You gotta be shitting me...

One last post. While Chris and I were sitting in the Keflavik airport in Iceland, guess who we ran into???

Our good friend Kim from high school! She was coming home from a week in London for business.

Can you believe that shit?

It was a great way to end the trip - reduces my anxiety when I fly with others. :)

Until next time - au revoir, auf wiedersehen, so long, farwell...

Goodbye Europe!

Last morning in Paris...slept in, got croissant and a bagette to finish the cheese we bought last night - a fabulous breakfast in bed.

Then went for a little walk to say goodbye to the Rue Cler. We will miss the Fromagerie the most!

We will definitely be back to Europe, and spend more time in certain places.

Pray for an uneventful trip home! Thanks for following along with our blog - I hope at least some of it was entertaining. See everyone soon!!

XOXO - Patty & Chris

Favorite things, and other thoughts...

Here is a quick run down of favorite things and some observations of our time in Europe:

- Favorite City Overall: Cologne - we both agree!
- Favorite Food (1 item): (P) Foie Gras at Le Petit Cler, (C) Goulash in St. Gilben
- Best Beer: (P) Schneider Weiss, (C)Ayinger Ur-Weisse at the Brewery
- Worst Food (1 item): (P) Potato soup on the Castles Tour, (C) Bratwurst...same tour
- Least poop on the street: Cologne
- Best transportation: Munich S-Bahn and U-Bahn
- Worst transportation: that fucking coffin of a train sleeper compartment overnight to Munich
- Best Dessert: Chocolate Petit Pots at Le Petit Cler - we both agree!
- Best thing overheard from another tourist: (P) The Austrailian guy on the castles tour, upon smelling someone smoking meat yelled, "Ummmmm...SCHWEINE!!"
- Best tour: Sound of Music tour - we both agree!
- Best cleavage: Munich...big boobs everywhere
- Best see-through shirts: Paris
- Most disturbing biking apparel: Flourescent green shorts, shoes, socks, helmet in Amsterdam
- Most proud moment: (P) Ordering a bagette and an eclair in French, (C) remembering where the gift shop in Salzburg was from memory after having been there once 9 years ago
- Least proud moment: (P) taking the bus up to Neuschwanstein...we could have walked, (C) he doesn't have one because he is apparently perfect
- Biggest meltdown: (P) Losing it in Cologne after a week of overwhelming travel, (C)sitting in that fucking coffin of a train compartment wanting to punch the conductor
- Best Couples Moment: Picnic in the Parc de Champ de Mars in the view of the Eiffel tower
- Worst Couples Moment: we haven't really had one, and for all of you that are saying, "Riiiggggggghhhhhhhhtttttttt..." I'm serious. Because you also know I would tell all.
- Funniest moment: (P) almost losing my eclairs as a gust of wind picked up and I had to lunge for them, (C) almost falling out of the Sound of Music tour van and knocking down two more tour attendees as he ran into a hotel to pee (tiny bladder)
- Best Hotel: Dom in Cologne, fantastic hotel, service, beautiful room
- Worst Hotel: Hotel du Cadran in Paris, but ONLY, ONLY, ONLY because the Wi-Fi sucks and you have to go into the hall for full bars - otherwise it is phenomenal
- Worst toilet: Amsterdam apartment - it had that weird shelf rather than just a bowl with water - think about it, gross
- Worst rule: Munich apartment - Chris was instructed to pee sitting down

Last Tango in Paris...

Well, tonight is our last night in Paris. We went out for dinner - shared a croque monsieur with a fried egg, picked up a bottle of wine and two eclairs and now are hanging out in our hotel room watching the French Open...in French.

I've decided that I've done a good job trying to speak French when I can. I have a new found respect for folks that have English as a second language, or as no language. It's very intimidating to be somewhere where you have no idea what anyone is saying, beyond words that everyone knows like "merci."

Even though I think I have done a good job, I have recollections of high school French class where I could read, write, and listen extremely well, but when I opened my mouth, I sounded like PeeWee Hermann: "Mare-See Blah Blah!!" Sorry to my French teacher Mr. B - it's all gone after all these years...however, Mr. B was my English teacher as well and I pride myself on having excellent grammar and speaking skills in my native tongue.

Paris is an incredible city - and the culture in Europe is amazing as well. Right now, I'm vowing to walk more, or even get my fat ass on my bike this summer, because frankly, after seeing these folks, Americans are really bloated gas bags.

So we will be back in Paris someday, spending more time just being here and being in the moment. Au revoir, Paris!

Smith Identity

Chris said to me the other day, in a serious voice, "Go to the middle of the Pont Neuf."

I asked what in the hell he was talking about, and he said, "It's from the Bourne Identity. He is in Paris and he says to some guy, 'Go to the middle of the Pont Neuf and take your coat off and I'll call you.'"

Then he said, "I never knew what that was."

I laughed out loud.

So here is us...on the Pont Neuf.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame was absolutely awe-inspiring. It was more incredible than I had imagined. We took a million pictures, and every corner I went around, there was more to it and more to take pictures of!

Just check out the pics!

After Notre Dame, we went to the French Deportation Memorial - a memorial to the 200,000 French people who were killed by the Nazis. The memorial was very moving. You go down a narrow stairway into a high walled structure, and the only openings are to the sky and a grate that lets you see the Seine. Even though Notre Dame is only a block away, you can't see anything but sky when you look up, and it is very sound deadening. There are 200,000 crystals inserted into a wall - one for each person murdered. Very moving. And very well done.

After that, we walked around quite a bit more before heading back toward the Musee d'Orsay for a tour. The line was L-O-N-G. So we didn't stay. Save it for next time!

St.Germain de Pres

We started our walking tour in the St. Germain de Pres neighborhood. Saw a number of churches, and did some shopping before lunch. Super cool vibe, lots of great stores, gagillions of cafes.

The weather was pretty good, cool and windy, and cloudy with pockets of blue sky and sun. So sometimes it was cold, but if you got into the sun you were OK. Definitely good weather for walking a long way.

The pictures are of churches that we just walked by.

The first one is St. Germain de Pres - the oldest church in Paris

The second is St. Sulpice, and the third is just some random church we walked by.

All were amazing. And built anywhere from 900 to probably 600 years ago. Unbelievable and beautiful. I was awestruck, and we hadn't even gotten to Notre Dame yet!!