Paris, France

 July 9, 2018

After a night of little sleep (hard beds and loud neighbors), we all got up early and walked over to Kim and Brian's.  Then we all took ubers over to a place right by the Louvre where we had bought tickets online ahead of time.  They gave us maps and headsets to do an audio tour.  Thank goodness! because the Louvre is HUGE and there is no way we would've saw what we did if we were left to our own devices. 

Walking to the Louvre

Upon Entry

The catacombs of the Louvre

 We started at the bottom where we learned that the Louvre was a castle hundreds of years ago.  The stone at the bottom was from the original castle.

Venus de Milo

 Max had just learned about mythology in school and loved this sculpture of Diana the Huntress.

Nike statue

Taking a break

 The hardest part was keeping track of everyone.  There were rooms upon rooms of art.  And jewels.  And sculptures.  Absolutely gorgeous and amazing. 

 We were pretty excited to see the Mona Lisa.  There were other works by Da Vinci as well, including his depiction of John the Baptist - which is a painting he had with him when he died.  It was crazy to me that we could literally touch his John the Baptist painting but the Mona Lisa was behind a glass partition and roped off.  The room where it was located was the busiest and so crowded.  I got close so that Evan could get a picture - it was the only thing he was excited about seeing.

Mona Lisa

  

 There were many rooms of sculptures.  This one looks like she is taking a selfie.

One of the two sculptures by Michelangelo

My favorite were the Michelangelo sculptures.  They were gorgeous.

We searched everywhere for the painting that Delacroix did of the French Revolution titled: Liberty Leading the People.  It was incorrectly marked on our map because they had moved it to a separate exhibit.  I had to ask a worker and despite the language barrier we finally found it and it was HUGE. 

 After we decided to get some lunch.  The Louvre is connected to a mall  - we took an escalator under ground and found what was like a food court.  Evan and Max got in a fight and Evan ran off while I was getting everyone food.  I found him close by and we ate then exited the mall to take pictures in front of the Louvre. 

Evan attempting to lift the Louvre

Evan was grumpy so Ian was making him do some stretches

 We decided to walk to Notre Dame.  It was a hot day, but the internet was spotty, making it hard to get an Uber.  We passed many churches and ornate buildings.  It was nice to walk along the Siene River.

 When we were preparing for our trip, one of my old bishops told me that we had to go to Notre Dame, especially since Ben loves architecture.  I am so glad we went!  It was free to get in although you could pay for a tour up to the top, we just stayed on the lower level.

Notre Dame

Statue of Charlemagne in front of Notre Dame

Part of the front of Notre Dame

Depiction of the 12 apostles in front of Notre Dame

Inside the cathedral

 Honestly the inside was just as breathtaking as the outside.  The stained glass and statues were beautiful.  There was a place where a priest was hearing confessions as well, which I thought was pretty cool.  I guess it is still a working church where people go to worship.

 Joe had broken his regular glasses so he had to wear his sunglasses everywhere.  I love this picture of him and Ben in Notre Dame.

The virgin Mary

Side View of Notre Dame - where you can see the spire

 After Notre Dame we were all worn out and split up - Kim, Brian, Joe and Ben went together (Ben was staying with them) and Ian, Max, Evan and I were together.  It was hot and we were so tired.  We tried to get an Uber back but couldn't get internet reception.  We we started walking back.  We found an ice cream shop and got ice cream and cold water.

We kept walking along the Siene, which was a little cooler than walking the streets.  There were vendors selling paintings and trinkets which was cool.  Ian tried to convince us that we could walk all the way back but I knew we couldn't.  We finally got an Uber and went back to the apartment.

Later we were supposed to all meet up for dinner but Kim wasn't feeling well so only Joe met us.  We had pizza then headed over to the Eiffel Tower. 

Joe in front of the Eiffel Tower - can you spot it??

 Kim and Brian met us at the tower and we all took the elevator up to the second floor.  Ian, Ben and Max went all the way to the top but the second floor was high enough for me.  We were able to see the sun setting over Paris and it was magical. 

 The second floor had souvenir shops, a restaurant and bathrooms.  I bought a magnet of the Eiffel Tower.  Kim and Brian bought some macaroons and they were quite tasty.

 We stayed for a while, long enough for the tower to light up. 

 When we got down there a lot of vendors trying to sell us trinkets, even though it was almost midnight.  We crossed the street and there was a carousel and some shops.  We got an Uber and headed back to the apartment for the night.

It was an amazing but exhausting day.  I'm so glad we purchased our Louvre and Eiffel Tower tickets ahead of time.  It made everything so much easier.

London, England to Paris, France

 July 8, 2018

Today when we got up we were able to have breakfast at the hotel.  Xander and Shayna were here too and that was nice.  It was the last time we would see them in Europe.  After breakfast we all packed up and took an Uber to St Pancreas train station. I wanted to go across the street to Kings Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter) but it was packed at the train station and I was nervous we'd miss our train.  We had to wait in line to get through security and get our passport stamped to get into France.  We hung out at the train station for a bit and saw Kim and Brian before we boarded the train.  We were in separate compartments so we wouldn't see them again until France. 

It was nice that the train wasn't full so we got to spread out a bit.  Most everyone slept.  It was cool to see the scenery from the train. 

 It was chaos when we arrived at the train station around 5.  Thank goodness Ian found us a taxi.  The part of the city where the train station is located is trashy so I was happy to get out of there right away.  When our taxi driver was dropping us off our Airbnb guy met us at the apartment.  It was nice that we didn't have to wait for him at all.  He showed us around then left.  The apartment was super secure - there was a security code to get in two sets of doors then a key to the apartment.  I felt safe there but the beds were super uncomfortable.  Ben slept on the couch the first night but he ended up sleeping with at Kim and Brian's the rest of the nights because it was so uncomfortable. 

Sadly this was the only picture I took of the apartment. 

 After hanging out at the apartment a bit we walked over to Kim and Brian's.  It was about a 20 minute walk and we passed a church and the bells rang on the hour.  It was a nice walk.  There flat was HUGE.  We all decided to go out to dinner (except for Kim  - she was having women issues).  We found a little cafe.  I got pasta and everyone else had pizza.  It was quite good.

 Statues on the way to Kim and Brian's flat.

 We played cards for a little bit at Kim and Brian's then headed back to our flat. 

 It was a long day.

London, England

July 7, 2018

Today was not the best day.  We had to leave Birmingham and drive to London.  The drive took about 2 hours.  Once we got to London it took another hour to find our hotel because there was a gay pride parade and the city was packed.  We did get to drive past St Regents Park and St Paul's Cathedral so that was cool.  

 When we thought we found the hotel Ian parked the car and the rest of us took the luggage.  It turns out that was NOT our hotel - our hotel was a little further.  It was literally right by the London Eye.  We left our luggage and got in the car to take it to return it.  Here is where the real nightmare began.  Ian was the hero of the day - trying to navigate the streets of London.  The rental car return was supposed to be right near St Pancreas Train station.  Welp, we couldn't find it.  We literally drove in circles.  I finally called and miracles of miracles - the call went through!!  It turns out the rental return was in a parking garage near the station.  Which we never would have found!  We turned in the car and then decided to walk back to our hotel.

Below is a picture of the front of St Pancreas Train Station - which is right across from Kings Cross Station.

 It took us a while to get from the station to our hotel.  It was about a 3 mile walk but it was hot and hard to navigate.  We did get to see some of London which was cool.  We stopped and had lunch.  Max and Evan had Argentinian steak sandwiches.  Ian, Ben and I had eclectic food - chicken tacos, bao buns and chicken thighs.  It was pretty tasty.  Everyone told us the food in England was bad but we didn't experience that at all.  

 When we finally got to the hotel we were tired, hot and sweaty.  We rested for a while then Max, Evan and I went exploring a bit.  I bought Evan an ice cream and Max a pineapple ginger popsicle.  We walked down the Thames then over a bridge towards Parliment and Westminster Abbey.   We passed Big Ben but sadly it is under construction.

 Westminster Abbey was amazingly beautiful.  It made me sad that we didn't get a chance to go inside.  I want to go back to London and actually explore and see more. 

Evan and Max in front of Westminster. 

 I loved the statues on the side of the Abbey.  They all had different names - Justice, Mercy, Hope..I can't remember them all. 

 On the way back to the hotel I bought Max a Manchester City hat.  He was pretty happy about that. 

 Then we tried to get Subway to eat but they were out of bread.  We ended up going to a noodle place next door.  It was really good.  Back at the hotel we hung out watching the Croatia vs Russia soccer game.  Xander and Shayna had arrived at the hotel earlier.  Shayna had her own room which I think she was happy about.  Although it was a stressful day, it still was awesome because we got to see London and be together.