Travel Plans and House Guests

Like I stated in my last post, we have some very good friends coming to visit over the next month. They are both coming to the area for business (for separate companies). What luck that they will be so close!

One of them is coming on the 26th to Brussels, so we are taking the train up from Luxembourg (handy things, trains) to spend the day with them. Brussels, in my opinion, is a hidden gem of Europe. Most people don't think of it as a top tourist destination for some reason, but it really impressed me when we were there last November. There is plenty to see besides chocolate factories and the Manneken Pis (pictured). While we could spend the day around the Grand Place, we're going to look for a quieter, less touristy area to enjoy and relax after our friend's long flight.

The very next weekend we're taking our first trip to Paris! The purpose of our trip is two-fold. First, we expect that many of our visitors would like to see Paris when they come, so we want to have a basic understanding of how things work before we take someone else there. Secondly, it's my birthday is that weekend. I never thought that I'd ever spend a birthday in Paris! Wow! We booked our room at a well reviewed mom and pop hotel near Rue Cler and have our tickets for the TGV train direct from Lux City. The trip is about two hours, versus around four if you drive. Since there's only two of us and we won't need to drive anywhere that weekend it makes perfect sense to go by train. Tickets can be pricey, so depending on the sightseeing plans (many things are outside Paris proper, like Versailles) or the group size, driving may make more sense on occasion.

Neither of us have been to Paris before. Back in high school I spent some time in the south of France in Arles, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, and Nice, but that region is extremely different from the Paris area (just like New York City is very different from, say, Pheonix, AZ). As this is our first time there, our goal is to hit the must-see spots like the Louvre Museum (free the first Sunday of every month), the Arc d'Triomphe (enjoying the Champs-Élysées of Le Tour fame as well), Notre Dame, and, of course, the Eiffel Tower. We don't want to pack too much in to the weekend so we are able to leisurely enjoy the sights without having to rush off to the next thing. Narrowing down the list of things is difficult. There are so many options for visitors it can be daunting to decide what to do. Besides the must sees, we turned for advice from a friend who is from Paris and to the Rick Steve's guidebook (don't let us down, Steve). Our friend recommended some restaurants and insisted we take a river cruise at night and the book is helping us with hotels and city transportation. We're also making a list of things we will want to do on future visits, like a night ride tour with Fat Tire Bicycle Company. Thankfully, Paris is close so we have plenty of time and opportunities to see everything we want. For right now I don't think I've been this excited for a vacation since my family went to the Grand Canyon when I was 12!

Our next guest is coming in mid-March. He's taking some vacation to visit us for several days before he has to head to work in Germany. We have a full itinerary planned for him including a day in Brussels, another in Paris (it'll be tough to plan just one day in Paris!), another in Luxembourg City, and then two downtime days which include local castle exploration and leisurely wanderings around town. It's going to be action packed for sure!

Now that the housework is mostly done, it's nice to have all this excitement coming up soon. While trips to Brussels and Paris are awesome, we're looking forward to seeing our friends most of all.