Paris!

What can I say about the city of Paris? Magnifique , Fantastique ? And more. If you've never been,  well let's just say it is a place to put on your bucket list.  It is a food, architecture, art and people watching extravaganza.  Essentially it is an amusement park of a city. Between the museums,  monuments, sights and tastes there is an endless list of things to do morning, noon and night.

Our first night we walked from our hotel towards the Place St. Michael and found the back streets filled with restaurants, creperie, gyro stands and all kinds of cheesy gift shops. Way more than when we were here last (12yrs?!).  We ended up having an 'ok' meal of traditional French fare: Fondue, steak with Roquefort sauce and fries, with apple tart and creme Brulee to end the meal.

Monday:Our first day in Paris was supposed to be easy and low key... Sitting in cafés to watch people.  Instead we did that briefly when we needed coffee and food. And in between we saw The Cathedral de Notre Dame and walked half way to the Eiffel tower via the Louvre, the Tuillieries and the Obelisque . Then we went to the top, third level of the Eiffel tower which turned out to be entertaining as Kat is actually a bit afraid of heights.  We all took the elevator down to the second level, walked down the many flights to the 1st level,  and I took the elevator the rest of the way while Kat and Kim walked down the stairs.  

I've had a terrible time with blisters for the first time in years... I'm blaming the heat.. Well that and the 20,000+ steps a day we are walking in said humid heat. It's gotten so bad that I switched to wearing my flip flops for a couple days.  Now those are toast so I'm back to my sneakers. I'm not even going to pack them home as I've walked those flip-flops flat!

Tuesday: Disneyland Paris! 

We'd booked in advance and had an excursion complete with bus tickets out and back.  

It was Disney magic with some old, some new and some very different rides and attractions not in the other parks that we've been to. In the Disneyland park we did 'Phantom Manor', Big Thunder roller coaster, walked Sleeping Beauty's castle, Pirates of the Caribbean and went on Indiana Jones Temple of Peril roller coaster.  Pirates of the Caribbean was a delightful nostalgia hit as it was the way Pirates used to be before the one back home went totally Jack Sparrow. 

In Walt Disney Studios park we rode the 3D Ratatouille ride which turned out to be my favorite. We also rode Andy's RC Racer in the Toy Story area where everything is big like in Bug's Life. 

By then all of our feet were toast so there were no arguments about staying later than the 8pm bus back.
One or two things about DLParis that were surprising to me: The Parks were not as uber clean as I'm used to. The rules about smoking only in designated areas and not using selfie sticks were ignored or just not enforced. And the lines and organization of lines for food and attractions were not as clear or well put together...which made for some awkwardness and annoying waits. 

That night we had an absolutely great street food dinner in the area between our hotel and the St Michael Square.  Amazing falafel and gyros, crepes with lemon and sugar or Nutella! You'll never guess which one I had... Nutella! I've never seen such large containers of the stuff... It even comes in a bucket!