Monday, June 30th

Abigail's Graduation Trip - Day #4

What an awesome day today!  Really, really special -- we all just agreed upon this over a late night recap at the Indiana restaurant/pub - where we ended the evening.  A bit of a tribute to Univ of Indiana - the 'soon to be home' for Abigail

Today was the first official day in which we were all full participants.  The day started around 9am (we are just about all fully recovered from jet lag).  The first order of business was changing hotel rooms.  We have 4 nights in Paris -- split between 2 nights in separate locations.  We rolled our bags just down the road a bit to our new place --- Le 20 Prieure Hotel.  Excellent spot -- in a nice, vibrant area -- very near the Republique.  We have 2 rooms.  Keith and I (Kyle) are sharing one room.  The girls (Ab, Maddy, and Kelly) are sharing the other.

After check-in, we decided to walk over to the metro train at the Republique.  This is a huge square in the city - named after the French Republic.  We took a few photos and then took the train up to the Sacre-Coeur.  The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacre-Coeur Basilica and often simply Sacre-Coeur, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the Montmarte, the highest point in the city.

I took us up the side steps to the basilica.  I enjoy this entrance point, because you can only see the church once you peak the last few steps.  Tremendous views.  We toured the church and took some great pictures.  A nice time to just 'take it all in' - appreciating the vastness of the city below.

We next walked down the hill through the Montmartie section of the city.  We enjoyed a nice stroll through some of the more colorful sections of the city.  We came upon Moulon Rouge, and found the metro back to our hotel area. 

We had a sit-down lunch at a pizza/pasta place near the Republique.  This enabled us to take in the views of the square and appreciate a bit of French flavor.  After lunch - back to the hotel for a short break/relax time. 

After a couple hours of recharging the batteries -- off to the Hotel Deville.  The World Cup game between France and Nigeria started at 6pm local time.  We got off at the metro at the Hotel Deville stop.  Wow! Packed!  We found our way to street level - and instantly became 1 of thousands of fans all gathered together to watch the game on an outdoor screen next to City Hall.  (France has really cracked down on outside viewing parties as there has been some incidents in the past.  Due to the increase excitement - the city agreed to have the outside party at the City Hall -- with added levels of security present)  This was one of the best parts of the day.  France ended up winning 2-0.  It was unbelievable to see, hear, and feel the excitement of the gathered crowd.  During each goal, fans danced, cheered, waved country flags, lit off flares, and sang national anthems.  Few times in your life could you ever experience more raw passion then at a World Cup viewing party in Paris - during the French match.  We even enjoyed a couple macaroons from McDonalds (voted the 2nd best macaroon spot in Paris)  next to our spot for a little added flavor.

After the game -- we double-timed it out of the crowded streets and on to the Lourve.  The Lourve is the famous art museum in Paris.  It's enormous.  We didn't go in today - but took a ton of great pictures on the exterior.  Everyone agreed that the glass-shaped pyramids were more impressive in person than one could ever imagine.

Time was flying -- we wanted to see the Eiffel Tower when the lights first come on.  I remembered from my trip a few years back that the lights generally come on around 9pm in the summer.  We hit the metro and took a connector to the Trocadera (the viewing area on the over side of the street from the Eiffel Tower). There was an issue with the train --so we aborted the mission.  We took off by foot.  Luckily, we found that the lights only turn on at 10pm this time of year.  We each bought a banana and chocolate crepe (unbelievably tasty) and sat down under the perfect-weather evening to watch the Eiffel Tower come to life.  Wow - a take home moment of the day.  Really special.  It doesn't get much better than this.

After a ton of photos -- we took the metro back to our area of town and hit the Indiana Restaurant to end the night.  A great day in a great city  ---- lucky to be apart of it.

                                    Pic atop Sacre-Coeur

                                     Sacre-Coeur

                                             The Lourve

                                  Madeline and Abigail in front of Louvre

                               Top of the World at the Lourve
                                                               
      

                                       Eiffel Tower
                                                                 
                                                                     

                                 Buddies at the Eiffel Tower

Sunday, Friday, June 29th

Abigail's Graduation Trip - Day #3

Alrighty then.  Were finally off to our European vacation.  I got into Paris around 10am local time - arriving about 1 hr, 30 minutes late.  I found out my checked bag had been sent to Atlanta the evening before. OUCH!  Therefore, no bag for me.  I filled out some paperwork - expecting the bag to come sometime Sunday or Monday into Paris.  I hit the RER train into Gord du Nord in Paris.  I then took the #5 Metro to meet the Ohlms at the apartment we will be staying within Paris.

All good.  Once meeting up with the Ohlms, we immediately headed out to Notre Dame for 12:45pm mass.  We did a brisk walk (run) over to church -- arriving a bit late -- but did make it.  What an awesome site to see!  A lengthy line outside the church was intimidating at first, but it only took us about 10 minutes to make it inside.  After mass, we did a circle pass around the inside of the church - amazing architecture and incredible history. Kelly lit a candle - something she likes to do in churches around the world. Cool experience.

After mass, we decided to check out a local macaroon shop.  Voted as the best macaroons in the business.  The name - Laduree.  On the way to the shop, we did a bit of street shopping (cards, magnets, etc) and then came across the lock bridge in Paris.  What a neat site to see.  Thousands and thousands of locks - all with the names of couples and loved ones.  I was about hitting the wall from the lack of sleep on the international flight, but after a chocolate and lemon macaroon -- all was good in the world. 

After our indulgence, we took the metro and went to see the Bastille.  The French National Day commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution with the Storming of the Bastille on the 14 July 1789.  We were getting hungry about this time.  We found an excellent spot - The Grilled Cheese Factory. Great lunch choice.  After a wide variety of grilled cheese options - we were fueled up and headed to some of the main attractions of Paris.

We took the metro to the Champs Elysees.  I wanted to show the crew my favorite spot in Paris -- the spot where I frist saw the Eiffel Tower.  As good as I remembered.  We took several photos - then walked the lengh of the Camps Elysees.  We went over to view the Arc de Triomphe and then hit the metro back home.  It was about 7:30pm and tiredness had set in.

A little rest and a refreshing shower -- we finished the night off at the local corner pub -- eating pizza, cheese/bread and watching the Greece vs. Costa Rica Worl Cup Game.

All good in Paris.

Bastille Monument

Kyle's favorite view of Paris - our first sight of the Eiffel Tower

Madeline at The Grilled Cheese Factory

Cool view of the lock bridge.

                        Abigail and Madeline on the Lock Bridge

Arc de Triomphe - pic taken in the middle of the street

Saturday, June 28

Abigail's Graduation Trip - Day #2

I (Kyle) awoke in MSP after a solid night's sleep.  Kay and I hit the Saturday morning farmer's market and took in a Brazil vs. Chile World Cup game at Brit's Pub in downtown Minneapolis.  Kay drove me to the airport around 2:30pm.  My flight for Paris was set to leave around 5:15pm.  Made the flight today.  It was delayed 1 hr on the tarmac due to lighting.  Saturday ended for me aboard a Delta Flight headed for Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris - set to arrive at 8:35am local time on Sunday.

Abigail here. The Ohlms arrived by plane at 9am Paris time. Once we finally got off the plane, we headed to customs to get our passports stamped. Funny story -- I was trying to decide whether or not to speak a few French words when conversing with the customs officer. I decided to stick with English. After a quick "hello" exchange, he handed me my passport. Quickly, I replied, "gracias." OMG I accidently spoke Spanish!

Anyway, back to the story. We got our luggage and took a taxi to our building - a kind of sketchy door on St. Sebastion street in the 11th arrondissement. We were so surprised and excited to see a cool courtyard which led to our apartment. It was neat and a good size where we could all spread out. A little jetlagged, we decided to do what everyone told us not to - take a long nap. We had to. We were so exausted. We woke up refreshed and ready for dinner. We took a short walk to Blend, a restaurant which specialized in hamburgers and french fries. The language barrier was a little difficult, and the waiter thought we ordered our hamburgers rare. The french fries were good and we moved on.

We stopped at the market and got some food to hold us over in the apartment. We were still tired so headed off to bed. Good day, but we were excited to see the real Paris sites tomorrow.

Friday, June 27th  

Abigail Graduation Trip - Day #1

Ohlm's Flight  --- Departed STL at 9:20am and arrived into Charlotte around 12:30 pm local time.  Flight from Charlotte into Paris, France was set to leave at 4:45pm.  The flight was delayed on the tarmac for 2-1/2 hours.  Friday ended for the Ohlms aboard a US Airways Flight - with both Abigail and Madeline taking part in their very first international flight - flight set to arrive into Paris around 8:35am locla time. 

Kyle's Flight --- Set to depart Denver at 3:44pm via Delta for Minneapolis.  Flight was delayed 1 hr, 45 minutes.  Flight arrived into Minneapolis at 7:45pm.  International flight was set to leave at 8pm local time.  I got off the plane and ran to the international terminal -- arriving at 7:52pm.  Over 10 people on the Denver flight were also booked to Paris.  We arrived 1 after the other at the international terminal -- only to be told that we were too late.  The door had been closed.  We stared at our plane - and couldn't get on.  End result - I was going to miss a day in Paris.  After a bit of confusion and frustration at the gate -- I was booked on a 5:15pm flight on Saturday -- now to arrive into Paris on Sunday, June 29th.  The 1 piece of good news that came of the missed flight -- I was able to stay at my sister Kay's house in MSP.  I took the metro and crashed at her place as Friday ended.

Abigail Graduation Trip

Friday, June 27 - Wednesday, July 9th   ----  Paris & London

   Coming soon