I recently had the pleasure of hosting my two good friends Alison and Lauren. They hail from Seville, Espana and were ready for some old fashioned fun in Paris (museums, site seeing, and the such). We spent the first day enjoying the Louvre by slowly making our way to the Mona Lisa through the sweaty crowds and then to Napoleon's apartments. After leaving the Louvre, we walked through the Tuilleries, to the Champs-Elysses, and finally to the Arc de Triomphe. We ended our day with a baguette, cheese, and hard salami.
Day two was a slow day, but included my first climb of the Eiffel Tower. The view was quite fascinating, but I still enjoy Paris from the Sacre Coeur more. Later on we went to Notre Dame and then to Isle Saint Louis for some Bertillion ice cream.
Day three consisted of a short train ride to Chateau de Fontainebleau, which is well known for housing many kings and members of the royal families. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) was signed here by Louis XIV as well as the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) by Napoleon and Charles IV. Finally, Napoleon was stripped of his powers here by the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau, and also exiled him to Elba. The palace was almost as grandiose as Versailles, but much less crowded.
On our ride back we ended up getting stuck at one stop for an hour and a half. Still not completely clear on why, but something along the lines of another train was stuck or in a crash at the stop ahead of us. With the alternative being a 100 Euro cab ride back to the center of Paris, we decided to stick it out in the musty train car.
When we finally made it back we climbed to the top of the Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the beautiful view of Paris for awhile and then began our hike across town (35 min) to dinner at Plein Soleil. We ended our night with a light show at the Eiffel Tower.
Day two was a slow day, but included my first climb of the Eiffel Tower. The view was quite fascinating, but I still enjoy Paris from the Sacre Coeur more. Later on we went to Notre Dame and then to Isle Saint Louis for some Bertillion ice cream.
Day three consisted of a short train ride to Chateau de Fontainebleau, which is well known for housing many kings and members of the royal families. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) was signed here by Louis XIV as well as the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) by Napoleon and Charles IV. Finally, Napoleon was stripped of his powers here by the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau, and also exiled him to Elba. The palace was almost as grandiose as Versailles, but much less crowded.
On our ride back we ended up getting stuck at one stop for an hour and a half. Still not completely clear on why, but something along the lines of another train was stuck or in a crash at the stop ahead of us. With the alternative being a 100 Euro cab ride back to the center of Paris, we decided to stick it out in the musty train car.
When we finally made it back we climbed to the top of the Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the beautiful view of Paris for awhile and then began our hike across town (35 min) to dinner at Plein Soleil. We ended our night with a light show at the Eiffel Tower.
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