My Wandering Feet in Paris

I am writing this note to you from an Irish pub in Paris, sitting next to a Dutch couple and being served by a French Canadian … all the while a French priest is chomping on a toothpick at the bar over a pint. This lovely pub serves my much needed Guinness after a long day on my feet.

It all started with a 7am wake-up after not getting to bed until a little after 2am (work-related, unfortunately). I barely made it down to breakfast before leaving for the Eiffel Tower with the Carr Family. I was a bit grumpy, and Therese and gang blessedly left ahead of me while I frantically searched for my money sack (yep, I pulled my first blond card this morning). After freezing our arses off in line to purchase our tickets for the Eiffel Tower, we had a blast. It was totally worth it being one of the first up the elevator … no crowds, no hassle … it was wonderful.

Then we headed to Versailles. Of course, no trip is complete without getting on the Metro in the wrong direction. I pulled my second blond card for the day. I realized this mistake when we entered into one of the more dangerous districts in Paris … do you remember the Paris riots???

In any event, we finally arrived at Versailles. Woo hoo!!! It was not too cloudy and rainy… However, I pulled my third blond card of the day (by the way, it is only noon at this point) … by forgetting my museum pass at the hotel. The lines were at least 1.5 hours long to purchase a ticket and there was no way I was waiting!!! So I decided to ditch Versailles and head back to Paris, where I went to the Chatelet-les Halles area, then on to the Louvre and Notre Dame, where I became the unofficial photographer for all young couples from Britain and Ireland. I stopped by the Shakespeare & Co bookstore to pick up a new book, and wandered around the Latin Quarter.

And now I am here, at this lovely Irish pub. My feet are aching, but I have a freshly poured Guinness in front of me to help alleviate the pain and swelling… :-)