But anyway, back to Paris…where did I leave off? Okay, right so Monday we went to the Louvre, and then the Eiffel tower. The entire area by the Eiffel tower was so pretty. In front, there was a little crepe stand, a little ice cream stand, and a carousel. On the other side of the tower, in front of an official looking building (capitol building maybe?),was a huge park area, and people were sitting on the grass having picnics. It all just seemed like something straight out of a story book. And for there being lots of people, it didn’t seem loud and overbearing like other touristy spots. Rather it seemed very tranquil – people strolling with their ice creams, French families sharing lunch in the park…just the way I imagined Paris to be.
Underneath the tower is where tickets are bought. You can choose to climb the whole way, take the elevator, or climb half the way and take the elevator from the second platform. We decided to take the stairs half way up and take the elevator to the very top. We were all pumped to mail our postcards from the first platform of the tower, and to get drinks at the restaurant there while overlooking the city, but were disappointed to find that both the restaurant and the post office were under construction. So we just decided to have lunch at the café. Some pigeons flew in to join us, and we became good friends by the end of the meal. Then we took some pictures of the view, and continued our climb to the second platform.
On the second platform, we checked out the gift shops, and then took the elevator all the way to the top. The view from the top was even more beautiful, especially the view of the park area right below the tower.
After the Eiffel tower, our legs were killing us, so we took the boat to Notre dame. It was closed though when we got there so we just kind of explored the area around it before heading back to the hotel to shower and such, before going out again.
Before going to Paris, if I may deviate from the time line of events for a moment, I think we were all a little worried about not speaking French – and about how French people saw Americans. But everybody was very friendly – and literally everybody we had contact with spoke English. Even our taxi driver that picked us up from the airport spoke English fluently. He was a very amiable guy too – he talked to us the whole way there, gave us the highlights of what is nearby our hotel, and inquired as to whether, because I am from Chicago, I had a gun on me. He told us about his life – his mom was French and his dad was Chinese – talked a lot about Obama and how popular he is in Paris, and informed us that Obama was in currently in France as we spoke. I always feel a little guilty when people in Europe seem to know more about my government than I do, but I attributed our unawareness of our president’s location to the fact that we had just spent 14 hours on a train and didn’t really have access to the media. I think that’s a pretty good excuse.
Anyway, so Monday night, after we showered, we walked back up towards the Eiffel tower, and had dinner outside this Italian restaurant on some side street. It was really nice, and we could see the Eiffel tower – all lit up - from our table. The waiter wasn’t as friendly as the night before though . (On Sunday night, we went to this elegant little restaurant across from our hotel just to check out the menu, and we said we’d be back later, and when we came back, they guy seriously kissed all of us, welcoming us back. We think he had a thing for Tracy because he kissed her an extra time…). But we can’t get expect to welcomed with kisses everywhere. But the food was good, the wine was great, and the view was spectacular. The tower stayed lit up the whole time, but at one point it did kind of a light show, with the lights moving and blinking…Very cool.
After dinner we walked over to it and took some more pictures. We brought our postcards with because we figured, if we couldn’t mail our postcards from the actual Eiffel tower, at least we could send them from the mail box underneath it. As we were taking pictures though, it started to get very windy, like it was going to rain. We decided to start heading back to the hotel, and then realized we didn’t mail the post cards. We ran back to the tower, and as we were running, it started to downpour. We got to the mail slot, shoved our postcards into the USA slot, and then ran to the boulevard to try to get a taxi. Everybody that had been up by the tower was fleeing as well - the handful of tourists who decided came to get photos of the tower at night, the French couples who had been cuddling in the park, the street market people who sold Eiffel tower key chains and such….we all rushed to the little taxi stand on the boulevard. When Tracy and Meagan of I got in our taxi, we were soaked and covered in sand that the wind had picked up and blown. I f I had been anywhere else I would have probably been frustrated. But I was in Paris, and the entire experience of running through the rain from the Eiffel tower seemed rather cool.
The next day we went back to Notre dame. We waited in line for EVER I feel like, and it was super chilly. But, we made some Spanish friends in the line which was kinda cool and im pretty sure I’m in a group picture on one of the girls’ Facebook. So if you see it, let me know so I can check out how I look. Once our group was let in, we realized that this was only the line for the tower not the inside of Notre dame. My legs were begging me for mercy as we climbed to the top…they were still in pain from climbing the Eiffel tower and all the walking we had done the day before. But I did it, and I got some sweet pictures of the gargoyles. They didn’t talk and move around like in the Hunchback of Notre dame, but they were still pretty cool. I am just constantly amazed when I think about how old some things are here. I mean, work on Notre Dame started in like the 1100’s. And here I stand at the top with my digital camera and cell phone centuries later. Its just incredible to me.
Some Gargoyles at Notre Dame....
Anyway, we decided we didn’t want to wait in another line to see the inside of the cathedral that day, so we said we’d come back tomorrow and headed off the perfume museum. We figured, we’d already seen the Louvre, and the line to the Museum de orsay was even longer than the one to Notre Dame, we might as well check it out. It was very small, and not all that special, but at least on the way there we got to see the main shopping district. After the museum, we decided to be super cliché and eat at a restaurant called the American dream. It was, I have to say, pretty American. The inside was kind of like a Fridays – only they had anything and everything you could possibly want. I was super excited that they had salads – REAL SALADS – not little plates of lettuce and a few tomatoes. (although, I have to say, the first night, at the restaurant that the waiter kissed us at, I had an amazing French duck salad…so I guess its just Spain that doesn’t understand how to make a satisfying salad…). Tracy and Meghan got burgers and Slushees. We watched American music videos on the tv while we waited – everything from Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” to the Village Peoples “YMCA” to Gwen Stefani’s “Just a Girl”.
Then we had to get tracy off so she didn’t miss her flight back (Meagan and I were leaving the next day). And when we got back to the hotel I was exhausted. I took a nap for a bit, and then Meagan and I decided to go get drinks at this crazy café we passed on the same boulevard as our hotel. It was called “Le Mic Mac” and it just had all these funky chairs that totally did not match. There were leopard ones, zebra ones, pink fuzzy ones, blue ones….and then of course, just to throw you off, normal arm chairs. It was very cute. We ordered our drinks and were talking and when our waiter came to check on us, he told us in English that we should learn French because knowing more then one language is a wonderful thing. We told him we knew Spanish and were studying in Spain and he COMPLETELY FREAKED OUT. He got super excited and started talking to us in Spanish setting down his tray and joining us at our table. He was very funny – he made fun of how difficult it is to understand people from Andalusia because they completely skip letters and syllables and told us stories about his travels through Spain. Then, when it was closing time, he invited us to stay and wait until his friends arrived, and we talked for a while longer (in Spanish!!!) and gave us free drinks at the bar. He even put on the juke box and we jammed along to, get this, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. He apparently loves the song. Though, I don’t think even this memory can replace my original prom memory of the song. Just us girls….the four of us…oh senior year, how I miss you…
Anyway, then his friends showed up and Meagan and I were somewhat resentful of the fact that they were both girls. (I mean, he was CUTE). But it was okay, he still gave us tons of attention. The only issue was, that we don’t speak French, and the girls did, and one spoke English fluently (but not Spanish) but the other was from spain and spoke only Spanish and French. Therefore we didn’t have a language that we all share, so there was a lot of translating going on. But it was fun nonetheless. He invited us to go play pool with them, but we were tired and figured if we wanted to go back to notre dame before our flight the next day, we better get some sleep. He told us to come back before our flight for a coffee and we said we’d try. And when we stopped in the next day, suitcases and all, he freaked out again and said “mis novias!!!” (my girlfriends) which was really funny and flattering as bar was totally full of people. He offered us coffee, but we were in a hurry, so we just stopped in to say goodbye. He told us (in Spanish still) to add him on facebook, and then announced that the girl in front of him at the bar, (who I’m pretty sure only spoke French and maybe English) was his friend on Facebook too. She seem very confused being pointed at and talked about to two random American girls. I just thought he was very funny, and think he should quit bartending and go into acting.
Anyway, that’s pretty much the highlights of my trip to Paris. The flight back was a little weird - mostly the experience at the Orly airport. Our gate wasn’t announced until like 15 minutes before we were supposed to depart, and then when we went to our gate the plane wasn’t there. But apparently, you don’t board your plane from the gate; you take a bus out to the runway and then board it. I feel like that’s what they do in the movies – you know when someone is leaving for a long time….idk. Maybe im just babbling again.
Well I have a huge project for my international business class to finish so I should probably get on that. But expect a post soon about holy week here in Seville. It is quite a scene to see!
- Kirsten
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