Parisien Amazingness
Wow, this break has gotten off to an incredible start. Rundown -
Friday
-Chunnel to Paris with Jodi - fun times
-Got to our Hostel at around 8 pm (it was more like a hotel though - private room, private bath, and get this, maid service every day! also, it had pictures of newts on the wall. rock on.)
-Wandered around our area of paris looking for cheap food. settled on mcdonald's. *sigh*.
-In bed by midnight.
Saturday
-Up bright and early. it is GORGEOUS out. We walk from our hotel all the way to L'Arc de Triomphe with only a little bit of confusion.
-Dine very expensively on Champs Elysees and then go up to the top of L'Arc de Triompe. Breathtaking view of Paris.
-Walk all the way down Champs Elysees (with a break for crepes and people watching - something we did quite often) and ended up at the Tuilleries (a big park in front of the Louvre) Walked around the outside of the Louvre, but decide to save it for another day.
-Walk from there to the Seine. When taking pictures on a bridge, we meet a VERY hot guy from NYC and a few of his travel companions.
-Walked over the Seine and all the way (and it was a lonnng way) to the Tour Eiffel (which just appeared in all of its huge glory before us when we turned a corner)
-Layed on a patch of grass in an uncrowded area right beside the tower. Took a short nap and then discussed what would happen if the tower fell on us.
-We decide to save the climbing of the tower for another day, so we talk back over the Seine to the huge palace that faces the Tour Eiffel. On our way to find the subway, we come across a little street show right in front of this huge staircase outside the palace. HOT HOT men doing break dancing. We sat and watched for probably an hour, concurrently watching the sun set next to the tour eiffel.
-We then walked back out to the street, wandered around looking for a restaurant, and finally settled on a cute little bistro. tasty, and cheap (and had AMAZING chocolate mousse).
-Then we went to a little supermarket and bought a box of cookies, a bag of gummy bears, and i bought my much-awaited bottle of yop.
-Goods in hand, we got somewhat lost, but eventually found our way back to the hotel and binged. We then watched this cool talent show thing on TV (the only thing on that didn't require us to know french).
-Another super early night
Sunday
-We both wake up covered in mosquito bites. eww. Itchiness is the theme of the rest of our trip. it is a gorgeous day yet again.
-We begin our day with DELICIOUS pains-au-chocolat, and croissants.
-We hop on the metro (which by this time I have become somewhat familiar with and we go to the Notre Dame.
-Walk around, yada yada. Very pretty.
-Taking my camera out of my pocket to snap a beautiful shot of the seine behind the notre dame, i drop my camera and break the display. fucker.
-After brooding for a few mins, we move on and walk around the Latin Quarter (called this because it's where the huge university and all the students are)\
-We get lunch at a cute place where the waiter is constantly touching our faces and kissing us on the cheek. it was so very french.
-We then walk up a huge hill to the Pantheon. Very impressive building. Lots of famous people are buried there.
-We then walk down a huge hill to the Jardin Luxembourg. Pretty gardens, statues, fountains, etc. We sit on a park bench and people watch for a while. our loud americanness drives one lady to move away from us, hehe.
-We then continue walking on, and find another cute park where we sit and people watch some more for a while.
-Now it's eiffel tower time. we head back in that area, buy our daily crepes and wait till it gets dark out.
-Then we wait on line for about an hour or so, and then up we went.
-Wow. just wow. that's what it looks like at night atop the eiffel tower. Wow.
-Back to the hotel for more cookies and yet another early bedtime.
Monday
-A little cloudy and drizzly. Once again we start the day off with croissants, and head out the louvre. we wait online outside for a while, and i try to memorize lines for my as you like it scene. quite unsuccessfully, mind you. we then get inside and wait for another really long time. we hit up all the main sections of the louvre. cool stuff indeed.
-We then walk around the surrounding area, which is pretty much like fifth ave. lots of expensive shops and whatnot. she finds a gift for her mom, i found one for mine. By this time the weather is gorgeous again. we head back to the tuilleries and sit there for a while to catch our breath and bask in the sun.
-We then headed up to the Moulin Rouge for shits and giggles. It was pretty nifty. What we didn't expect to find though was an entire BOULEVARD of sex shops. the whole road was glitzy neon of the word sex. it was ridiculous.
- After a dinner in that area, it was dark but we decided to check out Le Sacre Couer (a famous church.) Again our expectations were far far surpassed when what we found was a huge and imposing looking church atop a huge hill with a ridiculously cool view of paris below. The church inside and out, was both beautiful and morbid. We went inside and there was a service going on. It was just such a cool experience. We were both blown away.
-Afterwards we walked around the area behind Le Sacre Couer called Montmarte. It was such an amazing area. Very bohemian. Tons of little shops and creperies (which we hit up, naturally).
-We trudged into the hotel around 930, absoutely exhausted
Today
-Dropped Jodi off at the subway, and moved all my stuff to the hotel I'll be staying in for the rest of the trip (yes, jon, i'm at the san sebastien).
-I plan to walk around and take some pictures after leaving this internet cafe, then hopefully hook up with my friend katharine later who is studying in paris.
-tomorrow - i pick dan up at the airport, and there begins my second vacation =)
This has just been a wonderful wonderful week so far. It really couldn't have been any better...
I do miss London though...
Friday
-Chunnel to Paris with Jodi - fun times
-Got to our Hostel at around 8 pm (it was more like a hotel though - private room, private bath, and get this, maid service every day! also, it had pictures of newts on the wall. rock on.)
-Wandered around our area of paris looking for cheap food. settled on mcdonald's. *sigh*.
-In bed by midnight.
Saturday
-Up bright and early. it is GORGEOUS out. We walk from our hotel all the way to L'Arc de Triomphe with only a little bit of confusion.
-Dine very expensively on Champs Elysees and then go up to the top of L'Arc de Triompe. Breathtaking view of Paris.
-Walk all the way down Champs Elysees (with a break for crepes and people watching - something we did quite often) and ended up at the Tuilleries (a big park in front of the Louvre) Walked around the outside of the Louvre, but decide to save it for another day.
-Walk from there to the Seine. When taking pictures on a bridge, we meet a VERY hot guy from NYC and a few of his travel companions.
-Walked over the Seine and all the way (and it was a lonnng way) to the Tour Eiffel (which just appeared in all of its huge glory before us when we turned a corner)
-Layed on a patch of grass in an uncrowded area right beside the tower. Took a short nap and then discussed what would happen if the tower fell on us.
-We decide to save the climbing of the tower for another day, so we talk back over the Seine to the huge palace that faces the Tour Eiffel. On our way to find the subway, we come across a little street show right in front of this huge staircase outside the palace. HOT HOT men doing break dancing. We sat and watched for probably an hour, concurrently watching the sun set next to the tour eiffel.
-We then walked back out to the street, wandered around looking for a restaurant, and finally settled on a cute little bistro. tasty, and cheap (and had AMAZING chocolate mousse).
-Then we went to a little supermarket and bought a box of cookies, a bag of gummy bears, and i bought my much-awaited bottle of yop.
-Goods in hand, we got somewhat lost, but eventually found our way back to the hotel and binged. We then watched this cool talent show thing on TV (the only thing on that didn't require us to know french).
-Another super early night
Sunday
-We both wake up covered in mosquito bites. eww. Itchiness is the theme of the rest of our trip. it is a gorgeous day yet again.
-We begin our day with DELICIOUS pains-au-chocolat, and croissants.
-We hop on the metro (which by this time I have become somewhat familiar with and we go to the Notre Dame.
-Walk around, yada yada. Very pretty.
-Taking my camera out of my pocket to snap a beautiful shot of the seine behind the notre dame, i drop my camera and break the display. fucker.
-After brooding for a few mins, we move on and walk around the Latin Quarter (called this because it's where the huge university and all the students are)\
-We get lunch at a cute place where the waiter is constantly touching our faces and kissing us on the cheek. it was so very french.
-We then walk up a huge hill to the Pantheon. Very impressive building. Lots of famous people are buried there.
-We then walk down a huge hill to the Jardin Luxembourg. Pretty gardens, statues, fountains, etc. We sit on a park bench and people watch for a while. our loud americanness drives one lady to move away from us, hehe.
-We then continue walking on, and find another cute park where we sit and people watch some more for a while.
-Now it's eiffel tower time. we head back in that area, buy our daily crepes and wait till it gets dark out.
-Then we wait on line for about an hour or so, and then up we went.
-Wow. just wow. that's what it looks like at night atop the eiffel tower. Wow.
-Back to the hotel for more cookies and yet another early bedtime.
Monday
-A little cloudy and drizzly. Once again we start the day off with croissants, and head out the louvre. we wait online outside for a while, and i try to memorize lines for my as you like it scene. quite unsuccessfully, mind you. we then get inside and wait for another really long time. we hit up all the main sections of the louvre. cool stuff indeed.
-We then walk around the surrounding area, which is pretty much like fifth ave. lots of expensive shops and whatnot. she finds a gift for her mom, i found one for mine. By this time the weather is gorgeous again. we head back to the tuilleries and sit there for a while to catch our breath and bask in the sun.
-We then headed up to the Moulin Rouge for shits and giggles. It was pretty nifty. What we didn't expect to find though was an entire BOULEVARD of sex shops. the whole road was glitzy neon of the word sex. it was ridiculous.
- After a dinner in that area, it was dark but we decided to check out Le Sacre Couer (a famous church.) Again our expectations were far far surpassed when what we found was a huge and imposing looking church atop a huge hill with a ridiculously cool view of paris below. The church inside and out, was both beautiful and morbid. We went inside and there was a service going on. It was just such a cool experience. We were both blown away.
-Afterwards we walked around the area behind Le Sacre Couer called Montmarte. It was such an amazing area. Very bohemian. Tons of little shops and creperies (which we hit up, naturally).
-We trudged into the hotel around 930, absoutely exhausted
Today
-Dropped Jodi off at the subway, and moved all my stuff to the hotel I'll be staying in for the rest of the trip (yes, jon, i'm at the san sebastien).
-I plan to walk around and take some pictures after leaving this internet cafe, then hopefully hook up with my friend katharine later who is studying in paris.
-tomorrow - i pick dan up at the airport, and there begins my second vacation =)
This has just been a wonderful wonderful week so far. It really couldn't have been any better...
I do miss London though...