Officially on the bus home from what may have been the best weekend of my life. Just throwing that out there...
Disneyland, Eiffel tower, the louvre, and so many other incredible sights have been fully enjoyed in a matter of 48 hours. I call that astonishing.
Right now I'm in a state of uncertainty about my consciousness. By that... I mean I have absolutely no idea if I should be sleeping or awake. So I chose the middle ground: blogging.
I don't even know where to begin. This was literally a majestic weekend and I have so many pictures and stories to share (which obviously I will do as soon as I get to an actual computer). But I guess I could always just start from the beginning... So all aboard the Stanky mobile & strap on your lap belt to avoid pissing off cap'n crankyballs.
Day one: We arrived at our hotel in, what I was warned by my mom was, the ghetto of Paris. Fortunately it was not sooo ghetto, and was actually just up the street from Sacre Couer. We walked to the basilica from the hotel, where we took lots of pictures, Nick got tricked into paying 10 euro for a string bracelet, and ultimately nom'd on some delicious crepes. The basilica was absolutely breath taking. I'm never underwhelmed by the architecture here. It is just continually amazing to me how these buildings have withstood so many things in their lifetimes and still stand so strong and beautifully.
After Sacre Couer, we souvie shopped our way down to the subway station, where we would make our descent to The Louvre. By the way, I have almost decided souvenirs are a total waste of money. No offense, but unless it's made of chocolate, I don't want a lil' Eiffel Tower hanging around & invading my personal space. Let's be real.
The Louvre was stunning. I was told not to go unless I had a full day to devote to the museum, but as most things in life, I disregarded that information and went anyway. Of course, we found the Mona Lisa straight away, then spent the rest of our time looking at the Italian art and the gorgeous hall(s) of statues. The building, on it's own, was just so wonderfully crafted. The detail is just so impeccable; and yes, every single fleur de lis was completely necessary.
Just outside of The Louvre is a park called Jardin de Tuileries. There's an incredibly picturesque fountain, arc, and ferris wheel, which of course were all captured via our crazy tourist tactics. We took soooo many photographs on this trip.
Just past the Tuileries is Champs Élysées, which is this amazingly large street that is bustling with French life and energy. There just so happened to be a Christmas market up the street, so we quickly parused that on our way to the Arc de Triomphe.
We then hopped on the subway to head to the Eiffel Tower before it got too dark. We grabbed crepes and took about a million photos of ourselves (and the tower of course ;) ). It was a totally stunning view from where we stood (a place called the Trocadero). You could perfectly capture the entire tower and much of the city behind it. Of course, it can't ever be truly captured... But I think we did a pretty good job of trying!!
We wanted to head back to watch the tower sparkle at night, but it wasn't quite dark yet, so we walked up the street for some grub. The name of the restaurant we ate at escapes me, but it was some of the best pasta I've ever had. Lasagna and carbonara. Mmm. Made me miss Ando's, though.
After a nice sit down dinner, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to watch it light up, sparkle, and wish we had someone to take cute kissing pictures with ;). I WILL get a good kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower before I die.
I can't even describe how amazing the tower looks at night. We were all so tired before it lit up, but as soon as it did, we were all aglow and extremely joyful. Such. A. Beautiful. Thing.
We stopped by Notre Dame on the way back to our hotel, mostly so I could scream "SANCTUARY!!!" in honor of Seanie Modo. Seriously so incredible when it's all lit up at night. It also could have something to do with the frigid air and Christmas tree outside of the church. This time of year makes everything so much more magical.
Then back to the hotel for the night... To prepare for Saturday: EuroDisney.
Literally, this was the most magical day of my life. I know I say that every time I go to Disneyland, but that is because I genuinely mean it. It gets better every. single. time. I mean, seriously, it doesn't get better than Christmas at Disneyland.
Today's crew was: Courtney, Yushi, Melissa, and me. It was beyond nice to have small group, simply because it meant we didn't have to look after a gaggle (and let's be real, we didn't have to attend to the needs of 56 people... Just 4).
We woke up around 8:30 and were at the park just after it's 10 am opening. We didn't leave until midnight... I think you can say it was a successful day. Time. Well. Spent.
We started the day off at Space Mountain, went on The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, The Teacups, Thunder Mountain, and spent the rest of the day exploring the park... And maybe even crying a little bit. I am not even going to try to defend that one. When we walked through the gate, I cried when I saw Mainstreet USA. Then again, when I saw Aurora's castle. Seriously, Disney has the ability to make a grown woman cry. While that's not hard for most... It takes quite a bit of excitement for me to actually shed tears. So. Happy.
It snowed, there was a parade, Goofy AND Pluto were mad crushin on my lady bits, I got a free hot chocolate, aaaaand we literally walked RIGHT on to my favorite ride (The Haunted Mansion)... Which by the way, they did NOT update after the movie. For this, I am eternally grateful. It was still the story of the bride dying on her wedding night and grotesque as that sounds, I like it to be that way. There's no cohesion in the Anaheim version. But that's a story for another day... I was also pleased by the fact that It's a Small World was Christmas themed. Very, very magical in every way.
The only tiny little thing I would have changed was the fact that many of the characters weren't out because of the poor weather. I mean, it's my prerogative to find Aladdin, and convince him to come home with/marry me, every time I visit the park. I did see him in the parade, though. Which I can DEFINITELY handle. He is MINE, JahhhzzzMAN.
That night, after the park closed, we shopped around Downtown Disney for a bit before heading home. I ate my first REAL candy apple, which by the way was scrumdiddlyumptious! I would say Saturday ranks in my top 10 best days of life.
Ok let's be real, Friday and Saturday COMBINED was the best day ever. Paris is beautiful and EuroDisney was magical. Which can only mean one thing: this weekend was beaugical.
I will post photos so you can live vicariously through me ;) you're welcome.
Mad love.
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