Ahh...Paris

The trip only continued to get better. Liz and I went to Paris on Thursday, while Laurent went back to Orléans. I stayed in Paris until Monday afternoon to visit with Liz and be her amazing guide and translator.

(Left, the AMAZING Pop-Up Map!)
(Right, snow and the Eiffel Tour by night)




We saw all the main sites and also got to see an amazing Mass service at the Notre Dame with the choir's voices echoing off of the walls and unbelievably high ceilings.











We also went to Musée Picasso, which is one of the few museums I haven't been to in Paris and since he's one of my other favorites it was great to see.















We also got taken out to a French Cabaret show, which was stunning, a little risqué, but great to see, by our new friend, Daniel (Left, middle)! Both The Moulin Rouge and Lido were full with such short notice, so we saw the 3rd best show in town, Paradis Latin (Latin Paradise). (Right, the biggest smile ever due to Daniel saying a very naked French cabaret word instead of cheeeessseee, so thus, all the teeth! wow!)


Our cab drive there, however, was definitely not the height of the evening, and was definitely a life threatening experience (unquestionably sticking to metros in Paris now); next to me, Liz was taking very deep breaths and praying that we didn't die, while I continued speaking French with the driver trying to pretend we weren't on the brink of death and that she wasn't crazy pulling u-turns, circle turns in the middle of traffic, and I don' know what kind of turns, and changing direction turns all the while cursing under her breath, and switching lanes in the middle of the light!!!!!! Oh MY! (Right, On Stage at the Cabaret)




But, we made it in one piece! We definitely did well in Paris, no exceptions!



I had the trip of a lifetime; it was amazingly FABULOUS! I couldn't have had a better vacation of meeting old friends and making great new ones. Impeccable.






Bye bye Paris for now, bye bye Liz...
(Right, saying goodbye in front of the Opera House)

Riding on Clouds

YES, it can! Liz was better the next day, wahoo, and we took to the coast with our rented bicycles, because of course, the sun was out again for us, in February! And just look how jolly we are about that!











We rode delightfully taking in the salty air, views, and stretches of ocean until we arrived at a horse riding stable (Liz excited, Below).














We rode horses for 2.5 hours on the beach, very freely,











and trotting on the sand bars and in the ocean was incredible.








Brrrr.....okay, so the wind was pretty darn cold!
























This was a dream come true (Left, in the Ocean). That day I felt like I was walking on air, or, actually, riding on air. Perfect.

Top O' The World

Cliffs of Moher and The Burren Wow! Wow! Okay, one more time, Wow! Such amazing luck with the weather, sunshine again for this day out. Liz stayed behind on this day too because she was sick, again. Poor, poor girl. But thank goodness this was the last time.





Laurent and I ended up taking a bus tour since the rest of public transport was few and far between; however, my dislike for guided tours has a new mindset now. This tour was fabulous and the tour guide was a riot! Good choice. We toured The Burren region, which got its name because Burren means rocky region and that's all that is there, rocks everywhere (Left, and view from hike).




We saw some old castles (Left, Dungwaire Castle), the Ailwee Caves (and instead of going in), we hiked up the rocky mountain (Right) with beautiful views of the sea and farm land partitioned with rock walls built hundreds of years ago.








The mountain terrain was definitely just rocks and the rock walls too (Left).












Then we went to a 5,000 year-old tomb, Portal Tomb, where the cave men buried their dead, all of them in that hole! (Left) and then off to the stunning cliffs.





With stunning views, strong wind that could blow you off the cliff tops, and the sun beating down on your brow it was spectacular! It was total serenity.





























On our return trip we drove along the coast and passed more rocky terrain and beaches: Fanore (Left & Right) and Blackhead (Below Right). We watched the sunset from start to finish with the Atlantic lapping at the road’s edge. Could the trip get any better?

Pubbin' in Dublin

Rowan and I arrived (Right) in Dublin in the afternoon on Friday and Laurent's flight also around the same time. From there we took a 30 euro cab ride! Yikes! The cab driver was lost, but I think he gypped us.







We stayed at Rowan's friend’s, Kesav, place for the weekend. Friday we toured around the downtown, saw the Dublin Castle (Right), and went to the Guinness Factory.











The factory has been made into an amazing 7-story museum with hands-on activities, great information and displays and FREE Guinness samples and a pint. (Right: Rowan and me)











Even though we weren't big fans of Guinness because it's a little too thick and bitter, we definitely thought it tasted better in Ireland (no preservatives). That night we had a great time celebrating Kesav's birthday and enjoying the Irish nightlife. (Left, Rowan studies our Guinnesses as they settle)








We saw an Irish modern play the next day and at the end, the 4 of us were like: "What the?" It was very strange and everyone had feelings of, "huh?"










We also briefly toured Trinity College (Left & Right). We had a nice run on Sunday and a relaxed day until we parted; Rowan went back to Worcester and Laurent and I went to Galway on a 4-hour bus ride! The scenery was great, though. We met Liz that night in Galway and discussed our excursions.