Friday morning came early. The bus ride was a bit rough since many of us had been out the night before. Customs went quickly and we boarded the train to Paris about 8:30am. The Eurostar apparently goes 188 mph. I didn't really notice since I managed to sleep almost the entire way into Paris. When we arrived we had a bus pick us up and take us around the city to help orient us as well as show us the main tourist attractions. We all got to the hotel (which wasn't fantastic but still a step above the hostels in Scotland). Not all of the rooms were ready so I went upstairs with some friends who did manage to snag a room and hung out for a while. When we came back down the rooms were assigned and being last FINALLY paid off. I managed to get a room for the weekend to myself! After a nap and showers we all went out and went to the Louvre for a few hours and got dinner and finished the night off early.
Saturday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed off to Notre Dame. We got to go inside and tour and walk around and see the gardens and the buttresses (spelling?) in the back. Once outside, we met Leon, a cute little poodle who was wearing a hat. While we were all playing with him his owner, a sight in himself, handed us a card and told us to look Leon up on youtube. I finally had the opportunity to do so today, and was entertained on what I found. Here's the link for everyone else to check out:
After Notre Dame we went to a dock on the Siene River, got some lunch, and took a boat tour seeing all the major landmarks throughout the city via river. Although for every landmark we had to listen to about 3 languages worth of explanation, it was informative and I'm glad that we went. On the way we got to see the location where Princess Diana was killed in the car wreck. Friday our tour guide had already shown us the Ritz Hotel where she had just left before she got killed. Our tour guide was awesome and made the weekend so much better than Scotland. We couldn't have asked for anyone better. We were dismissed after the boat ride where we made our way to Champs Elysee and did some shopping. We randomly went down a side street on our way to the Eiffel Tower and managed to see Cameron Diaz coming out of a Louis Vuitton store.
Our luck continued.. the entire time we were in line for the Eiffel Tower the top was closed due to overcrowding. People from our school that we had seen earlier could only go to the 2nd floor. As soon as we stepped up to buy our tickets, the top was opened and we were able to go up. The view is absolutely amazing.. a bit scary to be up that high on such an old structure.. thrilling none the less. The city from that high up is gorgeous... it was cool to see how most of it is symmetrical
Sunday morning we woke up, ate the surprisingly delicious continental breakfast and headed off through the metro onto an above ground train to take us to Versailles. Our train was a double decker which was pretty neat.
Versailles was gorgeous.. but we didn't get to enjoy it as much as we had hoped. The French have made quite a reputation from my first hand dealing with them as quite rude. We had people pushing and shoving us through every room we went into in the palace so we were happy to leave and head back into Paris. After we got back we attempted to go shopping but forgot that most stores close on Sunday. Our attempt to shop landed us in a prime location to watch the Tour de France. After about an hour wait we were able to see the first group of riders and get some pictures. It was such a once in a lifetime experience and we lucked up by having our Paris trip booked that weekend.
After the Tour de France we rushed back to the hotel to catch up with our group. Our tour guide had booked us an authentic french dinner at a local place.. 3 course meal with unlimited wine, beer, and alcohol for 30 euros so it was a bit expensive but it was nice to be with most of the group. I managed to step out of my box and try everything different. It was good.. different. but good.
I have managed to eat a lot of different foods this weekend that I otherwise would not have ate had I not been in a foreign country. For those of you who know me really well... this is a BIG deal:
- French Onion Soup
- Crepes
- Nutella
- Churros
- Poulet (chicken) sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, and goodness knows what else was on it.
- An Apple WITH the peeling
Although none of it I absolutely loved and would want to eat regularly.
After dinner we all went to the Eiffel Tower.. some of the girls did some bargaining shopping for some last minute souvenirs and we sat and ate crepes and watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour a few times before heading back to the hotel.
This morning we woke up and I was able to do some last minute shopping. Super excited about my purchases.. the Longchamp store was finally open so I was able to get two purses =) We headed back to the hotel, checked out, and the bus to us to the train station. After a long customs line and a ham and turkey sandwich we boarded the train. I was awake for some of the ride and was amazed when we passed another Eurostar train going the opposite direction. Passing a train when each of them is going 188mph is almost scary. We had to line hop through the Underground once we got back into London and finally made it back after another train to Seething Wells. After unpacking I've started packing up to leave.. Saturday morning I'll be hopping onto a plane back over the pond! I've got alot of mixed feelings about this. It's going to be good to be home with everyone, but I have met some of the most amazing people here that I am going to hate to leave. On the brightside, now that i've met people from all over the country I'll be able to travel the US more to see them =) It's going to be boring to be back in Raleigh but I've already decided on some must-haves for my first week back: a pedicure, facial, a haircut, a turkey sandwich, and a diet mountain dew!
Overall I have decided that I LOVE London compared to Paris. I am glad that I went and have gotten the experience and I've still probably go back but not for an extended amount of time. Maybe it was summer.. or who knows why.. but the metro smelled TERRIBLE, the people didn't smell all that great either, and a lot of the city was dirty. Although I have had a few rude experiences with people in London, the general population is much nicer and friendlier. There were several times in Paris where I felt uncomfortable with my surroundings and we had to deal with a creepy man following us around for a few hours one day and some young French boys harassing a group of us one night on our way home on the Metro. I was happy to be back in London today where the Underground may have been crowded but atleast they didn't smell!
Off to write papers now! 3 due this week so I'm trying to knock atleast 1 and a 1/2 tonight so I can spend the rest of the week enjoying London with friends.
Love April!
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