continuing on....
k, here's the continuation of the last entry...
.........wait, what did I write last time?!
oh yeah. So we left Rome and headed for Paris. The plane we rode on, Air France, was the most GHETTOEST plane ever!! the entire interior (seats, walls, seat belts, curtain, etc) were GREEN. I felt like I was in the Alps.... well, technically, we were cuz we flew over the snowy Alps. very nice :) The plane had no blankets or pillows, and the seat wasnt screwed? down to the floor of the plane much so it shook rapidly every time there was a turbulence. When my older sister tried to lift the arm rest, the entire thing came off. LOL. but 2 hours later, we finally landed in France. The weather was beautiful, once again, and we rode on some Vietnamese guy's taxi. It felt good seeing an Asian person.
Paris looked like Tokyo. The bill boards, the traffic, the trees, etc... We were staying at this hotel called Richmond Opera Hotel- located a few blocks away from the Opera Theater. All this felt so overwhelming because I bought the book The Da Vinci Code at the Guam airport (cuz Rose called me about it a few months ago and said that I should definitely read it!! Thanks Rose :D), and Ive been reading it non stop since we left. I saw the actual buildings and it really seemed like Ive been there before. Our hotel was cute and cozy... but the people who worked there- ALL FEMALES- were such a pain in the butt. They messed up our room arrangements so one room was on the 5th floor and the other was on the 3rd. We decided that me and Mari would just go to the 3rd floor to go to sleep, and left our bags in my mom and bibo's room. Traveling with just the girls in the family was so fun. Jokes were flying left and right.... like whenever we saw a naked male statue in Rome, my mom would start saying something about it, and we would laugh our heads off. lol. Enough said.
The city was sooooo ROMANTIC!! the language also sounds lovely. I'd love to learn it one of these days. People dressed up so fasionable, and the best part of it all was that it turned dark (for night) at 10:30 PM!!! Its like 9 pm and still bright. haha crazy. We decided to go shopping immidiately cuz the stores were closed the next day (Sunday). We went to this department store called... something like Gallery La Fayette? it was bustling with people people ppeoplepoepoelpeoepoepleeee... The shoe corner was like... the goddess of all shoe store!! They had everything there, and I was getting so dizzy cuz I didnt know what to do. I was pissed off tho cuz of the 4 shoes I wanted to try on, NONE OF THEM had my size. bleh. :P Dont you hate it when that happens?!
Sight seeing was fun. We first took the metro (train) to the Seine River, and rode on one of those boats that showed around the city. A group of Chinese tourists were demanding at the captain why there werent any Chinese translation guides.... They probably thought that they were Japanese cuz we never told anyone that we were Japanese, yet the boat had a Japanese translation guide. We were the only ones who understood it... lol. The Seine River was green and muggy, but it beats in cleanliness compared to the Ala Wai Canal back home. We passed by buldings like the Notre Dame (no there were no hunchbacks), the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre Museum. Everything was so pretty. The hundreds of romantic couples walking along the Seine made me realize that this was why they called it the City of LOVE. Shopping in Paris was fun. The Euro currencies were hard to figure out at first cuz they have 1 Euro and 2 Euro COINS (like $1) so because coins never seemed like much of a big deal in DOLLARS, in Europe, it did.
Next day, we went on a bus tour cuz we couldnt shop anywhere (Sunday). On our way, Bibo, who was wearing a nice denim long skirt, accidentally walked over one of those subway air vents? and her skirt went FLYING UP, pulling a Marilyn Monroe act. This one French guy walking behind us was like, "Oh~ very nice, tres bien~" LOL. Anything was an experience. We couldnt go thru some streets cuz they were blocked off due to President Bush's arrival. There were French police and military everywhere. Bibo, who's only work is to bring happiness to people... (j/k) kept waving and smiling at the scary looking police/military men. All of them broke their serious face and showed a smile... where some even waved BACK at her. LOL it was so funny. My dorky sister... capturing the French men with her charms. *sigh*
During our tour, I started thinking about going to school there. I know that my school has an over sea program... one of those study abroad thingies. I really want to live in Paris for a while. DO something spontaneous for a change. :9 Its such a cute city. I know that people often get the idea that French people are mean and stinky... lol, but most of them were actually nice and considerate. I guess if we can some how break the language and culture differences, theres a better way of understanding each other more.
After the tour, we went to the Louvre Museum. SInce it was the first Sunday of the month, admission was FREE! We took a shortcut and went right into the tower that had the Mona Lisa. the book I was reading explained where the painting was so it was easy to find. The actual painting looked just like the posters they sold at he gift shop. So many people were in line to see the painting, but since my mom walked backwards from the exit of the line, we got to the see the painting pretty fast... lol... The security was really strict about taking pictures of some of the paintings cuz they said that the camera's flash would destroy the paintings. So Bibo took a picture of the sign that said 'no photography'. :P We saw other paintings too, all very amazing. I couldnt believe all the pictures were really painted by actual PEOPLE. some even looked like pictures. This one picture with Napoleon crowing his wife (?) was bigger than my house in Hawaii!! Yet, everyone was drawn in so much details. Even the hair on their arms. We then decided to just look at the Winged Victory statue and leave, cuz the entire museum was too big to go thru in just one day. Plus my mom and Mari were getting grossed out with all the pictures of Christ's crucifiction. Bibo and I grew up learning about these things, so it was fine, but I guess not for them... On our way back to the hotel, we visited the Opera Theater. I would love to perform there one of these days... Which is IMPOSSIBLE, but just a dream. for now ;) Shagall's painting in the inside of the theater was very colorful and nice. I dont understand how people could paint so beautifully upside down.
That night, we went on a night bus tour too. Since it gets dark late, the tour started at 10 pm. The night scene was even more romantic. Lights were everywhere. The Eiffel tower does this sparkling Christmas light thingy every hour at night, and that was the most beautifulest thing Ive ever seen. the entire tower was sparkling with fast flashing lights! it gave me goose bumps.... and also a lil sadness cuz I knew that this was the last night in Paris, or Europe. The tour included a cocktail show at the Lido (kinda like a Sand Castle thing) but it started at 12 midnight. I was super tired, but when I saw the dancers come out, my eyes all of a sudden went @_@. The show was one of those topless shows! I mean, some wore clothes, but most werent. I guess in Europe, its not so bad revealing the woman's upper body part. I mean, look at all the statues... but n/e waise, At first, I didnt know where to look, I mean, we were sitting at the table RIGHT in front of the stage. But sooner or later, it just sort of looked like a part of their costume and it wasnt so bad. The male dancers were all gay. They have to be. lol. But some of them looked like celebrities like Matthew Leblanc, and Will Farrel. This one guy even loked like the guy who plays STUART on MadTV, so everytime he came out, I would whisper in Bibo's ear "LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!" and we would start cracking up. The show ended at 1:30am. The show was really nice. it included water falls, ice skating, a horse, an elephant, and etc... the elephant was mechanical tho. haha.
The next morning, despite the fact that we were leaving the hotel at 3 in the afternoon, we woke up super early and went last minute shopping. I liked this place called Zara and Mago. They had super cheap stuff. But nothing beats H&M. They had super DUPER cheap stuff. lol. and the material's quality wasnt bad at all. If I lived there, Id probably shop every day, but still have enough money to eat. Speaking of eating, the McDonalds there had STAR shaped hamburgers*. it was too cute to eat......... but I ate it. i was too hungry. On our last stop, we stopped by Diesel and bought more clothes. The Diesel there is so much cheaper than the ones in the States. It was like...... "OKAY everyone get rid of your Euros right now!"
We left the hotel at 3, and went to the airport. After shopping some more at he airport shops, I finally sat down and thought about the past 7 days. I never thought that I would fall so much in love with Europe. (except Russia). I dont think I could ever do this again for a long time, but Im glad that I was blesed with this opportunity to travel with my mom and sisters one last time before Bibo left to college.
I didnt mean for this entry to be THIS LONG either..... lol. Im at my aunts house waiting for my mom and Bibo to come back cuz theyre getting a hair cut near by. My older sister leaves to Hawaii in about 2 hours, and the rest of us are leaving back to Guam tomorrow early morning. I hope Rose calls me and tells me WHEN SHE IS ARRIVING *hint hint* lol. cuz THEN this will be the most kick butt summer of all... mwahahah!! I'll miss this trip, but then again, it's nice knowing that I get to go back to Guam and relax for a few more weeks. The city life is great, but nothing beats the island style living...... which reminds me... NO ONE IN EUROPE KNOWS WHERE GUAM IS! whats up with that? lol. and every time I say Im from Hawaii, they do the hula dance and go, "ooh lala, Hawaii~".... hahaha ooooh la laaaaaaa~
.........wait, what did I write last time?!
oh yeah. So we left Rome and headed for Paris. The plane we rode on, Air France, was the most GHETTOEST plane ever!! the entire interior (seats, walls, seat belts, curtain, etc) were GREEN. I felt like I was in the Alps.... well, technically, we were cuz we flew over the snowy Alps. very nice :) The plane had no blankets or pillows, and the seat wasnt screwed? down to the floor of the plane much so it shook rapidly every time there was a turbulence. When my older sister tried to lift the arm rest, the entire thing came off. LOL. but 2 hours later, we finally landed in France. The weather was beautiful, once again, and we rode on some Vietnamese guy's taxi. It felt good seeing an Asian person.
Paris looked like Tokyo. The bill boards, the traffic, the trees, etc... We were staying at this hotel called Richmond Opera Hotel- located a few blocks away from the Opera Theater. All this felt so overwhelming because I bought the book The Da Vinci Code at the Guam airport (cuz Rose called me about it a few months ago and said that I should definitely read it!! Thanks Rose :D), and Ive been reading it non stop since we left. I saw the actual buildings and it really seemed like Ive been there before. Our hotel was cute and cozy... but the people who worked there- ALL FEMALES- were such a pain in the butt. They messed up our room arrangements so one room was on the 5th floor and the other was on the 3rd. We decided that me and Mari would just go to the 3rd floor to go to sleep, and left our bags in my mom and bibo's room. Traveling with just the girls in the family was so fun. Jokes were flying left and right.... like whenever we saw a naked male statue in Rome, my mom would start saying something about it, and we would laugh our heads off. lol. Enough said.
The city was sooooo ROMANTIC!! the language also sounds lovely. I'd love to learn it one of these days. People dressed up so fasionable, and the best part of it all was that it turned dark (for night) at 10:30 PM!!! Its like 9 pm and still bright. haha crazy. We decided to go shopping immidiately cuz the stores were closed the next day (Sunday). We went to this department store called... something like Gallery La Fayette? it was bustling with people people ppeoplepoepoelpeoepoepleeee... The shoe corner was like... the goddess of all shoe store!! They had everything there, and I was getting so dizzy cuz I didnt know what to do. I was pissed off tho cuz of the 4 shoes I wanted to try on, NONE OF THEM had my size. bleh. :P Dont you hate it when that happens?!
Sight seeing was fun. We first took the metro (train) to the Seine River, and rode on one of those boats that showed around the city. A group of Chinese tourists were demanding at the captain why there werent any Chinese translation guides.... They probably thought that they were Japanese cuz we never told anyone that we were Japanese, yet the boat had a Japanese translation guide. We were the only ones who understood it... lol. The Seine River was green and muggy, but it beats in cleanliness compared to the Ala Wai Canal back home. We passed by buldings like the Notre Dame (no there were no hunchbacks), the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre Museum. Everything was so pretty. The hundreds of romantic couples walking along the Seine made me realize that this was why they called it the City of LOVE. Shopping in Paris was fun. The Euro currencies were hard to figure out at first cuz they have 1 Euro and 2 Euro COINS (like $1) so because coins never seemed like much of a big deal in DOLLARS, in Europe, it did.
Next day, we went on a bus tour cuz we couldnt shop anywhere (Sunday). On our way, Bibo, who was wearing a nice denim long skirt, accidentally walked over one of those subway air vents? and her skirt went FLYING UP, pulling a Marilyn Monroe act. This one French guy walking behind us was like, "Oh~ very nice, tres bien~" LOL. Anything was an experience. We couldnt go thru some streets cuz they were blocked off due to President Bush's arrival. There were French police and military everywhere. Bibo, who's only work is to bring happiness to people... (j/k) kept waving and smiling at the scary looking police/military men. All of them broke their serious face and showed a smile... where some even waved BACK at her. LOL it was so funny. My dorky sister... capturing the French men with her charms. *sigh*
During our tour, I started thinking about going to school there. I know that my school has an over sea program... one of those study abroad thingies. I really want to live in Paris for a while. DO something spontaneous for a change. :9 Its such a cute city. I know that people often get the idea that French people are mean and stinky... lol, but most of them were actually nice and considerate. I guess if we can some how break the language and culture differences, theres a better way of understanding each other more.
After the tour, we went to the Louvre Museum. SInce it was the first Sunday of the month, admission was FREE! We took a shortcut and went right into the tower that had the Mona Lisa. the book I was reading explained where the painting was so it was easy to find. The actual painting looked just like the posters they sold at he gift shop. So many people were in line to see the painting, but since my mom walked backwards from the exit of the line, we got to the see the painting pretty fast... lol... The security was really strict about taking pictures of some of the paintings cuz they said that the camera's flash would destroy the paintings. So Bibo took a picture of the sign that said 'no photography'. :P We saw other paintings too, all very amazing. I couldnt believe all the pictures were really painted by actual PEOPLE. some even looked like pictures. This one picture with Napoleon crowing his wife (?) was bigger than my house in Hawaii!! Yet, everyone was drawn in so much details. Even the hair on their arms. We then decided to just look at the Winged Victory statue and leave, cuz the entire museum was too big to go thru in just one day. Plus my mom and Mari were getting grossed out with all the pictures of Christ's crucifiction. Bibo and I grew up learning about these things, so it was fine, but I guess not for them... On our way back to the hotel, we visited the Opera Theater. I would love to perform there one of these days... Which is IMPOSSIBLE, but just a dream. for now ;) Shagall's painting in the inside of the theater was very colorful and nice. I dont understand how people could paint so beautifully upside down.
That night, we went on a night bus tour too. Since it gets dark late, the tour started at 10 pm. The night scene was even more romantic. Lights were everywhere. The Eiffel tower does this sparkling Christmas light thingy every hour at night, and that was the most beautifulest thing Ive ever seen. the entire tower was sparkling with fast flashing lights! it gave me goose bumps.... and also a lil sadness cuz I knew that this was the last night in Paris, or Europe. The tour included a cocktail show at the Lido (kinda like a Sand Castle thing) but it started at 12 midnight. I was super tired, but when I saw the dancers come out, my eyes all of a sudden went @_@. The show was one of those topless shows! I mean, some wore clothes, but most werent. I guess in Europe, its not so bad revealing the woman's upper body part. I mean, look at all the statues... but n/e waise, At first, I didnt know where to look, I mean, we were sitting at the table RIGHT in front of the stage. But sooner or later, it just sort of looked like a part of their costume and it wasnt so bad. The male dancers were all gay. They have to be. lol. But some of them looked like celebrities like Matthew Leblanc, and Will Farrel. This one guy even loked like the guy who plays STUART on MadTV, so everytime he came out, I would whisper in Bibo's ear "LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!" and we would start cracking up. The show ended at 1:30am. The show was really nice. it included water falls, ice skating, a horse, an elephant, and etc... the elephant was mechanical tho. haha.
The next morning, despite the fact that we were leaving the hotel at 3 in the afternoon, we woke up super early and went last minute shopping. I liked this place called Zara and Mago. They had super cheap stuff. But nothing beats H&M. They had super DUPER cheap stuff. lol. and the material's quality wasnt bad at all. If I lived there, Id probably shop every day, but still have enough money to eat. Speaking of eating, the McDonalds there had STAR shaped hamburgers*. it was too cute to eat......... but I ate it. i was too hungry. On our last stop, we stopped by Diesel and bought more clothes. The Diesel there is so much cheaper than the ones in the States. It was like...... "OKAY everyone get rid of your Euros right now!"
We left the hotel at 3, and went to the airport. After shopping some more at he airport shops, I finally sat down and thought about the past 7 days. I never thought that I would fall so much in love with Europe. (except Russia). I dont think I could ever do this again for a long time, but Im glad that I was blesed with this opportunity to travel with my mom and sisters one last time before Bibo left to college.
I didnt mean for this entry to be THIS LONG either..... lol. Im at my aunts house waiting for my mom and Bibo to come back cuz theyre getting a hair cut near by. My older sister leaves to Hawaii in about 2 hours, and the rest of us are leaving back to Guam tomorrow early morning. I hope Rose calls me and tells me WHEN SHE IS ARRIVING *hint hint* lol. cuz THEN this will be the most kick butt summer of all... mwahahah!! I'll miss this trip, but then again, it's nice knowing that I get to go back to Guam and relax for a few more weeks. The city life is great, but nothing beats the island style living...... which reminds me... NO ONE IN EUROPE KNOWS WHERE GUAM IS! whats up with that? lol. and every time I say Im from Hawaii, they do the hula dance and go, "ooh lala, Hawaii~".... hahaha ooooh la laaaaaaa~