Paris – Day 1

Had a nice relaxing morning, sipping coffee on the balcony and waiting for the clouds to clear up before I showered and headed out for the day. First stop was a nearby bakery for a yummy chocolate croissant. Then I was off to the Louvre, which was CRAZY busy because a new Da Vinci exhibit opened up today and I guess the Mona Lisa was off exhibit for a while and just came back last week. Still, despite how busy it was the place was plenty big to accommodate everyone. I only waited maybe 20 minutes for a Mona Lisa selfie, although the security guards were screaming at everyone “ONLY ONE PHOTO!” and practically dragging you off once they saw you got one (1). Whatever, I came to see Liberty Leading the People and Venus de Milo anyway, amongst other things. I wandered around all the wings and most of the floors before heading out. I picked up a Batobus boat ferry 2 day ticket and rode along the Seine to Notre Dame which you can’t get close to at all due to the recent fire. There I had a delicious Nutella and banana crepe from a street vendor. Then I got off at the Botanical Gardens and wandered admiring the humongous vegetables and beautiful Morning Glory pathways before jumping back on the boat.

I walked down to the Japan District and stopped at one place with the most disgusting yakisoba I ever tasted, the place was filthy too but I didn’t realize exactly how bad it was until I had started eating and people started moving around and just…ugh, the place was filthy and gross overall. I ate maybe half of it and then left (no idea why the place was so highly rated on Google; I would have fought about having to pay if I spoke French but the $12 wasn’t worth getting in trouble over). I went down the street to a different restaurant, this time run by actual Japanese people, and since I didn’t speak French and they didn’t speak English we communicated in Japanese instead. It was pretty funny, I think they got a kick out of it. Their food and cleanliness was MUCH better than the other place. I’m still debating if I should leave the first place a bad review, it was an overall terrible experience; however it was made better by the great experience at the second place. Ah, well. After eating I went up to Hard Rock Café to get my traditional pin from a very funny cashier who wanted to practice his English, then walked back south past a kid’s skateboarding park, then past the Church of St Eustache, then Les Halles. I swung by the hotel to drop stuff off, then headed over to the Highlander Pub for a cider…what can I say? I already miss Scotland!

Off to Paris!

I packed up, waited about 1.5 hours for the “express” bus to the airport (long, annoying story, just don’t take the 747/757 buses back to Dublin airport. Trust me, just don’t. 😑) and practically ran through Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 to check in but then had to run back to Terminal 1 where the flight actually was…seriously stressful morning 😬 But here I am now in Paris! Man I thought London was expensive but DAMN Paris you crazy!

Pictures are of the flight out of Dublin, in to France, and my swanky hotel. After checking in I went across the street to a basic French restaurant and got some chicken and gravy with a Nutella tiramisu for dessert. Very yummy! Then I spent the rest of the evening doing laundry. Super great night over here in Paris, the reality is not every day is exciting and fun when you’re full time traveling 😂

West Ireland Day Tour

I got up before dawn and walked a mile uphill (of course) to jump on a bus tour of west Ireland. Our first stop was the Kilmacduagh Monastery, ruins which had originally been a monastery complex dating to 500 A.D. Then we made our way to the Cliffs of Moher, where I walked the bulk of the left trail and up to the tower on the right trail. It was super windy, but no fog or rain and the clouds would break for the sun once in a while so it was gorgeous. We made a quick stop by the Burren, a rock outcrop on a mountainside into the sea, then we grabbed a late lunch in Galway and had some time to wander around and do some shopping. It’s a cute little town, kind of reminds me of Naperville. Afterwards, we made the long trek back to Dublin, where I stopped at a Japanese/Korean restaurant for what’s becoming my international ramen tour. Tomorrow, it’s off to Paris!