Paris

Where do I even begin about our European Travels?  This trip has been a long one in the making!  My interest in foreign travel across the pond began during my early high school years.  The history that comes alive with each turn of the road always intrigued me.  This trip made me realize how young America is and how much history predates us.  After some convincing, I finally got Brett on board for the trip.  Now, where to go?  I did not want us to be moving from place to place to place and not any time to take it all in, so we picked 3 places to visit: Paris, London, and Ireland.  Other contenders: Scotland, Switzerland, Italy (Germany, Spain, Greece, Holland - the list goes on and on!)  But the other countries did not geographically fit in for this trip.  We picked countries that would be quick and easy to get to, to maximize our time in each spot.  

Another convincing factor that helped my case of why we had to visit Europe:  The Dillman's.  They were going over to see the British Open, so we spent the first half of our trip traveling with them.

First stop: Paris

Our Transatlantic flight was not that bad, I read The Fault in Our Stars so that helped time pass.  6 1/2 from Chicago to Dublin, put us in Dublin at about 5:30 a.m.  We had to hop off to catch a flight to Paris at 7:30.  First, had to go pick up checked luggage....and Brett & Andrew's was missing!  Since we had to go back through security, we did not have any time to waste...back on the plane, then file a missing luggage report as soon as we landed at Charles De Gaulle.  With little time to spare, we were those people running through the airport to get to our flight.

Lesson Learned # 1: Always carry on.

Lesson Learned # 2: Schedule more time for a layover in case there is a problem.

Made it to Paris! No Luggage.  We figured out the train system and made our way into the city.  We settled into our cute boutique hotel Sevres Saint Germain.  Everything about the hotel exuded charm.  The wooden beams on the ceiling, the balcony overlooking the city the winding staircase to our floor.  The one thing this hotel that none of our other accommodations in Europe had: centralized air conditioning.  

After a brief cat nap, we were ready to explore the city.  First stop, Notre Dame.  

I could have stayed there for longer exploring the intricate and thought out details carved into the building.

One of the top "Must Dos" while in Paris - eating crepes!  And we did...twice!! Our first meal was at a cute cafe.  We split a crepe and a toasted open faced ham and cheese sandwich with a raw egg on top...and much to my surprise it was delicious!

After a few hours of exploring, it started to rain.  Fortunately a purchased umbrella and a rain coat helped us to brave the streets and explore some more.  We moseyed on over to the Champs de Elysees so the guys could pick up a few clothes in case their clothes weren't waiting at the hotel for us upon our return.  That night we watched the World Cup Finale over Pizza and Wine.

Day 2 started with a missed alarm and getting ready in 15 minutes.  I believe the jet lag was catching up with us and we were exhausted!  The weather was perfect as we walked up to the Louvre (another bucket list check off).  It just so happened to be free because it was Bastille Day.  The building alone was impressive...once again I was overwhelmed with the details in the architecture.  Top highlights we saw: Egyptian Times, The Mona Lisa, The Wedding Feast and David & Goliath Art.  We only spent 2 1/2 hours in there ...and that barely made a dent in everything to see.

I could barely contain my excitement being inside the museum!

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The next touristy thing to do: visit the Eiffel Tower.

Arc de Triompe

Another must do - Macaroons from Laduree.  They are divine, soft, chewy cookies filled with a sweet cream.  Amazing.  We got Vanilla (my fave), Mint (Brett's fave), Salted Caramel and Lemon.  I could have devoured 18 more, no joke.

For dinner, our pasta had another raw egg on top! I was a fan. After an action packed day, we had one more thing to check off our list - fireworks shooting off the Eiffel Tower in Honor of Bastille Day. (and eating a crepe)

The picture doesn't do the show justice.  Even though we weren't close, it was spectacular to see and I was glad we weren't right by the Eiffel Tower, I imagine it was crazy down there.

Next stop, London.  (We almost didn't make it there!)

Brett's luggage? Still missing.