Paris & Bastille Day; July, 14

Sam, our kick-ass tour guide

Marisa in front of the Eiffel Tower

Newleyweds- Nick & Val and Denton

Tomas, Muriel, Marisa, and Denton on Bastille Day, waiting for the fireworks

2 things are great about this picture:
1) My new camera takes awesome pictures
2) The fireworks themselves were amazing and awe-inspiring

The Louvre and it's 'invisible pyramids'

Newlyweds, Nick & Val- aren't they the cutest? They've mastered the 'goofy picture' poses.

Egyptian artifacts at the Louvre

Moulin Rouge in the Montmartre District

Sacre Couer, at night with Nick & Val

Paris was especially amazing for us, not only because it's Paris, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but because we were able to meet up with some old friends and family and meet new friends as well. Our dear friends from Sacramento, Nick & Val came to Paris for their honeymoon. We were so glad we were able to catch up on all the recent Sacramento gossip, hear about their wedding, and piggy-back on their Museum pass. We had a great time eating, drinking, chatting, and exploring with them.
On Bastille Day, we were able to meet with my cousin Muriel and her boyfriend, Tomas, in Paris. They rented a small apartment in Paris from her company that was RIGHT-NEXT TO (like, literally 100 meters) from the Arc de Triomph. We spent the evening drinking, encouraging them to visit us in California, and seeing the fireworks of Bastille Day. Denton and I agreed that these were the best fireworks we've ever seen. Apparently they were chereographed with American disco songs, but we couldn't hear them from where we were standing.
Finally, our new friends were the gracious couple we Couchsurfed with, Emilie and Cedric. We stayed on their couch for 2 nights and had a very nice time getting to know them and chat about their future travel plans. They plan to go to New Zealand next year, so the picked my brain about where to go, the weather, what to do, and where to stay.  I enjoyed reminiscing, but it's already 6 years since I was there, so I'm sure a lot has changed. Emilie & Cendric were incredibly hospitable and generous. They made us an authentic french breakfast on Bastille Day, which was fantastic. We hope to see them again, if they ever come to California.
Also, we've become groupies of the New Europe Free Walking Tours. They're FREE- well almost- and they are SUPER informative and interesting. You tip the guide at the end of the tour (that's the catch), but it's still WAY cheaper than doing anything similar... or doing anything else, because stuff is expensive in Europe. We typically tip between 5-10Euros for each tour we take, for both of us. 5 if we think they did crap, and 10 when we want to tip more, but think we should save our money instead. Our guide in Paris, Sam, was AMAZING. He gave us tons of tips and pointers about the city and attraction. He even has his own website that lays out all of his suggestions. He also knew A TON about Paris and France. I always ask a lot of questions and some tour guides don't like it- I think they think I'm trying to stump them, but really I'm just trying to put it all together- and Sam enjoyed my questions, even though I did stump him once. I recommend all people who are going to France to attend his tours through New Europe, or hire him privately.