Europe Day Fourteen - Mountjuic Castle

We woke up and cooked some eggs for breakfast before going to the market. They had some really cool fruits but it also had a ton of seafood that smelled horrible. We got out of that one and went into one that had clothes. We checked it out and there was some ok stuff but the prices were not the best and we really didn't need anything, especially having just our backpacks.

After that we decided to go on the cable cars that go up to Mountjuic castle. As we were walking to the cable car station we saw some beautiful green parrots in the trees above us and got some pictures.

We also came across a wood carver and bought some really nice tiny wood carvings from him.

We kept going and found a beautiful garden by the sea. It had statues, flowers and some cool looking trees.

 When we finally got in the cable car the view was amazing,

You could see all of Barcelona and the ocean beside it. Sadly the ride ended and we got off at Mountuic Castle.

The castle was pretty big and we walked around its perimeter. (Sage was skipping the whole way.)

The castle's cannons faced the sea and could apparently hit a ship a mile out at sea.

Once we left, we rode the cable car back down and got some Tapas (which is a lot of appetizers instead of one main meal). We took the food back to our apartment for dinner and then got to relax the rest of the night before going to bed.

1 cable car

5.7 miles walked

Europe Day Thirteen - Eiffel Tower to Palm Trees

We woke early on our last day in Paris and rushed over to the Eiffel tower to get to our tour. When the guide finally got there the security line was super long.

While we were in the line he told us the history of the Eiffel tower and how it was only going to be temporary for the world fair. They were going to take it down until Gustav Eiffel decided that he wanted it to be permanent. The Paris government gave him 20 years to pay off the price of the tower which was 8 million francs and 40 million US dollars. Gustav only needed 2 years to pay the tower off and made a lot of profit well after. Also to keep the copper in the tower from getting patina (the effect that makes copper turn green from oxide in the air) they layer the tower 3 times with zinc every 8 years. Once we got through security we got to skip the line with our tour group and go straight up to the second layer.

The view of the city was better in the morning light than it was in the fog the night before and the tour guide told us more about the tower as we got to take pictures of the beautiful city of Paris in front of us.

We checked the clock and realized we had to get to the airport for our flight to Barcelona, Spain. At the hotel we grabbed our bags and got in a taxi to the airport. None of us wanted to leave this amazing city but we knew there was more to see ahead of us. The flight was only 2 hours but we had to be 2 hours early so when we landed in Barcelona it was 5 o'clock.  It was nice to see palm trees again as we drove to our hotel in a taxi.

Dad had to leave to meet some college buddies so we were on our own for the week. We cooked some pizza and pasta for dinner in our apartment before settling in for the rest of the night.
                                                     
                                                                    3.9 miles walked
                                                                           2 taxis
                                                                           1 plane

Europe Day Twelve - Amazing Day of Heights

Our day began early when we were picking up our Big Bus Tours day pass. We rode the bus over to Notre Dame to reserve a time to go up. Once we were done we left on the bus to the Arc de Triomphe.

The Arc de Triomphe was built in honour of the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic wars. Napolean never got to see the arc finished in his lifetime but when he died they marched his body underneath the arc towards his final resting place in Invalides. When we finally reached the top of the 200 stairs we got rewarded with this view of Paris.

It was amazing. You could see the Eiffel Tower on one side and the Louvre and Notre Dame on the other side. You could also see the seven lane roundabout surrounding the Arc. We climbed back down, took the bus to the Louvre and entered under the glass pyramid.

Once we got in and put our coats in a locker we made a B-line for the Mona Lisa.

We walked down the hallway and took some time to admire the paintings and famous sculptures that we saw on the way.

When we got to the Mona Lisa it was a lot smaller then we thought it would be. It was a pretty cool painting but not my favorite one. We had to work our way through the crowd to get our pictures.

After a while we had to go or we would miss our chance to go up Notre Dame. We all sprinted down the sidewalk, even Sage. When we arrived we got in line and realized that now we had to climb 365 stairs in a circular case to reach the top.

It felt like we went up forever until finally we saw the door to the outside. When we reached we were so high up. There were gargoyles everywhere.

We got to go up the bell tower and saw the huge bell at the top.

We took in the view before we had to go down and start our descent. We reached the bottom and went inside the building. It was pretty elaborate decorating and the roof stretched up forever.

After the long day we were ready to go home. We caught the bus to the Eiffel Tower and were about to go home when we saw that the line to go up was pretty short.

We got in line and within 15 minutes we were on the elevator to go up. The sight was a little foggy but when the towers lights came around we got to see the city. It was after 7 o'clock so it was pretty dark out.

We got to see the candle wax figures of Thomas Edison and Gustav Eiffel (the creator of the Eiffel Tower) in a little office at the top.

When we were ready we went back down to ground level and the Tower lights sparkled above us. We walked into the night chasing rats away as we went. As soon as we reached home we hit the hay and fell asleep.

1 full day Big Bus tour

Total miles walked: 7.3 miles

56 flights of stairs

Europe Day Eleven - City of Lights

We left the hotel and went on the underground to the palace of Versailles. When we arrived we were surprised to find a line of about 350 other people.

The line swirled and lapped itself 4 times across the palace square.

The line moved quickly but it still took about 2 hours. When we got in we saw just how much money the French monarchy had.

The palace was huge with giant paintings on the ceilings and the whole building looked as if it was made of gold. We learned about the french revolution on our audio guide.

It turns out that Marie Antoinette did not actually say "let them eat cake" but "let them eat our burnt bread". None the less it made the people mad.

The Paris passes did not include the gardens of the palace so we did not get to go in. Although we did get a good view of it from inside the castle.

After that we took the underground to the D'Orsay Museum.

Inside there was a lot of paintings by one of my favorite artists - Vincent Van Gogh. And there were some Monet too, which Mom, Dad and Sage really liked.

Sadly the starry night was not among them but his most famous self-portrait was there.

We left the Vincent Van Gogh section and saw some other paintings that were pretty good.

There were lots of statues too.

After we left we got on our river cruise and got to see Paris at night. The light on the water was beautiful and we passed Notre Dame,

the Louve, and the Eiffel tower on our cruise.  The light on the water was beautiful.

It was truly "The City of Lights".

When we came back from our magical ride we saw the Eiffel tower light up and sparkle across its beams. It lights up every hour after dark. After the cruise ended we got chocolate crepes as a treat for all the walking we did. On the way home we got lost and ended up going in a complete circle before finding home. We were all exhausted and fell asleep instantly.

Total boats: 1 cruise

Total underground subways: 2

Total miles walked: 8.8 miles