It's been a few weeks since I have been able to document my travels. I just wrapped up a 10 day vacation in Europe and have been extremely busy with work on top. This recent trip to Europe was one of the most special trips I have experienced to date. To be honest, I was a bit intimidated to travel to France because of how everyone claims they hate Americans. I found that rumor to be false but ill dive into that a little later. Before I start I want to say one thing. It bothers me how everyone makes excuses to not travel right now because of the recent attacks in Europe and the violence in the Middle East. NOW is the time to travel. I felt safer in Paris and Barcelona than I do right now in Little Rock, Arkansas as I write this post. We can choose to be proactive or reactive. If you decide to be reactive you will spend your whole life worrying about things you can't control. So make a mental shift, change your mindset, there is a beautiful world out there to discover.
The Flight
I had the blessing to spend this trip with my beautiful girlfriend and some amazing friends. We took a couples trip and used miles to fly over to Europe. Me and my friend Jean-Luc are both Executive Platinum members with American Airlines so we got a pretty cool airport experience that you can normally only access if you are flying on a European/Asian first class ticket. American Airlines has something called their "Flagship Lounge". There are only 5 of these lounges in the whole country and they are super exclusive. Even with my Admirals Club membership i still can't access a Flagship Lounge when flying domestic. We had a 6 hour layover in Chicago and spent that whole time in the lounge, they had several dining options as well as a full open bar. As you can imagine, 6 hours in an airport can get boring, but with an open bar we made the best of it :)
(Cold pea soup with Gold Caviar, Caviar taste terrible! I only ate it because those little eggs go for over $5,000 USD for a 35oz can)
(Perfect hotel balcony)
The Flight
I had the blessing to spend this trip with my beautiful girlfriend and some amazing friends. We took a couples trip and used miles to fly over to Europe. Me and my friend Jean-Luc are both Executive Platinum members with American Airlines so we got a pretty cool airport experience that you can normally only access if you are flying on a European/Asian first class ticket. American Airlines has something called their "Flagship Lounge". There are only 5 of these lounges in the whole country and they are super exclusive. Even with my Admirals Club membership i still can't access a Flagship Lounge when flying domestic. We had a 6 hour layover in Chicago and spent that whole time in the lounge, they had several dining options as well as a full open bar. As you can imagine, 6 hours in an airport can get boring, but with an open bar we made the best of it :)
As an Executive Platinum member you have access to a Flagship Lounge when flying to Europe or Asia along with only 1 guest.
(All the Alcohol and Champagne you can ask for)(Everything is serve your self)
After 6 hours in the lounge of straight eating and drinking I was ready for a nap. Luckily we had Main Cabin Extra seats on the plane, Americans 767-300 has a dedicated cabin with only 2 rows for Main Cabin Extra. These seats usually cost up to $250 to upgrade to but are free for Executive Platinum members. We finally boarded the plane and prepared for this 8 hour flight.
After take off the cabin crew came around offering dinner. Thankfully we ate at the lounge because the airplane food was shy of mediocre. it was literally a microwave meal on a tray. I ordered the chicken and Veronica ordered the pasta.
After a long flight of tossing and turning they finally made the announcement for the final decent into Charles De Gaulle (Paris Airport). As we arrived all I could see was the country side and small towns.
The flight was a good time. We laughed, ate, slept, ate, laughed some more, slept and eventually got to Paris.
Paris
Hotel: Rented an AirBnB (2 blocks from the Eiffel tower)
Distance from Charles De Gaulle: 15 Miles (45 Euro Taxi)
Length of stay: 3 Nights
Average nightly rate: $95 USD
The current exchange for USD to Euro is $1USD = .89 Euro
Once we landed and got off the plane I got smacked with a big wave of culture shock. Even though I have traveled to Europe, this was the first time in a country where I don't understand the language. All of the advertisements on the walls where unreadable and the repetitive airport announcements where a big blur. We originally hired a chauffeur through mydriver.com, we paid 105 Euro for a Mercedes van so we could all fit with our luggage and ride together to the city. Our flight landed about 30 minutes late so the driver ended up cancelling on us. I admit we panicked for a few minutes because we had no idea how to communicate. Luckily we opened up the Uber app and got the same Mercedes van to the city for 85 Euros! After a 30 minute ride we finally arrived at our apartment. I have to say, I LOVE AirBnB. We where literally 2 blocks from the Eiffel tower and payed 1/3 of the price we would have paid for a hotel. The apartment had a living room, kitchen, laundry room and a master bathroom. The host for the apartment had great communication with us, he had someone meet me at the apartment to give me the keys.
(The Apartment)
After dropping off our luggage we went straight to explore! We purchased a Paris Pass for $120 USD, this included all of the main museums and attractions as well as the hop on and off bus that rides around the whole city. In order to pick up the passes we had to take the subway about 25 minutes to their office. I was also intimidated with the metro system but it ended up being extremely simple. After picking up the passes we decided to make a little picnic in front of the Eiffel tower. By the way, Champagne in France is SO cheap. I was so exited I was drinking it like water.
This was such an amazing experience, the Eiffel Tower is something you see on tv your whole life and being directly in front of it was truly powerful. Being able to sit there for about an hour and just absorbing it was truly satisfying, especially being next to the people I love.
Im going to dive into the big stereotype that the French hate Americans. If you have any bit of culture and respect inside of your body you will be fine. Every restaurant we went to we at least attempted to say the main words "bonjour", "sil vous plait", "Merci","au revoir". As stupid as it may sound, they really appreciate when you try. We couldn't even read most menus at the restaurant but we at least tried to pronounce what the words said. The other thing is not to eat with your hands and holding your silver ware properly. For some reason, most americans like to hold their fork like they are about to stab some one and they frown upon that. We received amazing service at all the restaurants we went too and it was all because we acted like decent people. Just like Americans say all the time "We are in America speak English!" they feel the same way about their country, and as tourist and visitors we should respect that %100 and try our best to fit in. Most people in Paris do speak English but it is very broken and they prefer to speak French obviously.
Day 2 was strictly to do all of the tourist attractions, we took the big red bus and started off at The Cathedral of Notre Dame. It was shocking to see the history of this cathedral and to realize how old it is. Its a mind F***k to think that a place so beautiful and complex was built over 600 years ago with absolutely no technology. When we walked inside there was a service going on and it was crazy to see how this Cathedral is still active in the community and not just a tourist attraction.
After that we went straight to the "Arc de Triomphe". It is one of the most popular monumental attractions in Paris and was built in the 1800's to honor those who fought and died in the French Revolutionary war. We where lucky enough to climb to the top, it was a pretty cool view to see all of Paris from up there and I highly recommend it. Champs Elysees leads directly to the Arc de Triomphe and is probably the most famous avenue in the world. It is filled with high end shopping and dining. After all, the fashion in Paris is what influences fashion all over the world.
(The top of the Arc de Triomphe)
From there we went to "La Defense", this is the metropolitan business district in Paris and is probably the only place where you will see modern buildings. The craziest part about it is that there are no roads, streets or sidewalks. Everything that has to do with traffic is underground. We visited during the weekend so it almost felt like an apocalyptic zombie town because there wasn't a body in sight. At the end of La Defense is the Grande Arc, if you stand directly under it and look ahead it lines up directly with the Arc de Triomphe. As you can see, I am always wearing a book bag. Inside I keep all of my passports, money, phones etc. I don't trust leaving anything in hotels, it is too risky and I have heard to many bad stories. I lock up all the zippers with TSA locks so that no one can sneak behind me and open them up. If you visit Europe I recommend doing the same.
After La Defense we traveled over to the famous "Musee du Louvre", this is the famous museum that is known for displaying the Mona Lisa. Unfortunately that is no longer, after people attempting to throw acid, sodas, paint and other stuff at the painting the museum decided to hide and preserve the priceless painting. This museums is so insanely large underground that if you where to stop at every exhibit for 10 seconds it would take you 6 months to see the whole thing. We went inside just for the experience and walked around for about an hour. It was really overwhelming because at times you don't know which way to look. Before The Louvre was a museum it was the palace that housed Louis XIV.
After that we had to go and visit the famous lock bridge and lock up our love. After locking the lock on the bridge I threw the keys in the water. I told Veronica she better go buy a scuba diving kit to find that key if she every thinks she can get rid of me now :).
After a long day of walking (13 miles total according to my phone) we where ready to sit down, eat some cheese and drink some wine. We found a really cool local restaurant on the outskirts of the city and ordered a big meat and cheese plate. Little did we know, the meat on the plate was goose and duck. I always try everything once but I can tell you I wont be eating goose every again blah.
(Mystery meat plate)
After that we found another cool restaurant and just sat and drowned our selves with wine. On that note, I will NEVER drink California wine again. It is so filled with sulfates and chemicals used to break down the grapes and the fermentation process faster which ends up in a nasty hangover. I cant even count how many glasses of wine I had in France and I never once got even a hint of a head ache.
The last day in Paris we had a huge surprise for the girls. There is a restaurant in Paris called "Le Jules Verne". It's an extremely exclusive restaurant that requires reservations months in advance, it is located at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Along with this exclusivity comes a high price point of a 300 euro per person cover charge, this price includes a 3 course meal. We got so lucky that they gave us the best seat in the house over looking the "Jardins du Trocadero". To be honest this was the coolest thing I have ever done in my life, the service and the experience was absolutely priceless. To be even more honest the food was fancy but terrible. Maybe my tongue just isn't accustomed to those flavors but none of it was appetizing.
(Le Jules Verne has its own entrance along with a private elevator that escorts you to the restaurant)
(Going Up!)
(The view from the table)
All the pictures below are of the different courses that where served to us.
(Menu Choices)
Paris was an amazing city, filled with love and culture. But after all of this walking and sight seeing it was time to relax. The next morning we went back to the airport to fly to Barcelona :) Last time I visited Europe I fell in love with Vueling Airlines, we flew from Paris to Barcelona in priority class for 80 euros a person (What a joke!).
Bye Paris!
Barcelona
Hotel: Hotel Oriente Atriam Las Ramblas
Distance from El Pratt: 9 miles ($5 bus ride from the airport)
Length of stay: 3 Nights
Average nightly rate: $150 USD
Since Ive written about Barcelona before I wont go to deep into our trip here. These where 4 days of pure relaxation and straight fun. Our hotel choice this time was a thousand times better as we where located in the heart of Las Ramblas.
My days in Barcelona consisted of exploring in scooters. We rented these scooters that go up to 30mph and rode around the whole city for hours and discovered beaches that we would have never seen by just walking. I felt like a little kid riding around it was pretty cool.
(Veronica is going to become a Harley Chick and change her name to Bertha)
We found a beach and laid down in some chairs to relax for a while and an asian lady came up to me and offered massages. She only charge 5 euro per 15 minutes so i booked her for an hour. Me and Veronica took turns getting our feet and backed massaged hahaha.
We decided we wanted to experience the "True" European nightclub experience so we reserved a table at Barcelona's most exclusive club called "Shoko". It was actually the craziest nightclub I have ever seen in my life, way crazier than Vegas or Miami. The table came along with a 500 euro minimum, we got a bottle of Grey Goose and a bottle of Champagne. The bill was very pricy to say the least but it was worth the experience.
The last day we decided to return to our favorite restaurant in Mont Juic called "Miramar". It has breathtaking views of the whole city and it is probably the coolest restaurant that I have ever been to.
There was one moment in this whole trip that I will hold in my heart the rest of my life. Unfortunately my phone died that night and I wasn't able to take any pictures. At 9pm every night the eiffel tower gets light up and thousands of strobe lights flash for about 5 minutes along music playing. We where standing at the Jardins du Trocadero right in front of it and my body got paralyzed with something I had never felt before. Tears ran down my face as I just stood and watched the Eiffel Tower shine. It was an emotional feeling of gratitude that I have never felt in my life. All I could do was thank god for the tremendous blessing of the life I live. It's so important to create a balance in our lives between work and personal time. This week long trip just motivated me to go back home an keep growing and becoming a better leader. If you are traveling to Barcelona or Paris or have questions about travel in general feel free to message me through Google Circles.
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