Wednesday, June 14
THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES
Don’t believe anyone who says you can visit the Palace of Versailles in just a few hours. It’s a lie.
But first the sunrise from our balcony:
Continue reading “France | Day 3, Paris: The Palace of Versailles”
Tuesday, June 13
THE EIFFEL TOWER
When Doug visited Paris in 1989 with his brother, David, he was 20 years old and traveling on a limited budget. With the cost for a ticket to the top of the Eiffel Tower at 12Fr (way back when they were still using francs) they settled for a ticket to the lower platform. He saved 7Fr, but he regretted that decision for the next 34 years!
That regret became a sort of benchmark for our trip: Do you want to do ____________? If you don’t do it, will it be your Eiffel Tower? Don’t let it be your Eiffel Tower!!!
So, obviously, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower was a must. Imagine our dismay when we missed the ticket onsale! Thankfully, while timed-entry tickets are released online 60 days in advance, if they sell out for the day of your visit (or if you don’t know when you’ll be there, or want to wait for good weather) you can just show up and wait in line like the olden days. So that’s what we did.
We expected a wait. What we didn’t expect was a crash course in French culture.
Continue reading “France | Day 2, Paris: Eiffel Tower, Sacre-Coeur, Seine River Cruise”
Sunday, June 11 & Monday, June 12
Visiting France has always been a family dream (75% of us ARE French after all!). So when Doug and I realized that in 2023 we would celebrate our 30th anniversary, Jacquelyn’s 30th birthday, AND my 50th birthday, we decided this was the year!!!
I opted not to blog during the trip, which has its disadvantages (like will I remember anything correctly?), but also has its advantages: first and foremost, I was able to be more present in the moments because I wasn’t constantly in my head writing.
TRIP OVERVIEW
We spent 4 nights in Paris, 3 nights in Disneyland Paris, and 11 nights on a road trip around France. This series is a combination of personal record, information, photos, musings, and meditations. If you’re just here for info about traveling or eating gluten-free in France, look for section titles, bold type, and links, or do a word search to find what you’re looking for.
Continue reading “France | Day 1, Paris: Champs-Élysées, l’Arc de Triomphe, and Our Place on the Siene”
Lightning Bug 