Plenty of “Depth” to climb at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
“Depth” from the World’s Tallest Building in Dubai. I took this from the At the Top observation deck at the Burj Khalifa. This building is over 828 metres (2,716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories tall!
We were able to take a very short trip over to the Palace of Versailles during our Paris trip. We took the train (RER C-line to the Rive Gauche station), which was only about a 30 minute journey. We also met a very nice family from California that also took the train over and we enjoyed chatting with them while we waited for tickets and to get into the Palace.
There are so many impressive things to see while touring one of the most famous world heritage sights. The architecture, artwork, and the gardens are truly an experience you will never forget. The gardens were absolutely stunning and I had no idea how massive the grounds would be. We were not able to see much of the Palace and gardens as we only had about two hours left to explore before we needed to head to the airport for our trip back to Finland. We spent about an hour inside the Palace and then an hour in the gardens. We were told when we purchased our tickets that you would need a good six hours at the property to see everything, so we decided to rent the golf cart that is offered when you first exit the Palace and enter the gardens. It cost us 30 euros for one hour. It was worth it since we were so pressed on time. We were able to do a nice drive around most of the property, but we were not able to really get off the cart to explore into some of the sections, but did manage to get off a couple of times to get a few shots.
Here are a few photos from the 2 hours that we spent at the Palace of Versailles:
Mia and I at the front of the Palace of Versailles.
Mia and I at the Hall of Mirrors inside the Palace.
The Stunning Great Hall Ballroom inside the Palace.
Versailles Great Hall Ballroom.
Hallway at the Palace of Versailles.
One of the many impressive painted ceilings at Versailles.
Mia and I enjoying the beautiful gardens.
The stunning Apollo Fountain.
Mia and her daddy having fun at the gardens.
Mia and I in front of the peaceful Grand Canal.
The Palace in front of us and our family in the mirror on the golf cart at the end of our garden tour.
Mia having fun on the golf cart while touring the gardens.
Love Locks in Paris:
We decided to visit a bridge in Paris (Pont des Arts) one evening before sunset which has thousands of love locks attached to it. These love locks are locked onto the railing of the bridge usually with the lovers names on them and then the keys are tossed into the Seine River so that no one can ever unlock their love. I know that some may say that these locks are not attractive on the bridges. However, I thought there was something so amazingly beautiful about them. It is truly breathtaking to see the thousands of love locks attached to the railing. Talk about really feeling the emotions of being in the City of Love! We decided to make a family love lock so that no one could ever unlock the love that our family shares. Here are a few photos from our experience on the Pont des Arts bridge:
So breathtaking… thousands of love locks on one part of the Pont des Arts bridge.
Our family love lock.
Mia and I in front of the love locks.
Our family love lock on the bridge. One of thousands… but very special to our hearts!
I will end this post with a sunset photo that I took from the plane as we were leaving Paris and on our way back to Finland. There is something about it that I just find so peaceful and it is a perfect shot to end our first trip to Paris.
The sunset from the plane as we were leaving Paris.
Mia and I in front of two classic London Icons (a black cab & a red double-decker bus). I love that one of the cab drivers has an Old Guys Rule shirts on!
This is part three of a three-part series of our London, England Adventure. This post will include some of the remaining photos that we took while touring London. I hope that you have enjoyed my posts from England!
Here are a few photos of London Icons:
Mia sitting on one of the green & white relaxing chairs at St. James’s Park. It was so nice to just stop and relax for about 20 minutes to take a break from exploring.
The London Bridge Sign.
A classic red telephone booth close to St. Paul’s Cathedral.
“Hahn/Cock” sculpture by Katharina Fritsch at Trafalgar Square.
Mia and I in front of classic red telephone booths. Mia asked, “What’s a telephone booth?!” Boy, did that make us feel old! This was the first time she has ever seen one. 🙂
The Ghost Bus Tours
London Tip #7: Check closing times for all attractions as many close earlier than you might expect. After living in Central Florida for the past 25 years, we have been used to places staying open pretty late for tourists especially in the summer. However, it seems that places in Europe close much earlier. Therefore, you must plan accordingly to make sure that you fit as much in as possible especially if you only have a few days in London.
London has to have some of the most beautifully designed architecture in the world. Many of the buildings have such detail that you cannot help wanting to stop and just look around and enjoy all of it. St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower Bridge really stood out to me and were truly breathtaking. Here are a few more photos from our adventure:
St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The amazing detail of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Columns at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The beautiful Tower Bridge taken from the London Bridge.
Tower Bridge taken from the top of a double-decker bus.
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge.
Mia and Danny at Trafalgar Square.
Mia and I at Trafalgar Square.
Nelson’s Column at Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square.
One of the many lion statues in London.
Clock on Fleet Street.
Statue of Queen Elizabeth on Fleet Street.
Sunday Post building on Fleet Street.
The Royal Courts of Justice.
Banners along Regent St. to celebrate 60 years since the coronation of The Queen.
Saying goodbye to London! We hope to visit again one day!
Our next planned adventure in Europe will be our first trip to Paris! It is already time for me to start researching where and what we should explore there. Please let me know if anyone has any tips or suggestions on must sees there!
Red Pin Adventures 