Last Day in Paris

Our last full day in Paris happened to be Good Friday.  Jerry and I wanted to attend Mass at Notre Dame.  We woke up early.  The sun inched up a sliver on the horizon when we traveled down into the subway.  When we came back up, the sun was only about a quarter of the way up.  The city was quiet and beautiful.  Arriving early, we gazed at the gorgeous architecture of the church.  I snapped pictures.  Not many people arrived when the door opened.  We thought it would be packed.  We unfortunately didn't realize they changed their regular schedule and the morning Mass was canceled.  We strolled around the church and prayed.  Next time, we will attend Mass.

Walking back to the subway, we stopped at an outside vender for our breakfast.  My savory pastry and meat and cheese was delicious.  I think about learning to bake such wonderful breakfasts, but I am sure the calorie count would be too much.  We took our breakfast to the bridge crossing the Seine River.  Ten feet walkways flank both sides of the bridge with benches running down the walkways.  We sat on one of the benches to eat our meal as the sun continued to make its way through the morning sky.  My husband is great at romantic outings, so I can't say Paris was romantic.  He is romantic.  I was happy to spend that special time with him.

We picked up the daughter at the hotel and traveled about forty miles from our hotel to spend the day at Disney Paris.  Madelle hated it.  I must say that the experience wasn't great.  The workers didn't smile and acted miserable, like they really hated their job.  The food we had at lunch was mediocre at best.  She melted and didn't want to do anything the rest of the time there.  Jerry went on to do some fun rides and I watched people.  The outing was a bust.  I was very thankful it was our last day in the city.  I was a bit worried.  Madelle was ready to go home.  Traveling with a mentally ill teen is not the best.  After dinner by the hotel, we went back and packed up for our train trip to Germany the next morning.

Thoughts about Paris

The city is like a lot of cities.  They have amazing places to visit, amazing food, and a lot of people.  The things I enjoyed about Paris were the sites and food, but I also enjoyed the ease of the subway system after our first day.  I have traveled the subway in Washington D.C. and London.  Paris was 100 times easier.  Some of that may be because Jerry and I are great at navigating.  I did D.C. on my own and London with other people.  But, either way, Paris was easy. 

The other thing I was pleasantly surprised with were the people.  I heard so many people talk about the snootiness of the Parisians.  Supposedly, they hate Americans.  I was nervous to go.  I can say they were nothing like this.  Sure, Disney Paris can't hold a candle to our Disneyland and Disney World, the happiest places on Earth.  In the city, we had two subway riders help us.  A gentleman, on the first day, directed us to our train and gave us excellent advice on how to always exit the subway.  The second day a young woman gave us a lesson on how to buy tickets for the train.  The hotel staff was very friendly and helpful.  Three of the restaurants we went to have the best service.  Two were right by the hotel and we went there multiple times because they were so great. 

As we boarded the train that would take us to Germany, I was ready to leave the city.  I am not a city person for an extended amount of time.  I prefer the countryside and small little towns.  However, I would like to go to Paris and France again.  I want to attend Mass at Norte Dame, see more of the Louvre, go to Versailles, see more of the churches, explore the coast, travel through the farmlands, and just hang out along the Seine.  Some day.