New Years Eve In Paris

Some of my girlfriends convinced me to take a mad dash trip to Paris France for New Years Eve 2006. It only took a small amount of arm twisting, but how could I justify Not Going? (Thank you, Sam, Christy and Molly!) It was my first trip to Paris, and hopefully not my last. There was just too much to see in 4 days!

We mastered the subway system after only a few minor mishaps, and emerged from underground to this view of the Seine River and Notre Dame Cathedral in the background.
Entrance to the gothic structure is free, so we spent about an hour inside, marveling at the decor. As night fell, the Cathedral only became more strikingly beautiful. Despite the chilly weather, we spent several hours every day strolling the streets and scoping out cafes, drinking cappucinos and eating fresh crepes and croissants. Delicious!
Unfortunately we ran out of time and didn't go inside the Louvre, but even from the outside you get an impression of how overwhelmingly huge the structure is. The building itself stretches for several blocks, and surrounds a beautiful open square, featuring the famous glass pyramid in the center. We managed to find one of the few Starbucks inside. Oddly enough, the glass structure is not waterproof, so on the floor of the hall beneath we found several buckets to catch the rain drops!

The city of lights was beautiful at all hours of the day. The Eiffel Tower was amazing from every angle. Once an hour, on the hour, the tower sparkles with strobe lights that can be seen from miles away.
New Years Eve on the Champs d'Ilysses was the best part of the trip. People came out en masse, carrying bottles and glasses, singing songs, waving flags of their countries, and just parading the street toward the Arc de Triomphe. The city never slept that night. The subway was free for the evening, but still shut down between 12:30am and 4am, so we spent the whole night walking the street along with thousands of other international travelers. Definitely an amazing city.

I wanted to say congratulations to Chuck and Mel with their new baby Josephine! Can't wait to see her - maybe at Easter? And I'm looking forward to going to Brandy and Sticky's wedding next month in Savannah, too! Happy New Year to my grandmother, all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course my friends in Cincinnati!