Paris - On my own?!

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Luckily, while on my first trip to Germany, my mom and step sister were able to fly over to visit me. Tickets at the time were super cheap - under $500 round trip! My mom's dream trip was to go to Paris. We originally booked a weekend trip through a travel agency on the base, however, not enough people signed up and we were left wondering what to do. The travel agency helped us set up a DIY trip via train to Paris. We were able to get on the ICE train and it only took about 2.5 hrs to get to Paris. The train was insanely fast - we tried to eat breakfast in the dining car (standing only!) with dishes flying everywhere. Once we got there, I had the minimal knowledge from the first time I'd been to Paris and decided to metro in to the Champs-Elysees - for more macaroons, of course. I lived in DC at the time, so I figured if you can use one metro, you can figure out any metro and it was super easy. When I'd been there the first time, I saw where a hop on hop off bus had a pick up spot and thought that would be the best way to travel around - no thinking about the metro or where the most popular sights were - just hop on and ride all day. It was only about 20euro for a two day pass. We were able to take our time at each location, go to the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa (and get lost inside!), go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, eat some great food, buy some great souveniers...It was a much better trip and, despite being worried about doing it ourselves, it was so easy! We had an impossible time finding our hotel - even the cab drivers had no idea - but eventually found it. It's crazy how tiny European hotels are! And they never give you washcloths or shower curtains! But boy can they do breakfast. I was always an eggs kind of girl but learned to love all the meat and baguettes. If you're ever in France - do NOT miss the croissants. I can't remember having better croissants than those that I've found in France!!!

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