Paris, France

We loved Paris. Even though we heard some negative things about the people and the cleanliness, we were wooed by the City of Love. We had four full days in Paris and spent a lot of time strolling alongside the Seine and sitting beneath the Tour Eiffel. We had lots to do in Paris, but yet found it to be quite relaxing and enjoyable. Paris, with its cafes and culture, has an aura that we really liked. From the Louvre to Notre Dame to the said tower to the Grand Opera (of Phantom fame), Paris has its share of must-sees. We tried our best to get more than simply a glimpse, but there's still so many more days that could have been spent.

Ready for Paris in the rain

The Arc de Triomphe

The roundabout around the Arc de Triomphe. Twelve streets meet at this intersection to form the ten lane circle. Traffic laws do not really apply here. You have a lot of brakes, horns, and accidents (one every thirty minutes). This is the one place in Europe where accidents are not covered by insurance companies. And yet thousands of cars enter every hour.

The Louvre courtyard

Instead of trying to kick, bite, and scratch our way to be able to get a picture of the surprisingly small Mona Lisa, we took one of everybody who did.

FIFA International Fan Fest. The best place to watch the World Cup outside of South Africa.

Atop Tour Montparnesse. Unlike the view from the Eiffel Tower, you can actually see the Eiffel Tower from the top of this one.

Sacre-Couer Cathedral at the top of Montmartre

Moulin Rouge

Notre Dame Cathedral

We knew coming up to Paris that we would be spending our second wedding anniversary in this city, so clearly we had a lot of options as to what we could do on our day.

We went to Disneyland. Disney has a park just outside of Paris and we had always planned on going so we thought that after spending some days in Paris city leading up to the fifth, we would head out to enjoy a different sort of magic. We really had a ton of fun that day going on rides, watching parades, eating out, and ending the day with a spectacular fireworks show that was made just for us (and also possibly for the ten thousand children dressed up as their favourite Disney princesses and heros). It really was a great day that we will always remember. We know that if others had been in Paris on their anniversary, the day would have looked differently for them, but we wouldn't have changed anything about it. So there.

The end of Paris brings us to our final stop on our Tour de Europe. London will conclude this three and a half month trip and we're having mixed feelings about what this means for us. We have loved the cities and sights that we have experienced so we really don't want it to end. That being said, we are sick and tired of hostels, backpacks, instant noodles, and the same old same old clothes. Our pantry and washing machine back home are sounding great right about now and we are looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with them. We are anticipating a great few days in London with sights and shopping and World Cup finals to sing us out, but we are excited to see family and friends. One more stop!

For the record, from our experience, Parisian people are actually quite friendly (some of the friendliest) and are very willing to speak English and help you on your way. However, Paris takes top spot for dirtiest (and urine-smelliest in places) cities on our trip. People do not think twice about tossing their McDonald's on the ground after they are through with it. We did try to see through the grime. We managed alright.