So many things to blog about, parte dos: Paris

Flashback to two weeks ago (gawd, so much to blog...I'm so bad at keeping up with this!), when two of my friends and I took a weekend trip to Paris. It was essentially three days of tourist mania. We went to the Eiffel Tower, of course, one too many times...my friend reaaaally liked the Eiffel Tower...I mean it's really just a tower....but it's pretty cool to see. Maybe just once.  But, obligatory Eiffel Tower picture....ready go.

Our hostel was pretty nice, although it smelled like sweaty summer camp cabin mixed with old potatoes, and they recommended a cute French café nearby for our first meal in Paris. This meal was one of the best meals I have had since I've been in Europe. So typically french...good wine, amazing French bread (which they eat EVERYWHERE. And I thought the Spanish were bad), amazing salad, and the best part: baked French cheese in a ramequin with honey. With the bread and the wine, plus the people all around us, it felt so French. Except for the fact that they spoke English....but honestly, almost every one there speaks "a little bit" of English. 

By far, my absolute favorite part of Paris was the museums that we went to. Of course, the Louvre was outstanding. We spent almost the whole morning there, and we were even able to get it for free with our Spanish visas! We saw so much, I can't even really talk about all that we saw. My favorite parts were the grecian sculptures and a section of Egyptian artwork, which was really really fascinating. And of course, the pyramids at the entrance are phenomenal...not to mention that I was having a "Da Vinci Code" freak out for part of the time.

The Museé d'Orsday was also really fascinating. Unfortunately we didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked, although admittedly it is a lot smaller. This museum made me realize how much I love Impressionist artwork...especially the classic works form Van Gogh and his contemporaries. Completely amazing. We also got into this museum for free, thanks to our visas. Love it.

After the Louvre we went to Notre Dame, and we happened to goduring a mass, so we got to hear the oregon and the singing throughout the whole cathedral. The cathedral itself is awesome, and the music only made it seem so much more amazing. At night, all lit up, it was especially powerful and I loved it.

Afterwards, we took a boat tour on the Seinne, which is absolutely gorgeous. The boat tour was so touristy but fun, with all of its cheesy explanations and the guide who spoke something like 5 languages. The city is really gorgeous, although it is massive. (And it kind of reaks of sewage, tourists, and sweat. But the river is so beautiful!) 

The Parisian version of subway music...an entire freaking
orchestra. All that Barcelona's subway offers is men with
guitars singing American music.

That night, we had a picnic dinner at the hostel and then ran through the subway to get to the Eiffel Tower at midnight to see it light up. That was a lot of fun, especially running through the subway together...the Paris subway system is insanely huge, and goes super fast. Everyone on the subway wears black, and glares at people who aren't speaking French. The French, as great as their food, language, and culture are, are not exactly the nicest people in the world. 

The lessons that I came away with: tourists smell, Paris kind of smells too, the metro goes super fast but you still can't get one place to another without riding it for 30 minutes, french bread really is amazing, the museums are phenomenal, the French only wear black, with maybe some more black, and that they are cold people too...especially to people who don't speak French. But it was so much fun, and really a fascinating city. With only 3 days you only get to see really the touristy stuff, but it was fun to see and we had a great time. It felt like we were on vacation the whole time.

Of course, after an entire weekend of eating nothing but bread (it's the cheapest thing in Paris, and everything else is just really remarkably expensive), what else would I find when I come home? A literal stash of bread. Like Santa Clause leaves presents under the Christmas tree. Except it's a senile woman leaving a stash of bread under the microwave. 

And that is essentially my trip to Paris! Coming up: Sevilla and Cadíz....depending on how much time I have until class!