Still don't have internet at the house. I'm trying to work out the contract details to make sure that I can cancel the contract when I need to -- it's kind of a pain because the normal mechanisms which allow service members in the States to cancel contracts due to military orders don't apply in Germany. All the internet providers like to lock people in to 2 year contracts. Hopefully I'll get something going in the next week. Until then I have to use the internet in the office and rely on my iPhone.
Car is here, but the battery died so it's in the shop. Should be able to get it inspected and permanently registered next week.
Household goods will be delivered on Friday -- exciting! No more air mattress!
Made a fairly significant investment in furniture (sofa, chair, tables) yesterday. Got a great deal from AAFES so I figured I should jump on it.
Enough admin notes, time for the highlight of this post...
Paris was amazing. We took the ICE train from Heidelberg and we arrived in Paris in about 3 hours changing trains once in Manheim. Once in Paris, Courtney and I walked pretty much everywhere (aside from taking the metro in from La Defense where our hotel was located).
On Friday when we arrived, we took the opportunity to do some really touristy stuff: Eiffel Tower climb (took the stairs to the second level and the elevator the rest of the way) and the Louvre to see Venus De Milo, the Mona Lisa, and some others. The Eiffel Tower was great, although a bit cloudy. The Louvre was a surgical visit. We knew what we wanted to see and knew we didn't have time for a thorough examination of everything. For dinner we ate at a great Moroccan restaurant -- lots of lamb, couscous, and Algerian wine.
Saturday we walked up the Seine from the Bastille to the Arch de Triomphe. Along the way we visited the Pompidou Center, Notre Dame, and the Musee d'Orsay among other things. I enjoyed the museums and the landmarks, and loved walking around and soaking up all the other beautiful architecture, parks, people, and views along the way. Lunch was crepes in a small French Cafe in the Latin Quarter. For dinner on Saturday we went to Courtney's favorite Thai restaurant near the Bastille -- the Blue Elephant. Great food here too, plus amazing atmosphere and indoor garden.
Sunday was a little slower pace, but still lots of walking. We started the morning at the Moulin Rouge and walked up to Sacre-Coeur; kinda funny walking through the red-light district to get to the Basilica. Then we walked up to a canal in a gentrifying area and had lunch at the Hotel du Norde--a great cheeseburger and pommes frites. From here we hopped a metro to Lafayette to browse some french department stores that were open on Sunday b/c of their huge sales to purge the out of season stock. Finally, we headed back to the Seine for dinner at an Italian cafe before taking a bottle of wine to the river to watch the light show at the Eiffel Tower.
Monday was a sleep-in morning with an afternoon train back to Heidelberg. From start to finish, an amazing trip.
I think next up is Salzburg (first week of November), followed by Thanksgiving in Vienna.
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Sounds like a really full weekend. I particularly liked your SURGICAL visit to the Louvre.
ReplyDeleteWe waited for a rainy day to visit the Louvre, and never had one. Don't tell anybody we missed it! But we loved Paris, sights, smells, people, avenues, parks, cafes, shops etc. YOU're doing well with your time on the continent! yea.
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