Day 6 takes us to France

Nous sommes à Paris! We are in Paris now!

Compared to our days in London, today has been a bit uneventful. This morning we boarded the Eurostar train with our tour group which took us from London to Paris in 2½ hours. I thought it would be more... impressive or even... shiny, I suppose. However, the train itself was sort of dingy. I do look forward to doing a bit more research regarding the Eurostar train but I'll save that for a later date when I'm not on a trip.

At the very least we were in good company! We got table seats and sat near a pair of sisters from Tennessee. Our tour group is so diverse that it's quite lovely getting to know everyone. There are people from all walks of life. Most have done a great deal of traveling but for a few (like Tom) this is their first international/European trip.

Anyways, we jumped ahead an hour and arrived in Paris around 2pm where we met our Paris tour director, Tini. She's so sweet and upbeat! Typically one would have the same tour guide throughout the entire trip. Yet due to some family problems that our planned tour director (Margaret) had, we ended up with two different tour directors.

The drive into Paris showed me just how modernized London is currently. Paris has that rich, antique architecture that I love. There are more streets paved with stone as to there just being plain pavement. And, really, there is just history every where you look -- including our hotel! Although they've updated the inside of our hotel location, they've kept a lot of the character which you can see by way of the bar in the hotel, the windows frames in the rooms, and much more. It's gorgeous while still making us feel comfortable.

Nevertheless, Tom and I are in a new city where we know very little of the language unfortunately. I've to speak some words but French locals seem to just know that you don't speak French. When possible I try to sneak in a 'bonjour' or a 'merci' to the best of my ability.

We did venture outside our hotel once we were settled in around 5pm. Since we have a limited amount of time in Paris and Tom has many more places that we'd both like to see, we decided to go to one place tonight that I wanted to take a picture of: Moulin Rouge. It was on an... interesting street to say the least. No matter though because it gave us the opportunity to explore the opposite side of Paris than what we'll be seeing tomorrow on our guided tour. Plus I found a large clothing store so I got my clothes shopping out of the way (a skirt and two scarves).

I don't imagine us getting as many souvenirs as we got in London if only for the fact that being in a city where you don't speak the language is a tad overwhelming. Hopefully we can enjoy ourselves though! There's a chance that our optional excursion to Giverny might not pan out because only two other people from our tour group signed up for the tour and they need at least 10 people signed up to make it worthwhile to go. :( Granted, it is a 2-3 hour trip one-way but it would still be nice to spend Saturday outside the busy city of Paris.

The good news about our hotel in Paris is that we have free internet access in our room. Alas, it should be much easier to make blog posts and add photos to Facebook. I think we're also planning to not stay out too late at night in Paris as well.

So until next time, au revoir!

Day 5 brings us aerial views of London

Our last full day in London was absolutely wonderful. We began our day with our first optional excursion of the day which was visiting two cathedrals in London -- St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Instead of following the audio guides at either church, we had a London local guide us around.

I have to admit that I was still a bit groggy from not getting much sleep the night before (remember, we were out and about until after 11pm the previous night), so I don't think I retained a lot of information from the St. Paul's cathedral tour. To be fair though, I really love going on tours of cathedrals in order to see the breathtaking architecture!

One of the facts that I learned about the first cathedral was that between 2002-2008 (roughly), there was a project done on the inside of the cathedral to give it a facelift of sorts. Using liquid latex, they applied the solution to the walls inside the cathedral to whiten/clean the walls up. You can really notice a difference because it was probably the cleaniest/newest-looking cathedral I've visited compared to my previous two trips to Europe (Spain and Ireland, if you're wondering). Saint Paul's Cathedral also had much more natural light as opposed to a multitude of stained glass windows which really made a difference because it wasn't as dimly lit as other cathedrals I've seen.

Westminster Abbey had a lot more meaning to me in more ways than one, so I definitely retained more information from my tour there. This is the church where William and Kate got married!! (I'm looking at you there, mom.) It was stunning to be inside the church where they were married because of course the church was breathtakingly beautiful.

This church was also home to the burial grounds for many important figures throughout history (i.e., Winston Churchill). However, most notable to me was the Poet Corner in the chapel where well-known authors were buried such as Rudyard Kipling and Charles Dickens. It may sound odd but I found this to be a bit exciting.

Anyways, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside either churches. Although we got lots of pictures of Saint Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey from the inside, it just doesn't show the amazing architecture on the inside. So I bought guide books with pictures that do each church justice and share some history that I learned today.

Tom and I were done with our morning excursion around 12:30pm. We were free to spend the afternoon as we pleased but had to meet up with our tour group again for our evening optional excursion after 5pm. We took the Jubilee Line of the Underground to three consecutive stops. First we stopped at Bond Sreet station to go to a store that my friend Jenny had recommended -- Primark. It's a store that sells men and women's clothing at excellent prices. In fact, I snagged a dress for only 5GBP (British pounds, until I get the symbol later). The only downside to the store was that it was SUPER busy and the line for the dressing rooms were way too long. I'm really hoping that the two dresses that I bought fit nicely (*fingers crossed*).

Then we headed to Baker Street station where the Sherlock Holmes museum is located. There was about a 20-minute wait as the line was fairly long and the tour itself would have taken about 30 minutes. Seeing as it was getting pretty close to 5pm at that point, we opted to skip the tour and browse the gift shop instead.

Afterwards, we headed straight to St. John's Wood station to go to a little well-known street called Abbey Road. For any of you who are fans of The Beatles, we did our best to get pictures of ourselves walking across the crosswalk. We also signed the white wall near the crosswalk which is pretty famous in London as well as it's a place where fans sign their name with or without lyrics.

Once we were finished with all of our personal stops, we headed to meet our tour group at the London Eye! It was truly an amazing experience to ride the London Eye. They first take you inside a nearby building where you're shown a 4-D movie clip (about 5 minutes long) to sort of prepare you for what to expect on the London Eye. Then we headed straight for the London Eye and quickly boarded our pods (our large group was split between two pods). Seeing aerial views of London was absolutely fantastic!! The members of our group are sincerely nice and have been kind enough to take pictures of Tom & myself when we've asked. We even bought a photo print that was taken by the shop while we were aboard the London Eye. It turned out really well thankfully.

We ended our day by going out to our three course pub meal with members of our tour group which was included in the optional excursion of the evening. I'm proud to say that I got to each fish and chips before leaving London! I also tried a dessert called -- ahem -- spotted dick (I swear that's what it's called!). It's a sponge cake with sultanas (raisins) in these creamy, sweet sauce. It was really delicious! If you're wondering, my starter item was light breaded mushrooms with blue cheese dipping sauce. Yum!

So we had a fantastically successful last day in London. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us as jump back to be another hour behind the US (for a total of a 6-hour time difference). We'll be leaving our hotel pretty early to take the Eurostar train to Paris, France! Can you believe that the trip will only take a little over two hours to get to France? TWO HOURS! Personally, it's hard to believe since it took us 4 hours just to get to the otherwise of the UK when we travelled to Cardiff. I'm definitely looking forward to the quick trip tomorrow.

Until next time, cheers!

Day 4 takes to Bath and Stonehenge

Today is the fourth day of our adventure during which we spent the least amount of time in London. In fact, after a delayed start (our bus was very late), we rode two hours to the town of Bath to see the town as well as the Roman Baths. The town of Bath is very different from London. It almost reminded me of Salamanca, Spain, with its stone streets not filled with cars whizzing past you. It definitely felt better to feel safer walking across the streets without worrying about the hustle & bustle of traffic.

As soon as we arrived in Bath, we had about an hour of free time. We stopped at this quaint restaurant called Bath's Buns. It was a tiny restaurant with each table having mismatching tea cup sets (I took pictures). I experienced my first English tea here by having Roseship and Hisbiscus tea! No wonder the Brits like tea so much -- they add milk with sugar to tea to make it taste better. I also ordered a potato jacket (a baked potato cut in half with whatever meat you order in the middle) and we shared a scone. It was adorable! It was definitely a great place to go for a quick lunch.

We then met up with our group to go to the Roman Baths. There was so much to see and learn but certainly not enough time! England seems to very keen on audio tours using a little walkie-talkie of sorts that everyone can carry individually to listen to as you go to each of the numbered stations. It's quite useful really. In any case, we got to take pictures inside but I missed my chance to touch the water.

Anyhow, we only had about an hour to do the Roman Baths tour before we headed back to the bus to travel to Stonehenge. It was another hour ride on the bus and by the time we made it to Stonehenge, we had less than hour to listen to the audio tour. It was very cold and beginning to rain by the time we got there. Again, we took quite a few pictures and learned about the Stonehenge rock formation. There was lots to learn today!

We had another 2-hour ride back to London on the bus. Tom and I didn't want to waste any time once we got back to our hotel room, so we as soon as we dropped our souvenirs, we headed to Swiss Cottage Station (the nearest Underground station for us). We've basically mastered the tube system and it really is as easy as everyone says it is which is a relief!

Tom and I made our way to the Tower of London station (Tower Hill) and took pictures of the Tower Bridge from a different angle. Once I learned how to use the night setting on my camera (I have to use a timer for it to work properly), I took some excellent photos of the bridge at night! We took a few more pictures before heading back to the Underground to go to Picadilly Circus. It's very similar to Times Square in NYC. After taking pictures, we spent a bit too much time in a souvenir shop nearby (oops). By the time we were done looking all around it was past 11:15pm.

It was a truly wonderful day. I could honestly spend at least a full day in Bath as it's such a lovely town. Tom and I are both looking forward to our last day in London tomorrow. Aside from the excursions we opted for, we'll also be going to Baker Street to see the Sherlock Holmes museum and Abbey Road (if you're a fan of The Beatles, then you'll understand the reference). It'll be fun!

Until next time, cheers!

Day 3 begins our whirlwind tour of London

Today was our first day with our tour group. Since we missed the welcome dinner that Go Ahead Tours provided last night, it was nice to meet our group for the first time today.

With our tour group we spent the better part of the morning sightseeing on a motorcoach bus. I was admittedly bummed that it wasn't a red double-decker bus but I can't really complain as our tour guide (not tour group manager) was hilarious. We went all around London on the coach bus so I didn't take many pictures. I mostly took in the facts that the tour guide was giving us as well as soaking up as many of the sights as possible. We did make a stop to get some great photos of the London Tower/Bridge!

Afterwards, we headed to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards! It was loads of fun even though the first time we saw them they didn't have their marching band with them. When we moved closer to Buckingham Palace, we got to see the guards from slightly farther away but at least the marching band was accompanying them! Two fun facts: 1) Did you know that the guards don't wear red suits during the winter? Instead they wear grey; 2) The Queen has 5-6 homes, including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and a place in Edinburgh -- you'll know where she's staying at depending on whether her personal flag is up.

We did more sightseeing onboard the bus which was really quite a whirlwind. As I mentioned, our tour guide was quite funny and I had fun geeking out as he mentioned places where the Harry Potter movies were filmed at and any literary character references he made. :)

At the end of our sightseeing tour, Tom and I stayed on the bus as we had opted for the optional excursion that day: Windsor Castle. If there's one thing you should know about me, it's how much I absolutely LOVE castles. Windsor Castle was incredibly impressive from the outside and equally breathtaking on the inside. The downside was that we didn't get to take pictures once we were inside. (Though I imagine that being a good thing for my camera as I'm sure I would have taken hundreds of photos!!) The upside was that the Queen was staying at Windsor Castle! However, we didn't run into her or anything. Oh, well.

The rooms in only part of the castle were ginormous. Everything was absolutely stunning. I know my mom would have loved seeing the first room of tour which held an intricate doll house given to the Queen. I think the room that stood out most in the mind though was the one room with the less shiny stuff (no procelain plates or lots of silver/gold embellishments). It was the room with insanely high ceilings that had coats of arms ON the ceiling of all of the guards knighted. There were even white/blank coat of arms for knighted (I think I'm using the right word there) guards who had done something wrong or dishonest.

Once our tour of Windsor Castle was over, Tom and I hurried over to St. George's church. Another aspect of European countries that I love are their beautifully intricate churches. They are beyond amazing! Of course we were also not allowed to take pictures inside and words really cannot desribe the detail we saw as we walked through the church.

Before leaving the Windsor Castle tour, I stopped to take a picture a guard! I really wanted to try to make him laugh or break his serious pose but, alas, I was unsuccessful.

Tom and I made a quick stop at some shoppes then we headed to meet the rest of our group at our tour bus to head back to our hotel. By the time we did get back though, we only had time to drop off our things and freshen up before meeting up with my friend Jenny who is studying for her Masters degree in London. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Spaghetti house and spent lots of time catching up. Then we met up with one of her closest friends from her university. Our plan was to go clothes shopping but it was far too late to do so. Instead we took the Underground to Trafaglar square. We didn't get many good pictures as it was too dark but it was lit up enough to enjoy the colorful lights of the fountains (and for Tom to climb up one of the huge statues).

So that was our our day! Busy with lots of facts and enjoying a quiet evening out with friends. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us as we're traveling to Stonehenge and Bath but I'm so excited for the excursion!

Until next time, cheers!

PS: I will be editing this post at a later date to correct grammar and spelling mistakes as well as adding pictures & links where necessary.

Our amazing adventure to Cardiff!

Today we ventured to Cardiff. It was such an amazing trip. The train ride was quite long -- approximately 4+ hours going from London Paddington to Cardiff Central. Thankfully the trip to Cardiff Central was peaceful and although the return trip to London Paddington included a fussy baby in our cabin, we got to watch episodes of Doctor Who (DW) free of charge (each seat had its own little TV screen built into the back of the headrest).

Speaking of which, the DW episodes we watched were partially referenced during The Doctor Who Experience tour we went on and that was the whole purpose of ourjourney today! The moment the train pulled into Cardiff Central, Tom and I dashed off to the museum as we had less than hour to get there by foot (we had trouble hailing a taxi). Thanks to some very nice locals, a couple of maps, and Tom's brains, we made it to The DW Experience with minutes to spare.

The tour itself was fantastic!! For a brief moment I almost chickened out when I heard it compared to a haunted house (one of my biggest fears) but I'm glad I went through the whole tour. It's about a 30-minute long tour where you get to experience life as the Doctor's compainion along with 20 other tourists -- or, as the Doctor called us, shoppers! The tour vaguely reminded of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, where you get to be a spy of sorts during that tour.

First we entered a room with a large screen and bench seating. The screen had a vertical crack in it (as opposed to horizontal) which was a nice reference to the beginning of the 11th Doctor's serials. The video that we watched was about 5 minutes long it and it was a bit of a trailer for the show. I should mention now that the tour was very centered around the 11th Doctor, so he was the one in all of the videos.

Next we walked into another large room with all sorts of artifacts from DW episodes (a few were even from past Doctors, but not many). Granted, the only two artifacts I recognized from episodes of the 10th Doctor was the giant telescope (remember the Queen and werewolves, anyone?) and the life-like white stone face statue from the "Silence in the Library" episode (10 & Donna). All of the artifacts were quite amazing!

After watching a clip of 11 babble on about being trapped in a second Padorica box, he made the TARDIS appear so that we as his companions -- or shoppers -- could try to help/save the Doctor.

SO WE WERE IN THE TARDIS!!! Once we piled inside around the center console, another video of 11 popped on and he instructed us to navigate the TARDIS. Even though mostly children were told to usethe controls, I happed to luck out stnading next to one of the navigation controls. So together we made the inside of the TARDIS move and light up! (Again, it was all built to scale and very life-like.) Even the floor shifted at various points to make it feel like we were flying and smoke raised up from under the ground. IT WAS SO AWESOME!!

Anyhow, the Doctor then directed us to the next room in which life-size Daleks came out from three different areas of the room. SO COOL! They were there and so close and so huge! I was totally geeking out even though they're enemy of the Doctor. Eleven somehow bartered with them so that we could go through to the next corridor without being exterminated. (My apologies here -- I was trying to take in everything going on in the room, so my memory is a bit hazy.)

Next, per the Doctor's instructions, we followed a corridor that was nearly pitch black. Angels with fog surrounding them kept appearing!! I honestly thought that my anxiety/fear was going to kick into high gear. However, thankfully the weeping angels never got too close to wehre we walked. Plus I remembered to NOT BLINK!

Then we went into another room where we were given 3-D glasses. A screen off ot the left popped on showing 11 who babbled on regarding to how we saved/helped him (I think). Then a huge screen in the front center of the room was revealed showing the opening sequence of Doctor Who but some of his most notable enemies were flying through the space sequence. With our 3-D glasses, they were very life-like and popping out of the screen! The three that I can remember are a Dalek, weeping angel, and cyberman. IT was a pretty neat way to end that part of the tour, though a bit anti-climatic.

Once the live-action part of the tour was over, we got to wander around the museum at our own leisurely pace. There were lots of cool props, costumes, and life-size monsters recreated in the museum. There were even a few versions of the inside of the TARDIS set up! I took loads of pictures which you'll be able to check out on my Facebook so I'll spare you the boring details of everything we saw. However, I will mention the nifty kids stations they had set up like learning how to walk like the monsters from the show, operating a Dalek, recording & playing your own sounds for DW enemies, and more. I still think the show is way too mature/scary for kids but it was neat that the stations were there.

Once we finished exploring the museum, we stopped at the souvenir shop to pick a few gifts for oursevles and others. Before we left the museum, we picked up the t-shirt and other gifts that came with our ticket package. It was great!

So Tom and I left the museum to wander around Cardiff Bay for a bit, taking photos but primarily looking for a place to grab lunch. Tom noticed a sign for a small restaurant on a stationary ship. Cardiff Bay is surrounded by water (much like the Cheasapeake Bay back at home). So it only made sense for us to eat aboard this boat. IT was a great experience too! I was adventrous and had a chicken cornation "toastie" which is their for for a grilled sandwich. Coronation chicken is like a chicken salad mix but it's spicy and mustard-like. IT qas really yummy so I'm glad I tried it.

The few others on board the ship having a lunch there were very friendly as well. They suggested we explore the rest of the ship after we were done including the upper deck and below where ther was a small church. Then, after I laughed out loud to a Torchwood joke one of the men made, he recommended we visit the castles of Cardiff. All great suggestions!

After taking lots of photos of the ship, we headed out to explore Cardiff Bay. Our intentions were to find out a way to the Cardiff castles but we got distracted by Mermiaid Quay -- a strip of shops and restaurants along Cardiff Bay. We did more souvenir shopping because the quaint shops were too lovely to pass up!

Then we ran into taxis waiting near Mermaid Quay. We asked for a ride to take us to the Castles of Cardiff. Although we didn't get to go inside for the tour, we did get some cool photos of the outer parts of the castles and a nearby park, both of which were lovely.

By that time it was 4:30pm and with our train leaving in 45 minutes, we figured we should attempt to find our way back to Cardiff Central train station. We did so enough time to spare ocnsidering we were walking there and navigating our second new city (and country) in two days.

All in all we had an incredibly succesfful day considering we did it all on our own without it being part of our tour. My only regret is not staying in Cardiff for at least once night to see more of it! For anyone considering a trip to the U.K., I highly recommed visiting Cardiff/Cardiff Bay as it is simply beautiful.

Until next time, au revor!

PS: I will be editing this post at a later time to correct any spelling and grammar errors. I will add appropriate links and pictures later too!

The first two days of our adventure

Tom and I are fareing well in our first day in London! A bit jet-lagged but that was mostly to be expected. Our flight was longer than I anticipated -- 7 hours instead of 6 hours -- and I had more trouble sleeping than I planned. Between the in-flight meals (dinner and a muffin for breakfast), I think we had maybe 4-5 hours to ourselves to rest. I can't say it's very easy sleeping on a plane.

With that being said, we waited around a bit in the airport for our shuttle service from the airport to the hotel to arrive. We dozed on & off as we were both pretty drowsy. It took about 30-45 minutes to get to our hotel but once we were here our tour director met us. He's very friendly and upbeat, so that's lovely. :) And everyone in London have been more than accomodating which I greatly appreciate.

Nevertheless the second we saw the two comfy beds in our hotel room, we napped! It was wonderful and very needed. After a couple of hours, we decided it was time to freshen up. Before heading out I made a quick call to my mom to let her know that we arrived safely.

We also stopped the front lobby and spent some time with the concierge who helped us plan out our trip to Cardiff Bay tomorrow! It looks like we have everything squared: we'll taking a taxi from our hotel to Paddington Station then taking a train all the way to Cardiff Central. Then we'll get a good walk in going from the train station in Cardiff to The Doctor Who Experience museum. Here's to hoping everything pans out well tomorrow!

After gathering enough information, we headed out to the surrounding area near our hotel (a Marriott near Regent's Park, if you're curious). Since we were a bit apprehensive about exploring a new city let alone a new country! So we didn't venture too far away but we did a bit of souvenir shopping for friends & family then grabbed lunch at a little Mediterrean cafe.

Tom and I made a pit stop back at our hotel to drop off the items that we bought before heading back out as we were on a mission: master the Underground to make our way to King's Cross Station. Why? To see platform 9¾ of course!!!

At first figuring out the tube system/Underground was a bit confusing but thankfully with Tom's brain and a bit of help from local assistance workers we found our way to King's Cross Station much quicker than we expected! It was definitely very touristy with a short line snaking to the set-up for people to get their photographs taken. Tom took a picture of just me but then we bought a framed picture of the two of us (which I'll share later on Facebook).

We ended our evening by doing a bit more souvenir shopping for ourselves and our families then grabbing a quick dinner before navigating our way back to our hotel. I felt that dinner was much more authentic than what we had for lunch. We bought this stuffed pastrieds filled with meat -- Tom got one with lamb & mint while I had a spicy chicken paster. Very yummy!

Now we're back at our hotel room and tired, so ready to call it a night soon to prepare for our long day tomorrow.

Until next time, au revoir!

Itinerary, part ii

In less than 35 hours, we will be boarding our flight to make our way to London! Until then we both have packing to do. I feel like I have a few loose ends to tie up before we head to the airport. I can't help but be a ball of excitement and nerves mixed together!

For now though, I'll share our itinerary for when we're in Paris. I should mention that our plans for this Saturday (April 6th) have changed a bit since we won't be meeting up with my friend Jenny. Instead we'll have one day to relax which will incredibly nice since the rest of the trip will be packed as we try to see & do as much as possible! I don't want to miss one second of my chance to explore both cities.

Again, I am snagging our itinerary information from Go Ahead Tours. I'm looking forward to discussing everything that we do first-hand once I do experience it.

[day 6] DIVE BELOW THE ENGLISH CHANNEL AND SURFACE IN THE CITY OF LIGHT

This morning, transfer to St. Pancras Station. Here, you’ll board the Eurostar, Europe’s quarter-mile-long, high-speed train that whisks passengers below the English Channel and resurfaces in France. Relax aboard comfortable, state-of-the-art transportation, arriving at Gare du Nord in Paris just three hours later. Upon arrival, a Go Ahead representative greets you and oversees check-in at your Paris hotel.

[day 7] HIGH STYLE WITH LOTS OF HIGH NOTES, YOUR FIRST DAY IS TRES PARISIAN

Set out on a panoramic sightseeing tour of the City of Light this morning, taking in Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Place de la Concorde and much more.
[optional excursion] Versailles: The reign of Louis XIV, known as the “Sun King,” set new standards for decadence among the crowned heads of Europe. It took 50 years and 35,000 workers to turn Versailles, once a small hunting lodge, into the most magnificent château in all of France and the envy of royalty worldwide. On this excursion, you will see the palace in all its glory. Tour the State Apartments and the glittering Hall of Mirrors. Then stroll through the lavish gardens with their fine statuary, splendid fountains and colorful flowerbeds.

[day 8] LET THOSE DAYDREAMS OF CAFES, CABARETS AND GARDEN STROLLS COME TO LIFE

Paris is one of Europe’s most romantic and elegant capitals. Take a stroll along the Champs-Élysées, perhaps the world’s most famous avenue. Enter a milieu of haute couture in the chic boutiques of the Opéra district. Paris’ department stores and outdoor markets are world-renowned, and there’s no place better than the Left Bank to browse for antique books. Explore the vibrant Latin Quarter, home to the Sorbonne, and then stop at the Luxembourg Gardens, where Hemingway was inspired to write A Moveable Feast. Paris also has a wide range of excellent art museums. First choice is usually the Louvre. After that, try the Picasso Museum in the quiet Marais district or consider a climb to Montmartre, where you can watch streetside artists painting the scenes of today. Leave time for a relaxing stop at an intimate café to sip café au lait and watch the world go by—one of Paris’ most celebrated traditions. At night, savor the best of Paris’ gourmet tradition, and take in some world-class entertainment at the cabaret. Consider an optional excursion to Monet & the Landscapes of Giverny (seasonal) and our Evening in Paris excursion, featuring dinner at a local restaurant followed by a Seine cruise. Your Tour Director will have additional suggestions during your stay.
[optional excursion] Monet & the Landscapes of Giverny: The village of Giverny was home to Claude Monet from 1883 until his death in 1926. On a visit to Monet's home and gardens, discover the subtle palette of colors that inspired his Water Lilies series and gave rise to a new way of seeing.
[optional excursion] Evening in Paris: Take in the nighttime allure of the City of Light on a special evening excursion. The event begins with dinner at a local restaurant. After you dine, board a boat cruise along the Seine. As you coast along the river and under Paris' bridges, you'll behold the gloriously illuminated monuments of Paris glittering alongside the riverbanks.

[day 9] PARDON—SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT IT’S TIME TO PART WITH PARIS

A Go Ahead representative escorts you to the airport for your return flight home.

Although our trip ends on day 9, we're arriving a day early on "Day 0" making this trip a ten day travel. Next time I post, it may very well be from London. Huzzah!!

Until then, au revoir!