Traveling to Aix...this is no NJ Tranist

Our time in Paris has come to an end and we are now heading to a town in Southern France called Aix-en-Provence. This was our first encounter with French public transportation (outside of the train ride from the airport to Paris city center), so we weren't exactly sure what was going to happen.  The cool part about the Gare de Lyon train station is that it is open air...kind of remins me of the one in Harry Potter!

 

 

Found our train on the schedule...check! Wating for the track #

 

Finally found our train...but then we weren't exactly sure how it worked from there. Not to mention, trying to drag two 50lb suitcases onto a train is not the easiest thing to accomplish when you have hundreds of other passengers hurrying past you trying to snag a seat. We asked one of the train conductors if we were in the right car and he just nodded (not sure he actually understood what we were asking) and then once we got settled in our four-seater with a table in the middle we realized that everyone was looking at the seat numbers on the wall as if there were assigned seats. We then realized we definitely were not in the right seats and just crossed our fingers that we weren't in someone else's seat who would later kick us out. Luckily no one confronted us and we enjoyed a beautiful 3hr train ride thru rural France to our next destination (let's be honest, I didn't enjoy anything....I fell asleep almost immediately!)

Seine River Tour & Eiffel Tower

 

If you are blessed to have such beatiful weather as we did in Paris, I would DEFINITELY recommend taking a boat cruise on the Seine River. We took the 8pm cruise (only lasts 1hr) and couldn't have picked a better timeslot because on the return loop of the tour we got to see the entire city of Paris at sunset!

 

Boarding the boat...yes they look a little funny...much longer and shorter than I would've thought (only one level high), but it makes sense since the bridges the boat goes under along the Seine are not particularly tall.

John testing out the language settings on the speaking guide.

Beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower at sunset on the boat cruise back.

 

Despite booking our tickets almost a month in advance, we couldn't get tickets to go up the Eiffel Tower until 11PM! Even though it was tough to stay awake (as we all know I usually go to sleep at 8PM), it was well worth it and we enjoyed some pretty amazing views...the perfect way to  celebrate our last night in Paris!

Arc de Triomphe

 

After we mastered the subway system in Paris (including the French speaking ticket machines), we made our way up Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Quick history lesson: this is one of the famous arcs built by Napoleon to honor those who fought and died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

 

As you can see the arc is massive and when viewed from afar looks like its much closer than it is. At any rate, we started walking towards it (very ambitious) because I was convinced it wasn't that far, and then I conceded and realized it was a bad idea and we hopped on the subway.

Beautiful view from the front of the monument

 

As if we hadn't already walked enough, I decided it was a good idea to walk to the very top of the arc in order to get some of the best views of Paris! It was a long 284 steps up with a couple 'breathers' along the way and then we had to turn around and walk back down them as well.

Beautiful view from the top

 

We tried (probably 15 times) to get the Eiffel Tower in the background of our picture from the top of the arc, but this was the best we could come up with...and you still can't see the Eiffel Tower.

Opera House

Front of the opera house

The grand staircase

You can't see it in this picture but there are mirrors on either side of the staircase on the bottom floor which gives the allusion the entryway is MUCH bigger than it actually is.  Unfortunately for me, I learned the hard way and walked right into the mirror...the worst part is...John watched me the whole time and was laughing when I finally realized what happened!

The grand foyer which is entirely trimmed with gold.

The view from the front balcony

"City for Lovers"

Eventhough John kept telling me Paris was called the City of Lights, I was pretty sure it was known as the City of Love. These locks prove my theory! After a little research, we found out the locks that cover several different footbridges across the Seine Rover (literally thousands of locks) are known as "love locks" which represent lovers who get locked in love forever in Paris.

Luckily (according to John)....there wasn't any space left for us ;)

Norte Dame Cathedral

Here we are across the river from the cathedral. A bit more overcast today, but the weather will clear up to be another beautiful bluesky day!

Breathtaking view from the front.

One of the many beautiful stained glass windows in the cathedral.

In good Catholic faith we made sure to make a donation, say a prayer, and each light a candle

Parisian Breakfast...not your typical NYC brunch

Tuesday marked the first opportunity for us to have a true Parisan breakfast. After asking for a recommendation from the Concierge (which of course the first one was the hotel restaurant), we walked right around the corner to a cafe that had no more than four people in it - I guess that makes sense since it was a workday!

We were surprised this was the "best breakfast" recommendation from the hotel since there were only THREE options on the menu! In the picture below you can see two of them...on the right, John got the "American" breakfast (typical...) which has ham, eggs, salad, and a pancake...I got the Parisian breakfast which definitely exceeded my daily carb allowance: half a baguette, croissant with jam, and a fruit cup.

The best part of eating at cafes in Paris is how the tables are perfectly situated for people watching.  Two person tables have the seats side by side and you look out at the Street and enjoy watching everyone walk by (or the crazy scooters drive by)!