Trina: Day 2: Paris France and then train to Brussels, Belgium

We woke up this morning having the intention of waking up by 5:30am but instead we crawled out of bed at 9:30am. We were out of the hotel room by 10:30am and then headed out to experience backpacking Europe. We walked until we reached this little café called La Belle Ferroniere where we both enjoyed Café Au Lait (I think…) and Croissants with some strawberry jam. We sat there and talked over what we were going to do for the rest of the day.

After we left the café, we took a taxi to Gare Du Nore where we hopped on the train headed to Brussels. We sat beside this nice gentleman who was from Turkey. Erin had to translate for me…lol!

As we were pulling into Brussels, I watched out the train window in amazement. I couldn’t believe that (1) we were in a different country and (2) how different it was from anything in Canada and Paris. I found that in Paris it wasn’t much of a culture shock since it looks like Old Montreal and they speak a language so common in Canada. But when we arrived in Brussels, it was hard to understand signs and the language is so different than anything I have ever heard.

When we came out of the train station that was underground, we walked across the road to our hotel. When we got up to our hotel room and saw the view, it was breathtaking. I still can’t find any words to describe the view from the room. The buildings are architecturally beautiful and historic.

Erin and I ventured out in search of Grand Place and Palais Royal. Our hotel, which was Avenue Du Boulevard, was actually only a 15 minute wak to the Grand Place. Grand Place is the geographical, historical and commercial heart of the city. We walked down Rue Neuve basically all the way down until we reached it. When we entered the courtyard, Erin and I both stopped and looked all the way around us. It was unbelievable. I know I have been saying it a lot on this trip but it was by far on the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I stepped into a piece of Brussels history. Erin, being the emotional one, teared up as we walked through it all. We were in awe. We walked around it for about half hour or so and then ventured out in search of Palais Royal.

We walked through the Gallarie De Reine which had some cafes and shops in it. It was the closest thing to a mall that I have seen so far.

As we were walking to the Palais Royal, it was raining pretty hard so we decided to stop at this little convenience store that sold umbrellas for 5 Euros. We were walking in the rain and wind when Erin’s umbrella turned inside out and ended up breaking… but still usable. I laughed at her as she tried to fix it since mine was still in good shape. Mine ended up breaking even more so than hers (see photo below) and I ended up getting soaked.

When we arrived at the Palais Royal, all of the rain and soaked feet seemed to just go away. It was the first Royal anything I have ever seen so it was amazing. It was exactly like the picture in our Europe travel guide. It is the official home of the Belgium monarchy. The construction started in the 1820s on the site of the old Coudenberg Palace. I was just taking it all in and then when the pictures were taken, we started walking back to our hotel room.

Trina: First Day & Night in Paris!

So we arrived! I was dropped off at the Ottawa Airport by Erin and her husband en route to PARIS! After getting dropped off at the Ottawa airport, I started realizing this was really happening. It didn’t actually feel real until I had my tickets and through security. I only waited about an hour and a half before my flight to Chicago left so I just talked to some friends.

Chicago flight was great; not too much turbulence and the flight staff was really nice. When I arrived in Chicago, the airport was HUGE. I was walking down the hallway staring at my ticket and then realized that I had no idea where I was going… I found someone at the airport and asked them which thankfully was right down the hallway. Then I was off to PARIS!

On my flight to Paris, I sat beside a really nice gentleman that was from Paris who moved to Chicago 12 years ago. I got my full French and history lessons on my flight. I ended up sleeping the whole Atlantic Ocean part of the flight and woke up just as I was flying over Shannon, Ireland. I stayed awake since it was only an hour before landing and we were served some breakfast, which consisted of yogurt and a pastry. Since I had a window seat, I saw the France coast and all of the France countryside. It was absolutely breathtaking. I saw field of blue and houses had bright orange rooftops. It was amazing.

And then we landed. The man I was sitting beside guided me through the airport and eventually I met up with Erin, after paging each other twice. Once we met up with each other, we organized our bags and then we were off on the train into downtown Paris. When we arrived at the train station, Gare Du Nord, we looked around and found some maps of the city. While we were there, we saw some France guards walking around with machine guns! We then grabbed a cab outside of the train station and saw most of the shops and tourist spots of Paris. It was so much to take in that it still doesn’t even feel like we’re here…

Once we arrived at our hotel, Hilton Paris, we dropped off our bags and then headed out to see the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. On our walk, we ended up seeing so much of the city and the site where Princess Diana was killed. We both took a moment and just looked down at the tunnel and read all of the wonderful things people had written about her.

The Eiffel Tower was amazing…it was indescribable. It was basically everything that I expected it to be. I will post some pictures whenever I get home. The Louvre was just as amazing, if not more so. It was probably the largest building I have ever seen in my life. The pyramid in the middle of the courtyard was beautiful.

Well, that concludes our first day and night in Paris! Tomorrow we’re going to Brussels, Belgium and then who knows where!

Trina: What I’m Packing for Europe!

Trina here :)  Erin has set me up with an author account for the duration of the trip so I can blog my perspective too!  Here’s me this morning packing for Europe (and just a little excited!)

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