Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Woke up around 8:30 and had a good breakfast at the hostel. The hot chocolate is served in bowls in France and I couldn’t help but think how Kandi would hate people slurping it up using both hands J The milk wasn’t exactly cold but it was better than the day before. Had tons of fresh bread with butter, like pretty much every day. I swear I eat a whole baguette every day. Lucky though since it’s so cheap – less than $1. Headed out to the islands, crossed Pont Neuf, and our first stop was Notre Dame. Bought some cool artwork then walked around the outside. It was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside! Tons of stained glass, candles lit, flying buttresses, and an amazing altar area up front. Walked by St. Chappelle on our way to the Metro and took it to the Eiffel Tower instead of walking like we planned because it was sooo cold. It’s much bigger up close than we thought from the day before and that morning (looks tiny from far away) and it was plenty high once we started going up. First though we took some great pictures on the green grass of the Jardin du Champ de Mars in front of the Ecole Militaire. An English lady who wanted me to take her picture asked me in French then was surprised when I understood English – yes! Paid €3.50 to climb to the second level but definitely could’ve only paid for the first and gotten all the way to the top in the elevator. Oh, well we’re honest, right? Also, we wanted to warm up a bit so it was way better. There’s enclosed rooms on both lookout levels and we stopped in both for a while. Weird thing – there were pigeons everywhere in Europe, even inside those rooms on the Eiffel Tower … sick. There were signs around the outside pointing out landmarks. On our way down I got a bit nervous and my fear of heights came out there and on the second level when we were taking pictures. Came down and crossed a pedestrian bridge on the Seine where a lady asked us if we dropped a ring, but we said no. Will and Kate (our roommates) said the same thing happened to them but when she gives it to them she says it was real gold and asks for money. There were also young girls all around the city asking if you speak English (I always said no in French) then they hold up a sign asking for money. Anyway, walked along the river up then up to the Arc de Triomphe! Saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then decided not to go up to the top because it was too expensive and cold and we’d seen almost the same thing from the Eiffel Tower. Walked down the Champs-Elysées and stopped in a few stores. There was an interesting mix of super high fashion and trashy souvenir shops. They were taking the lights down though; I thought they were up all year round? Got lunch in a little place which was not the best, club sandwich and Thai carrot soup both had weird flavors. Walked some more toward the gardens and it started to snow huge flakes but didn’t last long. Came to the Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuileries where there were a couple of cute little ponds then finally to the Louvre. Saw the pyramids and the fountains, such a pretty building. Walked back to the hostel but went about a ½ hour out of our way. Went to a grocery store and got stuff for dinner then finally to the room to warm up. One thing I’ve noticed is that French people have been super nice which is opposite of everything I’ve heard. Actually much more polite than in Spain! Decided to go to the Louvre since it was cheaper at night and on our way there together Will and Kate showed us a good place for crepes so we stopped and I had nutella and Taylor had dark chocolate, yum! Very rich though. Waited in the ticket line and this French lady came up and asked if we wanted two free tickets. I kept thinking she was trying to rip us off or something but she was persistent and lucky she was because she was genuinely giving them to us – I think whoever she was meeting couldn’t come. When we finally made it in and saw they were valid we ran ahead to thank her. We were pretty museum-ed out by that time and exhausted from such a busy day so I probably didn’t love the Louvre as much as I should have but I was thoroughly disappointed by the Mona Lisa. There were so many people around it and it was tiny and covered in glass. Why is it even so cool? There are many other works even by the same artist that are way better. Saw the Code of Hammurabi which was pretty cool. The museum was so huge and really pretty and we felt bad for speeding through (and skipping!) a lot of it. I got mistaken for being French again! Came back to the hostel and ate our sandwiches, showered (yuck, and we had to buy a towel), packed, and went to bed early.
