Champagne under the Eiffel Tower

​July 17

Today was our travel day to Paris, France! We found pastries and coffee for breakfast in Lyon before making our way to the train station. The train ride was just under 2 hours and Magnolia watched the season finale to Queen Charlotte which left her in tears, resulting in the rest of us taking pictures of her and laughing until we cried.

Once we arrived in Paris, we were south of the city and took another train to Gare de Nord. Our AirBnB was a 20 minute walk north of this large train station so we walked closer to our apartment and found a restaurant where we could wait until our check in time.

They only had vegetarian foods left but the pasta salad, coleslaw, and eggplant lasagna hit different. There was also unlimited tap water which is an underrated luxury and one of the things that I miss most about home. Unlimited water, bathrooms, and AC. We had some time to play cards too. We’ve played many games on this trip:

Rook

Palace

Golf

Up and Down the River

Euchre (new favorite of ours)

Four Person War

Kings in the Corner

Suffice to say, we’re experts at cards.

A very nice local named Melvin (under 30 y/o) gave us the tour of our place for the next 4 nights. He had a hard time opening the front door which he blamed on a wrist injury from being hit by a bike. We’ve since learned that the lock is old and difficult. Dagny has the secret touch to opening it: repeatedly hitting the door with her butt as she turns the key. We’ve got a whole apartment and a washer which we’ve all been looking forward to with much anticipation.

After some FOB, we did a quick grocery run to stock up on foods for the AirBnB. We took the metro into Paris and our first stop was obviously the Eiffel Tower. It’s rewarding after a long travel day to be able to sit in the grass of the Champ-de-Mars and look up at such beautiful construction. 

We bartered with a man who had a bucket of booze for a bottle of champagne and some plastic cups to celebrate. 13€ seemed reasonable. This did make us a prime target for every other vendor in the area who knew that we had cash to spend, but it was worth it. We spent some time FaceTiming family before doing a small photoshoot. 

For one photo, Alastair held Dagny’s jaw open as if she were eating the tower, and a nearby group of young guys thought it was so funny and I caught them pointing and laughing, which made us all laugh harder.

We crossed the Seine, walked around for a while, and ended up very hangry in a zone with no restaurants. Eventually, we found savory crepes that were within our budget and chowed down. Played more cards as well.

Today I realized that there’s only 2 weeks left of our 7 week European summer. This was a bittersweet realization for all of us as we’re excited to see friends and family, but also making so many memories together. 

We made our way back to the Eiffel Tower after dinner in hopes of catching the nighttime twinkle lights that are displayed on the hour. We found a patch of grass on the Champ-de-Mars, played more cards, and when the lights didn’t go off at 10pm, when it was still relatively light out, we waited until 11pm. Unfortunately, the light show didn’t occur then either so we headed home.

Adelaide

Passing Through Lyon, France

​July 16

Today was a big travel day! Early wake up to metro to the Barcelona-Sants train station. Grocery store run to grab lunch for our 5 hour high-speed train to Lyon, France. We all spent a good part of it sleeping. Once in Lyon, we took the metro to our hostel and got our bags stored in lockers. We were all very hungry and found a bakery nearby for pastries and salad which we ate along the river. Now that we’re in France, Alastair is supposed to be in charge of all of the translating/ordering for the group as he has the best French. I’ve been in charge of speaking for our group for the last month or so and it was fun to watch him order at the bakery!

We walked around the city, over bridges, through squares, enjoying the architecture. We stopped at another bakery in old town to try a pastry that looked like a slice of pizza and tasted like krugel. The bakery had wasps swarming inside the pastry cases.

We sat down at a restaurant to play cards and sip coffees. The owner asked us not to play cards and then proceeded to mock us for drinking our water straight from the bottle. We looked for hidden entrances to the tunnels under the city and then made our way to the funicular. This one was incorporated into the city’s metro system and we rode to the top of the hill overlooking Lyon to see Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière. 

The views of the city were stunning and we sat down at a restaurant for drinks, olives, and cards. It began to thunder and rain pretty hard so we moved inside to a table in a stairway to wait out the weather.

Dagny took the metro back to the hostel and the rest of us went to ANOTHER Michelin recommended restaurants. Thanks Alastair. This one was called Daniel & Denise and our server was delightful! We thought we were ordering a tasting menu, but it was actually the European definition of “menu” so we each selected a full-sized appetizer, main course, and dessert. It did not disappoint and we spent 2.5 hours chatting and swooning over our food.

Highlights were Alastair’s special pâte en croûte,

my veal’s breast,

and Alastair’s pike quenelle.

Overall, two thumbs up on our time in Lyon. After spending so much time in Spain, we’re really enjoying being in a different country. Changing it up a bit!

Adelaide

Sagrada Familia and more Sneaky Bites

​July 15

We had a 7:30am train from Zaragoza to Barcelona this morning, although our hotel being located in the train station made this much easier. We were slightly worried that our train would be delayed or cancelled because there were widespread train strikes across Spain today. Luckily, we got to Barcelona no problem.

We took the metro straight to our hostel and left our bags in lockers for free. As the only one who’s been to Barcelona before, I was in charge of leading our walking tour around the city! We passed the Cathedral of Barcelona on our way to Mercat de la Boqueria. Indoor markets are always fun and we enjoyed walking around all of the stalls.

We walked north on La Rambla and while it’s usually a staple of Barcelona, it was completely under construction and not at all pleasing. We were pleased, however, by the LEGO and Swatch stores which were very entertaining and air conditioned.

We kept north past Casa Batlló to La Pedrera - Casa Milá. From there, we walked East for a long while until we reached the Sagrada Familia. We didn’t get tickets to visit the inside of the basilica but the outside is the impressive part.

Once we had taken in the impressive views and walked to the back side of the basilica, the girls and I went into KFC for chicken sandwiches while Alastair kept walking. After we ate, the girls and I took a bus to Ciutadella Park and then walked back to our hostel in the Gothic Quarter.

After some downtime, we found an Irish bar where we could play some cards. I’ve actually been to this bar 2 years ago with my study abroad classmates. Our bartender was a Ukrainian refugee. We headed back to Mercat de la Boqueria to look for dinner but instead opted for a nearby Michelin recommendation: Bar Bacaro. The Italian food was delicious and we shared a bottle of wine.

Alastair’s thoughts: The bistro offered unique flavor combinations that many of us had never experienced before such as cod fish and white chocolate. The sisters all opted for pappardelle with ragu while I ventured for a pasta with anchovies and lemon juice, that could have used a little less acidity. The atmosphere of the restaurant was excellent, and was made better by the extra appetizer for Maggie and I that was left on a nearby table. 

He’s not kidding. He and Mags really snuck someone else’s leftovers. One of the best parts of traveling as a family is that we are constantly laughing and creating inside jokes. Tonight’s dinner was no exception and our topic of conversation was less than appropriate. There was a woman at the table next to us who we suspected was eavesdropping. When she paid her tab and left, there was still an appetizer on her plate that was left untouched. Alastair was appalled and reached over and snatched it. He and Maggie scarfed it down to hide the evidence. We all laughed way too hard.

Our last stop of the night was La Ascensor Bar, known for their mules, which was mostly empty. We played cards and headed back to our hostel to go to bed. Once we reached the lobby, the hostel employee organizing the bar crawl recruited Dagny and Magnolia. Alastair and I fell asleep on account of our 8am train to France tomorrow.

Adelaide