After getting my favorite ride out of the way, we moved onto the rides that my granddaughter and husband wanted to go on. The rides were all pretty much the same as in the U.S.A. - the Teacups, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, etc. I sat out of all the fast moving ones, as I have motion sickness, and my stomach can't handle them. There were enough slower-paced ones to keep the day lots of fun for me, too.

They have the 'fast track' system here, too, but we only actually used it once, as the line-ups weren't that bad. I think the longest line my husband and granddaughter waited in was 30 minutes. I think that was the Peter Pan ride, and in the end, they said they enjoyed It's A Small World more than that one!

The weather was pretty great, too! Our first few days in Paris were very hot and very humid. In Disneyland, it was partly overcast and it didn't get into the 30+ degree weather, so it was very pleasant.

If I were to compare Paris to U.S. Disneylands, I would say that Paris' felt smaller and definitely not as crowded. I was disappointed that I didn't see the Disney characters walking around the park. I saw one chipmunk, and my granddaughter said she saw Goofy from a distance, but that was it.

We finished off the day at Disney with the evening parade. It is their 20th year in Europe, so I was expecting something really huge! I was wrong. It was very short, but still neat to watch.

Today, we left the history of Paris behind and spent the day having some good old North American fun. :-) It was a full day of Disneyland Paris.



We left our hotel early this morning, so we could catch the RER (commuter train) to the outskirts of Paris where Disneyland is located. It was a nice ride in an air conditioned train with hardly anyone on it. It was a nice relaxing ride!



As soon as we entered the Park, we came across my most favorite ride. I have been to Disneyland, California several times, and each time we go, I get teased about my favorite ride. Well now you are probably wondering what it is. Check out the picture and video, and I am sure you will recognize it right away :-). I don't care. My family can tease me all they want. 'It's A Small World' is, and always will be, my favorite ride.

There wasn't a while lot of time left, so we headed back up to the Champs Élysées to buy our EuroDisney passes from the Disney Store, so we don't have to stand in line to buy them when we get there tomorrow. After getting the passes, we had supper at one of the many sidewalk restaurants, watched some of the 'street shows' and headed back to the hotel to make it a pretty early evening. We want to be well rested for our day at EuroDisney tomorrow.

Our next stop was the Musee Rodin. This museum is outdoors in a beautiful garden and features the work of the French artist - Rodin. When he died, he left all of his works to France and this museum was created. A lot of his work shows nudity, but his most famous piece is the one in the picture - The Thinker. My granddaughter would not pose with The Thinker, but there were many other tourists there who were willing to - even if they all didn't do it quite right. :-)

Today we set out early to get to the Catacombs. Yesterday, we got there just after two and were told it would probably take about two hours for the line to get to the ticket office, and there was no guarantee we would even get in as they close at 4:00. This morning we were in line half an hour after they opened, and it still took us over two hours to get in! That was one hot and very long wait, but it was worth it.



The tunnels under Paris almost make one think the Tunnels of Moose Jaw are not as impressive as you once thought. After 120 steps down a circular staircase (underground) and a fairly lengthy walk through some pretty narrow tunnels, you finally reach the crypt area. This is the area of the tunnels where they placed all the bones and skulls from the graveyard nearby that they dug up many years ago. This was done as they needed the land. Now it is a tourist attraction that attracts millions of people every year. It is a bit eerie, but also pretty fascinating.



When done, you climb 83 steps back up to ground level, and before you leave, they have to check your backpack to make sure you didn't take anything. As if I would even have thought of touching those bones!!!!!

We finished off the day by going back to the Champs Élysées and going to a movie. I find it very interesting that the movies are in English with French subtitles. I suppose you would get used to it, but it seems like a crazy way to watch movies all the time.



And lastly, I will leave you you will a picture of one area we visited yesterday with narrow streets and lots of little shops and places to eat. I have never had so many vendors try to convince me that their food is better than all the rest! :-)

Now I know how some of you felt. I did a whole post on Notre Dame last night and lost it!!!! This will have to be a short one, as we are just about to start off for the day. All I will say now about Notre Dame is - magnificent! What a building! Even though it was very crowded there, too, it was very quiet and peaceful throughout the entire church. Boys, the rules said 'no hats as it is disrespectful,' so the next time someone in Room 205 asks why we can't wear hats in school, my response will be, 'because Notre Dame says so!' :-)

It was off to the Louvre today to see the Mona Lisa, and what a bonus we got! I think I was as excited to see my favorite store there as I was to see the Mona Lisa :-). Yes, I am talking about the Apple Store! I held myself back though and didn't buy a thing. I can't say the same for my granddaughter though, as she bought herself a pretty nice headset!

Okay, we did go into the Louvre right after that and spent several hours there. Here is the famous Mona Lisa. The crowds around the painting were huge, and it was hard getting close enough for a photo. I have seen her once before, but that was 15 years ago, and the crowds were not nearly as bad as we are finding now, and that is everywhere we go!

Day 2 was just as busy as day 1, but definitely not as exhausting as we had a great night's sleep last night, so we were well rested and ready to go. I thought I would start off with a little Metro video seeing as we spend a large amount of time traveling on this from sight to sight. They are awesome, and without this method of travel, we sure wouldn't get to see as many sights each day! It is worth the smell and crowdedness. Many trips we have to stand, and you sure have to remember to hang on tight!