Much Needed Roommate Time

*NOTE* i wrote this just after LaDonna left, but haven't been able to post it until now, so just deal with it! :)

So LaDonna just left a few hours ago to head to London to spend some time with her sister. Her time here flew by but each minute was enjoyed. We had such a good time together and I’m so thankful that she was able to come over and visit me. It was much needed. It was so nice to see a familiar face and someone who really knows me. It was wonderful. I was worried that the weather would be bad because when I checked it before she arrived it said it would rain the whole time. Well we were so lucky and had beautiful weather almost each day! It rained the first day and then was a little chilly and overcast the last. But really we had great weather and were able to do a lot because of that.

She arrived Saturday afternoon. I met her at the train station where she was arriving from Amsterdam. We took the metro back to my house and got settled there before going out to explore the city. She was pretty exhausted so we just hung out in Le Vesinet for awhile and rested at the house. We went out that night to eat dinner in Paris and do some walking. We sat at a little café for quite a while just chatting and having a sandwich. We walked around and saw a little bit of paris at night. As we were about to leave, my friend Sam called and said there were a few people getting together down the street from where we were. So we went and hung out with them for a little while before heading back to Le Vesinet.

This is us walking around Paris that first evening.

Sunday was cool. Each first Sunday of the month, most of the museums and other tourist attractions are free entry. Since LaDonna was here for that, we took advantage of it. We headed to Versailles in the morning and spent several hours there. It is so beautiful. I have been several times, but each time I enjoy it just as much if not more. I had never really walked through the gardens, so that is something we made sure to do. They are just massive. They had golf cart tours through the gardens but by that point we were exhausted and didn’t feel like waiting in line. So we grabbed some lunch and headed into Paris to hit up the Louvre. So, we aren’t the most artsy people and don’t have a whole lot of knowledge on the subject. However, we managed to see the famous stuff and read the little placards by some of them. We didn’t spend too long there because we were already pretty tired from walking a lot at Versailles. After leaving there we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe to take a picture and head home. We were exhausted!

This is us at Versailles, out back before strolling through the gardens

There was some strange art exhibition going on by Jeff Koons. They had all these really bizarre "balloon" creations placed throughout the castle. While it was neat, it also sort of took away from the sincerity of Versailles.

Out in front of the castle. You can sort of see another one of the bizarre balloon things in the background.

The massive golden gate!

Venus de Milo (i think) at the Louvre!

We had decided to do the Eiffel Tower on Monday, but had a few other things planned first. For some crazy reason we thought it would be interesting to visit the Sewers of Paris Museum… it wasn’t. It smelled so awful (duh, Joelle…way to think that one through) and was just disgusting. We were fine at first but halfway through we just started running because we couldn’t handle the smell. We got to the end and can you believe there was a gift shop???? We couldn’t even imagine what they would be selling, and we didn’t stay long enough to find out. We were just glad we didn’t work there. I can not imagine coming home from work each day smelling like that. Gross. Anyways, we left there and headed to have lunch before going to the tower. We sat at another lovely café and enjoyed our lunch on the sidewalk (terrace).

Oh the Eiffel tower!!!! Again, the reason I fell in love with Paris. I could go every day and still have the same love for it. The night before we were talking with Severine and she encouraged us to take the steps and not the elevator when we went up. She said it would be more memorable that way and the lines would be shorter. We took her advice. What a climb. When we got to the first level we walked all the way around and looked out over the city before heading up to the next level and the next level. The day was perfect for seeing all of Paris, as the sky was beautiful blue with no signs of rain. It was lovely and really cool to be up there. On the way down I really thought my legs were going to give out under me. They felt like jell-o. we were so tired when we got down and just sat for awhile.

our adventure at the Sewer Museum!

LaDonna's new friend. :) okay not really, but whatever. this was before it started smelling bad. it was just after this that we ran through the rest!

Our little sidewalk cafe where we had lunch before heading to the Eiffel Tower. it was so nice! The waiter set our tables in front of us and it was so cute!

LaDonna's excited face! this was when we were in line waiting to climb the tower!!!!

And here is my excited face!!!

On our way up. not sure what she is looking at, but whatever.

A map of the EU that they set up in the gardens outside the eiffel tower. it's cool cuz you can see it when you are up high. they were in the process of taking it down while we were ascending so thats why it's not complete.

First Floor! doing good...

We made it!!! Look at what a beautiful day it was! and the view! so pretty.


just a picture of paris from the top. i thought it was cool because there was a hot air balloon out there.

The line to get into the eiffel tower! there are 4 entrances and this is just the line for one of them. this line is to take the elevator up. it's cheaper and shorter lines if you just walk, which is what we did. so if you find yourself in paris, walk the eiffel tower and don't ride the elevator! it also makes the event more memorable. right LaDonna??? :)

okay, so i know I just said you should walk and not take the elevator, and now i'm putting up a picture of us after the walk! we were maybe a little exhausted!

she didn't move for awhile...

neither did i...

awwwwwwww!

Tuesday we went to Notre Dame and the Catacombs which were both really cool. At Notre Dame, we were able to walk right in and see a lot of cool stuff. I remember there being crazy lines when I have gone in the past. But it wasn’t bad at all. The catacombs had a pretty big line for some reason but it was okay. We met a lady who has been coming to Paris each October for the past 13 years. She said it’s like home to her. She always stays at the same hotel and knows everyone who works there. She prepares her own meals in the kitchen and is treated like family. It was pretty cute. She had never been to the catacombs and was pretty excited.

in front of Notre Dame

out back of Notre Dame. again, look how beautiful the weather was! We were blessed with amazing weather most of the time she was here!

yes, those are bones. and i think are faces are a perfect demonstration of our attitudes and thoughts. :)

more bones.

Wednesday was our day to do shopping. Ladonna wanted to get souvenirs for everyone and also some stuff for herself. We decided on a few different areas where we would go and set out! It was rainy and yucky this day so it was good we were already done with our sight seeing. We got some shopping done, went to a few cool chocolate shops, and bought some fun souvenirs. There was this tea room we had been trying to go to since the first day but it just never happened. We finally made it on Wednesday and it was soooo lovely. It’s right on the Champs Elysees and is 2 or 3 stories with windows overlooking the street. We were seated upstairs close to a window in an ornately decorated cozy dining room. It was full of small groups of women drinking tea and chatting. The people working there were so polite and were all dressed very professionally. It was absolutely lovely. We ordered our tea and were brought individual teapots with their own mixes of tea. They offered us dessert so we decided to splurge. Well I did anyways! LaDonna ordered a vanilla macaroon and I ordered whatever the lady at the table next to me had and when they came out we just laughed for like 10 minutes. Ladonna’s macaroon was the size of a silver dollar and my dessert was huge! It was hysterical. But anyways, we sat there for hours just chatting about life and drinking our tea. When the pot was empty, they filled it back up with hot water. It really was just the perfect afternoon.

I just want to point out a few things. the massive dessert in the front of the picture is mine. the itsy bitsy round thing in the very back of the picture is LaDonna's dessert. it was quite funnny. But you can also see our precious little teapots and cups. so quaint.

her little dessert. but look how cute the tearoom is too!

Her last day was Thursday and I had to work anyways. So she hung out with me while I worked and then I dropped her off at the train station just before dinner. I had such a wonderful time with her and was sad to see her go.