While going through notes on my iPhone I came across my Honeymoon Journal. I thought I better save this to a safer place than my iPhone notes. I added in a few pics. It is over a year since our honeymoon, which is hard to believe. I can't believe I typed all this from my little iPhone keyboard!
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| Monte Carlo |
Thursday July 3, 2014
Justus and I left at 4:30pm. Justus got home from work, he packed, and then we took off. We had issues today with our tickets because I noticed one of the flights didn't match. After a long time on the phone we got it straightened out. Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 5:55am. We will be getting up by 3am! We will be staying at LivINN in Fridley, MN.
In the car we decided to change our hotel to a closer one. We chose a Quality Inn that is $129 for the hotel and parking. Before Owatana, i35 came to a stand still because of an accident. We are having to detour, so will get back to the hotel later.
Friday July 4, 2014
We woke up at 3 and caught the hotel shuttle at 3:55 for the airport. Our flight is set for 5:55 for Toronto. Justus said I looked like a lost tourist in the airport. I'm definitely not a veteran at flying! I got some coffee, but hope I can sleep a bit on our 2 hour flight. Justus wants me to note he is sleepy! Our drive took 5 hours and 15 minutes, much longer than expected. So, Justus is extra sleepy!
Our first flight form MSP to Toronto was a small plane, but a good flight. We had a long layover in Toronto, but they let us fly standby from Toronto to Montreal. We luckily got the 11am flight so arrived in Montreal at 12. Our flight was supposed to be at 6pm! Justus and I liked the flight because there were tvs. It was only an hour flight so we watched an episode of New Girl.
We ate lunch in the airport and laid around. We have a long layover since our flight is not until 8:44 pm. The good news is it will be dark on our flight so it will feel like bedtime. Hopefully we can sleep on the plane! We spent time watching the movie, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." It was a good time and our gate got busy due to the tv on to the World Cup.
Justus and I ate dinner at a little bar in the airport before boarding. We had pizza and Justus also got a beer-very expensive. We boarded at 8pm and took off around 9:21. I took a Tylenol pm so I was asleep before the plane even took off. Our plane is HUGE. It sits 10 across, has fancy tvs, and four large cabins. They also provide blankets and pillows. I was asleep when they brought me a meal at 4am in Paris time. It really had me confused. When I woke up the meal was gone and a new muffin was on my tray. Crazy! I jerked a couple of times on the plane, but overall it isn't too bad to sleep on. Everyone else seems to be awake except Justus and I. Must be the time change.
Saturday July 5, 2014
Well, technically part of the last post occurred on the 5th. The flight is well, but getting a little stiff. I'm amazed at how large the plane is and the French speaking flight attendants.
We paid 36 euros to take the bus from one airport to the next. At Orly we then waited for the shuttle to take us to our hotel. It was an exhausting journey! When we arrived we were told we got upgraded to the executive room. It had a free minibar and other perks like a nice shower and bath. It felt good to shower and brush our teeth after the long journey to our hotel in Paris. It definitely is not easy getting around.
We took a cab and then the subway to the Louvre. The Louvre was really cool, especially seeing the Pyramid. When seeing the Mona Lisa it was crazy how people packed in so close. Justus and I got separated because of a group of women. We made it though and then went to see a lot of neat statues out of marbles and the Egyptian exhibit with mummies was really neat. One funny moment was when I went to the restroom in the Louvre. The old door handle got stuck and I was stuck in the loo at the Louvre! Glad I made it out ok, but a funny story. We left the Louvre as it was closing. We then went to the bridge where all of the locks were. It was amazing to see all of the locks. We were starving since we had not eaten lunch. We found a place to eat called Le moliere Paris. It was really yummy. We had savory crepes and then sweet crapes for dessert. It was neat to see the small, crowded streets. The architecture is very old.
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| Louvre |
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| Justus with his lady- Mona Lisa |
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| Love locks in Paris |
We then took the subway to the Eiffel Tower. It was neat to see and we got some good pictures. There were a lot of people there trying to sell stuff like wine. On the way back, it took a very long time because the subway we needed was closed. It is frustrating navigating Paris that is for sure.
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| Eiffel Tower |
We finally figured out how to get back to the station we needed. We had to transfer onto a lot of different trains. We finally got off and had to flag down a taxi at 11:30pm. I finally saw one and waved my hands desperately. Justus thought I looked silly. On the way, our cab driver got lost. He did not speak English and it was almost midnight- I was worried. He stopped the meeter and we ended up paying 11.30 euros. It was very nice to get back to the Hotel Novotel.
Sunday July 6, 2014
We woke up around 8 to get ready to take the shuttle to ORLY at 8:40. We got ready just in time. We enjoyed some of the treats in our mini fridge. We had pop for breakfast! There was an espresso maker, which I could not figure out how to use. It ends up, I didn't turn it on! It was nice to get a little caffeine since we are still a little jet lagged.
We caught the shuttle to ORLY and waited in line for what seemed like forever to take care of our baggage. Once we finally go through, we had to wait for just a bit before landing. We did get some scones and bread before taking off. We are departing around 11am and should be to Nice around 12:30. They say flying into Nice is crazy because it is right by the water. We are ready to be somewhere and relax. Getting around Paris is just a little too much for me!
We lanes in nice around 1pm and got our luggage. We took the bus to Juan Les Pines and then walked around the area with our suitcases until we found our place. We looked very touristy with our luggage! The staff here is very nice and the hotel is amazing. There is a great patio that connects the indoor and outdoor flawlessly. Our room is very nice! We unpacked and then enjoyed some relaxing time by the pool. Justus and I quickly napped by the pool and then enjoyed the water. It is really neat with flower coverage. Justus and I then rinsed off and headed to dinner. We walked around some until settling by a place on the boardwalk. It was amazing eating by the sea. We enjoyed wine, salad, and mussels. We then walked up and down the boardwalk taking in the sights. The sunset was beautiful. Justus and I then found a little market where we found some food. It will be nice to get several breakfasts out of the 15 euros we spent.
Back at the hotel we sat by the pool on the tree covered patio. Had to have some time on the Internet! Justus picked out a great place!
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| Our amazing Hotel |
Monday July 7, 2014
Today we finally got to sleep in and we really slept in. Justus finally woke me up at 10:45. It was nice to get some rest after traveling and jet lag. We got up ate breakfast. We had dry cereal, nectarines, biscuits, and Nutella. We then made our way to the beach. The beach was by the marina and was very nice. The sand was clean and soft. The salt water was amazing. It definitely tasted salty and felt almost sticky on your skin. We were at the beach for awhile but it got cloudy. On the walk back I got gelato for lunch and Justus got a sandwich from our favorite panini place called Wall Street. We then did some shopping. I got Chupa Chupa suckers, a hair clip, pop, and post cards.
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| Loved the cute streets with restaurants |
Back at the hotel we headed straight for the pool since it was sunnier out. We got drinks by the pool. I got a Limoncello and Justus got a Corona. They brought the beer to us in our lounge chairs and brought us a plate of snacks. It was all complimentary for our honeymoon! The snacks were chips, peanuts, olives, olive spread and biscuits. It was really fun being by the pool and pampered!
We showered for the day and headed to dinner. We ate at a place on a busy walking street. Justus had ravioli and I had pizza. The wine is so cheap here, so I had that. Justus got ravioli and a beer called 1664. After dinner we walked around and bought candy on the boardwalk. It was incredibly expensive - 9 euros for barely anything! Learned my lesson!
It started raining on our way back. When we arrived at our hotel they had made the room nice again. They are sneaky! We then went down to the lobby to relax on the couches and use the wifi. It was a great day to relax and enjoy the sun and pool. Tomorrow we will try going to Nice and Monte Carlo.
Tuesday July 8, 2014
Today was such a fun filled day! We woke up earlier and walked 1.5 miles to the train station in Antibes. We took the train to Nice. In Nice we walked through the beautiful city and then the boardwalk. I could not believe the pebble beach, waves, and the blue color of the water. We walked the coastline and then walked through Old Market for a bit. We took some artsy pictures here. We then came to the Chateau where we walked to look over Nice. It was beautiful! It was visual overload to know where to look. The orange rooftops, beach, and blue water was amazing. It was nice to take in the views. We headed down and went to Old Market to eat lunch. I got pesto gnocchi and wine- it was amazing. Justus got a beer and salmon- he loved it. We stopped at a fancy candy store and got some good candy. It was snazzy! We walked through Nice a bit more and walked through the fountain area when it was misting.
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| Nice, France |
We took the train to Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was crazy seeing the nice cars, huge yachts, and where the monarchy lives. We enjoyed walking the docks to see the big boats, little kids learning to sail, and the nice cars. We enjoyed some ice cream to help us cool off since it was a hot and sunny day. We have been getting a lot of sun! Monte Carlo was cool because of the town built into the side of the mountain.
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| Monte Carlo |
We took the train from Monte Carlo to Antibes. We then had to walk the 1.5 miles back. It was a lot of walking! We then went to eat at the same restaurant we had the night before. Justus got pizza, I got a salad, and we shared chocolate mouse. It was really yummy!
We spent the night catching up online and writing postcards. Looking forward to a more relaxing day tomorrow.
Wednesday July 9, 2014
This morning we got up around 9:15. We are our typical morning breakfast of cereal, fruit, biscuits, and Nutella. We then headed to the beach for a day in the sun and salt water. So many women are topless and smoking! We were entertained by one woman who floated to the sea on a blowup bed. In a plastic bag she put her book, cigarettes and tanning lotion. Of course she was topless. We enjoyed the sun at the beach and then walked to our favorite panini shop called Wall Street.
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| Beautiful beach where we swam each day |
Once back at Hotel St. Valerie we got drinks by the pool and swam. It was a warm day, so it felt good. I had a French version of tequila sunrise and Justus had a Heineken. Around 2:30 we headed back to the room to get ready for the Picasso museum in Antibes. The water on the walk there was beautiful with a lot of boats and palm trees. The Picasso museum was in an old, unique part of town. The building itself was cooler than the art. I was not impressed by the art. Looked like something my students would poorly doodle and I would throw away. Justus and I had a good time poking fun at the art. There was a lookout over the water which was beautiful. We enjoyed watching the boats and pretty water. There was a storm moving in so that was fun to see the storm and paradise meet. We then had a 1.5 mile walk to the hotel.
Once back at the hotel I napped for a little whole. We then went to dinner at a place on the beach. It was amazing! We literally sat by the water while watching the sunset. We enjoyed watching the little kids, photographer, and big yachts. Justus had seafood linguine and I had gnocchi with fontina cheese cream and wine. It was the prettiest dinner experience of my life. Perfect honeymoon!
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| I want to eat all my meals right here |
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| Such a pretty setting for dinner |
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| Yum! |
We then walked around and I got gelato. I got cookie and tiramisu as my flavors. It was very busy at night so fun to people watch. Back at the hotel we sat in the garden to use the wifi and journal. Concerts have been going on near by so it is fun to hear the music. A breathtaking honeymoon so far!
Thursday July 10, 2014
We woke up this morning with the intent to get crepes for breakfast. We got all ready and walked to The Creperiea but it was closed. I wanted a towel for a souvenir so we walked to the store on the boardwalk, but it was also closed! We headed back to eat breakfast and hangout until lunch time. At lunch time the crepe place was still closed. We ended up getting one on the street that was amazing. It was Nutella and Carmel! It was really yummy and really fun. I then did get my towel- 39 euros so quite pricey.
Back at the hotel we got ready for the beach. We walked to our favorite beach, Port Gallice. We spent a lot of time there enjoying laying on the sand and swimming in the sea. We even found some seashells. Justus got a sandwich and I got a Popsicle. It was a hot day! We are still amazed by the very tan (and wrinkly) people at the beach!
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| Justus searching for seashells |
We walked back to the hotel and enjoyed time laying out with drinks. They also gave us a platter with free snacks again. I really like the olive spread! This day Justus got 1664 and I got limoncello again.
We went back to shower and get ready for dinner. On our way out we checked out and paid our bill since we have to leave early in the morning. They gave us 4 drinks and all the snacks free! We then walked down the boardwalk to the place on the beach we ate the first night. Justus got ravioli and I got a pizza. It was good! We then walked the boardwalk and ended the night with some gelato- cookie and tiramisu. We walked into a bakery on the way back and I was tempted by all the treats but we resisted. There was a fancy event for mazarati in the same place the grocery store was. We just got apples, but it was fun to look at the French grocery store.
Back at the hotel Justus and I had to pack. It is sad packing from such a pretty place. We have a rough idea on how to get to the bus stop and then from Orly airport to our hotel. We topped the honeymoon here off with a bottle of cheap wine on the front steps overlooking the garden and fancy cars. It has been an amazing honeymoon! Tomorrow we head to Paris really early in the morning.
Friday July 11, 2014
We woke up early today to leave St. Valerie hotel. It was an amazing stay and was nice to stay in a fancy 4 star hotel. It was sad to leave! We walked a long way to the bus stop. We then were nervous waiting for the bus and hoping it came! We ended up having to move to a grocery store to catch the bus- crazy! We road the bus to the Nice airport and caught our flight to Orly in Paris. Once we got there, we found our way to the subway. We road the subway for a very long time, about an hour, to our stop up near the other airport (CDG). We just had a few blocks to walk to our Marriot hotel. It was ridiculous how they charged so much for everything!
Once settled in, we got on the subway to go to the Notre Dam. It was really neat to see! Paris is so unique there because of the architecture and balconies on all of the buildings. The bridges and river and really neat too. The line to get into the Notre Dam was very very long. We stayed in line and it moved quickly. I am glad we went inside because it was amazing how large it was! The stain glass windows are beautiful. The church is at least 850 years old, so it is even older than the USA!
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| Notre Dam |
After the Notre Dam I wanted a crepe. We walked to a place called Esmerelda and got strawberry Nutella express to go. Eating a crepe on the go is crazy! Or as we said, "Holy crepe!" We then got back on the subway to go to the Arch De Triomphe and the Champs De Élysées. It was neat to see the Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triomphe, Louvre, and Champs De Élysées all at once. Watching the roundabout was crazy. I can't believe people can drive through that without getting in an accident. We then walked underground to get to the Arch De Triomphe. It was cool to see such a photographed place in Paris, plus it is where the Tour To France ends.
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| Arch De Triomphe |
We took the subway back to our hotel. We relaxed for awhile and cleaned up from our travels. We then ate dinner in the restaurant before getting ready for bed. We spent a lot of time watching BBC at nights on our trip since it was the only English speaking channel.
Saturday July 12, 2014
We got to sleep in until about 9 this morning. Around 10 we took a private car for 50 euros to the airport. It was fancy! We arrived at our terminal and got checked in. We had to go through security many times on our journey from Paris to Montreal to Toronoto to MSP. The craziest security was in Toronto to MSP. The USA customs is much for intensive than the other stops we have been at. They could even show is a visual our luggage!
On our flight from Paris to Montreal it was about a 7 hour flight. We watched a lot of movies and got a lot of food on the plane. We brought a lot of food on the plane since we wanted to use our euros up. The flight had the tv controls on the arm rest. Justus and I were both between people. The guy next to me kept changing the volume, light, and screen from the armrest. Toward the end it got pretty entertaining.
We had to go through security again for our flight to Toronoto. We made it just in time for our gate and walked right on to the plane. This ride was only an hour, but it was a big plane so we got Tv's.
We had a longer layover at the Toronoto airport so we got some food... Our second dinner. Our flight leaves at 8:25pm and we arrive around 9:25, but it is a 2hour flight. To Justus and I it will be about 4am when we land Paris time. We will have to decide to drive back tonight or stay in MSP. We had an amazing honeymoon, but are excited to be back home! I'm glad we packed our items from the wedding and wrote thank you cards before leaving!
We made it to the MSP airport on our little plane. We then called the hotel shuttle, which we had to wait 30 minutes for. We made it back to Quality Inn, got our car, and hit the road around 11pm for the 4 hour drive. We missed the last exit for gas in Clear Lake. We took an exit off of the interstate and tried finding a gas station in Rockwell. We found one, but it was closed. My car had 4 miles of gas left and a Casey's was 7 miles away. We fortunately made it there, but it was also closed. We drove downtown and saw a very old looking pump that didn't work. We then tried getting into the fire station but no one was there. We finally saw a local bar was open. The people inside were drunk, but very willing to help! They let us use the restroom and then had a special card that could be used in the old tank in town. We got $25 worth of gas and gave the guy $30 for a tip on helping us out. He thought it was funny we were on our honeymoon and had woke up in Paris. I believe the town was called Stockfield. Thank goodness for small town bars. We should now be back to Norwalk around 3:30 am, or 10am France time! Little sleep for us today, but it was an amazing trip. Now that I got use to saying bonjour and merci I need to not say it back in the States. Wonderful honeymoon with a wonderful husband!
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