Paris and London with Lorianna

Here we are into week 2 of the "Best Friends Adventures in Europe" trip.

LoriAnna and I hopped the plane for the short flight to Paris.

We spent 2 days shopping on The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, taking in the sights of the Eiffel Tower and The Louvre, eating croissants, escargot and macaroons at sidewalk cafes, sipping on Capuccinos, Champagne and Rosé and spending our evenings at the Park Hyatt Plaza Vendome.

 

We enjoyed our stay at the Park Hyatt, we had wonderful accommodations and a great experience with the hotel staff. 

 (So much for the rumor of Parisians being rude.)

Learning a little French and planning our day.

First stop, Shopping!

Tiffany & Co. and Harry Winston right across from our hotel, this is going to be an expensive trip!

Of course we had to shop at the Louis Vuitton Flagship Store

and Michael Kors, 

and Laduree.

It was a successful few days of shopping and sightseeing.

Arc de Triomphe

What remains of the Love Lock Bridge (Pont des Arts).  They removed close to one million locks - weighing 45 tonnes after part of the bridge's railings collapsed under the weight last year. 

 

We enjoyed some great food. (and drinks) 

 

We spent a few hours browsing the Louvre.

The busiest room in the place.
(That is the Mona Lisa on the back wall) 

Next stop was a tour of the Eiffel Tower.

A stunning view of Paris from the top.

Sacré-Cœur

Did you know that there is an apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower?   Owned by Gustav Eiffel, the engineer who designed the tower, the apartment was fully decorated and frequently used for social gatherings with individuals, including Thomas Edison.

After dinner we headed back to the tower to take some pictures of it lit up.  I'm glad that we did, it was an amazing sight to see!

 

The next morning we got up early to catch the Eurostar high-speed train to London through the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel).

Listening to a little music at the train station.

Paris was a wonderful experience for us both, we really enjoyed our time spent in the magical city and were not happy to be saying goodbye.  We really could have spent a few more days there, but it was time to head off to London.

We spent 2 days in London taking in the sights and staying at the Park Plaza Westminster.  We took a double decker bus tour, a river cruise down the Thames and a ride on the London Eye to see all of the sights of the city.

 The London Eye was built in 1999 and stands 443 feet tall.   We got lucky and the sky cleared up and gave us a beautiful view of the city.

We enjoyed our time spent in Paris and London and although we had a great time, we both agreed that 2 days was not enough time to explore and experience each city.

(I am seeing another girls trip in our future!)

Our 2 week adventure has now come to an end, and unfortunately it was now time for me to say goodbye to LoriAnna.  I am truly blessed to have gotten to experience this amazing adventure and create lifelong memories with my best friend.  I look forward to many many more wonderful times in the future.

 Cheers!
CJ