I think it is a huge tragedy for a passport to expire before ever being stamped. It's like it doesn't have a chance to fulfill its destiny. I had such a
passport. I actually felt a little negligent as I placed it in the envelope with my new passport application. When my new passport arrived I
knew I wasn't going to deny it the privilege of getting some ink.
After a close call temporarily losing it in a "safe place, it finally boarded the plane with me as I headed over the pond. This was only possible due to my sis and bro-in-law who were amazing enough to take in my two crazies...despite having new twin cuties of their own...so that Br and I could escape reality and run off to Europe together (Br, my passport and I will be eternally indebted to the Shepherds).
Our first destinations---LONDON!!! (cue "God Save the Queen" in your mind... try not to accidentally slip into "My Country Tis of Thee". You may also use "London Calling" or "Werewolves of London" as your personal soundtrack, although the lyrics to those songs have little to do with our trip.)
Br arrived before me as the "real" reason we he was there was for a conference. Fortunately, he was able to meet up with me when I arrived. We hit the streets. Our hotel the Royal Horseguard (which, by the way, is amazingly beautiful) was right on the Thames so naturally, the first thing we did was head out for a stroll across the river.
We said "Hi" to Big Ben which turns out to be the bell inside the clock tower and not the clock itself. (not sure why it took me over 30 years to find that out) 
From there we continued walking and walking and walking. It turns out that a little walking in London takes you to a lot of really cool things: Piccadilly Circus (not actually a circus but a group of monk guys playing drums and tiny bells while singing and dancing to a really catchy song did provide some entertainment), Westminster Abby, Regent's Park, Buckingham Palace
(if it wasn't for the big assault riffles in their
hands I'd have a hard time taking the guards seriously due to those big
poofy hats.)
Somewhere along our walk, we met up with our traveling buddies Phillis and Charlie Smith (aka Philly and Chuck). It was so fun to have another couple with us.
Day 2 happened to be Br's birthday. I set out on my own in the morning to try and find him cupcakes. Along the way I found myself going down the Strand (but didn't have a banana-- Yes you may change your internal soundtrack to that song if you are cool enough to know it), found myself watching people set up for a movie premiere in Leicester Square, then turned a corner and ended up in China town.
The birthday boy met up with me for a fancy lunch at McDonald's where he ate a slice of carrot cake I ended up buying him somewhere along my journey. Turns out he isn't as big of a fan of carrot cake as I thought...oops.
The day continued at the British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone (the actual big rock tablet not the well-advertised language software) and lots of other really ancient stuff including this thing that reminds me of something out of the sea of monsters in the Beatles "Yellow Submarine" (you may select any song from that movie/album at his point)
After the museum, we met up with Chuck and Philly for a ride on the London Eye
Later we went to dinner at an Italian place on the South Bank. Ironically the waiter forgot to put in Br's order which finally arrived at the table after the rest of us had finished eating. Unfortunately whatever he got earlier at McDonald's was better than what he waited FOREVER to be served at the nice restaurant (I bet my carrot cake blunder didn't seem so bad after that horrible dining experience). The evening ended as we parted ways with our traveling buddies and strolled across the Millennial Bridge back to our hotel.
We had another day and a half in London. I'm pretty sure we hit most of the major "to-dos" before departing. I looked right when my instinct was to look left, converted money, converted time, walked, rode the tube, minded the gap, minded the doors, saw red phone booths, saw black cabs, rode in an old red bus, rode on a new red bus to Harrods (where I bought only biscuits and lunch)
rode on a boat,
went under lots of bridges (none of which were falling down),
saw lots of cool buildings,
(these ones reminded me of a modern emerald city),
ate fish and chips, ate a pasty, ate some sub-par sandwiches but super yummy desserts, ate scones with clotted cream while sipping pomegranate herbal tea,
found some cool treats and my name at an outdoor market
and stopped in on the Tower of London where I saw the crown jewels but not the ghost of Anne Boleyn (anyone who is now singing about how hard it must have been for her to blow her nose with her head tucked underneath her arm is clearly related to me).
Before I knew it it was time to part ways with Chuck and Philly and head to Kings Cross St. Pancras and catch the Hogwarts Express Eurostar through the Chunnel. Br and I said "Cheerio" to London and "Bonjour" to Paris (I now suggest humming the soundtrack to Ratatouille).
I'll be honest, once in France, I got a little flustered. I'm not really sure what happened but every time I tried to listen to or read French my brain completely shut down. The words got processed the way adults talk in the Peanuts cartoons. I didn't think I was that thrown off by it, but apparently it was pretty bad since Br has now banned me from traveling with him in a foreign-speaking country unless I've learned the language. (Time to place an order for Rosetta Stone-- the software not the aforementioned rock).
Upon arriving in Paris we dove right in and took the Metro to our hotel.
Am I crazy or did our shower fixture not look like an old fashioned phone?
We spent our first evening in the city of love sitting on a bridge over the Seine watching the sunset.
Despite the lack of signs which you would think would point you in the direction of the touristy things (like London has on every corner), we managed to find our way to many of Paris's must-dos without getting too lost. Of course, one stop included the Louvre.
Don't hate me for saying this, but although I loved seeing this lady.
and this lady,
I'm not really sure why the Louvre is a must-do, and I'm saying this as an art lover.
I, on the other hand, fell in LOVE with the Musée d'Orsay. I wish we had been able to spend more time there. Not only was the art amazing but the building itself is super cool.
We also spent a little time at the Musée Rodin. We, of course, checked out the Thinker (or at least one of the Thinkers...there are apparently like a billion of them) in the garden. I remember thinking "Wow, that is smaller than I thought."
That until I went inside the house (I, by the way, was convinced I was going to fall through the floor of the second story) and saw this guy which put the size of the other one into a little perspective.
While we were in town we headed to Île de la Cité to find Notre Dame.
Surprisingly there were no signs pointing the way so we happened upon Sainte-Chapelle first. Although I loved the architecture of Notre Dame, if you only have time to visit one Medieval Gothic Chapel/Cathedral, my vote would be for Sainte-Chapelle. I was truly inspired by the beauty of its stained glass and the artistry of the carvings on it's exterior.
Is it weird that the whole time I was thinking, "How can I translate this inspiration into a cake?"
I did enjoy Notre Dame, it just didn't speak to me like Sainte-Chapelle. I especially like seeing it again later in the trip at night all lit up.
I'm convinced that this statue of Charlemagne outside of Notre Dame was the inspiration for the King of the Army of the Dead in the Lord of the Rings.
One other serendipitous find on the little island was a small cafe shop that we found as we wandered semi-aimlessly trying to find a place to eat that wouldn't be overly touristy. The owner barely spoke English, if any, but we managed to order ourselves the tastiest meal we had while in Paris. We shared a Croque Monsieur and Napolean and took a baguette to go. If you ever find yourself on Île de la Cité you should definitely pop in for a little lunch-- No I don't know what it was called.
A quick confession, although I can't seem to find many photos, we did ride the train out to Disneyland Paris one morning.
The Sunday we were in France happened to be Father's Day. We spent the majority of the day doing what any husband and father would want to spend his day doing--visiting the home of an artist his wife was obsessed with when she was 7. My plan was to wake up early, grab tickets for a late morning train, run to the sewer museum and then meet up with Br back at the train station. I had a few snafus getting the tickets so I had to skip the sewer museum. It's my only regret of the whole trip. Yes, I'm being serious. As someone with a Master's degree in wastewater treatment who spent the Fall reading the unabridged Les Misérables (including the chapter focused entirely on the sewer), an up-close and personal tour of the underbelly of Paris is actually on my bucket list. The ride through the countryside made up for it. We decided to walk from the train station in Vernon to Monet's house in Giverny. I'm sure glad we did. The walk itself ended up being one of the highlights of our trip.
It was gorgeous. It made me want to run off on an extended holiday to a picturesque country cottage like in My Father's Glory or My Mother's Castle. It's no wonder that Giverny became a gathering place for artists.
Monet's house and garden were not a disappointment. Walking through the house made me want to go home and paint everything in each room of my house a single color. Luckily for Br, I was too pooped after the trip to actually go through with it.
I actually got a little emotional as I stood on the Japanese bridge overlooking the waterlilies. I fulfilled the dream of the 7-year-old me.
I consider myself extremely lucky to have such a nice hubby willing to spend his Father's Day doing something I'd dreamed about for over 25 years.
A trip to Paris with your love isn't complete without an evening cruise down the Seine. One thing I loved about Paris architecture is how all the buildings are cohesive yet each has a personality of their own.
I even enjoyed learning more about bridges on one short river cruise than I had cumulatively in my whole life.
I couldn't pass up taking a cheesy pic of me in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The night was perfect. The trip was perfect. I waited a long time to finally get to a place I used to dream about (and actually studied about independent of school when I was little). It was worth the wait to have the perfect traveling companion.
(see how sappy a little time in the city of love can make you)
