Aaaah, (London and) Paris in the Springtime!

Wow! Took a trip overseas recently to London and was able to manage a one-day trip to Paris. I was only gone 5 days so I'm already plotting my return trip (for a much longer stay). The flight to London was PACKED so I was a little uncomfortable having long legs and all. But once I landed, it was wonderful to be there! The weather was very un-London like so we had clear skies, warm sunshine and a moderate temperature. My first mistake was sleeping so much on the first day. I landed at 8am in the morning but my hotel room wasn't ready till 3pm, so I visited the Museum of London and then headed back to the room for a long siesta. And the awoke at 11pm rip raring to go, only to find that almost all of the pubs, delis, restaurants, whatever were closed. And being a New Yorker that's not even acceptable. But then I took in the sights and went photo crazy - Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, the London Bridge, the Tower of London. I'd read a little about some of the old city before I got there so it was interesting to walk in places where kings and queens once worshipped and were arrested. Since I'm from NYC the subway was a breeze and the people that I met were very friendly. And then I got to steal away to Paris. Aaaaaaah - it truly is as beautiful as people have written. The chunnel train only takes 2 hours 40 minutes from London. I was like a kid in the candy store only the sights were candy and my greedy hands were the button on my digital camera. The Arc du Triomphe is majestic (MUCH larger than any picture can portray). I saw the Place des Vosges, an old bath house, Notre Dame cathedral, the Isle de St. Louis, the Obelisque and of course the Louvre. Soooooooo many people were crowded around the Mona Lisa and I have to admit, I think it's a da Vince self portrait. That's why "she" seems to smile wryly. I was also fortunate enough to see the Venus de Milo, several Egyptian antiquities, and many more da Vinci paintings along with the first fortifications of the original Louvre palace. The opera house, the Trocadero, the Bastile tower - commanding monuments.

I didn't stay long enough so I ended up taking a pretty fast pace to squeeze in so many sights. But rest assured I will be back. A few Parisians stopped to converse with me but since I speak Spanish I couldn't talk with them. Have to correct that for next time. The only drawback is that the dollar is down right now, so everything there is expensive. But I was a sights whore this time so I wasn't worried about shopping and such.

Till next time!!!!!!