We spent Wednesday at Disneyland. Here are my very own Beauty and my own (cuddly) Beast standing on Main Street U.S.A. (in Paris!) in front of their castle 
Next stop was Adventureland to see the Pirates of the Carribbean. The ride was slightly different, and not just because the pirates were speaking French. LOL
We also hit Frontierland (Big Thunder Mountain) and Discoveryland (Space Mountain: Mission 2, Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear). Hearing Buzz say "To infinity and beyond!" in French was a hoot!!
On Thursday, we went to Walt Disney Studios. There wasn't much to do there. They are opening two new rides based on Cars next month, so hopefully that will spice up that park a bit. Bean says she doesn't feel we need to rush back for the opening of the Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror, though. I guess riding that once at Disney-MGM was enough for her. We finally did catch up with our favorite mouse there, though.
It was too bad the character and the cast members all acted like Bean was too old to be wanting her picture taken with Mickey! I think you're never too old for that. Bean was very surprised to find that is she is now taller than The Mouse. After lunch, we headed back to Disneyland and re-rode our favorite rides for the rest of the day.
On Friday, we took the train into Paris. Our first stop was the Louvre. Luckily, one of my best friends (hi Michele!) gave us a tip about getting the Paris Museum Pass. It made getting into the museums so much quicker. Once inside the Louvre (which is HUGE and very confusing!), we headed right for the Mona Lisa. Everyone had told me she would be smaller than I expected, but she is really tiny! They don't let you take pictures in her gallery or the surrounding salons. We also checked out the Venus de Milo and Michelangelo's Escaping Slave. We talked about how the Greeks loved to have the sculpture twisting to give the impression of movement. Bean preferred the older statuary:
We ate lunch at the cafeteria under the pyramid. It was very tasty. I highly approve of the French approach to sandwiches: everything starts with bread and butter. No mayo! WOOOHOOO!! After lunch, we headed out of the Louvre and started our trek up the Champs des Elysses.
We found a crepe stand in the park and let Bean try her first Chocolate Crepe. Ooh la la!
Once we reached the Arc de Triomphe, we climbed the 300+ circular, non-ending stairs to reach the top. There were great views from every side of the Arc. Here you can see down the Champs de Elysses with the Louvre at the end.
Once we had all caught our breath from the climb, we went back down, found the Metro station and went over to the Tour Eiffel. There were a TON of people waiting to take the rickety-looking elevators to the top for 15€ each. I still had a knot in my calf from our climb up the Arc, so paying 4€ each to climb the just-as-rickety-looking stairs didn't really appeal to me either. We just took pictures from the ground. If you look closely, you might be able to see me, Bean and Paris Minnie there at the bottom.
On Saturday, we again took the train into Paris and headed for Notre Dame.
It was too bad there were about 50 people already in line to climb the 422 circular steps to the top, so we had to skip that. We did go to the Archeological Crypt to see the ruins they have found from the settlement that pre-dates the construction of Notre Dame.
Our final stop on our whirlwind tour of Paris was at the Musee d'Orsay which features artists from the Pre-Impressionism and Impressionist movements. I got to see my favorite Monet there:
We had a great time!! Bean and I plan to go back again and spend more time at the Louvre. Plus, Michele told us about this great place near there to get Hot Chocolate: Paris style. I can't wait!
TTFN!
Next stop was Adventureland to see the Pirates of the Carribbean. The ride was slightly different, and not just because the pirates were speaking French. LOL
We also hit Frontierland (Big Thunder Mountain) and Discoveryland (Space Mountain: Mission 2, Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear). Hearing Buzz say "To infinity and beyond!" in French was a hoot!!
On Thursday, we went to Walt Disney Studios. There wasn't much to do there. They are opening two new rides based on Cars next month, so hopefully that will spice up that park a bit. Bean says she doesn't feel we need to rush back for the opening of the Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror, though. I guess riding that once at Disney-MGM was enough for her. We finally did catch up with our favorite mouse there, though.
It was too bad the character and the cast members all acted like Bean was too old to be wanting her picture taken with Mickey! I think you're never too old for that. Bean was very surprised to find that is she is now taller than The Mouse. After lunch, we headed back to Disneyland and re-rode our favorite rides for the rest of the day.
On Friday, we took the train into Paris. Our first stop was the Louvre. Luckily, one of my best friends (hi Michele!) gave us a tip about getting the Paris Museum Pass. It made getting into the museums so much quicker. Once inside the Louvre (which is HUGE and very confusing!), we headed right for the Mona Lisa. Everyone had told me she would be smaller than I expected, but she is really tiny! They don't let you take pictures in her gallery or the surrounding salons. We also checked out the Venus de Milo and Michelangelo's Escaping Slave. We talked about how the Greeks loved to have the sculpture twisting to give the impression of movement. Bean preferred the older statuary:
We ate lunch at the cafeteria under the pyramid. It was very tasty. I highly approve of the French approach to sandwiches: everything starts with bread and butter. No mayo! WOOOHOOO!! After lunch, we headed out of the Louvre and started our trek up the Champs des Elysses.
We found a crepe stand in the park and let Bean try her first Chocolate Crepe. Ooh la la!
Once we reached the Arc de Triomphe, we climbed the 300+ circular, non-ending stairs to reach the top. There were great views from every side of the Arc. Here you can see down the Champs de Elysses with the Louvre at the end.
Once we had all caught our breath from the climb, we went back down, found the Metro station and went over to the Tour Eiffel. There were a TON of people waiting to take the rickety-looking elevators to the top for 15€ each. I still had a knot in my calf from our climb up the Arc, so paying 4€ each to climb the just-as-rickety-looking stairs didn't really appeal to me either. We just took pictures from the ground. If you look closely, you might be able to see me, Bean and Paris Minnie there at the bottom.
On Saturday, we again took the train into Paris and headed for Notre Dame.
It was too bad there were about 50 people already in line to climb the 422 circular steps to the top, so we had to skip that. We did go to the Archeological Crypt to see the ruins they have found from the settlement that pre-dates the construction of Notre Dame.
Our final stop on our whirlwind tour of Paris was at the Musee d'Orsay which features artists from the Pre-Impressionism and Impressionist movements. I got to see my favorite Monet there:
We had a great time!! Bean and I plan to go back again and spend more time at the Louvre. Plus, Michele told us about this great place near there to get Hot Chocolate: Paris style. I can't wait!
TTFN!
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