Our trusty GPS got us on the Motorway, across the Severne Bridge, and past Bristol without much trouble, but it took us kind of a wierd way to the Airport. I don't know why it took us around the way it did, but there had to be a more direct route. Whatever the case, we were there almost 2 hours before our flight so we didn't worry about it too much.
We returned the car and they didn't ask any questions about condition. We checked in, checked our luggage, then I decided to find something for breakfast. There was a full "English" breakfast upstairs for 4 pounds or something so I bought that. It included eggs, country potatoes, blood sausage, and bacon, but they were out of blood sausage so they gave me double bacon. I didn't mind.
Our plane left on time, and as Mike and I chatted, we again heard allot of different language around us just like the night before. The was a man and a young girl, about 7 years old behind us, and Mike asked me what language I thought it was. I laughed, and replied "They're speaking English". He tried listening more but couldn't make it out. So I started quietly repeating what the man was saying. He was her father and was asking if she had enjoyed the game (soccer I think). She said she had, but her mother didn't like her playing so she didn't know if she'd keep going. Then they talked about their plans for the next week.
The man had a very VERY strong welsh accent, and it comes out very sing songy with some peculiar words to boot. They did use the occasional welsh word, especially adjectives. The girl had a pretty strong English accent, but spoke her welsh words perfectly. I never figured out if the man and the girls mother were divorced, but I think they weren't. The man was just taking their daughter to visit someone in Paris.
The flight over was smooth and there was scattered clouds so I spent allot of time staring out the window and wondering just where we were. The time over the channel was very short.
I guess I should explain why we chose to fly rather than take the Chunnel train. From London, the Chunnel costs over one hundred pounds. but we were in Cardiff. So a train from Cardiff to London was aother Hundred and some pounds, making over 200 pounds to get to Paris, and taking most of the day.
The flight left near 10:00 and we were in Paris by noon, and cost about 50 pounds less. So while the Chunnel train would have been to ride and tell people about, it would have consumed the whole day and cost allot more.
We landed in Paris and they barely gave our passports a glance was we left the terminal. We waited 15 minutes for a shuttle to take us to the terminal with the train depot, but we managed to catch a train into Paris pretty quick. We got off the train just a couple of blocks from the Marriott (properly spelled) and checked in. They were having rennovations done, and we had a little trouble getting a room with both working internet and working air conditioner.
We left almost immediatly and rode the subway to the Paris Harley Davidson to buy T-Shirts. We chatted with the sales lady about Harleys and everything she had done in life, then left to find some lunch. We made our way to a famouse square (but I don't remember the name) and ate lunch in a cafe on one corner. The food was great (of course). I think I had scallops.
After lunch, we rode the subway to the Louvre. We had decided to do 2 shorter trips to the Louvre rather than one long trip because you tend to get overwhelmed and exhausted with all the art and walking. We did the 2 biggest things first, the Mona Lisa, and the Vinus De Milo.
They recently made a change, and no longer allow any pictures of the Mona Lisa. A guard said it wasn't to protect it from flash or anything, it was for crowd control. First they banned all tripods because people would spend hours trying to get the perfect shot, then they had to ban cameras all together. Even with no cameras, it took us nearly an hour to get in and out of the room. The guard said the DaVinci Code had a huge effect on crowds in that section of the museum and they had moved the painting to a bigger room with better flow.
Next we went to th Vinus which didn't have near the crowds, but to me was much more striking. Then we saw the Winged Victory wich again, was incredible looking. But everywhere we went, there were beautiful sculptures.
We stayed for nearly 4 hours and then tried to leave before the crowds got too bad. But we got caught in the rush anyway.
We went outside and looked around, then decided to walk to the Champs--Elysées. So we walked along the parks on the Rue-de-Rivoli. We got a crepe, but it was getting late and the vendors weren't cooking fresh ones. It was still good though.
I called home and chatted with my family on the way. I was getting a bit homesick by now. It's funny but when our kids were young and we'd been married around 10 years, Nan used to take the kids and go up to a cabin in Northern Arizona for weeks at a time. While she was gone, I'd work till Midnight or later every night, and would go up to visit one or two nights now and then. But the longer we've been married, I have gotten to where the first 2 days I can work hard and late, then I kind of work about normal, and by the 5th day I'm moping around whining about how much I miss my wife and kids.
We made it to the Champs-Elysées by about 11:00 and there was still a very full crowd. We had another crepe, and window shopped. As we got near the far end, we realized we had never eaten a dinner, so we found a nice cafe and bought sandwiches and pastries. Even their fast food was very good.
We made our way to the subway and got back to the hotel well after midnight.
Looking out the Plane window as we leave England
The English Coast
The French Coast
Flat Stanley and a French town as we land in Paris
Flat Stanley in the window of the Train we rode into Paris
The Paris Harley Davidson shop
Winged Victory in the Louvre
Venus De Milo
The shot of Venus that you hardly ever see
There were so many fantastic statues in the Louvre
A painted ceiling
The Eifle Tower as we walked toward the Champs-Elysées
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