I should have practiced blogging well before this trip. I am begging the universe for patience and perseverance right now. I posted 15 photos but they were here and then they were gone. At any rate, we loved being in Paris with family, but are now happy to be in Portugal on our own…as it finally feels like we have embarked on our journey. I want to say first, that we are so grateful that our dear friends Maya and Jessica Smith left Nice a few days before the attacks on Bastille Day. We know that they are home and safe. As we watched the EuroCup Finals match with thousands of people in the The Latin Quarter, it did cross our minds that we might not be in the safest place at that point in time. We went anyway. These times are challenging and cause us to pause as we travel and make future plans. Sorry, let me get back to Paris. I want to say that the main tourist attractions (Louvre, Eiffel Tower,Versailles, etc) were extremely crowded and chaotic. We did not enjoy visiting these sites with everyone else in the world. We really enjoyed the smaller museums and the roads less traveled. The Seine river cruise was awesome. It was one hour and very informative for those of us who did not pay attention during high school History class. The Moulin Rouge was entertaining and, especially, fun for me. The George Pompidou modern art museum was not crowded, had excellent exhibits and was our favorite. If we ever go back to Paris, it will be for the food and the people watching. Perhaps,a little shopping. We do not need to see the infamous tourist attractions again. We are still learning lessons daily and making mistakes on this journey.
Lessons Continued…..
Lesson 6: Never leave your hotel room without your umbrella and or rain gear. Do not trust the weather report or the sky. Be prepared.
Lesson 7: Avoid BIG crowds. It is rarely worth the money or the time to see an attraction with millions of others at the same time. Think small, quiet and off the beaten path. Head out EARLY.
Lesson 8: Remind yourself who you are now and understand and accept that you have evolved and morphed into beings who enjoy life differently as 50/60 year olds. We don’t really like hordes of people and have far less tolerance these days.
Lesson 9: We paid the extra money to check a third bag and had just one backpack for carry on. This not only saved our backs, but our soulful well being too. We still like each other!!!!!!
Things we did right continued…..
#3: WE purchased holiday Orange SIM cards for our phones. We are able to stay connected to each other and family. This has worked well for us and we highly recommend. Sometimes, I have tried to lose Will, but he can always track me down wherever I am in a city. I guess that is a good thing.
We are in Portugal and will post as we move through this country. So, far we find Lisbon to be friendly, engaging, good energy and CHEAPER than Paris. In one week, I get to start a workout routine. I am still healing but have more energy and am ready to get active. Cheers!!!!!
