… is that when they’re done, you have all of summer to look forward to. At home.

I’m back from my whirlwind trip to Paris (7 days) and London (3 days) and I think we saw everything. No matter which way you looked in Pars, there was always something to see. The opera house, the Eiffel Tower, the basilica of Sacre Coeur high on a hill, the Moulin Rouge the Arc de Triumph … this place is so steeped in history, it’s difficult to absorb it all.

We spent the first day exploring the Eiffel Tower and the vicinity around it.There are apartments and markets all around the area, which you wouldn’t really guess from seeing the photos. It was cold and windy when we were up there (not at the top – I’m not crazy about heights) but from the second actual floor of the tower. Seems like you can see forever from there. We spent a day wandering around Montmarche, where the huge church of Sacre Coeur is located, but it’s also one of the few “village” type areas of Paris, with little lanes and pretty alleyways. It’s where Picasso’s studio was, and there are still painters there in the square near the basilica.

We climbed the steps of the Arch of Triumph …

And I found it very interesting that the “shrine” to Napoleon is like twice the size of the arch that was built in England for Wellington’s victory at Waterloo.

Not calling anyone a megalomaniac, but …

We used the Metro (subway) to get around. It was amazingly easy to use – you just have to check the map and know which line you want to ride, and then check your end destination. Once you know that – you can get on the right train.

We even took the train to Versailles, which is about 30 minutes outside the city. Now this is a place that truly embodies excess. We walked through the main palace and everywhere you looked there was some magnificent piece of art or furniture. Even the ceilings were painted.

And then the grounds … We rented bicycles in order to get around to see everything. And I kept thinking this must be like Michael Jackson’s “Wonderland.” Something for everyone, including a man-made lake where Louis XVI’s pals could ride in gondolas driven by gondoleres from Venice (he housed them in a little village on the grounds).

We saw the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo at the Louvre, walked through the Tuilleries gardens and the saw the square where the guillotine stood. Went to the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette and other revolution prisoners were kept. Saw Notre Dame and lit a candle for my aunt who is in poor health.

Whew … and I haven’t even mentioned London yet!
Maybe I’ll save that for later.
It’s great to be home.