Day 17 - Part 2... A Parisian Farewell

After hanging our head low for a bit as our fellow passengers got on the bus, not so happy about the wait they had endured in the hot sun, the group drove to a section of Paris called Montmartre. This is a very eclectic area of France. Historically it attracted artists like Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, Renior and Degas. It used to be outside of the Paris city limits and free from taxes... and the local nuns made wine. So, what happens when you combine singers, artists and wine?? ... It became home to the famous cabarets like Moulin Rouge and Le Chat Noir. 

The central landmark in Montmartre is a very high hill. On top of the hill is the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. We all waited in line to go a small cable car and see the views from the Basilica. 

Then we went back down the hill and went souvenir shopping for a while. 

Then we headed to the restaurant for our farewell dinner. We went to a traditional French restaurant and had a room all to ourselves. It was a very festive night and we all enjoyed hanging out one last time before we scattered all over the world the next day. 

 Our dinner that night would include choices that were very traditional French cuisine. I was feeling adventurous and ordered Frog Legs as my appetizer. Brad stayed safe and went with the French Onion soup. The Frog Legs weren't what I expected and ended up getting REALLY grossed out by them. Call me  Southern girl, but I thought they would be fried... and I can eat just about anything if it is fried. These were not... which meant I could see their little frog bodies and I all I could think of was Kermit. I tried really hard to eat them but couldn't get past the first bite and their appearance. 

I eventually put a my garnish over them, feeling the need to give them some proper respect and burial.

RIP Kermit... I know it wasn't easy being green.

Sitting across from me, our friend Phyllis had ordered another traditional dish...Escargot. It took some coaxing but I agreed to squeamishly try one. 

Although I admit the flavor wasn't very bad and the consistency reminded me of mussels, I couldn't get past knowing they were SNAILS!!! So, I can say I tried both Frog Legs and Escargot and happily say that I will never eat them again!

With wine flowing freely and celebration in the air, our dinner turned into quite the party. There was lots of laughter and reliving adventures from our trip. This group of people would never be together again and we would be going home to six different countries. After we eat, we were entertained by some musicians that kicked the party up into high gear. People danced and sang and really enjoyed the evening. 

When we were done, we walked back to the bus that would take us to our hotel. At the hotel, we stood outside and said our goodbyes... there were lots of hugs and "keep in touch" comments. We were saddened to say good bye to some of the folks because we really enjoyed traveling with them. As things wound down, Brad and I finally got a picture with Franco and Bogi. 

Bogi had been a fantastic tour guide. She was knowledgeable and upbeat and just a lot of fun. Franco had started out as this mysterious, almost intimidating Italian man. We would make up all sorts of stories about what he would say and think. By the end of trip, we had seen him smile many times and even made him laugh. Even with his limited knowledge of English, we had still managed to connect quite well with him. Only Franco could carry off a pink Polo shirt with the collar up...

We headed to our hotel room to begin packing up and preparing for an early morning. Our trip wasn't entirely over... we still had some adventures ahead to get us home!

Day 17- Part 1... A Mad Dash in Paris...

Today was our final full day of sightseeing and our last day with the group. In the same spirit as the rest of the trip... it would be a BUSY day!

After breakfast we piled onto the bus and took a driving sightseeing tour of Paris.

I loved all the little cafes and markets.

 After hearing a lot about this amazing city and seeing some of the amazing architecture, we stopped at one of the most famous landmarks... Notre Dame. After spending some time walking around and taking pictures, we re-grouped and went inside.

It is really an amazing place with such detail in the architecture and absolutely beautiful stained glass windows.

After a good amount of time at Notre Dame, we got back on the bus and drove around the city some more. Even though we had been up the Eiffel Tower the day before, we stopped at a place that had a great view of the tower and was a perfect spot for pictures...

We drove by the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysees.

We also drive through the tunnel that is sadly the site of Princess Diana's fatal car crash.

 

After a quick bite to eat, we met up with a smaller group to go on the optional tour that afternoon... a trip to the Palace of Versailles. I had been looking forward to this simply because I had heard was an amazing sight to see. From the moment we drove into the parking lot and saw the front gates, I knew it wouldn't disappoint.

 

It was a LONG walk to the front entrance of the palace.

The amount of wealth invested into this palace is overwhelming. Even the gates at the entrance were covered in gold!

Versailles became the political center of France with Louis XIV moved there in 1682. It remained that way until the French Revolution forced the royal family back to Paris in 1789. The palace is made of endless rooms and long halls of tapestries, paintings, chandeliers, elaborate furnishing and sheer affluence.

View of the gardens.

The King's bed.

View of some of the gardens from inside the palace.

After our guided tour we went out into the gardens and we were given free time. And then we made a great mistake... we saw a sign for a small train that went through the vast area of the palace grounds and provided commentary on rented headsets. Since we only had about an hour until our tour group departed, we thought it would be a good way to see the most of the area in our short time. We couldn't have been more wrong... the train ended up really only being a means to get from point A to point B and we didn't really see much. And it lasted over an hour... yep, OVER an hour.

Another couple from our tour group had also gotten on the train and we started chatting about how we doubted our decision. By the time we really began to realize that we were going to be late, the train had taken us so far from the main palace, that it would have taken us FOREVER to walk (or run) back. We had no choice than to keep riding and it felt like it took forever!! Each time the train would reach one of its stops, people would unload, the Conductor would take tickets from new passengers and wait a few minutes in case new ones showed up. It was the most frustrating waste of time.

When we FINALLY got back to our original stop, Brad went to return the headset while I started the LONG walk back to the bus meeting stop. The other couple ran ahead of me... I was still battling very swollen feet and most of the ground was very uneven cobblestone. That combination meant I couldn't run at all. All the while I was quickly running back to the bus, I worried if there would even be a bus there to meet... after all we were now 20 minutes past the time the bus was supposed to LEAVE!! I went as fast as I could. Somehow Brad and I missed each other and he managed to beat me there... thankfully the bus was still there. We were greeted by a very unhappy tour guide and Franco and then a bus full of fellow tourists that had been forced to sit and wait for us. We were not the most liked people on the bus. I am convinces that had it just been Brad and me and not also another couple, we would have been left there. We tried to explain ourselves and say that it wasn't our fault... I am not sure anyone cared. Especially the not-so-nice French tour guide. She basically said that SHE knew that we didn't have time to take that train and if we did have time she would have told us it was an option... not sure I understand her logic. Maybe she should have told everyone that there was a train and that we DIDN'T have time to ride it!! UGH.

We spent the 20 minute ride back to Paris trying to catch our breath and calm down some. We made it back into the city to where the rest of the group was waiting. They were also very unhappy because they had been made to wait in the sun for 20 minutes since "someone" made the bus leave late. Oops. 

Finally... Wedding Highlights video!!!

I know I have 2 more days of the honeymoon to blog about and I am working on them!! Right now I am sitting in my parents' living room in Mississippi. Yesterday, Brad and I made the drive for the July 4th weekend.

For now, I wanted to share the link to our wedding highlights video. We JUST got our video this week so I am excited to share this with everyone!

Click HERE for the video. The password is Becker.

Enjoy!