THE WILLARDS TAKE PARIS, PART DEUX: THE EIFFEL TOWER, PARISIAN CAFES AND VERSAILLES!

Well now, guess I can check THIS one off of my bucket list, now can't I? Seeing the real Eiffel Tower, that is. Except I'd already been to the Eiffel tower, the REAL REAL one, just last spring, right?.............

Wait, wait...which came first, the faux Eiffel tower in Las Vegas, Nevada, or the faux version, in Paris, France???? Because I took both of these photos, and now I'm kinda confused..........

Bucket List? Check, check, check!

Oh my goody goody gumdrops I love my life sometimes!

Here's what you get when you ask a complete stranger (I secretly suspect she was sort of drunk) to take the Willard family's Christmas card photo....this photo seriously gives me vertigo! And just look at Wink's face! I don't think I'll be using this one, come Christmas, 2012...............

Here's what the underbelly of Le Tour Eiffel looks like, just in case you've never seen it from this perspective....BTW Wink wanted to take me to the top, via elevator, and propose to me, all over again,  just like Tom Cruise did with Katie Holmes when he oh-so-famously/romantically proposed to her a few years back, but the line was 3 hours long....SO not worth our precious time, we collectively decided............

Okay so that's enough of THAT tourist trap...now onto the MAGNIFIQUE street cafes of Paris, for which I have a huge crush! LOVE just sitting outside under wonderful space heaters, just watching the world go by. I've always dreamed of such places.......The first two, in one of our two favorite neighborhoods (the other being The Marais), St. Germaine.....



And here's where stuff gets funny: We've all heard about the notorious rudeness of French waiters....well, this guy just LOVED Little Miss Thing...even kindly paused to pose with her..........Hmmmm.....I wonder if he's single?..........

How cute is this?..............Je T'aime France!.........



Wink, ever the American, chooses beer--Me, bring on the French Chablis!......

*******************

On our third day in France, we took the train out to see the Palace at Versailles........I think I must have said something stupid (or embarrassing) on our 30 minute train ride out into the French countryside...what do you think?

The Palace at Versailles....there are just no words. So over the top...so much gilt and gold and glamour and glitz (and the gardens! my favorite part!)...so I'm just going to let the photos do (most of) the talking...........

Here's what happens when we try to catch a jump-shot, mid-air..........just ends up looking silly!.............Cuz that's how we silly Willards ROLL, baby!..........

This is all REAL gold--I swear on a stack!..............

(We interrupt this regularly scheduled programming to introduce the Princess of Versailles, Le Petite Mademoiselle Thing! Isn't she lover-ly?...........)

And the  King (we were promptly kicked off property, shortly after this photo was taken at the cheesy Versailles gift-shoppe).........



The Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed--which I do believe ended World War II (or was it WW1?)............

And now to the gardens..........truly mind-bendingly beautiful!.......Check out the tulips...

Here we fooled Abbie into thinking she was kissing the actual BLARNEY STONE--I love tricking our gullible American youth!........



The "backside" of Versailles....

LMT thoughtfully picked us up a picnic lunch of fresh fruits, cheeses and baguettes at her local Farmer's Market, which we thoroughly enjoyed, lakeside...........

*******************

Here's to 25 MORE years of happily wedded bliss...LOVE you MORE, Wink Willard!.......

***************

See you soon for Part 3 of our fantastic Parisian adventure--including the Gardens of Luxembourg, the Montmartre neighborhood and, of course, the Loerve for a little bit o' Mona L.!!!!

XXX

OOO

Leslie