Paris: Day 5

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to head to the train station to take the chunnel to Paris.  I could not fall asleep for the life of me and before I knew it I started to hear our alarm going off to wake-up. 4:30am came very fast and with no sleep preceding it. BUT we were on our way to Paris and that excitement was enough to get me up and moving!!

And finding this at the train station definitely put a major pep in my step...until I took a drink and realized European Dr. Pepper tastes very different from American Dr. Pepper...and I am American through and through when it comes to my favorite drink.

All aboard the chunnel to France!!

We made it!

Where Princess Diana was staying when she died in Paris. 

And when I saw this I immediately thought of my Sissy-Girl back home.

She wants to go to Paris so badly and we have big plans for a girls trip when she is older.

It felt surreal to be standing so close to something so iconic!

Our first stop was a cruise down the Seine River.

Such a pretty way to see parts of the city.

Notre Dame.

After the cruise we headed to the Eiffel Tower for lunch!

We had lunch on the first tier.  This is the view from outside the restaurant.

The cutest little lady I know.

My parents are hands-down the best of the best. They spoiled us completely rotten on this trip!!

Kicking off lunch with some champagne.

Chicken, potatoes and garlic foam = delish

View from the restaurant

As soon as we finished eating we headed back out to the first tier to look around and shop. I was on a mission to find something for Elle at the shop inside the Eiffel Tower. 

Once we left the Eiffel Tower we were back on our tour bus - with the most amazing tour guide - and drove around the city a little bit...

before stopping at the Louvre!

Mary and my dad raced through the museum on a hunt to see the Mona Lisa before our bus left for the train station and mom and I hit up Starbucks and relaxed.  I was having some crazy muscle spasms in my leg (I think from so much walking and the lack of sleep?) that I could barely stand....so in the moment a coffee and an extra large water outweighed the Mona Lisa in my eyes. But Mary and my dad raved about it!

London: Days 3 & 4

On Thursday morning we left our hotel in Galway, Ireland bright and early to drive back to the Dublin airport and catch a plane to London. I was SO EXCITED for this part of our trip.

When we landed in London we waited to sort out the car service to our hotel and amongst the confusion Mary and I found a little old man that we adored. We spent the next few days quoting, "where is my client?".

When we arrived at our hotel we sat in the bar and ordered a drink, headed up to our room then hit the streets for dinner and to explore.

Not only was our hotel amazing (like ahhhhmazing) but the location was so close to everything.

  

Just a short walk to Trafalgar Square

Next we walked to Buckingham Palace!!!!

Let us in!!

Queen Elizabeth...are you home?

I took 500 pictures of everything because I was mildly freaking out!

Westminster Abbey

And Big Ben!

It shocked me how excited I was to see this. Then the clock bells starting ringing and I just about lost my mind. Honestly, this was one of my favorite parts of our entire trip, if not my most favorite.

Walking towards Big Ben I think is when it truly hit me, 

"I. AM. IN. LONDON!!!!!"

It wasn't on my must-see list when thinking of London, I figured we would drive by it at some point but standing in front of it I was obsessed.  There are approximately 300 pictures of Big Ben on my phone and I have every intention of getting a picture enlarged and framed for my house.

  

We kept walking and just soaking everything in. The city seemed so clean and classy. I loved everything about it!

We stopped at 10 Downing Street and these men tried their hardest to show me the Prime Ministers house, eventually I nodded like I finally saw it but I'm not sure I ever did.

I need contacts. :)

Red double-decker buses and black cabs have my heart.

The next morning we woke up, rode the bus to Westminster Abbey and toured the inside. It was amazing! So much to see!!

After the tour we headed back to Buckingham Palace to try to catch the changing of the guard, we missed it but did get to see them march by.

Next we took the tube to Notting Hill and walked to Portobello Market.

I immediately recognized this store from the movie Paddington.

Mary and I each bought a souvenir here, I bought a little box that says Notting Hill Florist.

Paddington in Knotting Hill!

Mary got a 1st edition copy of the first Harry Potter book at Portobello Market!

Next stop, Kensington Palace!

Inside Kensington Palace

The Diana Exhibit was by far the highlight of the tour.

After Kensington Palace we rode a bus back to our hotel to drop off shopping bags (whoa, we did some shopping on this day! Westminster Abbey gift shop, Buckingham Palace gift shop, Knotting Hill, etc.) and then headed to the British Museum.

I'm so fascinated with Egypt, pyramids and mummies so I really liked this exhibit.

But my feet were KILLING me so I quickly was over the museum. haha

I think Mary could have stayed for hours but mom and I were ready to roll and get some dinner!

We grabbed dinner and headed back to the hotel because we had a super early wake-up call to head to PARIS!!!!