How far can you walk in one day in Paris?

Day 2 in Paris:

A garbage truck woke me up at 7:15. I tried to go back to sleep but with no avail, so at 7:30 I went ahead and got up to start my day. We had two meals a day paid for while staying at the MIJE, so I went downstairs for le petit dejeunir. I had yogurt, half a baguette, orange juice and coffee. There was a group of middle school italian children who were fun to watch while I ate. Our group had planned to meet at 9 to map out what we wanted to do, so since I had some time to kill after breakfast, I went to a cafe and got some more coffee. It gave me a chance to people watch and practice my french with the waiter.

I went back to meet people at 9 and they went ahead and ate breakfast. The Holocost Museum was really close to where we were staying so we tried to go to it. When we got there it was closed, but then it dawned on us that it was Saturday, so they all had the day off. Instead, we decided to head to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. It was way too far to walk from where we were, so we hopped on the Metro at Saint Paul (conviently around the corner from our hostel) and headed to Montmartre. Lara was our metro guide and got us there with no problem. I'm not exactly sure which time we were in the metro that day, but at one point we did get flashed by a homeless man (mom you were right!). Some man was holding his hand up and Morgan thought he was going for a high five. I'm pretty sure she made his day. The rest of us noticed that his junk was hanging out and tried to avoid him, but Erica D. did get groped a little. Other than a transvestite peeing later that day, nothing too tramatizing happend while in Paris.

In Montmartre, the metro let us off right near this really cool cemetary. I didn't take a picture or write the name down, but it was quite expansive and really cool. We only walked through one section, but there were tons of mosulems. One of the coolest things we saw was a face of a man and his eyes followed you as you walked by. The other one I really liked was a statue of a beautiful woman and the tomb was marble. I just have to say that would be a great way to be immortalized.

Once we left the cemetary, we just started walking in the general direction of Le Sacre Coeur. It just so happened that our route took us right by the Moulin Rouge! It's actually kind of amazing how many sex shops you can fit into one section of a city, but it seemed like every other store was one. The brave souls in our group went into one, and lets just say, there are some things that you just can't unsee.

Le Sacre Coeur is the highest point in Paris, so in order to get there, we had to walk a good mile straight uphill. By the time we got to the top, we were all dying (but our calf muscles looked great). On the way up, we passed a square with all sorts of artists. Some did charactictures, other has painting of Paris. I didn't get one when we were there, but I might have to get one of the city-scapes when I go back. When you finally do get to Sacre Coeur, it is entirely worth the walk. The cathedrial is stunning and the view is breath taking. The whole city just lays out before you. We took some pictures outside and then walked through, although you're not allowed to take pictures inside because people are praying. I did see some people do it, but a giant church is one place that I will absolutely follow the rules. Pretty much all of the windows were stained glass and had depictions of different saints. The writing on them was both in French and Latin. Above the altar was a painting of Christ, with lots of smaller depictions around him. You were able to light a candle and make a prayer if you wanted as well, and you could just sit and pray. There was a special mission and area for the intercession of prayers to Mother Teresa and a memorial taking about her life and her mission for God. If you are ever in Paris, Sacre Coeur is a must see.

When we left, we headed straight down from the top of the hill. People were sun bathing and picnicing in the grass along the way. At the very bottom of the hill was the steps and the carousel and Amelie sends Nico on the goose chase with the arrows. It was really cool to see the movies come to life. Morgan and Jess got stopped by these guys who made these twisted bracelets, but were basically husting them. They tell you its free of charge but then try to get money out of you afterwards. Jess ended up not having to pay because she spoke french with the guy the whole time, but Morgan got conned into a couple of euros even when she told him to take it off. C'est domage.

By this time, we were all starving and decided to find "the best sandwich" place. On the way there, we passed by Vincent Van Gogh's apartment. It was by complete accident, but as we were walking by, I happend to notice a man taking a picture of a random apartment. On closer look I saw the plaque for the house. It was a cool find! We also passed by the cafe that was used in Amelie! We were so hungry that we never made it to the place we were looking for, so we stopped at Pauls for baguette sandwiches. Mine was turkey, cheese, tomatos, dijon and lettuce. It was filling and got our energy back up.

After lunch, we got back on the metro and headed back into town. The Musee d'Orsay was our next stop to see the impressionist painters. The d'Orsay used to be a train station, but was converted into a museum and now houses some very impressive privtely donated collections of the impressionist painters and sculpters. There was a special exhibition on Degas et le nu. Degas and nudity pretty much. It was his paintings featuring the human form and sketches from his process of creating these masterpieces, as well as his bronze sculptures. On the 5th floor of the museum, there is a balcony with a view of Paris. We could see the Sacre Coeur from there and it was amazing how far we had come in one morning.

Some of the famous painters and pieces we saw were:
Edouard Manet, Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe
Vincent Van Gogh, Autoportrait
Edgar Degas, La Classe de danse
Auguste Renoir, Bal du moulin de la Galette
Maurice Denis, Hommage a Cezanne
Claude Monet, Coquelicots
Antonin Mercie, David
And among many other things, there was one of Van Gogh's starry nights. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

After the d'Orsay, we walked over to the Louvre. Because we couldn't even begin to put a dent in the museum itself, we just opted to take pictues outside and walk through the gardens. Even from the outside it's impressive. I didn't realize how big the Louvre was until I saw it. Jess said that last time she was in Paris, the told her if you looked at every piece of art in the museum for 30 seconds, it would take weeks to get through it all. That is a lot of art.

The gardens were really nice and we took a break at one of the fountains too cool off our aching feet. Some little boys were sailing boats in the water. Jess and Morgan stopped and got street crepes which were delicious. We walked through the gardens to the end of the Chaps Elysee where the oblisque is. It was hazy, but I love my camera and it's zooming abilities for capturing these pictues.

Soon we headed home where we picked up wine, sparking wine, baguettes, cheese and grapes. I was tired, so I laid down for a little nap 7-8. After my nap, Morgan and I popped our sparkling wine (off the balcony and Morgan almost hit a car) and Daniel opened his wine as well. Soon we headed over to la Tour Eiffel with our picnic and blanket. There were tons of people there, but we found a great place to sit with a perfect view. Most of the group soon met up with us. It was the perfect way to spend our last night in Paris. There is nothing more magical than sitting and watching the Eiffel Tower twinkle with friends and a bottle of sparkling wine. I could spend every night doing that for the rest of my life.

I have one more day to post about in Paris and then it is on to Tours!

A bientot!

Paris Stole My Heart

Bonjour!
I finally have internet so I can update you on my life. Of all the things I've heard and seen about Paris, nothing compared to actually being there. Lets just say I never want to go home (sorry mom). It was beautiful, magical, full of far too many things to do, and better than I ever imagined. We were actually sad to leave it and go to Tour (though we're not anymore).


So we arrived at Charles de Gualle about 7AM. I was able to sleep for a few hours on the flight over so that helped a little bit. At the airport it was pretty easy to navigate. It took us no time at all to get our passports stamped, baggage claim was quick (though the french man I sat next to on the plane was telling me it can be a nightmare), and customs was nonexistant. Apparently the French don't really care what you bring in. After that we headed to where the taxis were and we were able to get a ride immediately. Pretty much it was the easiest airport visit ever.

Nine of us were on the same flight from Charlotte to Pairs; Cathy, Maria, both Ericas, Daniel, Kelsey, Wendy, Jess, and Morgan. Laura was flying in at the same time, but we didn't see her at the airport. We later found out that her flight came in 30 minutes late. We had two cabs of people and it took about an hour and a half to get to the MIJE. 30 Euros each! Dr. Persels was waiting for us and after we dropped out baggage off, he gave us some general directions around the area. Paris is actually pretty hard to get lost in as long as you know where the Seine is (unless you're Erica D). We were all starving because airplane food is terrible, so we walked over to a cafe and got breakfast. I had a croissant and an espresso. Maria and Daniel got eggs.


So you know how people say that Parisians are rude? We haven't had any problems with them at all. I'm not sure if its because we all speak enough french that they don't think we're incompetent or what, but everyone was very nice to us. Un petit mysterie n'est pas? So in my book, the parisians are quite alright.


After we left the cafe, we decided to take one of the boat tours (Point-Neuf) on the Seine. Erica S. and Jess both took one last time they was in Paris and said it was a good way to see the sights and get an idea of where we were. It was less that a 10 minute walk from our hostel to Notre Dame, and the boat pickup was close to there. I don't know if I've ever seen a more beautiful building. It is truly awe inspiring. So we took our time walking to the boat and by the time we got there (12:05) they were closed until 1:30 for lunch. We sat in a little park for a little while and Erica D. and Maria listened in on a Spanish tour (our tri-lingual girls). We were right next to one of the lock bridges. Love locks are locks that couples can hook  onto one of several bridges in Paris. It is supposed to eternally lock away your love and you throw the key into the Seine. It was cool to look at all the different types of locks and the initials or dates that people had put on them. We were all jealous that none of us could do it. Someday perhaps.


We then decided to go see the Bastille, which turned out to be in the opposite direction that we were going, but we were able to walk around the Place de Justice, l'Hotel de Ville (town hall), and this cool park next to another large church. We stopped at a TOBAC, which is a convient store, for waters and somewhere between there and the Place de Justice, we lost Erica D.! On her first time out of the country she was lost with no phone and little knowldge of where she was. We tried to retrace our steps and find her, but no luck. Since we were all planning on going to the boat we ended up hoping she would meet us there. She didn't. We did end up finding her, but not until we were going to dinner. So it was scary at the time, but now we all laugh at it.


The boat ride was very nice. Some of the main sights we saw were the Louvre, Tuileries Gardens Musee d'Orsay, Place de la Concorde, Assemblee Nationale, la Tour Eiffel, Trocadero, Notre Dame, l'Hotel de Ville, and the Bastille. We also got info on most of the bridges that we passed under. I'm not going to put the pictures from this here, but I'll make another post going into detail about what they told us soon. The tour was given in French and English, so it was fun to try to understand what they were saying before they translated it.


By the time we got off of the boat, it was late enough that we could check into the MIJE. Daniel, Laura, and Morgan were all there when we got back also. I was in a room on the second with Morgan and Kelsey. The rest of the girls, other than Cathy, were in a room on the 4th floor. The boys were in a room next to us. The MIJE was a pretty nice hostel in the Marais. There was securite for the door and we had to be buzzed in, so it was pretty safe.


We went out to buy towels, shampoo and cell phones. After everyone had showered, us girls went and grabbed a beer at a cafe around the corner to kill time before dinner and so that our "stomachs [wouldn't] eat our spines" (Jess' way of saying she's hungry). We had dinner at a creperie in the latin quarter, about 15 minutes walk from the hostel. Erica was finally found and Zach's flight had come in from Croatia. So our big happy family was all together for dinner. I had a spinach, goat cheese crepe with some sort of sauce on it and a Leffe, my new favorite beer. Dr. Persels ordered a sweet and a bitter cider for the table to share. This is the drink that it traditionally served with crepes. It kind of tasted like alcoholic sparkling cider. C'est bon. For dessert, Jess and I split a chocolate and banana crepe.

After dinner Maria, Morgan, Laura and I walked around the Latin Quarter and finally found a cafe to have a drink. It was right on the corner of three intersecting streets and was a great place to relax and people watch. Our waiter was super friendly and we had a good time joking with him. We got back to the MIJE about 12 and we all were asleep pretty quick. It was one of the longest days of my life, but it was a great start to the trip.

So that was day 1. Paris was amazing and our days there were jam packed. I wouldn't trade it for the world.


If you want to know more about a certain part of my trip, feel free to ask!

  


A bientot!

What finally made it in my suitcase?

Well, I'm down to the final days before I leave. I've finally gotten around to packing. It was giving me anxiety everytime I thought about it because I don't know how to pack for a month under 50 lbs. But through several sites and other travel bloggers, I think I finally figured it out. With everything packed and ready to go I weighed out at 37 lbs! I'll take bets that I'm much closer to 50 on the return trip.


So what did I finally convince myself to pack?
9 shirts (6 short sleves, 2 3/4 sleve, and 1 long sleve)
2 pairs of jeans (1 kapri, 1 skinny)
1 white camisole
2 skirts
4 dresses
2 jackets (1 raincoat, 1 lenin)
1 cardigan
1 nightgown
2 jammies
1 swim suit
9 panites
4 bras (2 nude, strapless, black)
2 belts (black & brown)
1 scarf
1 pair of tights
4 pairs of shoes (2 Toms, 1 oxfords, 1 nude wedges)
1 straightner
1 hair dryer
1 bag full of toiletries
1 accessory box (jewelry mostly)
2 hats (beret, fedora)


I bought a little leather backpack rather than carrying around a purse, although I'm bringing a clutch for nights out.
In my bag:


Kindle
Travel journal
cellphone
Ipod
headphones
eye mask/ ear plugs
passport/random documents I may need


I also have a small carrying case for my MacBook since I don't trust leaving it in my suitcase incase the worst was to happen to it.