Europe Revisited - The Final Chapter

So it's been a month today since we returned from our trip. Eric and I were discussing this fact the other night, and decided it really all feels more like a distant dream than anything else. Was it really just a month ago that we were climbing the steps up the Eiffel Tower and watching the Tour de France come in? It seems like it's been years.

Anyway, to commemorate the occasion, I figure that it is about time I post about the last segment of our trip -- Milan, Switzerland, and Paris. :-) There's a lot to say, but I'll try to let the pictures do the talking!

I think I included in our previous post that our day post-Florence included a lot of sleeping, eating incredible food, and clothes-washing in Bologna. I failed to mention, however, that on that day I discovered the most incredible cold coffee drink I've ever had in my life. It was just called "crema di cafe" and it was like coffee ice cream only smoother, stronger, and with Nutella mixed in. (Have I mentioned that I adore Nutella?) So, obviously, before we left for Milan on Thursday morning, I had to have another one. It was a nice farewell to Bologna.

We were still pretty tired when we got to Milan, but we only had one day there, so we had to go see what we could!

The Sforzesco Castle -- built in the 14th century and residence of the Duchy of Milan for several hundred years. There was actually a moat around the castle as well, though there's no water in it today, and several drawbridges with dungeon-like doors.

The Milan Duomo -- we looooove the Gothic architecture!

And the Galeria Victore Emmanuelle II -- pretty much the first mall ever, and home to Prada and Louis Vuitton.

We had dinner that evening at a nice restaurant on the Piazza Duomo and then went straight to bed -- we had to be up at 6 to get ready to leave for Paris!

Friday dawned bright and early and took us through three different countries. Unfortunately, it was the first day on the entire trip that it rained, but we still had a magnificent time!

We stopped in Spiez, Switzerland for four hours to break up our long trip -- and to explore. Luckily there was an amazing castle we got to tour to get out of the rain, and a delicious restaurant/chocolate shop overlooking the lake where they only spoke German...


We definitely had fun getting around! As for the views... well, you can see for yourself!

Despite the rain, we were soooo glad we stopped!!

We got to Paris around 8 pm, and we definitely had some trouble figuring out their metro system! Paris not only has 14 "regular" metro lines, but they also have two additional types of metros that run outside of town, six different "zones" in which they categorize the lines, and horrible maps that do not explain the difference between any of these. It was possibly the most frustrated we were at any point of the trip. We finally got to our hotel though, and found a decent restaurant nearby (an Italian restaurant, actually... LoL). Good food makes everything better!!

On Saturday we took a bus tour of Paris and hit the highlights...

And on Saturday evening, we visited Notre Dame. (No, we didn't see the Hunchback).

On Sunday we visited the Musee d'Orsay, which houses a lot of Monet's paintings, as well as several other impressionist artists. It was by far my favorite museum on the trip!

After the museum, we walked over to the Champs Elysees area where the Tour de France was scheduled to come in. We had to wait a little longer than anticipated, and the crowds were CRAZY, but we got to see them on their final stretch, which was insanely awesome!

We also ate at a couple of VERY good French restaurants Sunday -- Carre and Chartier. If you ever go to Paris -- look them up!

Monday was our 2nd anniversary. :-) We toured the Louvre...

Ate lunch on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower...

Subsequently attempted to go up the Eiffel Tower, but the top was closed...


so we walked around, hung out on the Champs Elysees again and ate dinner at Carre (again), and then returned for a final attempt at the Eiffel. We still didn't get to go to the top, but we did get up the 2nd floor!

The Tower also lights up for the first five minutes of every hour, and so we got to see that twice -- pretty awesome. We have a video but I can't figure out how to load it. :(

Tuesday was meant to be our Versailles-day... but, frankly, we were exhausted! Even though it was only 70 degrees in Paris the whole time we were there, the excessive walking, crazy meal times, and weird sleeping patterns left us super-tired. So we slept in on our last day, taboo as that may be. We bought souvenirs. We walked around our favorite places one last time. We went to the Lafayette Galleries and La Madeleine.

And then we packed and packed and packed some more

And at 4:45 Wednesday morning... our European tour was over. :(

It was sad. Maybe it's because I had been before, or maybe it was just because Eric was with me, but Europe actually felt a little homey this time around, at least more than I thought it would.

Don't get me wrong, I was happy to be back in my apartment in my own bed with my sweet cat and home-cooked meals. But would I go back?? In a heartbeat!!

Anyway, thanks for reading, and kudos for making it through!! Feel free to check out all the upcoming details of our not-so-exciting regular lives. :-)

Until next time... Bonsoir!