An American In Paris

As January was winding down, Eric traveled to Paris for work. During the work portion of the trip, they were holding meetings and staying at Disneyland Paris. For those of you who have ever wanted to go there, Eric does not recommend the hotels or facilities. He did not visit any of the parks, but was very disappointed in all of the accommodations especially considering it was Disney. His trip got much better when his meetings were over and he had a few days in Paris to himself. (For those of you wondering, I was supposed to go with him, but circumstances the week before he left prevented me from going. :(

Eric has always said that Paris was not on the top or even middle of his list of places he would like to visit. Since he was going in winter, he was especially not thrilled. I will say, though, after visiting---even in the winter---he has changed his tune. He really enjoyed himself (except for missing us and home) and says he would love to go back and experience Paris in the Spring. He also got to experience a taste of Amsterdam because he had a layover there on his way to Paris. He said it was a beautiful city and very clean. Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures he took.



Eric in Amsterdam.




What a neat looking city.




The building on the far right with all the windows and looking like a warehouse is the Anne Frank Home/Museum. He really enjoyed touring it. He could not believe how narrow and steep the stairs were. Apparently they are like that in all the homes in Amsterdam. He said they are so narrow and steep that they have to lift furniture from the street through the windows to get them in the homes.




One of the canals. Amsterdam is a city that has a canal, then a street, then another canal and so on. The bikes are also very typical. Very few people have cars and nearly everyone rides bikes or uses the train system. It is supposedly one of the "greenest" cities. We actually watched a show the other night that was in Amsterdam and they mentioned all the bikes. Apparently it is very common to have a bike run you over on the street, and they act like it is no big deal. Very interesting!



He said the Eiffel Tower was mammoth and that pictures are not very telling. The top was actually closed for repairs all week (what a bummer if you were visiting Paris on vacation and could not even go to the top of the Eiffel Tower)! He was only able to go to the second and third level. The second level houses the restaurant and an ice skating rink. I never knew there was a ice skating rink in the Eiffel Tower! The third level houses an observation deck. He took some pictures from there, but they did not turn out well because it was at night and it was very windy. I am going to try and include a short video he took from up there because it turned out better.

Eric really enjoyed visiting Notre Dame. He first visited late one afternoon, and then went back the next day, took an audio tour and attended Mass.



He is not really sure what he did to the camera, but this picture turned out so cool. It was actually night when he took this. The sky was completely black but the cathedral was surrounded by tons of brilliant lights.


He also toured the Catacombs. He started his day with this, so he was one of the first ones there. He said when he was going through it there was no one else around him, so he was walking through these creepy hallways BY HIMSELF! For those that do not know what you are seeing in the picture, the things stacked up on the sides of the hallway are BONES!! He took many other pictures that showed skulls and other more identifiable bones, but I chose not to put them on here. I could not believe that they are just out there where you could touch them. He said you could have slipped one in your jacket and no one would have known--if you were the kind of person who likes to take bones home! : / 

He also visited the Louvre. He only went through two main parts because you could spend days in there and he only had two days to see sights.

On his last day, he spent the morning in the Montmartre area of Paris. He loved the feel of the streets and the view of the city. I think he also did a little shopping. After Montmartre, he made his way out to Versailles. He says he could have easily spent an entire day or two there and wish he had had more time. The pictures of course do not do it justice.

Sacre Coeur basilica on top of the Montmartre hill.

What a pretty view. Can't you just imagine how pretty it would be in the spring when all the trees were green and things were in bloom.

King Louis XIV 's bed chamber.

Eric took this picture as a joke so that he could show me how the public restrooms were in Paris. I thought it was so cool. I have seen about them on TV. You put money in to use them and then when you leave, they sanitize themselves so that it is ready for the next person. He did not make use of any of them, so I have no first-hand knowledge of how it works. I was so bummed! I guess we will save that for our next trip! :)