Paris!!

The Eiffel tower at night during the 5 minutes (every hr on the hr) it sparkles

Alrighty, so, I have to write a blog post about Paris. Well, we did soooo much in Paris, I just don't even think it would be fair to split it all up into five huge posts; too much reading. And, since I've already written about it all in my own personal journal, I'm kinda averse to writing it all again, the exact same way that I wrote about it before. So, I think I'm going to list off a bunch of the things that I did, and then tell you all a few short, sweet (and sour) stories about Paris instead!

me in front of the palace of Versailles

Things I Did in Paris:

walked up the first two levels, and then took a lift to the top of THE EIFFEL TOWER

went to NOTRE DAME

THE LOUVRE

took a solo picture with THE MONA LISA

took a BOAT TOUR on the river Sein

walked down the CHAMPS DE L'ESSAYS and went into a huge Sephora store (make-up paradise!)

paid 2 EUROS FOR A BATHROOM

ate the best patisseries ever at the BEST PATISSARIE IN THE WHOLE WORLD

went to MUSEE D'ORSAY

admired and ogled at the Dying Slave, a SCULPTURE BY MICHELANGELO

went to the POMPIDOU CENTRE

walked around a RODIN SCULPTURE GARDEN in the rain

saw THE THINKER a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, a modern day Michelangelo (look it up, you probably know this one, even if you think you don't)

saw NAPOLEON'S TOMB

went down the creepy underground tunnels of the famous CATACOMBES

climbed the ARC DU TRIOMPHE at night

went to the L'ORANGERIE an impressionist museum that houses some of MONET'S WATERLILIES

went to the MARMOTTAN, another museum, which has the LARGEST MONET COLLECTION IN THE WORLD

getting followed by a CREEPER GUY on the metro

walking through VERSAILLES a huge, grotesquely ornate palace where Marie Anttoinette did her “let them eat cake!” thing

looked out from SACRE COURE, a cathedral on a huge hill and saw all of Paris spread out beneath us

saw the famous SAINT-CHAPPELLE stained-glass windows, whose brilliant colors have never been able to be recreated

had a friend, Sarah, LOOSE A SHOE in mud, trying to cross a ditch and climb a wall (ILLEGALLY) at Versailles

ate lots of delicious CHOCOLATE MOUSSE and CREPES

BREAKING CURFEW FOR CRAPPY DESSERT

tried on MAGIC LIPSTICK that later got us HIT ON BY WAITER AT ITALIAN FOOD (yes, we ate Italian in Paris)

could find NO SHOES IN SIZE 42 which is a size 9 in the US

ate a lot of FRIES which are just called “fries” cus, well, we were in France

ate some ONION SOUP (WHICH IS ALSO FRENCH)

and BOUGHT CHEAPO SOUVINEERS

Me and Travis the Traveling Frog in front of a frog water fountain at Versailles

okay, so, that's pretty much all. Sweet. Got a whole week covered in a single list.

So, overall, I have to say that I LOVED seeing all the attractions (the Eiffle tower, Notre Dame, the museums, etc), but I did not really love the city of Paris itself. Paris is dirty, rough, and most French people really did not like Americans (or any english speakers). It was really hard not speaking the language- not that I talk to people in London all the time, but it is nice to know what the annoucner guy is saying over the intercom on the Metro or being able to read and understand all the signs around you.

Pic of me taking a pic in the hall of mirrors :D

I also felt afraid almost continuously all week long- either I was afraid of speaking the language, or of getting pick-pocketed, or of the people around me on the metro. One night we did have a crazy old french dude follow us in the metro; he followed us onto the train, all the way through the train (we walked upstairs and then downstairs in an effort to loose him but he stuck to us like a piece of gum), and then got off with us at our stop. The whole time he was cursing at us (doing some sort of witchcraft curse, with hand motions and everything) and it was just really unpleasant. When he followed us off the train I got really mad and scared and turned around and told him, “Stop following us— Stay on the train!” Really loud in a firm voice, and then turned and pretty much ran, but not before I heard him laugh at me and keep following us.

The only reason we got rid of the guy (yeah, nobody tried to stop him or help us either!) was

because he didn't have a ticket to get through the turnstiles and exit the metro station.

That was pretty creepy. That night we went home and just ate dinner at the hotel cus that was the only place we actually felt safe.

Going to Paris really put things into perspective for me. I didn't realize how awesome it is to be here in London, where I understand the language (most of the time :D) and where everything is soo clean, and so much brighter and well lit. I feel safe on the streets and I don't feel like everyone hates me because I'm American.

Before going to Paris, though, I didn't really realize how good we had it. I even compared Britain to the US, thinking that, man did we have it good in the United States. Now I'm even more grateful for the United States and our government and the way things are run there. There may be some good things here, like awesome public transportation and stuff, but along with that comes creeper guys that follow you around and nasty urine puddles on the ground and gross trash all over and little mice and rats scampering between the rails, and dingy hallways and tunnel-systems that you navigate like little moles underground, popping up, blinking in the sunlight from spending too much time underground.

So, there are pros and cons to living in different places, but, I think I've definitely decided that the United States is the place for me. It truly is the promised land.

Notre Dame!