11 cities 10 Days 7 Countries and 4 Friends traipsing around Europe

At the beginning of the year Michelle (a dear friend of 10 years and former roommate) and I decided that it was time for another adventure (previous adventures included but are not limited to Australia and India).  Seeing as Michelle had not yet been to Europe that was our decided destination.  Soon Kelson (the pharmacist), a friend from our freshman year at BYU and who now lives near Michelle, joined the planning.  Then with some convincing Nathan (the laundry king of White Pine county) joined the plans for the trip as well.  So after a few months of Google hangouts discussing our plans for this crazy adventure we were off!

We all met up in Seattle on June 6^th to fly on an airline that none of us had heard of before and could only hope at the cheap price we got our flight would take us to our destination.   

June 7th – Much to the misery of Kelson and Nathan, Michelle and I chatted for nearly 5 straight hours of our 10 hour flight over catching up on the little details in our lives and laughing at old memories.   Arriving in Frankfurt, Germany we picked up the car and hit the ground running in a Ford Kuga much to the disappointment of our dear friend Nathan who would have much preferred if we sported a more local car.  After some minor struggles with the GPS we were on our way to Paris.  We made a quick stop in this quaint German town for some lunch/dinner.  We enjoyed the bakery and a little jaunt around town to stretch our legs.  This German bakery was my first of many painful realizations that I should have taken the time to learn the language even just a little bit.  It was quite embarrassing, and if I were to go back I would have been studying the basics for the months beforehand.  All the same,  I love the cozy feeling of Europe

.  The detail in the architecture in both simple and significant buildings always fascinates me.  After a long drive and a bit of circling around figuring out the insanity of the parking garage, we managed to check into the hotel.  The hotel was hotter than hades and the windows could not be opened for our security.  I’m not sure they took into consideration that our sanity would be at risk but none the less we slept in preparation for the next day of our adventure.

June 8^th—I love public transportation! As gross and creepy as it may be at times, I love it!  Perhaps it goes back to taking buses and the subway for the first time when we moved to Chile but I feel as it has always been associated with some amusing memories.  So our day in Paris started with a 20 minute ride into the city on the subway.  Our first destination of the day was breakfast.  We popped out of the metro close to the Louvre, as our intention was to be there when it opened.  We walked around a little bit searching for the perfect café for breakfast, in the midst of the search I just tried to breath in the city.  I love city centers, especially in the morning as they start to wake up.  I love standing on the streets in Paris and knowing that that is precisely where you are: Paris. I believe we were initially looking for some place that served crepes for Miss Michelle, and luckily found this café with a kind waiter.  Between the crepes and omelets and the waiter’s sincere “Voila and Bon Apatite” our adventure seem to have an official start.    

Now since I had already been to the Louvre I was kind of just along for the ride, it seemed that nobody really had any expectations once we were actually there which made it easier I guess.  We made it to some of the more famous paintings the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Napoleon’s apartment amongst other things.   One of my favorites is The Wedding at Cana by Veronese simply it’s sheer size is impressive in addition to the depth of the scenes in the painting.  Perhaps the most amusing part of the museum was when some idiot tourist decided to step up Winged Victory, which did not amuse the security guard in the least.  It was hard to hold back audible laughter at the stupidity of the tourist as the guard yelled “Get off! This is not Disneyland! It is a museum!”

Following our stroll through the Louvre we headed to Notre Dame and had a look outside.  The line to go in went down the street so we decided we were satisfied with a view from the outside and headed to the Sainte Chapelle to see the stain glass.  The room was impressive but the price was a little steep just to see one room, but still beautiful all the same. 

Waiting in line for the catacombs

After Sainte Chapelle we headed to the catacombs, which I was strangely excited about wandering around underground Paris.  On the way I had my second incidence in which I desperately wished I had studied the language even just a little before I left on the trip.  I had purchased a day subway pass which decided to stop working so I approached several different booths in attempt to explain my predicament.  Without the ability to change it for several stops it led to some awkward squeezing and crawling to get on the subway.  I was not trying to cheat the system I had paid but had noway of explaining my situation. All the same I made it to the stop of the catacombs.

We waited in line holding our breath that they would not cut us off as the last group was let in at 4pm, and we were still in line at 3:50.  Luck was in our favor and we headed down into the depths of the catacombs.  I personally would never want to be down there alone and I was for a brief moment as I stayed to read something and everyone else moved on.  There was a slight moment of panic but took a deep breath and finally caught up to the rest of the group.  So I’m nearly 30 and still a little afraid of the dark, but it didn’t help that I was underground wandering through what seemed like endless tunnels.  Nearly 6 million bones are in the catacombs which they have arranged in some interesting configurations including hearts and crosses.  Nathan accidentally brushed up against some of the bones and slightly frantic shared some of the death dust with me. When we finished we seemed to emerge in the middle of nowhere on this quaint street in Paris.

Our next destination was the Eiffel Tower, what would a trip to Paris be without a visit? The last time in Paris I did not go up in the tower so that was a must do on my list this time around.  While it was a bit of a wait in line it was worth it.  A few times an announcement came over the loud speaker, “There are pickpockets in the tower.  Please watch your personal belongings.” That’s really comforting, but I appreciated the warning none the less.  There are a few things in life that are simply iconic and being at the Eiffel Tower is one of those that just makes you smile to be there taking it in.

We enjoyed delicious crepes across the bridge from Eiffel tower, which I mistakenly thought was a great dinner but later to be informed that other people in our group were left starved by the end of the night.  We continued our jaunt through Paris walking along the river Seine seeing what we believed was a bridge/walkway featured in Inception.  Then as the night was growing long we took some quick photo ops at the Arc de Triumph, Moulin Rouge, and the Sacre de Coeur.  Around Sacre de Coeur I was informed of the desperation for food at this point, and we stopped and I enjoyed some delicious French onion soup.  I was kindly informed by the gentlemen of the group that in the future 3 meals a day would be necessary.  Considering my normal travel habits this would prove difficult for me, not because I did not want to but it simply did not cross my mind or my stomach to stop as much.

As busy as the start of the trip was, I was impressed with the dynamics of our group and would gladly travel with them again.  I particularly loved Kelson’s excitement for everything.  He made everything seem new and exciting, and Michelle likewise.  Nathan’s ridiculous humor along the way was also much appreciated.     We took the subway back to our hotel at nearly midnight and despite the overwhelming heat of our rooms, we concluded the first real day of our trip. 

Favorite Pictures of the First Day