We Louvre Paris!!!

We treated ourselves to an early anniversary trip to Paris and loved every minute of it! I mean what's not to love, people watching is actually acceptable in France =)

We used all methods of transportation while overseas but literally wore our feet out until they couldn't do anymore walking. Our first few days were spent hoofing it all over the city exploring every museum, neighborhood, and cafe. Well not every, we could have used another month to cover all the museums and cafes that Paris holds!

We enjoyed several day trips and activities in and around the city that were the highlights of our trip. The first was Fat Tire Bike Tours; this was one of our favorite trips because it covered so much ground. We were a little disappointed to learn they had no association with Fat Tire beer but that's alright because little did we know our tour guide traveled with five bottles of wine =) The journey started at the Eiffel Tower and ended with a cruise on the Seine, it was the perfect way to kick off our trip!

After a little window shopping along Champs Elysees we decided to head-up the Arc de Triomphe at dusk to see the 360 degree views of Paris. It was really breath taking! Although, Sandra nearly had a panic attack walking up the spiral staircase so I think her fear of heights took her breath away more than the views. Needless to say this was one of the remarkable sights around town and we even had a chance to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle from above. It was a 2 for 1 deal because the Arc was Shaun's favorite and the Eiffel Tower was Sandra's. The fun didn't stop there though, we returned to Champs Elysees to enjoy a late meal at George V. This was our favorite meal in Paris because we enjoyed Escargot and Duck but we also actually felt full afterwards, a first since our arrival just snacking on bread, wine and cheese.

To add a little life into the party we decided to check out a show at Moulin Rouge. It was a great night that included a trip up to Montmartre to check out the cathedral and enjoy a leisurely dinner before the show. We got all decked out but don't have many pictures as that is taboo at a cabaret show.

Later in the week we journeyed out to Champagne Country and toured two of the wineries, Mumm and Moet Chandon. Of course the champagne tastings were our favorite part but we actually learned so much on this tour, that is if you could be patient enough to wait through the four translations necessary for our group; French, Spanish, English and Japanese. Our first stop was in Reims, France where we toured a Cathedral and enjoyed lunch. This was also the inspiration for Shaun's poem/song he wrote. Maybe it will be a future hit on the radio one day, haha. Then we traveled on to the wineries and were able to tour their cellars and learn about the bottling/aging processes. We even saw bottles of Dom Perignon that were worth 1,500 - 6,000 Euros in addition to the top blend signature champagne, 1 bottle created each year, that goes for 25,000 Euros. Talk about high rollers!!!

On the last full day of our trip, we decided to take the train out to Versailles and enjoy life like Royals. This was Sandra's favorite part of the trip outside the Eiffel Tower. We managed to go to the Eiffel Tower everyday and take about 100 pictures each time. It really is just that magnificent!!! But then again so were the Gardens at Versailles. After dodging the thousands of tourists inside the castle we escaped to peace and quiet out in the gardens. Both were marvelous but we were just amazed by the size and beauty outside. After walking around for an hour we discovered golf cart rentals and enjoyed the rest of the trip in luxury. We spent the afternoon in a cafe nearby just soaking it all in before returning one last time to the Eiffel Tower to ride it all the way to the top. We had a glass of champagne up top, helping calm Sandra's nerves before heading back down and braving the stairs down on the final leg. We couldn't have asked for a better finale to our trip!