PARIS

We got from the airport...to the city...to our hotel around 9pm, so we were still able to make it to the Arc de Triomph and the Eiffel tower before 10:00, in time to see the tower sparkle. Monica, Andy, and I stopped to pick up chocolate and banana crepes to eat under the tower for the 11:00 twinkles. We had a long walk and weird metro encounter on our way back (including a free metro ride for 3 stops until it shut down for the night, shoot [!!]) so it ended up being a pretty late night.

The next day we went to Versaille. We tried going last time I was in Paris and had a major fail moment (got on the wrong train and ended up an hour outside of Paris...and then we decided we didn't care enough to try to find our way there), but we got right to it this time!! WOW, WOW, WOW-huge and amazing and beautiful! Though we did have to spend a lit of time waiting in line both to buy tickets and to enter the palace. The garden out back was crazy huge, but it was filled with Alice in Wonderland-like bushes and fountains and vendors selling fresh-squeezed OJ, yummm!

Next, we went to the Sacre Coure area and found some dinner [food here = EXPENSIVE!] before going to the church and watching the sunset from the highest point in Paris!

This morning we went to Notre Dame before swinging by the Lourve. Today things were pretty stressful with having ticket and transportation issues, including sprinting (with our backpacks on, so we probably weren't moving all THAT fast) to catch the train from Brussels to Amsterdam this afternoon and getting on the train about 5 seconds before the doors slammed closed and we shot off, but the good news is that we made it to the hostel, and so far, so good here in Amsterdam. Trip report to come!

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