Paris: Day 2

Hello,

We hope that your weeks are going well. We had a very busy day in Paris. Our first breakfast consisted of croissants and other pastry items, yogurt, and eggs. The bakery items are amazing here at the hotel!! We hope to enjoy two more days of the delicious treats. Don't be shocked to find me 5-10 pounds heavier.

We started off by heading to the Palace of Versailles, which is actually in the city of Versailles. This was a long la gare (subway) ride out to the city about 30 minutes. Once we arrived we had a small complication with our tickets. Larry and I did order some tickets in advance if it was cheaper. When we ordered our tickets for the Palace, the website was all in French. We tried to decipher it the best we could. However, we didn't realize that we placed Larry's first name in as the last name, and vice versa which made it hard to pull up. I guess Laurence is a girl's name here in Paris, another confusion at the hotel. Once we got this all figured out we began our tour with an audio guide. This Palace was built by Louis the XIV and makes Biltmore (one of America's largest castles) look pathetic. Every room is drizzled in gold, detailed architecture, authentic furniture and exquisite paintings. This large estate took several hours to observe. It is where Marie-Antoinette stayed and occupied as queen as well. We captured breathtaking pictures. Yeah, it was great, you could take pictures in the castle.

We ate lunch within the estate, where Larry had some french onion soup. We had this thing where we wanted to try items that all had the word french in front of it like:

French fries (had yesterday) not any better than U.S.

French toast (probably wont get to)

French onion soup (delicious)

Then, we headed out to tour the grounds and the other estates that were built as a second and third getaway from the political and business life of the castle. One of them Marie built for herself and never even allowed her husband to stay in. IT was her own private retreat. This tour took out most of my energy and leg power. I never realized how strenuous it was to walk around so much and to keep up with Larry's big walk, he has bigger feet. Trust me, we are not walking at a snail's pace.

After Versailles, we went to Sacre-Coeur, Sacred Heart Church. It sits on the highest hill in all of Paris overlooking the city. We climbed up all 300 feet to get a breathtaking view of this beautiful city. This church was built from 1875-1919, 40 years to build. It has tributes to saints surrounding the base of the dome and aerial views of various drawings depicting bible scenes. This church was very very beautiful. We even got to hear the beginning of mass.

We have loved having Rick Steve's Western Europe book to help and guide are trip. We have read lots of commentary regarding the places while at the place, but we haven't eaten at any of his recommended restaurants. So today we decided to give it a try and find L'ete de Pente Douche which was nearby and supposed to have delicious cuisines. We soon found the cafe and hopped right in. However, after looking at the menu, Amanda realized that there wasn't anything she wanted, but she took a leap of faith and selected a meal that resembled some kind of steak. Larry was adventurous and has his first rabbit. Both meals were delicious and we had a friendly waiter who also spoke English.

After 24 hours of being in a foreign country and trying to get around, I feel that there are many visual signs that can help anyone navigate. We are trying to embrace the French Language and Larry is even saying a few words here and there with a few spanish ones in between. We feel that London really prepared us for the transition and are glad we are now in Paris. We love being in Europe and just keeping thanking God for this experience. We are truly in love with each other and Europe.

One thing is for sure, the weather man is a liar. Not only is it not anywhere in the 40s, but we guess with the windchill it is probably in the teens. Winter is definitely not a recommended time to go to Europe unless you want a steal of a deal, which we are both very grateful to have. We used the subway a lot today and are praying for true 50's weather in Rome. However, our windburn and frozen limbs are surviving and our bodies hit the bed every night exhausted.

Jules, I hope you made it home safe and sound from Disney. We love you and I hope you get to read this (stupid) blog. LOL

Emily, I hope you and Anna are feeling better.

We decided to collect magnets in each city and we just got Paris's today. :) This is halfway point of the trip. Amanda has taken over 700 pictures and loving it.

We will report back tomorrow with an update of the Louvre, our first crepes, and our Eiffel Tower experience.

Love you and miss you.