Burnin' Up!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Bonjour!! Greetings from Paris!

This morning, Grandma and I left Amsterdam around 9:30 this morning on the train to Paris. On board, we sat next to a man from India who studied in Singapore and is now studying in the UK. The other man who sat in our quad was a ventilation system specialist from Holland. Seeing as all four of us are very talkative, we had an interesting, eye opening, and at times controversial conversation on our trip. When we arrived in Paris we got on the subway and found our hotel. I need to learn to pack lighter!! Our hotel is literally 2 blocks from the Moulin Rouge! Once we dropped off our luggage, we headed back to the subway to see the Eiffel Tower. First we stopped for a late lunch at this little cafe that Grandma and Pappy ate at while they were here a few months ago. We even had the same waiter! When we got to the Eiffel tower, we waited in line and took the "lift" all the way up to the top!! Afterwards, we enjoyed Paris for a little while before taking a boat tour along the Seine. While in line, we met a funny couple from New Zealand. Then, when we were on board, we passed under a bridge and two people dropped water balloons off of the bridge that hit the roof of our boat! We didn't board until 9:30, hoping that at least by the time we got back it would be dark and we could see the "Tour Eiffel" sparkle. It was ALMOST dark at 10:30 when we got back, and we walked around so we could see it sparkle at 11. We've got a full day of things to see tomorrow!!

Love,

Emma and Grandma Barb

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Bonjour! This morning Grandma and I woke up, ate our free (well, included) breakfast, and headed out to the Grand Palais for their current Andy Wohral exhibit. When we got there, we realized that the museum was closed on Tuesdays. We walked the Champ Elysees (chan-zay-luh-zay), the Parisian "magnificent mile" to get to the Arc de Triumphe. We went up to the top, saw Paris, and headed back down the other side of the Champ Elysees. We went to the Armee musuem to see Napoleon's gigantic tomb, and then got on the subway to see the Cinema museum. We got there, and realized it's also closed on Tuesday, so then we headed to Versailles. The train was SO hot!! They don't really use air conditioning here, and it was about 35 degrees (times 9/5 plus 32 equals 95 degrees fahrenheit!) The palace was huge, beautiful, and gaudy. We ate dinner, saw all of the famous designer stores (louis vitton, prada, chanel....don't drool too much Clara) and then called it an early night so we can rest up for tomorrow.

Love,

Emma and Grandma Barb

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

What a tiring day! Grandma and I bought 2 day museum passes yesterday, not realizing that half of the museums were closed! So tday we were determined to see the musems that interested us on the pass. Today we saw the Louve, some other museum with an exhibit on fashion and clothing, the Oray (many Monets, but I found out Water Lilies is at a different art museum here in Paris), Notre Dame (minus the golden dome) and it's crypts, Sainte Chapelle, the Concierge where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned, and the Cinema museum. By 4:30, we were exhausted! We came back to rest (I took a long nap) and then we walked to see the Sacre Coeure, a basilica that was miraculously not hit by any bombs, even though everything around it was. We ate Crepes and looked out over the city. Paris is beautiful, but we're also excited to get to London where it will hopefully be cooler temperature-wise.

Love,

Emma and Grandma Barb

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Today was a little bit more relaxed than yesterday. We started off by visiting the Andy Warhol exhibit in the Grand Palais. It was SO good! Then we headed across the street and quickly visited the Petit Palais. We walked over to see a giant department store called Galleria Lafayette with a beautiful dome inside that Grandma had seen last time, and we had lunch in there. Then we did some shopping and headed back to our hotel to rest during the hot part of the day. We had some dinner, and then strolled along the Champs Elysees when it was all lit up for our last night in Paris. Off to London tomorrow afternoon!

Love,

Emma and Grandma Barb