My Biggest Blog Fans Join Me

We left our hotel this morning in dismay and arrived at Orly airport via Suntransfers. Conveniently, Vueling and British Airways were in the same terminal and we headed back to the Vueling luggage service desk. The two women there were confused by the notes they were seeing in their system as it was inconsistent. I had described the same thing where it said the delivery was in progress and we were told our luggage would be delivered yesterday. She also noted that the ticket said "closed", so she called the delivery company who said they didn't have our luggage. 

So she left and returned, posing with my suitcase saying, "is this yours?" I had a delayed reaction and my mom screamed with excitement. We went to the back room where all our luggage was and all tagged ready to go to Newark later today, and then scheduled to be delivered at my parents' house. We were thrilled to have our luggage back. 

My mom and I immediately went to the family restroom where we swapped clothing as we had been wearing the same outfit for 2 days. We were so thrilled and a weight had been lifted from our shoulders that had plagued us on our last day of our trip. 

So we checked in with British Airways, went through security, and got breakfast by the gate. Our flight was uneventful and we arrived 45 minutes early. We picked up the car from offsite long term parking and headed to Flushing. We always seem to eat Korean or Chinese food when we are coming home from the airport. Here's a collage of our Korean-Chinese late lunch / early dinner: 

I was dropped off at my apartment and rested the rest of the day. The whole family regaled in stories from the trip throughout the day, but were happy to be home. 

Several years ago when I started traveling sometimes alone, I promised my mom that I would email everyday so she would know I was alive. Through the years, I moved the emails to a blog, and "Leading A Life of Cyn" was born.

After 6 years of blogging, and typically receiving as much as 30 hits a day when traveling, my parents have been my biggest blog fans. 

This trip was really special because my biggest blog fans joined me and we got to live the moments together! My favorite memories were the little things: every time my brother turned on the signal in the rental car, it turned on the windshield wipers, the funny statements my dad would say that were always a few steps behind, or when I was tired one morning and kept waving my hand in front of the door thinking it was automatic, and my brother pushing through the door. 

These memories were incredible and so special. My parents would say, "make sure this gets in the blog". I'm so glad we traveled safely and so well (we only had one real meltdown) and that my parents enjoyed celebrating their milestone birthdays in Europe!

Sans Luggage

As mentioned last night, our luggage along with many others, did not arrive in Paris. With the advice we should have in the afternoon, we headed out to the Montmartre neighborhood where we had overpriced crepes. Despite the disappointing breakfast, my mom was delighted as she made contact with a long lost friend who lives in southern France. And despite the delayed luggage, everyone was in good spirits. 

After our breakfast, we walked by the Moulin Rouge which I had never seen before and pictured below: 

The point of today was to visit the Sacred Heart Basilica, or Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. My mother is super proud that she went to Sacred Heart high school and college of Korea, and there is a real sisterhood with all the alumna around the world. We took the bus from the Moulin Rouge, walked uphill a little, and then the funicular for the remainder of the hill. 

After we went through security, we noticed a crowd around a few singers, who harmonized perfectly, to the point where several tourists sang along and another played his harmonica. It really got the group going as we all clapped and sang "Stand By Me". It really made us all smile:

You can't take photos inside, and although several did, I chose to abide by the rules. We lost my mom at one point, but we enjoyed our visit to this beautiful basilica on top of the hill and took the selfie below:

Here's a photo of Paris which was quite a chilly day. It was very warm in Spain, and although I brought warmer clothing, it was in my luggage. I had to borrow my mom's wrap to cover my shoulders to enter the basilica too to cover my shoulders. 

A nice Korean tourist was kind enough to take this photo of us. I'm glad it's not too close as we're without makeup and wearing the same clothes as yesterday:

So we no longer have the museum pass, and I suggested a few things we hadn't done, one of which was visit the Rodin Museum that had been closed for a fashion show last week. So we took the metro and made our way there. Here's a fun photo of all us in front of The Thinker:

I didn't take many photos inside, but I remember being here in high school and very impressed with the work of his mistress, Camille Claudel. This is such a wonderful museum. I enjoyed this Edvard Munch painting of The Thinker:

When we were outside, I pointed out to my mom you could see the Eiffle Tower. Here's a photo of Mama Kim trying to take the shot:

Here's the actual shot with Rodin's "Three Shades":

The Kims got into the fun too:

Here's my mom in front of the Gates of Hell, where she sprinted to be in the shot in between tourists who were trying to take a photo with it:

You can see Invalides where Napoleon is entombed, with The Thinker:

And the museum, a former hotel, with Invalides:

After the museum, we headed back to our hotel to rest before our dinner. We were hopeful the luggage would have arrived, but we were advised after calling the hotline, that the luggage had arrived around 4 pm and we should expect in a few hours. 

Our dinner reservations were at L'Atelier du Joël Robuchon where I had eaten with my friend, Mike in 2014. We had our hotel call in advance to see if it's okay to still go despite our casual dress and we were still welcomed. The service was great as we enjoyed a hearty tasting menu. Here's a picture of our wine and menu:

Here are a few shots of our dining experience that was counter seating looking into the kitchen:

And here's a collage of the wonderful meal:

After our dinner, we were hopeful to have our luggage waiting for us at our hotel which it was not. When calling the hotline, they said they were in the process of delivering throughout Paris. We didn't sleep at all throughout the night, waiting and hoping for our luggage to arrive. I jumped at every sound of a truck outside. Alas, we had a wonderful trip, but the luggage weighed heavy on our minds. 

Goodbye Gaudi

Our last day in Barcelona and we say goodbye to Gaudi! This morning, we packed up and cleaned our amazing apartment hotel, and headed out to the Picasso Museum. I missed this the last time I was here and it showcases his early works. You couldn't take any photos inside, but the highlight was his extensive study of Velasquez's Las Meninas. Here's a few photos of the museum's exterior:

We walked around the old city center and Gothic quarter and stumbled upon the Cathedral, pictured below:

We then hopped into a cab to go to Mercado Boqueria on Las Ramblas. Although walkable, my dad was struggling and I wanted to make sure he saved his energy for later. We found a great stall that specialized in seafood and had a grilled seafood platter, vegetable platter, and ordered more razor claims and different types of calamari, as shown in a few photos below:

We had fun walking off our lunch and observing this amazing market. My dad asked why we didn't stay at a hotel closer and we could have eaten here everyday. I responded, "no one actually stays in Times Square", plus the space and laundry machine in our apartment hotel was definitely needed. Here's a collage of the meat, various eggs, rainbow of juices, and a Korean stall!

Outside of the Mercado, we hopped on the green line to Fontana. We could have taken it further, but then you would have to walk longer to Parc Güell where we had 1:30 pm entry reservations. I researched that by stopping at Gaudi's Casa Vicens, we could transfer to the #24 bus that drops you off at the top of Parc Güell. As such, here's a picture of Casa Vicens, the first house Gaudi designed and started in 1883. It appears to be undergoing some work as there are plans to open the house to the public:

We hopped on the #24 bus that meandered throughout the city and up the hill. We had to wait a bit for our entry, which was okay as I wanted to not rush my dad in the sun. We finally entered and here are a few pictures below:

Upon leaving the park, the bus was arriving and we took it to Passeig de Gracia and Diagonal, where we walked by Casa Milà and Casa Batlló - to show my family from my walk with Amanda the other day. Some photos below:

After observing several Korean tour groups, we hailed a cab back to our apartment hotel where we enjoyed the pool terrace, rested and washed up. We headed out for an early dinner before our flight, but as it was during siesta time, our options were a bit limited. We ate around the corner and had some pastas and pizza. 

Suntransfers picked us for the airport and we flew Vueling back to Orly Paris. However, this was not without adventure, as the queue for baggage drop was super long, and our flight was delayed 30 minutes. But the worst part is our luggage didn't make it on the flight. They said it should be here on Friday and dropped off at our hotel, but we are obviously a little anxious as we leave Saturday for home.

Not sure if it was the delays (flight and baggage claim queue), but we couldn't find our Suntransfers pickup and therefore took a taxi to our hotel, Mercure Notre Dame St. Germain de Près. The clerk took pity on us and gave us dental kits and water bottles. In all my years of travel, I've never had any luggage issues, so let's hope this is a blip and we get them quickly on Friday.