So let me see… where did I leave off from part 1…. Oh yeah… the taxi driver dropped us off in the middle of the road because he could not pull up right beside the hotel. Traffic was crazy. I swear I thought we were going to wreck driving from the airport to the hotel. Those taxi drivers butt in and out of the traffic like it’s nothing to them. I just gritted my teeth and held on. 🤪
We got to the Holiday Inn Paris around 1pm. We were all starving … even me who had been living on saltine crackers… I wanted something…but was still scared to eat… Anyway, they told us our room would not be ready till 3pm and they also told Penny that her husband and 2 boys could not room together! They said all their rooms had 2 twin beds in them unless you got a suite! Penny was not happy and I felt terrible for her. They told her they would try to find a suite, but she would probably have to take 2 rooms…. Guess it was a good thing they were not fully booked or who knows what we would have done. Penny had been rooming with me and the 3 boys had been rooming together in Germany. Which we did notice in Germany the kind bed was 2 twin beds pushed together. So the 3 boys had already suffered 4 nights with 2 twin beds in Germany. Let’s just say the boys were happy when they heard they were going to have their own room. 😁 Penny even laughed and told me that she guessed she’d stay with her hubby and let me room alone. She said she figured I was tired of her anyway. 😂 She’s more of a morning person than me. She wakes up all chatty and I wake up looking for coffee and quite time. 😁 However, she was not bothering me one bit rooming with me.
Did I mention it had started to rain!!?!?!?! We went next door beside the hotel to grab lunch and wait on our rooms. We still had some time before we could get into our rooms so we decided to walk on over to the Eiffel tower. Logan, Penny’s youngest wanted to go up in the tower. However, when we saw the line that was a mile long, we decided not to wait ….. especially in the rain. The boys all said they just wanted to go to the room. I was kind of disappointed when we saw the tower. It’s like a huge piece of metal during the daytime. Penny and I both were like…. Hum… what’s so magical about this. It just looked like a huge piece of metal.
We checked the forecast and it was calling for 100% rain 😭 So we took the boys back to the room and checked in. Then Penny and I decided to go back out in the rain. We both knew that this was the only afternoon we would have in the city of Paris to try to sightsee. The next day we had a full day planned at Normandy.
I ended up buy 3 umbrellas that afternoon at the train station. We gave one to the boys, but they said they were staying in the room. They did not want to be wet and cold. Penny and I however, looked at the map and decided to hit the few things we had on our list…… We started with Norte Dame Cathedral. I had heard it was beautiful. However in 2019 a fire broke out beneath the roof of the cathedral. By the time the fire was extinguished, a lot of it had been severely damaged. So you could not see all of it. They are still in the process of making repairs. The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. It is the most visited monument in France. It was built in the Middle Ages. They say the inside is incredible. However, due to the repairs from the fire it’s not open for tours. They hope to open in 2024.
After Norte-Dame we walked to see the Saint Chapele….which is a royal chapel in Gothic style again …. It was the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century. Constructed in like 1238. I really wanted to go inside to look…. But we were on a time crunch … we had a river boat cruise at 7:30pm and the boys had agreed to meet us….. depending on the rain… we didn’t know if they would have it or not… I really didn’t get a great picture of the outside of the Chapele.
And the main thing Penny wanted to see was the Louvre Museum. She really wanted to inside and see the Mona Lisa also, but again… we didn’t have time. I could literally go spend a week in the city and probably still not see everything. As we walked to the Louvre, we saw many beautiful buildings… we have no idea what they are since we were not on a tour ….. it was just me and Penny experiencing the city on our own. ☺️
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| Penny and her husband Hardy... |
We actually stopped 1/2 way to Normandy on our drive at a gas station for a bathroom break and so everyone could get a snack if they wanted. I was so glad because y’all know I can’t make it 3 hours without a bathroom break 😂 Our tour guide was from Georgia, but he now lives in Paris. He said he married a cute French girl there. 😍 He gave us so much history while riding and also was quiet for a good bit of the time so people could sleep. Many were sleeping that morning. 😉☺️ When Penny mentioned this tour to me, I wasn’t really sure at first because it was going to mean an all day trip. We would leave the city of Paris at 7am and not return to 9pm. The next day we would leave for London so we had limited time to see Paris. But I will say now that I am so thankful that we went to Normandy. It was by far one of my favorite things of the whole trip. The beaches there are beautiful and to stand on the exact ground where history took place….. WOW … Penny and I actually walked around in tears most of the day there. It was simply breathtaking and also sad to think of those young men. Men that were mostly Penny’s boys ages! I can’t even describe the feeling….. As I told Penny… yes, we were having a wonderful trip in a different countries…. But man the history we were also seeing….. Berlin Wall…. Check point Charlie…. Fredrick the Great’s Palaces….. And now this…..There is a museum there at Utah beach that is also amazing also. Our guide gave us plenty of time to walk around and explore.
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| Bunkers there at the beaches |
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| The thing behind me is a monument of the tool the men used to climb the wall... |
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| One of the exact location where our men came on shore.... |
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| The American cemetry |
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| The statue is at the American Cemetery .... I had ran to the bathroom so I missed most of what the tour guide said the name of the statue is.... but I think it represents the victory.... a person lifted up... |
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| A map of the beaches .... pretty cool |
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| I was inside looking at the bunker... this is the one right at the top of the beach wall.... |
Our guide took us to a cool little place for lunch where we had fish. He said it was a local fishing village. It was very good. I was so happy to be eating and not be sick. Oh he also took us to a farm where we tasted apple cider Whiskey. It was pretty good. One was way strong for me…but the men liked it.
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| Where we had our fish for lunch. |
The trip back to the city took about 4 hours. We did stop 1/2 for bathroom break. I slept off and on …..resting and trying to prepare for another marathon coming up in a couple of days…… The next day we would take the bullet train to London…… I was so tired the first night I didn’t even notice I had a balcony in my room….. and man what a view….. This is how I’ll remember the city of Paris….
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| Looking out my room balcony... |
Stay tuned for part 3…… LONDON
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