As soon as we arrive to a new destination we almost always head to our accommodations by either walking, bus, subway, or tram. In Paris, we went by subway. It was very crowded and we were up against each other on both subway lines we had to take. It was the second line I got a text from Chase Visa asking me if I made a purchase for $2,200 and I of course, sent a reply of no, this instantly freezes the credit card from any further purchases. Chris instantly reaches for his front pocket where his travel pouch should have been….it was gone. It had all his credit cards, driver’s license, global entry card, scuba diving ID, bank cards and around $200 in cash. In less than 30 minutes our cards were getting hit. It is unbelievable how fast and how much money can be put on multiple credit cards. Within 30 minutes they attempted to charge over $30,000. We immediately began to make calls to get everything straightened out. Chris has had a positive attitude about all of it, the cash was really the only thing we couldn’t recover. Thanks to our renters and neighbors we will have ID’s replaced and sent to us.
Now, the reason we came to Paris is because Brooklyn was so excited to see the city and Eiffel Tower and to visit the Louvre. The next morning, we got up early and headed straight to the Louvre. We had pre-purchased tickets for 9:00 when the Louvre opened. We arrived a bit early, but there was already a line. We had one main destination the Louvre and when we got we headed straight to the Mona Lisa. It is another one of those pieces of art that you have seen in all kinds of books and TV, but to see it in person is just and awe experience. We spent 5-10 minutes there just staring at it and we would catch several more glances as we explored the Louvre. We spent about 3-4 hours just roaming around exploring all the exhibits before we decided it was time to eat.
Chris had a high school friend in Paris he called to see if we could meet up with for lunch. It turned out to be great timing and we met just outside the Louvre. We found a little restaurant open on a Sunday and sat down for a lunch and visited for a while.
The rest of the day went spent at the Eiffel Tower. We were a bit worried because we had heard all these stories of standing in line for hours to get tickets. We thought we might have to come back the next day. However, when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised the lines were short, so we were heading up the Eiffel Tower. We decided to walk the 701 stairs to the highest level allowed and then ride the elevator to the summit. The ticket for the stairs was cheaper and the line was shorter. The tower has three levels, two you can reach by stairs and the summit you have to ride the elevator. We made it to each of the levels, including walking around each level to get the different views. The second level had a macaroon bar, we on this trip our girls have become lovers of macaroons, so we bought the girls macaroons, which they wanted to wait till the summit to eat. Brooklyn was finally satisfied she had reached to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Once we made it back to earth, yay, we found a family fun day festival happening. We walked around and the girls were given free large bags of candy. Once the festival ended, we made our way to the open field where everyone was gathering to watch the towers night light show. We found a good place on the ground and stuck around until the lighting of the tower and the first light show, which happens on the top of each hour after dusk.
Paris gave us our first hiccup, but we made it. We are all excited about our next stop, because we will get a little English TV! Here we come London.
