Day 2 Paris

I woke up quite early this morning to catch the train from London St. Pancreas Station to Paris Gare du Nord (train station). It was about a two hour trip under over the English countryside, under the English Channel, then over the French countryside. I have to say that when I first arrived I was a little nervous. The French take guarding their lands very seriously as many armed men and women patrolled the station with what looked like semi-automatic guns. I found that they patrol other parts of the city as well. So with a short trip on the Metro, I reached well the station I was suppose to exit. I climbed up the stairs and tried to pull up my GPS. It was not working and it took about 30 minutes of wandering to find the Hotel. The Hotel Beaumarchais is a cute little place with an interesting personality. I checked in then headed out for the day. I just got back from about ten hours of walking around, getting lost, eating, getting lost and finding the places I wanted to hit first. I walked in a huge circle or square around the city before I figured out what direction I needed to head. Finally, I made it to Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris. WOW!!! The detail on this cathedral is simply indescribable. I got the chills walking both inside and out of the building. I headed along the Seine to the Louvre. I did not stop to go inside, I plan on doing that tomorrow. The outside alone could be considered a museum. It is amazing. I didn't believe my mom when she said you could spend days in the Louvre, but after walking through the grounds I can see what she was talking about. From there I wandered more down the Seine and eventually saw the Eiffel Tower from a distance. 3 miles later I found myself standing beneath this gigantic monument. The lines were incredibly long and after all that walking I decided to take a cab back to the hotel. I was not impressed with Paris when I first got here, but after today I can say it is one of the most lavishly decorated cities in the world.