July 14, 2018

New York to Phoenix

I didn't write in my journal on this day so I will try to remember as much as I can.  We left New York today.  Our same driver who picked us up at the airport picked us up to take us back to the airport.  It was nice to do the drive in the daytime and see a lot of NYC.  This is a pic I took of the Empire State building from our car window. 

 We got to the airport relatively early and everything went smoothly.  I don't even really remember the airplane ride home except that we were super excited to go home and see our doggie.  Michael picked us up from the airport. 

Ollie was so happy to see us all!  And we were happy to see him.  It was the trip of a life time but truly there is no place like home!!!

July 13, 2018

 We all slept in and it felt marvelous.  Evan and I walked to Dunkin Donuts and got breakfast for everyone.  Then Evan, Max and I took an uber into New York City.  Ben and Ian were exhausted and wanted to stay back at the airbnb.   Our driver dropped us off at Columbus Circle. 

Columbus Circle under construction

 We decided to walk around Central Park for a while.  Trina had told me about a bakery called Levain and I really wanted to go there, so I mapped it on my phone and we walked there.  It was so small.  We could barely fit inside.  I got a chocolate cookie, a chocolate chip cookie and piece of lemon cake.  After the bakery, we walked back to the park.  We passed the Museum of Natural History and the MET but no one wanted to go in. 

 We spotted a racoon in the park!  It was so cool.  And fast.

 The closer we got to the fountain, the busier it was.  We walked down to the fountain and saw dudes on rollerblades holding pythons.

 After using the restrooms we headed up the stairs and watched some street performers for a while.  They were pretty good but when they asked us for money, we left.  Max then googled "best pizza in NYC" and the name Angelos came up so we went there.  I loved it but Evan said he prefers Mellow Mushroom.  We were tired so I got us an Uber.  It was the Uber ride from HELL.  The guy picked us up then tried to talk us into using the ferry to get back to New Jersey. There was a major wreck in one of the tunnels so he told us he would take the Washington Bridge.  I have never been to NYC so I had no idea what that meant - well, it meant going way out of the way.  Instead of taking 20 minutes to get back to our airbnb, it took about 2 hours.  When I got the bill it was $110!!  Of course I didn't tell Ian but I contacted Uber and fought it because not once did the driver tell me it would be so much - usually it was around $45. Uber agreed and only charged what I was originally quoted.  When we got back we just chilled the rest of the night and got ready to leave the next day.  I wish we would've seen more in NYC but we were just too worn out. 

July 12, 2018

NYC

The day started off with us walking to the Dunken Donuts which was right by our airbnb.  After breakfast we ubered over to the 911 Memorial.  It was an extremely emotional experience.  

 There are two big concrete filled holes where the twin towers were.  The names of those who died are inscribed all around each hole. 

 Ian didn't want to pay to go in the museum so we didn't. I cannot imagine the devastation and heartbreak of that day.  I am glad we got to see the monument. 

We then walked down to Battery Park - where we would catch the ferry to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. 

Cool statue in the park

 Boarding the ferry was hot and miserable with tons of security but once we got on it was cool - except for the couple making out next to us.  We finally had to move. 

Manhattan skyline

 I was so happy none of us got sea sick!  Seeing the Statue of Liberty was awesome!  She is huge!

 We weren't able to get tickets to the top but we walked up to the base of the statue and went to the mini museum. 

We learned that the torch has been changed 3 times.  It was emotional reading about some of the stories of the immigrants.  We then got some frozen lemonades and got back on the ferry  -we could have gotten off at Ellis Island but no one but me wanted to.  I had heard the museum there was awesome but I couldn't talk anyone into it.

We stayed on the ferry and it took us back to Battery Park.  We then got some hotdogs and walked to the Brooklyn Bridge.  

Lots of cool buildings in NYC

 We walked past the bull on Wall Street - that was cool.  Too bad I didn't get a picture.  At this point everyone was super tired and annoyed but we walked on.  We finally made it to the bridge.  We ended up just walking half way - I wish we would've walked to Brooklyn but everyone was tired and grumpy. 

 Then we started walking back towards Manhattan.  We passed a Target and went inside to get food and use the restrooms.  We kept walking (everyone was hungry again) and found a Shake Shack. Man those burgers hit the spot!  So good!  We walked along the Hudson River - it was a gorgeous day.  There were boats and jet skies on the river and people playing basketball in the park.  We kept trying to get an uber but they were super expensive.  Ian wanted us to walk further into the city but I didn't want to.  We got in a fight and I walked back to the river and sat on some benches.  Finally Ian and the boys found me and Ian got us an uber.  Well, he got us a smaller one (on accident) so Evan had to sit on the floor.  It was kind of a nightmare but we all were too tired to care. 

When we got back we went to the grocery store - our airbnb was in a Cuban neighborhood so there weren't many familiar foods.  We did get some EL Fudge cookies and those were delightful.

Cool Monastery by our airbnb

 We finally went to bed  - we were all exhausted.

Paris, London & New York

July 11, 2018

3 countries, under the English Channel, across the Atlantic Ocean and under the Hudson River in a day. 

Today we woke up and walked the streets of Paris until we could call an Uber. There were broken windows and over turned motorbikes from the riots the previous night when France won the World Cup Semi Finals.  We finally were able to get an uber to the Paris train station.  Once we were there, we had to meet Kim and Brian because I had Ben's passport and he was with them.  Ian went ahead with Max and Evan.  I kept getting hilarious texts from Max telling me that Ian wasn't sure how to answer the security agents about where we were traveling to.  We all finally made it through security and prepared to wait to board the train.  

Streets of Paris

Waiting for the train to London

 Evan had such a hard time with all of the traveling.  This is him on the train to London.  Once in London, we boarded a train to Gatwick Airport.  When we got to the airport we parted ways with Kim, Brian and Joe. 

We were all starving and didn't know if there would be restaurants by where we had to board so we found a Witherspoons in the airport and ate there before we went through security to our gate.  After we went through security and Max and Ian had their things searched.  The security guys at the airport were hilarious.  Max had on a Manchester United hat and the security guard joked that he wasn't going to let us through.  Ian's guy teased him about the items in his backpack (coffee, sugar, salt, pepper - all items he had taken from the place we were staying in Wales).  The guy then teased Ian about going to Wales.  These guys were so funny and awesome - a 180 from the jerks who work at TSA in New York City. 

We were flying Norwegian Air which was a huge mistake.  It took an hour longer than usual to board the flight.  When we landed in New York it took forever to get off the plane.  The flight attendants were rude and there was even a fight between a passenger and an attendant.  It also took our luggage forever to get there. 

Waiting to board our plane in London

Finally on the plane!

 I had ordered a car to pick us up ahead of time but had a hard time getting my phone to work.  Finally we found our car and driver - his name was Allen and he showed us a bit of the City. 

Grand Central Station

Manhattan

Times Square

New Jersey

 We were staying across the river in New Jersey.  We finally made it to our airbnb and it was the best one yet!  The beds were comfy and there was a washer and dryer.  Yay!  We all were exhausted and crashed. 

The entrance to our airbnb in New Jersey

July 10, 2018

Paris, France

We slept in this morning which was beyond amazing.  We then met Joe and Ben for breakfast at a small bakery we found as we were walking towards each other.  I had a ham and cheese croissant and it was delicious!  After breakfast we all walked to the Arc de Triomphe.  It is a monument in the middle of the street that honors those who died in the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.  Walking towards it I was confused to how we would reach it - traffic around it is insane and there are no crosswalks to get to it.  Turns out there are underground entrances to it.  We wanted to go to the top but the line for tickets was long - I wish we would've known that was a thing and bought our tickets ahead of time like we did for the Eiffel Tower. Anyway, the Arc is HUGE!

Ian sketching the Arc

 Brian met us at the Arc (Kim was too sick).  We all uber'd over to the Musee de Orsay.  We got the best Uber driver ever!  She actually spoke english!  Hallelujah!  She told us that the French people are actually very nice - not rude at all, just embarrassed that they don't know English.  I have to say that the French seemed all right to me.  The line for the museum was long but went quickly.  The art was AMAZING! Degas, Rodin, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh...you get the picture.

One of my favorite sculptures by Degas - much bigger than I thought

I don't know who painted it, I just loved it.  It covered an entire wall

We have a copy of this Renoir in our bathroom - the colors on the original are much more vibrant

My favorite Degas painting

Brian was worn out - picture courtesy of Evan

Top of the Museum de Orsay

 What amazed me is that you can literally touch these works of art!  Crazy.  At the top of the de Orsay is a huge clock with an exit to an outdoor balcony that over looks the Seine. 

Top of the Musee de Orsay

View from the top

 When we left the museum we walked across the street and saw the bridge with all of the locks.  I'm not sure if it was the famous one since supposedly those were cut down, but obviously a new one.

 After Brian brought a lock for him and Kim we all uber'd back to their apartment.  When we got back Brian, Ian, Joe and I went to the bakery at the corner.  I guess it's the best one in Paris.  I got some amazing chocolates and macaroons.  They were divine.  I was going to save the chocolates but ate them quickly because they were the best I've ever had.  Not kidding. 

Then we walked and found a restaurant that had hamburgers and bought some hamburgers and sandwiches for dinner. Ben wouldn't eat his sandwich.  I felt bad. 

Ben was tired so he and Evan stayed at the apartment while me, Ian, Kim, Brian, Joe and Max took an Uber to a church called the Sacre Couer or Sacred Heart.  The first day when we arrived in Paris we asked our cab driver what we needed to see and he said this church.  We couldn't NOT see it!  It is on a hill above the city.  The France vs Belgium semi-final game was going on as we were going to the church so the streets were quiet and the cafes were over flowing with fans. 

Waiting for our Uber

 It was close to closing time but we were able to go inside and see the gorgeous statues and stained glass.

Replica of the church inside the church

View from the steps

 It was cool because you could hear the people cheering for France.  They would burst out in song (the French National Anthem I'm assuming).  It was a surreal experience.

Joe feeling light headed from all of the excitement

 We then went back to Kim and Brian's and watched the rest of the game.  France won and it was INSANE!  Cheering and screaming!  Walking back to our apartment people were honking, yelling, cheering and waving flags.  I have never experienced anything like it. Our apartment was right by the Arc and there were fireworks and riots.  It was crazy!