Euro Trip 2011: Part 8

Last but certainly not least...
PARIS!
We arrived in Paris on May 15th and were lucky enough to stay in a wonderful apartment in the heart of the city right next to the Louvre, thanks to this couple, who found the place and were fun and fabulous to stay with.  
After getting settled in, we met up with my sister and Ian, who stayed a block away in a hotel.  We found a little cafe for dinner where we had delicious soup, salads and sandwiches and then headed over to the Eiffel Tower for our reservations to go all the way to the top!  Scott planned it perfectly so we were on the top enjoying the beautiful views of the city as the sun was going down and although it was windy and a bit chilly, it was so fun!  Right as we were walking off the elevator back on the ground, the tower lights began to twinkle and we all just stood back and enjoyed the show.  We ate some delicious crepes while enjoying the lights and company of our friends.

The next morning we went to a little bakery around the corner from our apartment, where we saw some good looking pastries the day before and they were so yummy we had one every morning we were there.

After breakfast we all headed over to Notre Dame where we explored the cathedral and climbed the hundreds of steps to the top to enjoy the beautiful views of the city with the gargoyles and grotesque.  (Peyton informed us that gargoyles are the stone creatures with rain-spouts and grotesques are the ones that do not spout water :)  It was a bit chilly so we enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa, although bitter, it warmed us right up.

We wandered back near the Louvre and had lunch at Angelina's, which was quite classy and yummy too!  Everyone was drinking the hot cocoa so we made a point the next day to have some at the Angelina's in Versailles.  

After lunch we took a stroll through the Tuileries Gardens where we ate Amorino Gelato which I was introduced to by Christine last time I was in Paris and it was just as delicious as I remember it, probably my favorite.  Well maybe tied with Old Bridge Gelatoria in Rome, can't gelato just be my favorite.  

We continued our walk along the Champs-Elysées to the Arc De Triomphe, enjoying all the shops and each others company so far from home.

We spent our last day with Lauren and Ian in Versaille, admiring the palace and wandering around Marie Antoinette's Village and Gardens, my favorite part.

Our last day in Paris we spent with Blake and Peyton exploring the Latin Quarter and going to see Sacré-Coeur.  As we strolled through the streets we stopped in to try some macaroons at Laduree, ate lunch at a little Mexican Resturant, browsed through books at Shakespeare and Company, and tasted gelato at Berthillon which had delicious fruit flavors.

Our evening ended with a delightful dinner just taking in our last moments abroad before we headed home the next morning. 

We can't believe this trip we anticipated, planned and saved for has already come and gone.  We had the time of our lives and fell in love all over again.

Euro Trip 2011: Part 7

We are home now, all unpacked and recovering from jet lag so the documenting continues.

We left Vienna on a train May 11th and arrived in Prague!  The train ride was beautiful with fields of yellow flowers for miles and little towns.  I love trains in Europe, they are efficient and the journey is relaxing and beautiful.  When we arrived in Prague, there was a man waiting to drive us into town to our hotel.  The hotel was up a cobble street road, right next door to the US Embassy, where our brother-in-law worked a few years ago.  Hotel Sax was unique from all the other places we stayed, with its fun, inviting retro decor. 

For dinner we journeyed up the cobble stone path behind our hotel and ate at an authentic pub, I went with the safe bet and ordered schnitzel, Scott went for the house special, an assorted meat plate complete with pork knuckles, duck and more.  After dinner we ventured out to get a feel for the town, walking along the river, before heading off to bed.  

The next day, we explored Prague Castle which is considered the biggest ancient castle in the world.  We were impressed by the beauty of the St. Vitus Cathedral on the castle grounds with its gothic architecture and large clock tower.  Inside the cathedral we loved the stained glass windows, the most impressive was designed by Czech artist Alfons Mucha, who also has a museum of his work in town.  As we explored the rest of the castle grounds, we saw the Czech crowned jewels, the Basilica and Convent of St. George, which is the burial place of Czech royalty, and the Lobkowicz Palace, where we saw how the royal Czech Family lived.  As we were exiting, we saw a toy museum and decided to take a look.  It was filled with toys dating back to the 19th century and an incredible Barbie collection with one of the 1959 first edition  dolls.  We even found a BYU cheerleader Barbie! 

We headed across the Charles Bridge for lunch and then made our way to the Old Town to explore.  We saw the Old Town Hall Tower with the Astronomical Clock and waited with a crowd of onlookers to see the clock strike the hour.  Every hour the little characters on the clock move and make noise which is quite entertaining.  As it started to rain, we headed for shelter and ate a delicious Belgium Waffle with chocolate and strawberries for dessert.  We tried to see a few more sites but decided to head back because of the rain.  After the rain stopped a bit, we went to this delicious cafe for dinner and I had the best goat cheese salad.

With a little more sun on our side, we woke up the next day and headed out to see the Jewish Ghetto.  On our way, we walked to the top of one of the Towers of Charles Bridge, where we saw the bridge with all the people, street venders and statues from above.  We explored the Jewish Ghetto next, where we learned about the concentration camps in the Czech Republic and the treasures of these people.  The cemetery was fascinating and really made me realize how little disrespect these people had in their very own country.  In one of the museums, there was artwork from children while they were in the concentration camps displayed, it was hard to read what the children had to face in their lives and how they didn't know what was to become of them.  It made me realize the great blessing it is to have freedom in our country.  We had Bohemia Bagel for lunch (thanks Kelsea for the recommendation, loved the endless Diet Coke!)  Then we went to the top of the City Hall Clock Tower, it was the best view of Prague.  There was a hockey game being broadcast in the main square so people were packed in and cheering loudly.  As we crossed the Charles Bridge on our way back, we learned more about all the statues along the sides, thanks to Rick Steve.  Near our side of town, we went to see the Lennon Wall which is so fascinating.  I love all the quotes, colors and extreme artwork.  We ended the night with dinner at an Irish Pub and a beautiful walk along the river watching the sunset.  

The last part of Prague we still had to see was New Town.  We took our Rick Steve’s tour of New Town and went to the Communism Museum.  The movie inside the museum was very moving and interesting.  It really opened my eyes to the state of the Czech Republic within communist rule and how recent it was a communist country.  We had lunch at Café Colour, which was delicious, especially our dessert of strawberry chocolate crepes.  Then we headed back to our hotel to pack and get ready for our flight in the wee hours of the morning to PARIS!

Euro Trip 2011: Part 6

We arrived in Vienna after a short train ride from Salzburg.  We were excited to explore another city and see what it had to offer.  After getting checked into our room, we quickly found a delicious restaurant around the corner from our hotel, right outside the gates of the Schonbruun Palace.  We had one of the best meals of the trip at this delightful restaurant sitting on the patio.  Scott had a special named after one of the empresses of the palace, Maria Theresa which was chicken stuffed with feta cheese, wrapped in bacon with a creamy sauce.  I had the best chicken wings which were marinated in a light, tasty sauce with delicious potato wedges.  After our taste buds were completely satisfied, we went inside the palace gates and took an audio tour of the Schonbruun Palace which included the fascinating story of the Habsburg Royal Family.  On the grounds of the palace, there are beautiful gardens, fountains and hedge mazes which entertained us for quite a while.  In one of the mazes, two large rocks were placed by a famous Feng Shui Master to represent a male and a female.  The master said, if you embrace the opposite rock, you will have peace in your relationship, it has been working quite well.  After a delicious magnum ice cream bar for dessert, we headed back to get a good night sleep for our second day in Vienna.  

After getting into the center of town, the next day and figuring out where we were on the map, we had lunch at a little cafe that was very popular.  We quickly realized, if we wanted a table we were going to have to fight for one.  We staked out our territory and after a bit of waiting, swooped in on a table and were able to enjoy some  delicious sandwiches.  After lunch we took Rick Steve's tour of Vienna which was filled with fascinating sites.  St. Stephen's Cathedral was very unique, although it was under a lot of reconstruction, the stained glass was remarkable.  When we finished our walking tour of the city, we headed over to a cafe for some dessert.  I had the royal tart, Scott had an apple tart and we shared a banana milk shake, it was all very good, I especially liked my royal tart covered in raspberries.  We wandered around the city, exploring a little more, before heading back and getting some sleep for our trip to Prague in the morning.    We were pleased by the delicious food, interesting history, beautiful sites and especially the classy feel of Vienna and hope to return again.