Milan and Madrid had gone so smoothly that we had gotten spoiled. On any trip there is bound to be any number of misfortunes. The Paris Beauvais Airport is an hour and half north of Paris. We did know this before going, what we didn't know is that there was only one bus company that offered trips to and from. Since they were the only ones, they can charge much more than we were expecting. I feel that 15 euros each way is completely absurd, but walking that was not an option. From the bus we walked about 4 miles through the city seeing the Arch de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. Both were lit up beautifully in the night time. Once if became about 11:30 at night we were beyond starving and still unable to find a reasonable priced location to eat. So we found a Kebab place got our food to go and ate on the side of the road. This was kind of wonderful. The food was fantastic, and well priced. The view was marvelous; the Eiffel Tower and the Paris streets. Dinner on night one was a success. Finding the hotel was not such a success. I blame Orbitz. They told us the hotel was 2.3 km from city center Paris. The hotel was not even in the city of Paris so the address we had be googling was incorrect. We did make it safe and sound a little after 1 am. So the new obstacle was to figure out the metro without the help of our tour guide, Lauren Held. I will proudly saw that we got ourselves to the Palace of Versailles all on our own. I have been before, but was glad to go again. This estate is one of the most gorgeous along side the Louvre.
The palace has so much history and interesting stories. The King and Queen had their own sleeping chambers. On top of that, the Kings had a viewing area where people of the court could watch the King raise with the sun. I would not want that. Being queen doesn't sound all that appealing anymore. Even though it was already fall the gardens were spectacular. The flowers had all been removed and the grounds keepers were in the process of moving the tropical trees indoors. We enjoyed a lunch of french bread on the wall overlooking a small section of the gardens.
From Versailles we traveled straight to the Eiffel Tower. In total waiting time we probably spent around 2 maybe 2 1/2 hours waiting for elevators. The lines didn't seem to be that long but once we finally reached the 3rd floor our afternoon had been spent. This was one of those monuments where if you have done it once you have done it. I most likely will not do it again for many years. To my surprise there was a set up on the top floor of an apartment. I did not remember this or did not know this but the designer of the building included one apartment for himself and his daughter at the top of the archway to the 1889 world fair. Imagine walking up all of those stairs to get home.
The next day was our last day in Paris as well as the last day of our trip. On the itinerary was the Luxemberg gardens, crepes, the Pantheon, St Micheal's church, the Notre Dome and the arch de Triumph.The Luxemberg Gardens are a gorgeous plot of land in central Paris. Even as late as we were there in the season the flowers were still out and in bloom. It was just a nice place to wander and enjoy the nice fall weather.
Next we stopped for crepes. Even though it was still only about 11 am we got dessert crepes. I was sadly disappointed. I got a nut and caramel crepe with whipped cream and I found it to sweet so anyone would probably find it that way. From there we walked the city and found St. Micheal's (which is no longer there) and the Norte Dome. We walked along the river looking at the little green box sellers that set up shop on the river wall. It is a strange feeling when I find a place that I have been years ago and there is a memory that goes along with it. Across the river we went to find the Louvre. This is one of the most gorgeous buildings. The glass triangle isn't too appealing but never the less I love the outside of it. Being the cheap people we are, we did not go inside.
Now Paris doesn't look all that big on a map, but it is. The walk from the Louvre to just past the Eiffel Tower took far too long. Nina and I had read a book about a French Jewish girl who was taken to the Velodrome d'hiver. The French Police acting under order from the Nazis rounded up all of the Jews in Paris and took them to this indoor track to be held for almost 8 days without food and water or proper restrooms. Later the dome had a fire and the remaining parts were torn down. The memorial is very limited and small. Had we not known what to look for, we most likely would not have noticed it. I am not sure if it is just something that with time has lost the meaningful touch. Or it maybe it is so small because the French do not want to recognize that it happened. The way that we found out was through the book
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. I would suggest reading it.
The trip rounded up with a bus trip to the airport, a flight to Bolonga and an over night stay in the train station. The smell was horrible and the people were strange, but the three of us made it back saving a few dollars. Although not as much as we had though as the bus ticket cost 6 euros to the city center, a complete rip off. These bus companies are making bank off of the Ryanair flights in Italy.
Afterward Lauren was able to have her first Italian pizza. The pizza was good but the waiter was not the most pleasant. In the words of Lauren- he was salty. After lunch we had to have dessert. We then had a friends day filled with shopping, in Italian style. There was hot wine and crepes involved. The biggest attraction of course is the Gondola ride. I have been before but I am so glad that I went again.
The rest of the day was used to explore the city on our own. There was a Christmas market in the main square. There were glass blowers and metal workers making decorations right there. There was a large variety of foods. I of course tried all of them. For our evening entertainment we took three tours with Ivan. He is a strange and slightly awkward man who is pretty funny. The first was of the underground of Prague. The whole city used to be an entire floor lower. There was a problem with flooding so to fix the problem the streets were filled in to raise the level. You can see small allies, homes and wells.
The second tour was of the hidden microbreweries of Prague. The first two were most defiantly hidden, the third was not. The first two beers were good and the third was not. Along with us on the tour was a very nice German couple who were enjoyable to talk to.
When we were being given the scooters, my mother was not. She was worried about not being very good at driving, but they were not even going to let her try. So I offered my scooter just for her to try out on. She actually said no. Of all people my other said no they told me not to. Of course she did try and she did wonderfully. She even got to drive her own. Getting used to the scooters was pretty easy, getting used to the cars on the road, not as easy. We mostly took little dirt roads that had very few car, and some pretty wonderful views. 
For lunch we stopped at a small restaurant that had no one else in it. The chef was so nice to us and completely adorable. He must have been almost 70 years old and gay. The food was so good. When we complimented him on it he showed us how to make it and gave us the recipe. On top of that we all enjoyed a bottle of champange for the newly wed couple in the group. 
Afterward we headed to a small town within a castle to have a wine tasting and to look around. Despite the dreary weather, ever step of the trip was fun. I was so tired after the day that I was ready to sleep as soon as we were back. This trip was well worth it.
From Versailles we traveled straight to the Eiffel Tower. In total waiting time we probably spent around 2 maybe 2 1/2 hours waiting for elevators. The lines didn't seem to be that long but once we finally reached the 3rd floor our afternoon had been spent. This was one of those monuments where if you have done it once you have done it. I most likely will not do it again for many years. To my surprise there was a set up on the top floor of an apartment. I did not remember this or did not know this but the designer of the building included one apartment for himself and his daughter at the top of the archway to the 1889 world fair. Imagine walking up all of those stairs to get home. 
The other main attractions are the original painting of the last supper and the shops with all of the fashion shops. Unbeknownst to us, there is a waiting list three weeks long to get into the museum containing the last super. So that was no longer on our to do list. After a day in Milan of walking and a little sightseeing, I took my first Ryanair flight to Madrid to see the wonderful Lauren Held. She, despite her best efforts, was late to fetch us from the airport. Here we are in front of the mayors house (this may or may not be what this building actually is).
The move from Italy to Madrid came with slightly colder weather. I am not sure if it was just getting colder ( it was late October so it is possible) or the city was just more cold. Either way, I was completely incapible of dressing properly for the weather. On Sunday we started our day at the market. The market is filled with all sorts of goods including clothes, leather products, crafts and jewelry. I did get myself a cute little clay pig that will hold change. He is so adorable. Afterward we went on a hunt for food. And this time was one of those times when you can not for the life of you find what you are looking for. The restaurant is either to expensive or doesn't have food that everyone will like or it is closed or something. So after about an hour long hunt we ended up right were we started at a restaurant for the menu del dia. It is one of those meal where you pay a set price for your choice of 2 plates, a drink and a dessert. The food was fantastic. I choice a pealla ( pronounced pie-YAY-a) and a ham omelet with a custard for dessert. Just like the locals do, we sat eating for almost two hours simply enjoying ourselves. After such a large meal we walked to see the royal palace, which looks surprising like the English one. 
After about 45 minutes of wandering, we found a very promising crowd, along with some very breath taking views of the city. The historic district where the festival is held is at the very top of the hill. First order of business was to order food, as we don't know much Italian we used our broken Italish (does that work like Spanglish?). The food ended up being pretty good, but I'm not exactly sure what I ordered. After wards we bought the eurochocolate card. The card is a punch card that you take to different vendors to get samples at. And it came with a chocolate picture frame, which I just don't understand. Other than that there were a lot of people and of course a lot of chocolate. I really had a good time and was glad that I went.
