4 (Paris)

We had an early rise this morning (5:30AM). We boarded a train to Paris, France at 7am and arrived in Paris 2 ½ hours later. I loved the train ride! I have never ridden on a train and enjoyed the experience. To get to Paris you have to go through a tunnel that goes through the water. I never knew when we entered the water but from the long tunnel part I could assume we were under the water. We reached the edge of France in about 1 ½ hours and the ride through the countryside of France was beautiful. We saw mostly farmland and small farm communities. You could always tell where the church was in these small communities because you could see the steeple sticking up from miles away. The cottages and barns along the way gave a very naturalistic view. Taking the train was great because we got to see a lot more of the country than we would have if we would have taken a plane. After arriving in Paris we had to mull around and search the map till we figured out which metro line to take to get to our hotel. We finally found the metro line but when we arrived at the station near our hotel we still had to figure out which streets to take to get to our hotel. I felt like the Israelites for about 20 minutes of just wandering about trying to figure out where we were supposed to land. It was a relief to get rid of our luggage and use the bathroom. We had little breakfast so; by the time we unloaded we were starved. We decided to just venture out and look for something good to eat. We found a great little Panini and crepe place. We had a delicious bacon, mozzarella, and tomato Panini. Yum! I think we will have another before we leave Paris. Then we decided to go to Champs Elysees. This is an area of Paris that is similar to Rodeo Drive in LA. Lots of shopping but we mostly just browsed the stores. The arc de triomphe is at the end of the shopping strip. The arc de triomphe is a monument to Napoleon’s victories. The Luxembourg Gardens were next on our agenda. These are beautiful gardens with a view of the Eiffel Tower in the background and situated outside the Luxembourg Palace – a beautiful place. We decided to just walk back to our hotel and by way of doing so we found a great gelato place. The caffe gelato was the best coffee ice cream I have ever tasted. We are now back at the hotel unwinding and hope to find something good to eat for dinner in a bit.

Boarding the train to Paris
arc de triomphe
Luxembourg Gardens
Luxembourg Palace