Paris, I told you our paths would croissant again!
On our way to Paris, we had a bit of a layover in Strasbourg, where we reconnected with Chris and Shawna. We spent our afternoon walking through the city, along the river, and into a museum. The city looked straight out of a fairytale. To no surprise, the town from which beauty and the beast drew inspiration was just 45 minutes away. Ben also got a haircut while in Strasbourg, which looks very nice. We got to Paris in the afternoon with just time to eat and rest, which we needed.
Our second set of days in Paris during this trip took us on to Notre Dame, where we did a walking tour and got a bit more information about the square surrounding the building and the building itself. Included in the tour, we got to go into the crypt underneath the building. The Roman ruins and old foundation under were cool. It shared some information about the Hunchback of Notre Dame story. It was a desperate act to keep the city from demolishing the building. The book's popularity led to a Disney movie and the reconstruction of the building that had been in despair. After the Notre Dame Cathedral, we took the Hop-on Hop-off bus around the rest of Paris. We stopped at Eiffel Tower, the Arc De triumph, and the beautiful bridges.
On our second day in Paris, Ben and I got to go to one of the happiest places on earth, also known as Disneyland Paris. I can confirm it was indeed one of the happiest places on earth. We started with Walt Disney Studios and went to the Avengers campus, the Pixar attractions, and the Tower of Terror, which I had never been on in any Disney park before. We then went to Disney Land Paris to enjoy everything from Star Wars Hyperspace to Indiana Jones to Alice's Curious Labyrinth. In total, we went on more than 15 rides and attractions, ending the day with the drone and firework show over the castle. Disneyland Paris was a highlight of the trip.
The next day we went to the Pantheon and the Lourve. The Lourve, of course, was as busy as everywhere else we visited on our trip, but it was well worth it. The Mona Lisa was a bit overrated to me, but The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David was outstanding, and the size of the painting was incredibly impressive. So many of the statues were terrific. The way the sculptors were able to carve the fabrics was just magnificent. There were so many amazing masterpieces in the museum. Of course, we couldn't see everything, but what we saw was inspiring, to say the least.
Paris was where our trip concluded with our other family members and left just Ben and me in Europe. At this point, we headed to Spain to visit Barcelona for a long time. I wrote this blog post more than a month after we had left Paris and only three and a half days before we finally returned to Oregon. This trip has been amazing, and I have loved all of it. As much as I would like to say that I wish it would never end, I am very excited to return home after such a long adventure. A huge thank you again to everyone who had a part in this trip. It has been truly magical.
Phone Photos
