Day 22, June 19 - Our last full day

Well, this is our last full day. We started our day off by getting a full Irish breakfast at O'Shea's. It wasn't quite what we expected. There was a fried egg, sausage and bacon, but also a hash brown, black and white pudding, and it was all covered in baked beans. I'm not gonna lie, it was a little weird, and probably not the best. I'm sure there are better places to go and get a better full Irish breakfast as well. Once we finished, we got lost for about an hour trying to figure out the bus system to get us to the Guinness storehouse that was about 30 minutes away from where we were staying. After asking so many strangers on how to get there (and they were all super nice), we were finally on our way. We spent half of our day in the Guinness storehouse. This place has 6 floors and it is a self-guided tour. We thoroughly went through every area and corner we could find to learn about how they make "the black stuff". We got to see, touch, and smell the main ingredients, see all the steps that go into making the brew, then we got to do a free tasting of it that was in a little shot glass. They taught us the proper posture on how to drink it, which actually made a difference! I'm not a big beer drinker, let alone light beer; when I had a sip, yes it was strong and overpowering, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Then we finally got to go to the Guinness Academy, where they teach you how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and then you "graduate" and receive a certificate. We took our perfectly poured pints to the next floor with us and ate a late lunch at one of the three restaurants in there. Once we had our fill, we all the way up to the top level to the Gravity Bar, which has a full panorama view of Dublin. 

After about 3 hours exploring the wonders of Guinness, we took a stroll on over to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was about a 10 to 15 minute walk away. We walked around, took tons, of pictures, and before we knew it an hour went by and they were closing up for a service. Before the service, the choir was practicing in there. We decided to stay and listen; it was so beautiful listening with the organ going and everything. Magical. We then walked all the way back to the Temple Bar area and had to go get drinks in the infamous Temple Bar. After hanging out in there, we went back to the hotel, freshened up, and went out for our last dinner. We decided to eat at a bar called The Norseman. We ate some good food, watched the World Cup, drank, and enjoyed our last night. Then we went back to the hotel, packed up, and just took it all in on how blessed we were these past three and a half weeks. They have been full of great memories, great sights, and great food. 

Thanks to everyone who has been following this, and I hope to fix up some previous posts since I was blogging from a cell phone/iPad. I also hope to go into further detail on some of my favorite places in the near future. 

Day 21, June 18 - We're Lublin Dublin

We awoke in London a little before 4am because our flight was at 7am. We took a taxi down to Heathrow and went right on through. The flight was about 50 minutes long... Gee I wish the flight back home could be so short. Once we landed, we grabbed our bags and bought bus tickets that were good for 3 days. We hopped on the Airlink Express Bus system that would drop us off around the corner from our hotel. Once we got to our hotel, our room wasn't ready yet, so we dropped our bags off and set off! First, we had brunch at an awesome place down the street called Elephant and Castle. It was SO good. Our hotel is a 2 minute walk to the Temple Bar area and everything was in walking distance. After our brunch, we walked to Trinity College, about 5 minutes away. This campus is beautiful. We headed straight for the Old Library to check out the Book of Kells. This is from the Book of John, written around the 5th century. It was pretty cool to check that out, and the really old library hall, filled with books from floor to ceiling. After witnessing that, we just walked around the campus, and even watched a cricket game (and had no idea what was going on). After spending a few hours there, we went to get lunch at a bar and had a few drinks. I think it was called the Lexington Bar. Then we went to walk around Dublin Castle. We found a park nearby and laid in the grass for a little while as well. The grass here is so different. It's much greener and softer. I really could have laid there all day. We then decided to go back to the hotel to see if our room was ready. Come to find out, we got upgraded ! Our room was absolutely beautiful and there was so much room! We took a short nap, freshened up, then headed to the Temple Bar area to get dinner and drinks. The first place we went to was called Fitzsimons, where we sat down and watched a World Cup gsne, ate, and had several rounds of drinks. During the half, we went upstairs and sat at the bar to watch some Irish dancing and a live band. I really could stay here forever. Everyone is so happy and friendly.

Day 20, June 17 - Last day in Paris

Our train back to London wasn't until late this afternoon, so we wanted to at least spend half a day doing the things we still haven't gotten to do yet. We started our morning by going over to the Islands and checking out the bookstore Shakespeare and Company. They wet pretty strict about photos there, but it was this very old and quaint bookstore. Scott and I are huge bookworms and we were right at home there. It is two stories, and is filled with local novels and novels from around the world. There are sections that lead to dead ends and books that are shelved above you as you walk up the stairs. Such a one of a kind place to visit!  

Then, about a 5 minute walk across the Seine River, we went back to Notre Dame one last time, but this time, it was to climb to the top for a panorama view. There was a line to the left of th cathedral and it was included in our Paris Museum Pass we bought ahead of time. We waited in line for about an hour, and made friends with other Americans in line with us. Once we were able to go in, we made the trek up the 400 or so steps to the top. And the view is so worth it after that climb. It was just a little bit higher than the Arc de Triomphe, and we were able to see all the gargoyles that inhabit the top. We were starved by the time we were back on ground level, so we ate at the nearest restaurant right to the left of the cathedral. I will say this: don't go there. The food is mediocre and you have to pay to use the restroom. No thank you. 

Afterwards, we took the Métro over to Northern Paris, so I could have a glimpse at the world famous Moulin Rouge. The lines were long to get a tour inside, and I believe you need to book them in advance. So instead, we walked around and happened upon a cemetery ( I think it was called Montmartre Cemetery?), which looked so similar to our cemeteries back home in Nola. After all, we did kind of come from French heritage!  After walking around so much, we decided it was time to say goodbye, grab our luggage from our hotel, and head to Gare du Nord train station. We waited for the Eurostar to take us back to London, where we stayed the night one last time, before we had to leave at 7am for our flight to Dublin!

Day 19, June 16 - Shortest post ever

We got hammered in a park drinking a whole bottle of Bordeaux and eating assorted meats, chocolate crossaints, and macaroons. Then we went to an allotment of museums while intoxicated, making for a more fun time. We also decided to visit the Louvre again, because it is that huge and we still didn't see everything. We went back to the hotel that evening to sleep off the effects and then got a late dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.

Sorry this is so short. We have our flight to Dublin really early in the morning. Must be awake in 3 hours. Good night!

Day 18, June 15 - Museums on museums on museums

This day was dedicated to going to museums that our Paris passes covered. That morning, I was finally able to get a nice cup of cappuccino and an omelet. Our first museum was the Museé du Quai Branly. The front of it is covered by a vegetation wall aka a vertical wall.  There are some 15,000 low light foliage plants that are held in place by a frame of metal, PVC, and non-biodegradable felt, but no soil. The museum itself showcases indigenous art from Oceania, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Then we walked across across the Seine to the northbank and saw the Flame of Liberty Memorial. This is where Princess Diana's car crash took place and the memorial is a replica of the Statue of Liberty's flame. After that, we went to the Palais de Chaillot. This gave us an awesome view of the Eiffel Tower and it houses two different museums, which we visited as well. It was pretty late at that point, so we went back to the hotel and washed up and relaxed. We went to a nearby restaurant bar to get a late dinner and watch the France vs Honduras game in France. It was super awesome getting to cheer on France with the locals. After the game we passed out in our room. Another successful day!

Day 17, June 14 - Lockets of love

We got started a bit late this day, but we decided to go hang out in the Latin Quarter of Paris. We got some brunch at a not-so-touristy restaurant called Pot du Lait. I say this because they did not speak ANY English. Luckily. I studied the basics on how to order food in French, so we were set. Scott got a chocolate and banana crêpe while I literally just pointed at the menu. I ended up getting what was called La Super Complète. It was a galette with ham, cheese, and fried onions. It's just like a crêpe, but made from buckwheat or something. It was delicious! And while we were eating, we had a cute puppy begging at our feet. Kinda made it feel like I was back home with all my animals begging at my feet.

After our brunch, we walked to go see the Mosquée de Paris from the street. It was built in 1926 in an ornate art deco Moorish style. We then headed back and walked down rue Mouffetard, which is an old Roman road that is filled with market stalls, food shops, and bars. We picked up some fresh strawberries and some chocolate from a place called Jeff de Bruges Naturellement Chocolat. We are those as we walked along the street. We did a little shopping and just poking around. We then turned left onto rue Clovis to run into Église St-Étienne du Mont. This contains Paris' only surviving rood screen, separating the chancel from the nave. Other rood screens were removed during the late Renaissance because they prevented the faithful in the nave from seeing the priest celebrate Mass. Soon after walking past that, we saw the Panthéon on our left. It was under some serious construction, covering the entire dome unfortunately. However, we were still able to go in. It was originally built as a church, but it now is a mausoleum for Frnace's finest intellectuals. We went down into the labyrinthine crypt, which contains around 80 residents, including Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the first woman, Marie Curie. 

Once we left the Panthéon, we went to the Jardin du Luxembourg. We strolled around and enjoyed the music and beautiful weather. We walked to a museum called the Musée de Cluny -  Musée National du Moyen Âge, which is a Middle Ages museum. We stayed in there for a short time, since we were itching to get to our next destination: Pont l'Archevêchè. This is the Lover's Lock Bridge, which I'm sure everyone has heard about. The railings are so filled with locks, you can't even see it anymore. There a locks that are locked onto other locks and on and on. We found a spot to put our lock on, locked it together, and threw in both keys into the Seine River at the same time. It was really cool doing that, even though it sounds super cheesy. We then decided to go see Notee Dame again, but we found Point Zéro, which is the point where all of France's distances are measured from. We then found the crypts underneath Notre Dame on which it was built on top of. It is all the remains of structures built on this site during the Gallo-Roman period. 

After that, we walked to a cafe which had happy hour from 3-10pm!  We got some drinks and watched the Colombia and Greece soccer game for the World Cup and killed time until dinner. Once we got our fill, we walked up and across the Seine and walked on the north bank and found the bridge that is shown in the movie " Something's Gotta Give". The bridge was called Pont d'Arcole. We walked over that bridge and then over the St. Louis Island to have a nice outside dinner at St. Regis. There was a man playing a piano in the middle of the street which was really nice. After a two hour dinner, we went back to the hotel to put on some warmer clothes because the temperature dropped a bit. Then we wanted to go see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, so we took the 10 minute walk from our hotel. We checked it out and then also saw it sparkle around 11pm. That was absolutely beautiful to watch that, and it was perfect ending to another long and exciting day. 

Day 16, June 13 - Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Our day began with going straight to one of the places I have been looking forward to going to this whole trip: the Louvre!  It opens at 9am so we got there around 9:30am. I'd say for anyone else who wants to see this museum: go early. When we got there, we walked right in without waiting in line. Of course, we had our Paris Museum Passes, which gets us in without paying for tickets. Once we were inside, we followed all of the signs for the Mona Lisa, ignoring everything else for the time being. We knew that the more time that passed by, the bigger the crowd we would have to fight to get a good picture with Mona. Thankfully, the crowd was pretty small, so we were able to get close to her. 

                    

After that, we just got lost in the museum. I wish we had more time in there because we maybe only covered about a third of the museum in about 2 hours. We had to leave because we scheduled a wine tasting nearby at 12pm. Luckily, our passes allow us to go back into the Lourve another day, so we may resume the rest of our viewing another day. At 12, we arrived at O'Chateau Wine Bar for our tasting. Let me tell you, this was amazing! Our sommelier was American and spoke both fluent English and French. He has been studying French wines for 6 years and was quite the expert. We learned so much from our tasting! We started with a champagne... and it was true champagne, not sparkling wine. Then we had 2 reds and 2 whites, all paired with cheeses that bring out certain palettes and tastes. That lasted about 2 hours and left me wanting more! We purchased a bottle of the red wine of Bordeaux we tasted, so we can have it on a picnic one day before we leave. We then headed down towards the Islands to the famous Notre Dame. 

             

We were able to easily go inside for free and walk around and take lots of pictures. After that, it was around 4:30 and we're pretty wiped out. We went back to the hotel to lie down for and freshen up. We then went to a restaurant nearby, which the name of it escapes me, and I was able to finally have French Onion Soup! Here it is called traditional! Scott had some cold pork that has some French name and looked pretty good too. We went back to the hotel and called our folks back home to update them and say hello, and then we hit the sack.