Day 65 to 72

Day 65: Wednesday 24^th August

So, we got breakfast whilst walking into the centre of Paris which consisted of an half a chocolate croissant and half an almond croissant each! (When in France… eat as the French do!) Which were absolutely divine!

We originally had planned to do the walking tour… however, we got terribly lost and so missed the beginning of it. So instead, we just wondered up and down the river (which is in the centre of the city) and saw the Louvre (we didn’t go inside), the Eiffel Tower, the Arc De Triomphe and once again the Notre Dame.  There isn’t much to say about what we did because it was us walking around being Tourists for about 6 hours – which for us was incredibly fun but sounds really boring when we describe it.

We got a baguette and two croissants to share during the day. So, we halved a croissant for breakfast and ate the baguette for lunch and had the remaining croissant in the park in front of the Eiffel tower!

Outside of the Louvre 

Inside the Court Yard of the Louvre 

Paris is an absolutely gorgeous city. The architecture is beautiful and the skyline is all basically one height so the point of the Eiffel tower can be seen from almost any where in the city. 

Arc De Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

After six hours of walking around Paris, we decided that we were completely shattered and got food from our bakery on the way home and then went to bed relatively early.

Day 66: Thursday 25^th August

Today we went to Disneyland!!!

Honestly, it was one of the greatest days. It was so so so much fun. We had vegemite and butter baguettes (true Aussie/French style) and had packet chocolate croissants so we ensured that we could last the entire day! We caught the train from the main station in Paris and arrived at Disneyland at about 11:30am. We bought our tickets and the first thing we did was watch the Tarzan Show which was pretty cool. The performers had to be gymnasts or acrobats as their tricks were incredible.. their dancing was average but the flipping was amazing. Not going to lie… Katherine and I definitely appreciated Tarzan’s body ;)

The first ride we went on was called “Big Thunder Mountain” and it was a rollercoaster that “hurtles through an abandoned gold mine at breathtaking speed aboard a runaway mine train” – Basically it was a really fast rollercoaster that went around a mountain. It was brilliant.

Us and the Rollercoaster

We then went on a Haunted House ride. Sometimes we feel utterly ridiculous about the things we do. This time, it was us being utterly petrified and unbelievably paranoid about going on the ride. I mean to start off with you enter a pitch black room and they yell at you in French – I understood NOTHING whilst Katherine got “You can never escape”, so, to begin with it was pretty frightening. However, as the ride went on and we got onto the train thingo, the ride got less frightening and we began to feel ridiculous as we were more scared going on the ride than the majority of the little kiddies.

Us before the ride

One of the coolest things about Disneyland I thought, was the different lands and how different they all looked. The first two I thought had the most obvious difference between them. The Frontier land was like the Wild West whilst Adventure land was about Pirates and Indiana Jones.

Adventure Land

So, the third ride we went on was known as “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril” and once again, it was a rollercoaster which went at high speeds and this one went through and around a “temple”. Such great fun!

As well, in Adventure land they had like tree houses and areas where you can explore caves and such. Honestly, I felt like a kid on Christmas day – Katherine and I were just ridiculously excited about everything! The next ride we went on was a Pirate’s of the Caribbean ride. It was a water ride that went through a place that looked like the set of the movie. Very, very cool.

So, we then moved onto Fantasy Land and went on the Peter Pan ride. Which was us in a boat flying over London and Neverland. Also, very cool!  

Flying over London

We did the Snow white ride, the Pinocchio ride and then we watched the parade. I thought the parade was rather cheesy… but Katherine loved it and I do admit it was pretty entertaining and looked like so much fun to be in.

The Parade

We went on a Buzz Lightyear ride which was us shooting Zurg (the bad guy). Let’s just say that our score… was rather low.

The Last ride we went on was by far the best. It was another rollercoaster but it was really different from the last couple. It is described as “blast off on a spinning, rocket-powered rollercoaster ride to the edge of the universe”. You go in a rocket thing which speeds you up so much that… how do I explain it… okay picture a pug dog with their face outside a window in a car and their skin gets pushed back… that’s what our faces looked like! And then you go on loop-d-loops, and twisty turns all in pitch black. It’s absolutely brilliant.

The Space Mountain Ride

We eventually got home at about 10:30, got Maccas really quickly and then slept!

 Day 67: Friday 26^th August

We actually made the walking tour today! Even though we had already seen the sights, the walking tours are always good because you get to know the history of a place. So, we went from the Notre Dame all the way down the River Seine, past the Louvre to the Grand and Petite Palaces.

Katherine and I at the Louvre

So, yes, we walked around for another three and a half hours seeing places we had already seen. But we did learn a lot more about them. The triangle in the Louvre was built as an upgrade to give more space to the Gallery and originally, the Parisians hated it. As well, the Eiffel Tower was only meant to be standing for 10 years or so, however the Parisians decided they liked it and kept it up!

That night, we went for dinner with Peter (Katherine’s family friend) and his girlfriend, Vicki in the Montmartre region, where the Moulin Rouge is. I’d show you the picture of us with it…. But it’s on Pete’s camera!

Then, the four of us did a pub crawl. Funnily enough, we started the French pub crawl at an Australian bar which we all found hilarious. The night was good fun, we had lovely cocktails all night and the crawl finished at a club where we danced for hours and hours before walking home!

Day 68: Saturday 27^th August

This morning, we caught a train from one of the main stations in Paris to a town called Reims which is the capital of the Champagne Region in France.

We got there just after lunch time, and so we check in to our hotel and then after dumping our bags we had a quick walk around the town to see what was there and then had a long nap!

After our nap, we got up and went to find the Tourist office so we could get phone numbers to book Champagne tours for the next day. After eventually finding the Tourist office, we went and had a drink before going to have Asian food for early dinner so we could have an early night.

Day 69: Sunday 28^th August

We started the morning off by ringing several Champagne labels to book tours and tasting. We booked one and then noticed that all the English tours were all at very similar times so we only could do one, which we were a bit disappointed about.

So, we bought our morning chocolate croissant and almond croissant to share and wondered towards the town’s Cathedral, which is known as Reim’s Notre Dame. It is honestly, gorgeous. The amount of detail in the structure is unbelievable. It must have taken years and years to build.

Notre Dame of Reims

After the cathedral we went inside the Palace of Tau which was a place of residence of the Monarchy of France.

The Palace of Tau and Notre Dame of Reims

26 of the Kings of France were coronated in the Cathedral which is connected to the palace. Inside the palace we saw many statues and many tapestries from the Royal family of France. We also saw the hall where all the banquets and such were held after the coronations!

Inside the Palace

We then went for a walk towards the place where the Champagne tour was going to be held, but as we were early we stopped by a French Garden (characterized by straight lines) and were annoying tourists taking photos of everything!

We then had a Champagne tour of the label G.H. Mumm. We had a tour of their cellars and an explanation of how their champagne is made and the difference between traditional and vintage champagnes. Vintage champagnes are made from grapes only from that season’s grapes whilst traditional champagnes can be made from grapes from a range of seasons to gain the right taste.

14 metres underground in their cellars 

After going through their cellars, we got to have a tasting of two of G.H. Mumm’s champagnes. One was stronger than the other, whilst the other one was slightly sweeter. Both rather nice though.

We spent the afternoon wondering through the centre of Reims before eventually having a baguette for dinner and we finished our evening by watching Pirates of the Caribbean in French!

Day 70: Monday 29^th August

Back to Paris

So, we caught the train back to Paris at about lunch time and met up with Peter Schell (my uncle) who we would be staying with for the two remaining nights in Paris. After dumping our stuff at the hotel, the three of us wondered down the road to grab a baguette for lunch. We then went to La Fayette Galleries – which is the equivalent of a really fancy Myers. It had floors and floors of clothes – very cool!

We wondered through the Louvre and past the Opera House before spending the next hour wondering through a really nice shopping district and we finished the afternoon with a chocolate frappe in a cute French café.

We also saw Mary Magdalene’s church in Paris. It is this beautiful old building with gorgeous detail throughout.

That night, the three of us went out for dinner before then meeting up with Jeremy (cousin) who was just passing through Paris for the night. We went and had a drink before heading back to the hotel.   

Day 71: Tuesday 30^th August

Today, we found out that most Parisian museums close on Tuesday – including the Louvre. So those of you heading off to Paris…. THE LOUVRE IS CLOSE ON TUESDAYS. We were all terribly disappointed so after finding out that lovely piece of information, we headed off towards the left bank where we wondered around. A thing we really liked about Paris is that it is truly a beautiful city. In saying that, I mean that it is highly picturesque. You are able to get a stunning photo of the majority of the city. So, wondering around almost mindlessly doesn’t worry either of us at all as we can look at the city.

We managed to see the Pantheon of France which is where they celebrate the greats of the country. For example, Marie Curie is buried here as well the author of The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas.  Before being a Pantheon the building was originally built to be a church, so you imagine how gorgeous the inside is.

The Roof of the Pantheon

After visiting the Pantheon, we did some basic tourist shopping and shopping for Peter, and then we went and had a nap after hours and hours of walking around. After the lovely nap, the three of us went out for dinner before then heading to bed.

Day 72: Wednesday 31^st August

Off to Madrid

As Katherine and I arrived at the airport at 8:00am to get a flight to Madrid! The flight itself was alrighty… we slept for a bit and then chatted to the French guy next to us who was going to study in Madrid for a semester!

Once in Madrid, we checked into our hostel, dumped our stuff and then went and had a wonder around the centre of the city to get some kind of directional bearings. Lucky for us, our hostel is literally a five minute walk from the centre. After a long walk, Katherine and I went for a shop… not actually buying things – but we had fun trying clothes on.

To finish our evening, we got some Spanish food at some restaurant near the hostel and then had a relatively early night.

Any who,

Adios,

Cait and Katherine