France

We are back in the states now, but I wanted to finish up my blog because it would be a shame to skip France!

We left Switzerland pretty early and headed for Beaune, France. (It was hard leaving Switzerland, as there wasn't a cloud in the sky)! Beaune is a nice little town and here we were able to go to the first Hospice, which was really interesting. After that we had our first whine tasting experience. It was a lot of fun. I definently prefer white whine! That night we went to the room early because Matt wasn't feeling well, and we wanted him all rested up for Paris!!!

The next morning we headed for Paris. As a group, we went to Notre Dame which was beautiful! It is tied for my favorite church with St. Paul's in London. We also went to the Sainte-Chapelle chapel which was just as beautiful. Unfortunately, the alter of the upper chapel is under construction from 2008 - 2013, so we didn't get to see it. However, we were still able to admire a lot of the stained glass windows, telling Bible stories.

After the two chapels we had free time. Matt and I ran back to our room, which had a view of the Eiffel Tower, and got ready for our big night out. We went to an amazing little restaurant recommended by Rick Steves. Here we met a nice lady who gave us a few menu suggestions, which were amzaing!!! After dinner, we walked to the Eiffel Tower and made our 9:30pm reservation. We went up the elevator to the second floor and took some great pictures. It was just dusk, which made the views amazing! We then got in line to the summit. The line took about 45 minutes, but we didn't mind because we got to enjoy the view the whole time. The tower even lit up for the night while we were waiting.

By the time we got to the top, it was dark out. Seeing Paris at night was great from up here! After spending some time at the summit, we took the elevator back to floor 2 and then walked down to the base. We then hung out at the park outside of the tower and waited for it to light up again at 12:00am. It was beautiful when it sparkled!

The next day we visited the Louvre with a local guide. We saw some amazing art, including the Mona Lisa. After that Matt & I walked through the park from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. After spending some time around the Arc, we walked back toward the Eiffel Tower and along the river. Here we caught a boat cruise along the Seine River. This was a great way to relax in the afternoon! After the cruise we met back with our group for a final dinner and goodbyes. We then spent our last night walking along the Seine River hand-in-hand :)

This was the most amazing trip! One we will remember for the rest of our lives!!!