ATG in Gay Paree (that would be Paris) - with a day trip to DLP!

[A-T-G]

I think i will join in on this one. You are very witty!
Enjoying the pictures also.

Thanks! You've made my entire day!

 

[lurkyloo]

[

Some shopping was done.

Yes, but where's the picture of what you GOT at Hermés?

 

[A-T-G]

Yes, but where's the picture of what you GOT at Hermés?

Ask and ye shall receive!

OOOH, whadja get?!

Teeny box!

The heck is that?!

The packaging is seriously awesome! But, what the heck are they?!

That's right folks! I went ALL the way to Paris for STICKY NOTES!! Swanky!

Oh...you want to know that's in the in BIG bag?! OKAY!

 

[A-T-G]

The big box!

For purse enthusiasts this is an Evelyne in Epsom in Bougainvilla & the purchase was DH's idea! I swear!!

 

[lurkyloo]

Drool! I love those colors! And now that I know they sell sticky notes, why maybe I *can* afford souvenirs at Hermés after all (wait.... they prolly cost, like, $75 each, right? )

 

[Disneygrl36]

WOW the packaging & the sticky notes are beautiful!!!!

 

[A-T-G]

...And now that I know they sell sticky notes, why maybe I *can* afford souvenirs at Hermés after all (wait.... they prolly cost, like, $75 each, right? )

HAHA! Right?! They are stupidly expensive but, I HAD to get them! They were like $19.00 bucks. I get the tax back, tho! I filled out a form and everything!

 

[lurkyloo]

OK, now Patrick wants to know if you're going to put Muppet Jibbitz in the holes on your new bag....

 

[A-T-G]

OK, now Patrick wants to know if you're going to put Muppet Jibbitz in the holes on your new bag....

That idea is so frickin' brilliant! I bow down!

 

[Becx N Gav]

Thanks! I'm glad it looks like I'm dealing well with the Jet Lag - it's all an act! I was exhausted for most of it.

I was also really worried that it looked like I sat down the entire trip! It felt like we'd get someplace and I'd have find a seat (those Metro steps were a killer!) or, we'd wander for a bit, and I'd call for a coffee break! You can't imagine my giddy glee when DH said he needed a break as his feet were numb (that was later in the trip).

And, sorry, I wasn't clear. I didn't meet a rude FRENCH person (not a single one on the trip!), I met a rude person in FRANCE. It was a scream!

Ok, it was probably a Brit then

I'm glad it was a fun experience

That idea is so frickin' brilliant! I bow down!

DO IT

 

[poppyolivia]

your report is great, what a wicked sense of humour you have..loving the red glasses,very cool!!!! xxxxxx

 

[A-T-G]

your report is great, what a wicked sense of humour you have..loving the red glasses,very cool!!!! xxxxxx

AW! Thanks, poppyolivia! I figure, if I gotta rock the glasses, rock them HARD!

 

[A-T-G]

We woke up and just managed to squeak into breakfast at our hotel. This would be the 'meal' that sustained us for most of the day, so it's lucky that we made it!

We took the Metro to the RER and caught a train to the Musee D'Orsay. DH and I had heard glorious things about this museum and we couldn't WAIT to see it! Thankfully, the RER stops right under the museum (makes sense, it used to be a train station!), and the station has *gasp*, an ELEVATOR! Oh, blissful joy at riding an elevator and NOT taking the stairs! Happiness is an air-conditioned elevator (sorry, Mr. Schulz).

The museum was literally around the corner!

I'm not the only one that takes sitting seriously! This museum thinks good seating is PRICELESS!

I gotta' get in there and find a seat!

Of course, once inside the museum you discover that you're not allowed to take photos. Lame. So, DH and I checked our cameras in order to prevent us (me) from attempting to sneak a pic (Desole, Monsieur security guard! je suis un stoopid American who is obsessed with picture taking! Please don't throw me out! I'll be good *click*. That was nothing!)

This museum completely lives up to the hype! If you haven't been yet, and you are in Paris - why are you reading this? GO!! I mean it! GO!! DH said it was his favorite museum EVAH. I'm not willing to go there as I have a HUGE soft spot for the Met love. DH thought it kicked the crap outta the Louvre but, I defended that beauty! I said to DH 'you don't get the Orsay w/o the Louvre! The guys that have work in here were rebelling against the patronized art you see at the Louvre. These guys painted because they had to paint. They weren't trying to please a Medici or a Pope, they just put their stuff out there'. I know, I totally sounded like some kind of arty art fan! I'm patting myself on the back right now! Even DH raised and eyebrow but, he agreed with me, so the I allowed it.

We had to take a break after the first floor or as DH put it "Masterpiece, masterpiece, famous, famous, Immortal, Masterpiece, Immortal, Famous, Masterpiece". You guys? It was! It was like everywhere you looked was something you'd seen pictures of in magazines, or art books, or history books, or documentaries...it was mind-blowing. I had to sit down!

We tried the GORGEOUS cafe on the second floor (after I had a meltdown when I found out all the frickin' elevators were out of service!). I shoulda snuck a pic, as it was beautiful! I probably could have snapped one with my phone but, by that time, I was a.) Mentally unstable and b.) Outta the picture mode. The food, however? Blurgh (is there a vomiting smiley?)! Oh, I'm sure it was perfectly prepared, it just didn't hit my flavor profiles. Example? Well, I ordered a cold radish soup with shrimp. They bring me this pretty little cup with a lovely pink soup that REEKS. It smells like rotting seafood and the bottom of the cup is cloudy and gray. Huh? Realization dawns: The shrimp is RAW! Like slimy, stinky, RAW!! Oh, it was gaggy. DH was like 'what's that smell?' and I told him it was my lunch. 'Ew!' was all he could add. I swapped it for the lunch special which was pate and toast but, the pate was not creamy and fruity. It was really mealy and dry. bleh. I gave up and switched to dessert! A lovely orange scented pound cake and caramel tea. Heaven.

Once we finished with the second floor (amazing furniture! I want it!), we headed out for sandwiches at a little bar and then back to the train for our next stop:

 

[A-T-G]

Finishing up at the museum, we took the RER toward the Eiffel Tower. The tower was about a block away from the RER station - not hard to miss! The other way to find the tower? Follow the crowd!

Another attempt to take a picture of us with the tower. This was our most successful pic.

How long is this line going to be? I'm going to get lots of chances to snap pics, aren't I?

So, we made it to the first part of the tower. We had to get in line for the elevator ride to the top. Here's the thing - there are FOUR elevators dumping people onto the platform but, only ONE elevator to take the crowds to the very top of the tower. This means that the line is crazy long and more than a little insane! The line gets structured before the elevator but, it's a free-for-all until that point. Normally this would make my lose my MIND - instead, I decided to take a breath and realize that we're all going to the same place and few people cutting in front aren't going to delay me by much. Just take some pics and enjoy the view.

You can see the shadow of the tower in this picture! Cool!

There's just the one elevator, let's make sure the thousands of people here can find it.

So the only thing making this go, is a freaky wheel? I'm encouraged...

Don't look at this too hard, it'll make you dizzy.

We've been waiting for awhile now, snapping pics and giggling at each other. The line's getting a little weird as it's going around the corner. I snapped one more picture and things got - interesting...

This fella behind us is getting really frustrated with the line, which we've been in for over an hour. I can hear him complaining really loudly about DH and I taking pictures and 'letting' people cut in front of us (we weren't letting them! It's just a confusing line, and I didn't want to be a meanie.) - His wife is trying to tell him to shut it, it's not a big deal - blah, blah, blah. The guy won't leave it alone. He's pretty loud about it. He's not speaking English but, I understand him perfectly - so I thought he was speaking Spanish! After listening to him complain for a bit, I finally turned to him and in really formal Spanish told him that I was on vacation, and when you're on vaca, you take PICTURES! I said if it was a problem, dude could just cut in front of me. Of course, he immediately back down! It's not a big deal, he says but, I won't let him off that easily! I say to him that I think it IS a big deal, since he's complaining about it so, cut in front. He finally does much to the mortification of his wife. She's really apologetic (sweet of her). I wave her forward. She whisper chews him out - you know where she's leaning in and whispering but, really harshly. The guy's like "they were taking pictures!!" and she's like "They're on vacation, like us! Let it go!" so I take it further by 'whispering' to DH "Huh, I thought the FRENCH were supposed to be the RUDE ones" and he waves his hand dismissively and says 'va bene' - which is when I realized he was Italian, not Spanish (oops). DH leans in and says to me 'so much for his romantic trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower'!

Here's the pic I took of us right after 'the incident'!

Almost at the top of the tower!

 

[A-T-G]

On our way to the top of the tower!

We made it to the top! And it's frickin' cold!

Sipping bubbly at the top of the tower!
As soon as we got off the elevator, we snapped a few pics and discovered a tasty champagne bar! Sweet! I made sure to pick up a glass of bubbly for myself - how could I not? DH laughed at me the second I did it - he was like 'cold drink in the icy cold at the top of the tower? Sucka!' He was kinda right but, I drank it anyway!

Smooch at the top! Aww, we're so cute! It's sickening!

We took a wander around the entire top of the tower and hopped the elevator to the 'main' platform. We shouldn't have left it for so late, since we couldn't see anything! I finally gave up and decided to bail.

I can't help it, it's so beautiful!

After snapping a billion pics of the tower at night (one of which came out!) we called it night. We braved the hordes below the tower back to the Metro station. I'm not going to lie, it was crazy down there! Loads of people trying to sell you cheap scarves, or keychains, or anything really! And they were really crazy aggressive! We just plowed through chanting "no, no, no" as we walked. The RER was close but, we opted for the Metro - there was a direct train to our hotel!! Hurray! It was quite a hike and DH was a little worried, as it was dark and there were crazy crowds of 'salesman' trying to hawk 'wares' to us.

Thankfully, we made it! And BONUS! There were Metro musicians jamming on the car.

This guy had the best face! Never smiled! He was like, 'yeah, yeah I'm playing music for money on the Metro'.

This guy was awesome! He laughed and sang and put on quite a show. Not going to lie, he made our night!

By the time we got back to the hotel, I was dead tired. DH said I was practically asleep in the elevator. It was nearly midnight when we got in and we were worried - are we going to be eating McDonald's in Paris? Is that what we've come to?! Instead, it was back to the sandwich shop! We really should have taken pictures of that sammich place!

Day 4? DISNEYLAND!!

 

[jacs1234]

I am soooooooooooo lovin' your trip report. I just can't wait for more.

 

[burly]

Love love love the Tower of Italian Terror story!
Very sweet pics of the two of you. You guys are just so cute!
Thanks for the update.....

 

[tashybea]

Loving your trip report, your photos are awesome

Can't wait to read what you guys thought about disneyland.

 

[A-T-G]

Love love love the Tower of Italian Terror story!
Very sweet pics of the two of you. You guys are just so cute!
Thanks for the update.....

Why did I not think of that name for the story? I'm so using that from now on!! And thanks for the lovely compliment! I'll tell DH - he'll be very flattered.

 

[jacs1234]

Well?!?!?!?!?!?!................................I'm waiting.