We got up crazy early to catch a taxi to King's Cross for our train to France. The security was interesting as our tickets would not scan, of course. The train ride was great, but I fell asleep for the whole portion under the water. I couldn't tell you what it was like. I woke up to France's beautiful blue sky and little cottages in the countryside. We arrived in Paris and had fairly little trouble finding our hostel.
The view from our hostel window was Sacre Coeur! Very cool. We set our things down, dodged the bracelet con artists, and took in Paris in all of its smoggy glory within two hours of arriving! The church did not allow photography so Joe and I took in the church's beauty while listening to a man constantly scream at those who were entering. blarg.
Paris was all that and more of what London was lacking in its "Londoness"/ "Londosity?" Maybe if America had been colonized by France I would feel differently?
Anywhos, We walked around Monmartre Cemetery and the area of our hostel in the afternoon before grabbing groceries and taking a nap. Then, Robert Langdon called so we met him at the Louvre! The Louvre is simply amazing and jam packed with EVERYTHING. I forgot to look for clues to help Robert out (he was whiney in London anyways). Shucks.
After perusing Raphael, Venus, Sarcophagi, the Hammurabi Code, etc. we went outside for some night time sightseeing! The Louvre was beautiful, and the Champs and Eiffel were light up as well. It was a great first day that is for sure.
We had a day of gardens and parks like in London, but this time we brought baguettes, tarts, and other tasty things with us. We hit up Notre Dame which was beautiful and packed with Canadians and Saint Chappelle which is also known as "The Jewel Box." The windows of Saint Chappelle depict Biblical stories because the church was built to house artifacts of Christianity such as the crown of thorns which was purchased for a huge sum a while ago. The church only housed the items for a short while before they were moved to Notre Dame.
Saint Chappelle
Next we hit up the Pantheon and Foucault's pendulum and the famous people buried in the tomb below it. We tried to fool the entrance guard to get in free, but he caught on. He was a little confused when I handed him my Irish college id and my Minnesota license all with my very French last name on them. The pendulum was very cool and the tombs below were full of interesting people like Alexander Dumas, Emile Zola, Louis Braille, and Victor Hugo!
The Eiffel Tower was as impressive as I had expected even though the lines to go up were outrageous.
From the tower we headed to Napoleon's tomb in the Hotel des Invalides and the war museum there. Napoleon surrounded himself with his brother and best generals and adorned the walls around it with scenes with him at his "visual best" or something to that effect. In other words, Napoleon appeared as a muscular, tall man in every scene.
We took a nap in front of the Hotel Des Invalides and headed back to our ant ridden hostel. We went out onto the Champs that night and did some people watching. On our last day in Paris, we went to the Champs in daylight and climbed the stairs to the top of the Arch de Triomphe to take in the view and watch Lance win the final stage. The next day Joe and I parted ways and I flew to Sweden or shall I say Northern Minnesota!
I am sure my adventures are not over yet so there will be more blogs to come!
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