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Keyboard solos can only mean 2 things... 1.) I'm home from PARIS <3 (you'll hear all about that in a second) and 2.) My stay in France is coming to a close! :( But before we get to the sad stuff...
PARIS!
That's right! I was so fortunate to be able to spend 4 amazing days in the most beautiful city in the world, with (of course) the most wonderful people! (I'm very sad that Philippe wasn't able to join us, but I'll bet he's having a super great time in Ghana!)
The first day of our awesome trip, we arrived in Paris and our cute little borrowed apartment. After we'd unpacked, we set right out again for "Les Bateaux-Mouches", or a tour of Paris from the water. Firstly, we had to take the metro and the subway, which was an adventure all on its own. Buying tickets only took us 15 minutes, but I'm pretty sure we got a good deal. ;) We picked our seats, and my face was glued to the window for the entire ride. I even got my first view of the Eiffel Tower, and you can bet I was super excited... Even though from my vantage point it was only 3 inches tall. As we exited the metro and came above ground, my head was practically on an axis, swivelling like a deranged, espresso-pumped owl.
Arriving at les Bateaux-Mouches, we boarded and proceeded to learn about 13-ish amazing Parisian monuments from the water. It was a great way to start our trip - briefly viewing each site before we visited them in detail. The last of them, of course, was the Eiffel Tower, and I almost hopped off the boat and swam over. (But then I saw the consistency of la Seine, so maybe not.)
After that was Les Invalides, basically a big musuem dedicated to the military history of France. Behind that was Napolean's tomb, but some grumpy security guards made sure no one got in without a pass. (We were not among them)
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| Umbrella, I love you... But really? Oh, and in front of Les Invalides** :) |
As we were heading home from the first day of sightseeing, it started to rain, and since it was Paris, we didn't think much of it. As we arrived in the metro station, however, the rain apparently became a problem, as electricity at the main station was out, therefore so were many of the trains. We stood waiting amongst hundreds of other stranded Parisians before they were finally up and running, and let me tell you, it was a mob trying to get on the train. ;) Fortunately we made it home safe and sound, ready for a good night's sleep, and Paris, Day 2!
The second day started off well... Visiting my personal favourite landmark, la Tour Eiffel <3 Despite standing in line for over an hour and getting stuffed into a claustrobic's nightmare elevator, the view made it all worth it!
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| Level 2 of the Eiffel Tower with ma favourite parter :) |
After that, the weather took a turn for the worst. It rained chats et chiens for the rest of the afternoon, resulting in soaked feet, wet pants, and a not very happy Lia. I think there's a new contender for Niagara Falls... It's downhill roads in Paris! While we were marching along miserably, we were shunned from walking down past parliamentary buildings. The reason? The Italian prime minister was visiting that day! We even got to see his car parade go past, and Marie was sure to note the car's make for Philippe. ;)
On Day 3, we really lucked out weather-wise. Instead of pouring rain that we were prepared for, it was beautifully sunny all day, to the point of being uncomfortably hot! I didn't take it for granted, though. We started off by walking through the Latin Quartier, which was really pretty. We continued on to the Pont-Neuf bridge, and snapped a couple great shots, like this one:
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After bridge-hopping we stopped for a tour of the Saint-Chapelle. While in line, I helped out another couple behind me, who spoke English and didn't know how to ask in French for a pen. I took mercy on them and helped them out in English, and they thought I was French! (I try, guys) All I can really say about the Saint-Chapelle... Wow. The glasswork was simply astounding. See for yourself:
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| 15 floor to ceiling windows depicting all of the Bible in only 5 colours... Amazing. (note, the windows are meant to be read in an S like pattern, starting from the bottom right of the window, to the left, up one, and over to the right, snaking up like so... How'd they figure that out?!) |
Sadly, we departed the chapel, and after a lot of walking, we finally reached Notre Dame, which is currently celebrating its 850th birthday! There was a giant grandstand set up for all the tourists, and a line that was a million miles long, so we didn't go in. There were an impressive number of gargoyles, of course, but a surprising lack of hunchbacks. What a letdown! Then was lunch, so we walked through the Juif Quartier to find some coveted falafels, which turned out to be really great! (My parents must be so shocked, I'm becoming so internationally well-rounded. My food even TOUCHED!!)
Afterwards came one of my favourite landmarks - the Louvre. We entered a giant courtyard, and even witnessed a fancy Oriental wedding. Then we passed under a grand arch and came face to face with the back of the Louvre pyramid! Because of time constrictions and the crazy big crowds, we didn't go in, but I was content just to have seen it!
By the last day our feet were aching, but we weren't through sightseeing yet. The first sight of the day was the Madeleine church, because Napolean needed another one. My pictures didn't turn out very well though, because it was super dark and apparently flash was considered a sin. After that, we walked through the Place de Vosges (basically a big road full of super expensive, brand-name jewelry and watches) to get the l'Opera Garnier! There I was treated to an hour-long tour of the opera house (in English, for my understanding convenience), and we were rather focused on the guide's mishmashed accent. The Opera house was so amazing, and I discovered that it hosts the Phantom of the Opera box seat! Neato! We were also witness to the very... eccentric ceiling painted by Marc Chagall!
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| Probably the worst place for my ADOS... Attention Deficit--OOH, SHINY! |
Apparently we couldn't get enough of Chagall, because soon after, we visited a Chagall art Expo. We discovered he was rather intent on including a bouquet and a chicken in every single painting, it was rather entertaining to find them all! Before that, however, we ate at a chic little restaurant, where Caroline captured the heart of our waiter. They continued to play-banter all throughout our meal, and it proved to be useful, because it earned us extra candies at the end!
At the end of our last day, we did some last minute shopping, and as usual, I turned up empty-handed. I did however purchase a whack load of post cards, so some of you are going to get lucky ;)
Holy smokes. Three months of my life, gone and spent, with some of the best people in the world. I'm so happy I was able to meet a new family, and I'm hoping we'll meet face to face again some day! (I'm already ordering my plane tickets) Thank you Juliette and your amazing family for welcoming me into your home, and putting up with me. (I don't know how my family does it.) Basically, merci pour toutes les expériences! I am eternally grateful and will never forget the best 3 months of my life!! <3
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| My wonderful second family! |
PS. I'm pretty sure this will be the last post, unless I have some airport raging to do on Wednesday. Thank you to all for reading my posts and sending your support, it means so much to me!
Au revoir, France <3
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| The Doctor understands. |
Lia xox
