Travel Post I

Well, we survived Paris. It was crazy. Who would have guess that October was such a busy place there? (Please excuse any errors in my post; I'm using a foreign keyboard.) We got to see everything on our list, eat some good food (and some overpriced bad food) and made it out in one piece.

I guess I should mention the highlight of the trip so far: because Annie's dad worked for Delta for many years and still knew a number of people there, and because the plane was over-booked, we were able to get upgraded to first class. Yeah, it was as cool as it sounds. Sitting in my seat and putting my legs straight out in front of me, I still wasn't able to touch the seat in front of me. We had our own TVs with a large variety of on-demand movies, music, TV shows, games, etc. Our meal was served in three courses. Well, four if you count the extra dessert they gave us.

Our first night in Paris we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The only other time I was in Paris I opted not to ride to the top (there was a ridiculously long line). I'm glad we waited in the line this time. It was incredible to see. Our hotel was just around the corner (and down a couple blocks) so it wasn't too hard to get there and back. The jet lag was hitting us all pretty hard, though.

The second day we slept in pretty good (at that point, time didn't seem to matter much). Then we took the train to Versailles. It was incredible. We made it through the palace, through the crowds, and found peace in a McDonalds near the train station. Actually, the McDonalds was more crowded than the palace, but at least they had food.

After returning from Versailles we spent some time at Notre Dame, then Sainte Chapelle. Both beautiful. We still had a little energy so we took the metro up to the Arc de Triomphe and looked around. We opted not to climb to the stairs to the top. We decided that it would be a shame not to walk down the Champs Elysees a little bit. We ended up walking a bit farther than we'd hoped.

The third day (which was actually the fourth day counting from the day we left) was a little more laid back. We started at the Place de la Concorde (where all the beheadings took place) and walked through the Tuileries Gardens to the Louvre. I guess I expected the gardens to be more gardenish. They seemed really desertish, but they were pretty.

The Louvre was a madhouse. We'd decided to go on the free day, since it happened to occur while we were there. Everyone else in town had the same idea, though. I had to elbow more people out of the way that day than any other time. I used my elbows so much I started getting blisters.

(I understand that this is pretty dry reading. If you're still reading this, I applaud you. I'll try to repost all these posts with pictures when I'm able to sit at a computer with an SD port. For now, you're stuck with this.)

It seems like we did something else after the Louvre, but I can't seem to remember it now. I know we ended up wandering around a bit. Annie and I went back alone to Notre Dame and to walk along the river that night. That was nice. We had to wake up early the next day, though, for the plane ride to Florence.

The fourth day (which should be called the fifth day) we woke up early. I say early, but it's really the time I wake up for work every day (about 5:45). After the 3-transfer train ride across all of Paris on the way FROM the airport (there are a lot of stairs in subway stations) we decided to take an Airport Shuttle. We arranged it through the hotel the day before. The guy was there about 15 minutes early and we sped through little neighborhoods on one-way streets until we got to the freeway.

It was really impressive to see the guy drive. At one point we got stuck behind a group of garbage trucks on a narrow one-way street, so the driver drove backward about a quarter mile to get out to another street. It was a fun ride.

The flight was a big change from our first flight. We were cramped together with some big french guy with wide elbows. It wasn't as nice as first class, anyway. But we arrived and grabbed a taxi from the airport to the hotel (saving an hour of bus rides and walking by paying a couple extra dollars).

Florence has been great so far. I feel like I'm back home being in Italy. I speak French well enough to get by, but I speak Italian so much better that it's a big worry off my mind knowing that I can communicate. Italy's also a lot more laid back than France; at least more so than Paris. Here you can just walk around to walk around. You don't have to have a destination.

It's amazing how the language comes back, too. I just started speaking Italian when I got here. I've even been thinking in Italian. Last night I dreamed in Italian. It's strange. I haven't been in Italy for more than 10 years. It's been 12 years since I was a missionary here. And yet I feel like I'm speaking as well as I ever did. From time to time I'll forget a word, but I feel like a local.

We didn't hit any sights yesterday, we just got set up and ready for today. Today we've been all around. The highlight was climbing to the top of the Duomo's Dome. It's a tough climb, but we did it and loved it. It makes me excited to get back on top of St. Peter's Dome in Rome next week.

Anyway, I'll write more. Whether or not you read is up to you. But we're all doing fine and enjoying the trip. See you all in 11 days.