paris: bright lights, big city

hey,hey! oh can i just say how happy i am to be given a chance to experience this whole europe adventure with my family? i am just super duper grateful. hay, before i get emotional pa, here goes my kwento.

our first stop was paris. we spent a good 4 days there. it was reaaaaly fun! of course given na yung medyo magastos talaga. as in pricey lahat. from coke to hotel rates. naman! my sis said, hello you are in europe, what do you expect? oo nga naman. lalo na we stayed at champ de mars area, super near the eiffel tower. as in dalawang tumbling lang, nandun ka na. hehe. i will make a separate post about the hotel where we stayed ha? para di lang magulo. nakakahiya naman, baka ma lost kayo dahil napaka unorganized na ng kwento ko.

with sophie in front of hotel de cadran

anyways, paris really is a beautiful place. yung feeling, iba eh. may certain high sya. imagine, from the plane pa lang, the moment we landed, everybody was cheering, some even clapped their hands with joy. nakakahawa. i swear naki-clap din kami, haha. and lahat yun ha, feeling ko, tourists just like us. good vibes agad.

the eiffel tower

giant wind mill

view from the seine river

paris side walk

sacré-cœur basilica in montmartre

gare saint lazare

at champs elysees

the eiffel tower at night

we availed of the full day tour because ayoko ma-hassle walking around with a toddler in tow. mahirap. so i wanted everything pre-arranged na. it was quite expensive but syempre for you to enjoy, you need to be comfy and you know, not to be stressed out thinking about logistics like, where to go and how to get there. and i think i made the best decision kasi if i didn't do that, i don't think we would be able to see and do as much as we did.

seeing paris the first time, enjoying the sights with family, learning its history is truly a blessing. i wouldn't have it any other way.  the trip really made me appreciate what i have now and how blessed i am considering what i have been through.

all smiles at the eiffel tower

daddy with soph

my greatest joy

mother's love

the linos at  paris, france, october  2012

i always thought of paris as a city filled with history and rich in culture. the very reason why it is considered as one of the most visited cities in the world. so the expectation talaga, sobra. of course, you are spending - okay, "investing" a lot of money on the trip so whatever expectations you have, parang in a way you try to make the most out of everything. it's not as if we could just go there any time we want. so the experience itself, i guess, enough na to say that it was worth every cent we spent. and the fact that i have my family with me, nothing can beat that.

laters! xx