Return to the US

We almost had to stay longer in Spain because of the Volcano ash coming from Iceland had most of Europe's flights canceled. We were worried about getting back to work but, at the same time we wanted to stay and go to a Real Madrid Soccer match day after. We were delayed several hours at the airport because the airport was going to be closed. The gate attendants sent us to get a hotel voucher and we were called back to the gate. Nobody knew if the airport was going to remain open or closed. There was no free wii-fi at the aiport. I payed the 6 euros that they charged to log in for 30 minutes, check the news, and send an email to my family. After waiting hours at the airport for cancellations we were ready to go just to find out that our plane was delayed a few more hours due to mechanical reasons. We were upset, but not surprised that American Airlines has mechanical problems. We met other passengers that had driven or taken trains across Europe to fly from Spain. Spain was one of the few Countries that were not affected by the ash clouds. We had a multi-city ticket that allowed us to fly from the US to London and return from Madrid to the US. If the price of a round trip to London was significant lower at the time that we purchased we would have had to stay in Europe for at least one more week. It does sound like a good excuse to extend a vacation but I was taken non-paid time off at work and, my boyfriend had a new job waiting for him. It would have been a not so good way to stay in Europe longer. 

Needless to say, we lost our connection in Miami, we had to take the next flight to Tampa which was also delayed. They offered us to spend the night in Miami and fly to Tampa in the morning. We decided to wait for our already delayed flight. We finally arrived to Tampa at 2:00 AM when we were originally supposed to be back around 6:00 PM. We were lucky to be back on Sunday since we had to go to work early the next day. I was exhausted the whole day and a few more days after we were back. The jet-lag was not as bad as I expected it to be. It is worse when you fly the opposite time zone because you are not ready for bed. When you return from Europe you will be already 6 hours past your bed time. 

Euro Bills

Pound Sterling bills

Y El Paseo se Acabo (and the trip is over)

Paris Day 5 & Rome Day 1

This day was mostly traveling. We arrived at Rome, went to the hotel and looked for an authentic italian restaurant. The receptionist recommend a restaurant a few blocks to the hotel. We ordered pasta, of course, and a bottle of house wine which in Italy is mostly Chianti. It was one of the best meals I've ever had. We went to bed early to start our second day in Rome as early as possible.

The view from my friend's apartment in Paris

Paris Day 4

On our 4th day in Paris we decided to go up to the Eiffel Tower. The line was long but not as long as I expected. It was cold and windy when we were making the line and, even colder when we were up. The view of the City was amazing since there are not many other tall buildings in Paris. I highly recommend going all the way to the 3rd level. 

Eating Madelaines by the Eiffel Tower

Montmartre from the Eiffel Tower

Going up...

We decided to spend the afternoon in our favorite neighborhood: Montmartre. This was our last full day in Paris and we enjoyed every single minute of it. 

Les invalides- Napoleon Tomb is inside

Moulin Rouge

French onion soup for lunch

The easy way up Montmartre

I love Nutella crepes! I ate one every day in Paris

Paris Day 3

The first stop on the 3rd day in Paris was the Notre Dame Cathedral. The church that I wanted to visit since I saw the Disney movie of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I loved the movie and the soundtrack was by my favorite singer and at the time my obsession. I should say that I wanted to go because of other reasons but, the truth is that I didn't know about this place until the movie. 

Our initial plan was to also visit the Sainte-Chapelle but the line was too long and decided not to go inside. We did go inside Notre Dame but we didn't go up. The cathedral was impressive inside. I loved the gothic architecture and the stained glass work. I would like to go someday to take a closer look at the gargoyles.

After Notre Dame we walked towards the Pompidou Center. After the long Museum visit at the Louvre we did not want to go inside another museum for a while. I would like to visit the Pompidou the next time that we are in Paris. We had a crepe for lunch outside the center. 

Hotel de Ville

Fountain outside the Pompidou

Centre Pompidou

Lunch

After lunch we went to Saint Germain and the Latin Quarter. They are both beautiful neighborhoods to walk around. We later found out that the Luxembourg gardens were close. We will have to see them next time as well.

The Pantheon

To finish the 3rd day, we met with another friend and his wife at an spanish restaurant. It was a tapas restaurant located across from hotel Costes. The food was very good and the french wine was even better!

Friends since we were 5 years old

Paris Day 2 - Versailles & Montmartre

The first day in Paris was great. I was completely fascinated with the City. Our feet were still hurting in the morning. The plan for the day was to take the train to Versailles to see the famous Château de Versailles. The train took about 40 minutes and after you get off at the station it is a short walk to the Palace entrance. The line to buy the tickets was at least 1.5 hours. There is a way to buy them in advance using the official website. I highly recommend doing this to avoid the line. We got the Passport ticket that included admission to all the Palace, the grounds, the Trianon Palaces and, Marie-Antoinette's Estate. It took us about 2 hours to walk inside the palace. There were so many people that it was impossible to walk any faster.

The ceilings

The hall of mirrors - listening to the audio tour

The gardens are the most beautiful gardens that I have seen in my  life. My feet and legs were so tired that when I saw how big the gardens were I wanted to cry. There was no place to rest. The motivation of taking pictures made it a lot easier.  By the time we got to the Trianon Palaces, I was exhausted. We didn't walk to Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet. There is a train that takes you around the gardens and back to the palace. We waited in line for at least half-hour or even longer. We were the last 2 to get on the train. We had to sit separate but at least we didn't have to walk back. My boyfriend got the seat next to the driver. He had the travel guide book with him and started using the phrases in the back of the book. Basic phrases but, he had a 5 minute conversation in french! I couldn't believe that he made a friend. It was nice to see the driver being friendly with a tourist who didn't speak any french. Completely the opposite of what everyone expects of people in France.

at the beginning of the walk... a long way to go

Latona Fountain

Apollo Fountain

Trianon Palace

At the end of the afternoon we were tired but, we didn't want to waste any time in Paris. We returned to the City and decided to go see the Sacre Coeur Church. We got of the Metro station at Montmartre and instead of walking up the stairs we walked down stairs. When we realized that we were in the wrong place we asked for directions at a bakery. I asked in french but I didn't understand the response. We gave up and stopped at an Italian restaurant to have lunch. We asked again where we needed to go. Finally after a LONG walk UPHILL we made it to the Sacre Coeur. We bought a bottle of Bordeaux to drink at the stairs watching the City. We walked towards the artists square, had a Nutella crepe for dessert, watched the painters do portraits on tourist, and shopped for souvenirs.

Go upstairs for Montmartre

Sacre Coeur

Eiffel Tower from Montmartre

Artist in action