Today was the most boring and the most relaxing day of the trip! I was awake for 3 hours last night due to the pain my ankle caused me and so decided that there would be no walking for this little chicken!
I spent the day mainly in bed reading or sleeping. I finally got to start the book my friend leant me, Eat, Pray, Love. It's great so far. The first section (eat) is all about her four months in Italy and there are a lot of things that strike close to home. I often find myself smiling, most of the time it's a happy smile but sometimes a sad one creeps in too.
Mum brought home some REAL French bread sticks, some dried sausage, brie, swiss cheese, stuffed olives & pepsi max. So for lunch, her, my brother and I sat on the floor in our room and made them up. They're the tiny little moments that are far more perfect than any fancy dinner or well planned day out. I was smiling a lot on the inside!!
I emailed the physio and got some details so hopefully the walking tomorrow will be ok. We leave for Munich first thing...like, leaving the hostel at 6.45am. *dies* Painkillers are on the cards for me! It's also a six hour train trip so that should hopefully give me some good rest time too.
Despite the physical pain & tiredness I am loving this trip! Four more days til we hit Italy and there are no words to describe my impatience to get there!
Amore a tua madre.
Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Day Five - Paris
Holy Mother of God we walked a lot. In another window, do a google maps search of Paris, make sure it includes the Mont Marte, the Louvre & the Arc di Triomphe. We are staying near Mont Marte. We walked all the way to the Louvre, the long way, only realise it was closed. We then strolled around & decided the next stop would be the Notre Dame, as gorgeous as ever. Dad accidently said 'yes' to the lady asking if we spoke English. Bad move. She wanted money. They don't take no for an answer!
It was kinda maybe getting towards lunch time about now, but no one was hungry enough to decide where to eat. We headed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower & took a detour down some street when we found a panini place. It was a delicious lunch. I have to say, thank Christ half these people speak English, cause our French leaves, well, everything to be desired. Beyond, "bon jour", "merci" and "sil vous plait" we're screwed!
Back on track to get to the Eiffel Tower, we got there & bought our 'summet' tickets. Wearing Cons meant my feet went pretty much numb because of the cold. Being up that high & on metal platforms doesn't go well with the whole blood circulating thing!! From the top of the tower we could only *just* make out the Sacre Couer. It isn't close.
Someone thought it would be a good idea to walk to the Champs d'Elysee, it really isn't that far from the tower. But if you're going to do that, you may as well do the Arc Di Triomphe as well right? Right. So we did. The street is just amazing! A Tuesday night and it's packed full of people there are stalls and lights and traffic and it's so ALIVE! I loved it. Oh, we did stop in for dinner along there too... it was horrid. But it was fast food.
Given that we'd come that far Tom took it in his stride to play navigator and get us home. And that he did. My feet are pulsing with all the blood flowing through them but the walk warmed me up.
It has been THE fullest day of the trip so far, but it has definitely been the best!!
Tomorrow, we head to the Louvre... and the inside this time!
<3 to your mother.
It was kinda maybe getting towards lunch time about now, but no one was hungry enough to decide where to eat. We headed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower & took a detour down some street when we found a panini place. It was a delicious lunch. I have to say, thank Christ half these people speak English, cause our French leaves, well, everything to be desired. Beyond, "bon jour", "merci" and "sil vous plait" we're screwed!
Back on track to get to the Eiffel Tower, we got there & bought our 'summet' tickets. Wearing Cons meant my feet went pretty much numb because of the cold. Being up that high & on metal platforms doesn't go well with the whole blood circulating thing!! From the top of the tower we could only *just* make out the Sacre Couer. It isn't close.
Someone thought it would be a good idea to walk to the Champs d'Elysee, it really isn't that far from the tower. But if you're going to do that, you may as well do the Arc Di Triomphe as well right? Right. So we did. The street is just amazing! A Tuesday night and it's packed full of people there are stalls and lights and traffic and it's so ALIVE! I loved it. Oh, we did stop in for dinner along there too... it was horrid. But it was fast food.
Given that we'd come that far Tom took it in his stride to play navigator and get us home. And that he did. My feet are pulsing with all the blood flowing through them but the walk warmed me up.
It has been THE fullest day of the trip so far, but it has definitely been the best!!
Tomorrow, we head to the Louvre... and the inside this time!
<3 to your mother.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Day Four - Paris
I have to say, if you ever want to stay in London, check out Arran's Hotel on Gower St/Rd. It's fantastic. The rooms are small & neat, the bathroom is tiny, but it's warm & cosy. The beds are comfy as anything and the doonas are duck/goose down!! *bliss* AND it's a B&B so you can have a 3 or four course breakfast every day!! /sale.
We packed up our room & got everything organised to walk to the train station down the road, so we could catch a train to the international station. My ankle was worse this morning to the point where I was limping & walking rather slowly. Of course, it was so warm in the hotel I hadn't put my gloves on and it was the one day where the rain decided to belt down & the wind was icy. It was the longest, most horrible walk of the trip so far.
Once we'd gotten to the train station it was fairly smooth sailing. We sat at the international train station and sipped short macchiatos and hot chocolates. We've made it a little bit of a goal to try the hot chocolates when we can and are in the mood. They're SO different every store we go to.
A two hour train ride later & a short walk to our hostel (yep, there's an 's' in there!) & we're settled(ish) in Paris. My ankle has loosened up with a bit of walking and stretching so we decided to just go for a stroll around the area. It didn't take long for us to see the roof of the Sacre Couer. It's just lovely there. FULL of tourists, but lovely all the same. A little tour of the church and the surrounding markets was had... a few eyes of cute Frenchmen were caught too *winks*.
Strolling on we realised we weren't far from the Moulin Rouge and the Red Light district. Photos were taken and shall be posted later. Still have to upgrade my Flickr account. Later. I had a little Marilyn Monroe moment in my skirt (full length). I stood over the vents (they're big) and the wind was a little stronger than I realised. Thank goodness I had tights on. That caused a few smiles from strangers & an uninhibited burst of laughter from me. Not *quite* as glamourous as I'd hoped.
Mum didn't realise it was a real red light district so the ensuing walk to find food was rather... uh... interesting! We stopped for some crepes for dinner and then detoured to a supermarket (two storey, the first being underground) on the way home.
We sat on the floor eating chips 'n' dip and drinking wine. It was an anti-glamour experience but kinda fantastic with all the family. And now, as I type in the foyer, my family is at a near by table talking about who knows what!!
I should go join them. I'm sure I'm going to run out of time soon.
I'll write soon <3 to your mother.
We packed up our room & got everything organised to walk to the train station down the road, so we could catch a train to the international station. My ankle was worse this morning to the point where I was limping & walking rather slowly. Of course, it was so warm in the hotel I hadn't put my gloves on and it was the one day where the rain decided to belt down & the wind was icy. It was the longest, most horrible walk of the trip so far.
Once we'd gotten to the train station it was fairly smooth sailing. We sat at the international train station and sipped short macchiatos and hot chocolates. We've made it a little bit of a goal to try the hot chocolates when we can and are in the mood. They're SO different every store we go to.
A two hour train ride later & a short walk to our hostel (yep, there's an 's' in there!) & we're settled(ish) in Paris. My ankle has loosened up with a bit of walking and stretching so we decided to just go for a stroll around the area. It didn't take long for us to see the roof of the Sacre Couer. It's just lovely there. FULL of tourists, but lovely all the same. A little tour of the church and the surrounding markets was had... a few eyes of cute Frenchmen were caught too *winks*.
Strolling on we realised we weren't far from the Moulin Rouge and the Red Light district. Photos were taken and shall be posted later. Still have to upgrade my Flickr account. Later. I had a little Marilyn Monroe moment in my skirt (full length). I stood over the vents (they're big) and the wind was a little stronger than I realised. Thank goodness I had tights on. That caused a few smiles from strangers & an uninhibited burst of laughter from me. Not *quite* as glamourous as I'd hoped.
Mum didn't realise it was a real red light district so the ensuing walk to find food was rather... uh... interesting! We stopped for some crepes for dinner and then detoured to a supermarket (two storey, the first being underground) on the way home.
We sat on the floor eating chips 'n' dip and drinking wine. It was an anti-glamour experience but kinda fantastic with all the family. And now, as I type in the foyer, my family is at a near by table talking about who knows what!!
I should go join them. I'm sure I'm going to run out of time soon.
I'll write soon <3 to your mother.
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