Day 29: Versailles and the Eiffel Tower- BY LIZZY!

The Gate to Versailles

September 20^th: 

After a completely exhausting day, sleeping-in was something we were dreaming about. I have to say: it is essential to be completely and utterly exhausted to sleep well in Hostel where you have to rent sheets, press the button on the shower in order for (cold) water to come out every 30 seconds, and where 6 beds share 1 power outlet. However, sleeping in wasn’t an option today. We were told that lines at Chateau de Versailles could be quite ridiculous, and we didn’t want to waste our time in line at such an amazing place. So, as much as we hated it, we woke up at 6:45AM. We got ready quickly, and were the first ones to get our (free) breakfast of bread and jam, “cereal”, and un-refrigerated milk—which we prefer not to go near. 

Marie-Antoinette's Bedroom

We grabbed our bags, and were off. We took the metro to a nearby train station, and took a 30 minute train to the outskirts of Paris. For someone who has never been very good with navigation (thank you Mom) I must say that Dee and I did an almost flawless job—with the help of some people who spoke un peu anglais. Next we hopped on a bus that seemed to take an eternity. We both kept drifting off, having no idea how far away we were. Apparently it was Dee’s turn to ask for help (we alternate) so she asked the bus driver if we were close. His was response was, “look ahead”. There it was. The morning was cool, but sunny, which made the gold almost blinding. 

Going up the walkway, we saw the line, which snaked back and forth several times. I offered to go get the tickets, as Dee waited in the line. Luckily, it went very quickly and by the time I was back with the tickets Dee was almost to the front. I say luckily because of the extremely annoying people standing behind us. Apparently they had tried to cut the entire line, and fortunately (for them), they had not tried to cut Dee—that wouldn’t have been good. After making our way through airport style security—there we were again. The snobs behind us kept literally pushing us to get by, but seeing how Dee and I are both too competitive, we would not let that happen. 

Me and Dee in the Hall of Mirrors

We spent the next hour trying to enjoy royal rooms FILLED with tourists, cameras, and more tourists. As beautiful as the painted ceilings, and furnishings of Marie-Antionette’s bedroom were, it was hard to enjoy because we could barely get passed the thousands of people trying to take a picture of every doorknob, window, and corner of the palace. We took it all in (quickly), and made our way to the Hall of Mirrors. The reflection of people taking selfies was disturbing, but somehow we were able to enjoy it. We were definitely ready to be outside after an hour. 

The tourist packed Hall of Mirrors

Lunch under the Eiffel Tower

The gardens were beautiful. We could have wondered around for hours, but were both getting hungry and were overwhelmed by the number of people. We took an uneventful train/bus/metro back to the hostel, left a few things there and then hit the supermarche. We didn’t feel like paying lots for lunch so we settled for a picnic. We grabbed food from the store and bread from a local bakery, and made our way to the Eiffel Tower. We spent the next two hours eating (baguette, some delicious cheesey/herby spread, grapes, and pistachios) and napping under the glorious shade of the tower. 

Reluctantly, we finally made our way to the Eiffel Tower entrance. I had bought tickets ahead of time so we wouldn’t have to wait in the monstrous line. Unfortunately, I had bought 4 extra tickets because I kept hitting “purchase” when it didn’t bring me to the confirmation page… typical me. We easily sold the extra tickets to two couples, and made friends with one of them. A lovely couple from Chicago on a romantic getaway for her 40th birthday… we tried to explain our situation, but they probably thought we were also there to enjoy the City of Love together. Classic.

When we reached the second floor, which was still a little too high for me (got that from you, Dad), the clouds began to roll in. We got a few pictures in, and then watched as the clouds moved closer and closer. Sheets of rain poured from the sky, but we were determined to go to the top of the tower. We waited in yet another line for the elevator to the top. Dee was literally squeezing cups of water from her skirt, and I had chosen to wear see-through-when-wet shorts, we were quite a sight. We were freezing, but it was worth it. When we finally reached the top, we walked around, took a few pictures, and took the elevator down to the bottom. Walking back was not an option, considering we were frozen to the bone, so we hopped in a cab. 

Dee and I on top of the Eiffel Tower

After picking up the same thing for dinner that we had for lunch and grabbing some wine (Chilean—classy, right?), we made our way to the hostel. Tonight we had decided we would go out, so we showered, and slowly got ready while munching on our picnic, sipping our wine, and listening to obnoxious music. We had an incredible time dancing the night away and we definitely made the best of our night out in Paris.  

Day 28: Bonjour Paris!

The morning started out with a Bang!

We woke up 30 minutes late. Grreeaaattt. Our flight was at 7:50, and we woke up at 5:15. We hustled in the dark of Lizzy's flat and finished cramming everything into our tiny carry on back packs while Angela called us a cab. We booked it outside and were at the airport by 6:30. WHOOSH.

Next was to get our tickets from the kiosk (as we did not need to check bags, we didn't need to wait in line) and then on to security.


I don't know if I have told this story before, maybe on my New Zealand blog, but I'm going to tell it again anyways.

In New Zealand, security is kind of a joke. You go up to the kiosk, put your information in, answer a few security questions (a.k.a. Are you carrying any liquids? Are you a terrorist?) and they print your ticket and you are on your way. I swear, at some airports there, I didn't even have to put my bag through a scanner.

Anyways, Lizzy and I are standing at a kiosk in New Zealand. I have printed my ticket and am waiting patiently while Lizzy curses at the machine and moves onto a different machine.

"Lizzy, what's wrong?"

"Stupid machine won't print my ticket. That's the second one I've gone to! Damnit! This one doesn't work either."

I watch her try again.

"LIZZY! What did you just do?!?"

"What do you mean? I pressed 'Yes' to the question."

"Yeah, I saw that! Did you read the question??"

"No, you don't have to read it Dee, you just press 'Yes' every time."

"Um, no Liz, you definitely don't press 'Yes' when it is asking you if you have ANY FLAMMABLE OR EXPLOSIVE DEVICES TO BRING ON THE PLANE!"

"Oh...So that's why it won't give me my ticket...."

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, no one from the airport security came over to check out this girl who claims 4 times in a row that she has explosive devices. In any case, we laughed our asses off, and now whenever we go through security, I make sure to ask,

"Now Lizzy, are you carrying any flammable or explosive devices today??"

So we giggled as we went through Spanish security and jammed to some tunes as we waited for our plane. Without a hitch or delay, we were safe and landed at around 9:30am in PARIS!!!!

Rather than deal with the hassle of buses, we decided to take a cab into the city. It was well worth it, not only for the view of the Eiffel Tower as we entered the city, but also because it was pretty cheap!! We figured out where our hostel was- "Aloha Hostel!" which was about a block from the Volontaire metro station. We grabbed breakfast (croissants- what else?!?) and checked into the hostel.

As most hostel, like hotels, need time to clean the rooms before the next arrival, we couldn't check into our room until 2 in the afternoon. So we packed our bags into a locker and headed on our way.

We meandered through the streets of Paris and along the Seine until we found what we were looking for. Our first attraction: Notre Dame. We stopped for some Parisian lunch right on the river with the cathedral in the back ground. It was amazing food and we enjoyed the sunshine before heading into the church.

Of course we took a MILLION pictures and walked around the cathedral for quite a while. We sat down in a pew for a few minutes and surveyed the area. I finally understood what all of the hullaballoo was about. It truly was impressive.

FUN FACT #25: The cathedral began being built in 1163 and was finished by present day standards in the 1800s. Notre Dame de Paris was the first Gothic building ever to use flying buttresses.

When we exited the building, we saw people up above on the balcony on top of Notre Dame. As usual, Lizzy and I MUST climb the tallest peaks- whether they be cathedrals or mountains. So we waited in line for about a half hour before we were able to climb the 387 (yes, we counted) stairs up to the top.

Now, normally, I do not have much patience for things such as lines. But I was with Lizzy. And waiting with Lizzy is always entertaining.

"Hey Dee, wanna play 20 questions?"

"Duh. With only Harry Potter characters?"

"You're on."

We were almost at the door with the giant imposing bouncer (and I don't mean the handsome figure of Patrick Swayze from "Roadhouse") stopped the people ahead of us, so we played one more round of Harry Potter 20 questions when 2 people tried to cut us.  AW HELL NAW! There is nothing that I hate more in life than waiting in line than people who try to cut me while I wait in line. So you can count on the fact that I had a few choice words to say- that is, until the bouncer behind me looked at the cutters and said, "You two- to the end."

I was all swagger after that. Mr. Bouncer-Monster has got my back, aw yeah.

So we huffed and puffed our way to the top of Notre Dame. WORTH THE MONEY AND THE WAIT! The view was staggering- you could see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc du Triomphe, and most noticeably, Sacre-Ceour on its hillside in the middle of the city. We took our pictures and made our way back down.

We continued along the river only to accidentally stumble upon the Love Locks of the Seine.

FUN FACT #26: Starting in 2008, people started attaching locks to the gates of the bridge Pont des Arts that crossed the river Seine. Couples would write their names on the lock, attach it to the gates, and throw the key into the river symbolizing "eternal love". Since then, it has become a phenomenon that people around the world come to Paris to do. Because of this, this bridge and others are becoming over weight with locks attached to locks attached to locks. So much so, that in 2014, part of the bridge collapsed. The government has been trying to save its bridges, and I quote, by "encouraging couples to 'take selfies'" rather than put locks on the bridges. They have begun dismantling the gates on the sides of the bridge and replacing them with glass in order to stop people from attaching locks. It hasn't stopped them yet of course, as more locks are being attached to bridges further down the river. LOL

Anyways, we took some pretty pictures, and as Lizzy and I are not lesbians, (although I swear anyone we meet in Spain thinks we are) we did not attach a love lock.   We continued on our way to take a look at the Louvre Museum.

We were worried about the weather on Sunday, which was when we were planning on visiting the Louvre, so we took pictures today just to make sure we got them. (Yeah, we're nerdy, we know.) We kept walking all the way down Le Champs D'Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe. There was some military parade going on, so we didn't get to be up close and personal with it or climb to the top, but considering the view we had already seen today, we weren't too upset over missing it.

To get back to the hostel, we just walked towards the Eiffel Tower. We were able to see it right at 8:00 as the sun set and the tower lit up with hundreds of lights! It was gorgeous. We continued on our walk back to the hostel, got Italian food (I know what you're thinking- but it was so cheap!!) and hit the hay. It was a long day- More than 10 km of walking!! Oh, and I forgot to mention- I broke my sandals. They survived climbing underneath the Ronda Bridge, but not the rough and tough streets of Paris. RIP my TJMaxx $13 special sandals. You were well worn.

The next entry is written by She-Who-Is-In-Every-Story-I-Tell.....  Lizzy!!!!!!!!

I figured you guys must be sick of my babbling on and might like a new perspective. Enjoy!!

Days 17-23: 1st Week of School, 7 Peaks, and American Dinner

Jaime fell asleep with a bite of sandwich in his
mouth at lunch...
School is hard on a 4 year old.

Lizzy's Lucas (left) and my Lucas
after their first day of futbol practice

Day 17-Day 20: Monday began the kids first day of school. They were so excited when they woke up, and I got kind of nostalgic. For the first time in my life, I did not have a first day of school this year.  But then I remembered, I'm going to be a teacher. I will always have a first day of school!

It was kind of a crazy week. For the month of September, the kids went to school from 9:30am to 1:00pm. Lizzy and I then picked up the kids and we had lunch and played all afternoon. In October, the kids will get out of school at 1 and go back from 3-5 (which seems really stupid to me, but whatev). Anyways, for now, we have a huge gaggle of kids walking from school my flat. Although Lizzy lives right across the street from the school, it is more fun to come to my flat because we have lots of movies as well as a swimming pool that all the kids can go to.

Although Paloma is only 2, she goes to the nursery school all day. It's kind of a cool place, with a different room for each age level. SO MANY KIDS! Paloma seems to like it.

Pilar had a stressful week buying and sorting all of the books for the kids. Unfortunately in Spain, teachers are not permitted to design their own curriculum. Every single day is planned out for them and the students learn out of work books. So don't worry Grandma, I definitely will not be teaching in Spain anytime soon.

The kids were excited about starting sports again. Lucas played futbol (soccer) this week, but Pilar and Luis are leaning towards him playing basketball instead. It was kind of interesting to see that they do not play on grass or turf! They play soccer on a court outside or inside. Unfortunately this means that their mothers will never appreciate the joy of grass stains. Oh well. Marta and Jaime will definitely be playing basketball- each kid plays twice a week! It will definitely keep them busy!

On Saturday, Lizzy and I went on a day hike to Los Siete Picos, or The Seven Peaks. Located near the Valley of the Fallen, you can see The 7 Peaks as soon as you drive out of Madrid. Alvaro (the father of Lizzy's family) told us to take the train from Madrid to Cercedilla, hop on a bus to take us to the base of the mountains, and hike whatever we wanted! So I slept at Lizzy's the night before and Angela (the mother of Lizzy's family) took us to Atocha (the Madrid train station) and we were on our way! It took us about an hour's train ride to get to Cercedilla, but we still arrived around 9:30am.

When we got there, we were a bit confused as to where to find the bus. As to where the mountains were, that was painfully obvious. So we figured, screw the bus! Let's walk the whole way! So we did.


Alvaro told us to take the green trail, but we kind of deviated from the plan. And by deviated, I mean I set my eye on the highest mountain visible and said to Lizzy "I want to climb that."

"The tallest one? You read my mind," she replied. So up we went!!

FUN FACT #24: The northern side of The 7 Peaks belongs to the municipality of Segovia, while the southern side belongs to the municipality of Madrid.

It was a beautiful day- sunny and breezy as we climbed the mountain. When we reached the top around lunchtime, we sat with Lizzy's American flag (not letting it touch the ground of course) and took pictures and ate. It was glorious.

On our way down, we followed a different trail which actually turned out to be the old Roman road.

FUN FACT #25: As mentioned earlier in my blog, Segovia was home to many Romans around AD 100. Therefore, to get to the rest of Spain, a road was built through the Guadarrama Mountains. This is what we walked along back to Cercedilla.

We returned home to Madrid sore and tired. I baby-sat that night so Pilar and Luis could have some fun in Madrid. Lizzy came over and we cried over our sore legs.

In the morning, we took the metro to "Taste of America!" an American grocery store. Of course, we bought some essentials, like peanut butter and macaroni and cheese and we looked for other supplies to make dinner for our families.

We spent most of the day making Rosemary Lemon Chicken, and it turned our superbly if I do say so myself. The kids were a bit wary of it at first (naturally) but they enjoyed it- especially the mashed potatoes!! Lizzy and I ate with Angela, Pilar, and Luis on the balcony (Alvaro was out of town) and we watched the kids play together through the glass door. It was nice to have dinner with just adults. Overall, a very successful week!

NEXT WEEKEND- PARIS!

Day 16: Family Hike

Danny petting the foal

Since we had just arrived back in Madrid from Marbella, our Spanish Families decided that we should do something together before the kids started their first week of school. So we went on a day hike!!!

Paloma, Pilar, Jaime, Marta, Lucas, Anna, Danny, Lucas, Angela, and Alvaro

Lizzy and I were totally in our element- it was so nice to get outside and up in the mountains again.  We took two cars up into the hills not too far from Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama Hills. The cars took us quite far up the mountain as we passed mountain bikers and other hikers. When we stopped the cars, we were immediately greeted by two HUGE horses, a mare and a foal. They were definitely wild horses, and we had to dodge their poop here and their along the trail. The kids were so funny- mine seems absolutely terrified of them. Lizzy's kids were a bit more brave and got pretty close to them. The horses were hysterical- they came right up to me and sniffed my hand. The kids were shocked.

We went on maybe a 45 minute walk out to this cliff that overlooked the Valley of the Fallen.

FUN FACT #22: The Valley of the Fallen is about 3,400 acres of land that contains a basilica, an abbey, and a 500 foot tall monument that was erected to memorialize those who died during the Spanish Civil War. The idea was conceived by General Francisco Franco and started being built in 1940 and was finished in 1959.

Anna and Lizzy

FUN FACT #23: Franco's body rests in the basilica in the Valley of the Fallen. He is the only person interred in the Valley that did not die during the Civil War.

When we got to the overlook, we were really struck by how huge the monument was. The 500 foot cross was hard to miss while driving on the high way, and as we hiked closer to it, we realized just how far away it really was. We climbed rocks with the kids and then we had lunch with our families.

Then Lizzy and I decided to teach the kids how to play "Kick the Can". I won't explain how to play, because if you don't know, then we can't be friends.

Me with Marta, Lucas, and Lucas.

Soon enough my family had to get back to the city for a birthday party, so I stuck around with Lizzy's family. Lizzy and I went off on our own for a bit and hiked up some ridiculously high rocks. It was beautiful sitting up there. We were able to see Lizzy's family hiking down the path far below us and we scampered down the rocks back to the car and hit the road back to Madrid.

Day 15: Segovia

Today was yet another day of adventure!!!

We got up and packed into the van for a day trip to Segovia. As you can see on the map, Segovia is just north of Madrid, it takes about an hour to get there. Pilar and Luis were excited to show me this city, as it has amazing Roman Ruins still there.

When we got to Segovia, we parked the car and set off on a walk through the city to Luis' favorite restaurant. The city itself was really cool, with lots of shops and people walking around on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. It rests on a hilltop and is FUN FACT #18: a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

FUN FACT #19: Segovia's local cuisine (and one of the many reasons we wanted to go) is suckling pig, or in spanish, cochinillo. But take that typical image of a huge pig with an apple in its mouth skewered over a campfire. This suckling pig is actually a piglet.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were fortunate enough to get a table in the far back corner. (And I say fortunate because the kids can get a bit loud)  We sat and chatted while they brought out appetizers, most of which I had eaten before, except for one. When I asked Pilar and Luis what it was, they told me to try it first, and then they would tell me.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I followed their instructions. It looked almost black with little pieces of rice stuck to it. It was actually very tasty! So when I finished, they told me what it was. Rice, soaked in pig's blood. Yup. I ate that.

The fam at the pig lunch!

Anyways, while we waited, I noticed this loud banging coming from somewhere in the restaurant. As we were in the back corner and this place was like a labyrinth, I couldn't see where it was coming from. When I asked, this was Luis' response.

"They are cutting the pig."

"But why is it this loud clanging??"

"Well, because the meat is so tender but the bone is so hard, they use a plate to cut it."

"A plate??"

"Yes, to break the bone of the pig and put the slices directly on the plate. Don't worry, you'll see it. They do it right in front of you when they bring our pig to the table."

And sure enough, that's exactly what happened. As strange as it was and how odd it was to sit there and watch them hammer the crap out of a baby pig and hand me a slice, the food itself was actually amazing!! When lunch ended, the waiter gave each of the kids a piggy bank. It was a really fun experience.

Cathedral at Segovia

After lunch, we went on a quick tour of the Segovia Cathedral.

FUN FACT #20: The Segovia Cathedral was the last Gothic Cathedral built in Spain.

As usual, the Cathedral was magnificent. In addition to the vaulted ceilings and beautiful frescos, this cathedral also had a room full of tapestries. The kids ran around the Cathedral until we decided it was time to go.

Luis took Marta, Jaime, and Paloma to go get ice cream and take a break while Pilar took Lucas and I to Alcazar. And no, its not the prison off the coast of California where Sean Connery was kept, not was it the prison which held the most dangerous witches and wizards of Harry Potter.

FUN FACT #21: The Alcazar of Segovia (literally translated as Segovia Castle) was originally built as a fortress, but over the years has served as a Royal Palace, a prison, and a military academy. Today, it is used as a military archives building and museum.

The castle was really fun to walk around in. For some reason, I am always most in awe my the ceilings in these kinds of places. Who thinks up these amazing
designs? If I lived there, I would lay on the floor all day and crab walk around the castle to see all the room's ceilings.

Alcazar of Segovia

View from the Alcazar

Anyways, the three of us explored the castle. Lucas' favorite room was the one with all of the knights' armor and the huge cannons and old swords. And truth be told, it was probably my favorite room too.

Lucas and Pilar on top of the Alcazar

At the end of the exploration, we climbed the 100 stair staircase to the castle ramparts. There, we had a great view of the city and the Segovia Cathedral.

View of the Cathedral of Segovia from the top of the Alcazar

When we finished touring the castle, we met up with Luis and the other three kids and walked down to see the Roman Aqueduct.

FUN FACT #22: The Roman Aqueduct is believed to have been ordered to be constructed by the Roman Emperor Domitian, ar
ound AD 81. Which makes this thing wicked freakin' old.

The Aque
duct transports water from the Fuente Fria River about 11 miles away from the city. At its tallest point, it is 93 feet tall. What is probably the most amazing thing about this thing is that is is built entirely WITHOUT MORTOR. Like, what? And it's still standing?? How does that even happen?? I'll tell you how... the aliens helped them.

We had fun running around the aqueduct and playing hide and go seek behind the pillars before it was time to go. We hopped back in the van and the kids fell asleep on our way home to Madrid.

The Roman Aqueduct