Take a look at my Digital Story about Notre Dame Cathedral.

Au revoir France, Hola Spain!

Just got internet access for the first time in three whole days. I know you all are chomping at the bit for an update so here it is:

July 18

I made my way out to Charles De Gaulle to pick up Jess without a hitch. Stood in front of Jess’ gate and within five minutes she strolled out. It was so nice to see a familiar face! We hugged for about 20 minutes and then walked back toward the RER trains to Paris. We stopped in a little airport bar, ordered some champagne and toasted to our birthdays and our European adventure. Jess made me the coolest card.

We finally got the Metro and decided to run to the train. I made it on and Jess didn’t! I got off at the next stop and circled back to meet her. It wasn’t a very nice introduction to the Metro.

We got off at the Bastille stop to take advantage of the little walk back to the hotel to give Jess a look at the neighborhood. We stopped by a little market and picked up a 2 euro bottle of champagne to take back to our room. We staying in the same hotel that I had been staying in during classes but tonight we had booked a triple instead of a double. The room was easily twice the size and we had a balcony overlooking the Bastille. Jess and I stepped out on the balcony and popped open the champagne. Swank.

We decided to have French food for dinner and we went to a local bistro. Jess had her first croque monsieur and loved it. In traditional French style our meal lasted about 2 hours. We had so much catching up to do.

We hoped to head to the Eiffel Tower that night and see the lights but unfortunately it was raining by the time we left the restaurant. We were both exhausted and we headed to the hotel to get a good night sleep for the next day.

July 19th

Paris here we come

This was Jess’ only full day in Paris and we needed to make the most of it. We had a traditional French breakfast at the hotel and smuggled out 2 ham sandwiches for a picnic lunch.

Atop the Eiffel Tower

First things first, we hit the Eiffel Tower. It was only 10 am by the time we got there but the lines were already snaking around under the tower. We figured that if we got in line it could be at least an hour before we even got tickets for the lifts. We noticed that there was barely a line at one of the pillars. It was for the stairs. Tickets were half price and there was no wait. There were tons of stairs but it saved us hours of waiting. We only went to the second floor because from there you have to take a lift and the lines were crazy. I hadn’t been up the tower during the day and the views were incredible. We took a ton of pictures and then headed to the Louvre.

We bought a couple pastries and ate our lunch in the grass overlooking the Louvre complex. It was another beautiful day in Paris. I have really been lucky with the weather since I arrived. We finished our lunch and headed inside to see the collection. Yet again, 4 hours in the Louvre wasn’t enough. We got to see a lot but I’m sure there are so many things we missed.


We had to catch a train later that evening and Jess really wanted to hit the Carnavalet Museum and walk around the Marais neighborhood before we left. We headed back toward the Carnavalet Museum (which is very near the hotel) and took a look around. A painting in the museum’s collection is one of my favorite things I have come across during my stay. We also took a look at the French Revolution room and got see locks of Marie Antoinette’s hair and the furniture from the royal family’s jail cell. Very cool.

Unfortunately our time in Paris was up, so we grabbed our stuff from the hotel and headed for the train station. It was only one stop down the track on the Metro so I figured and hour would be plenty of time. I was horrified to see our train pass the stop we needed. For some reason the stop was closed for the weekend! We just had to get off at the next stop. Luckily I found someone who spoke English and we ran to the station. We were running a little late but had time to grab a sandwich. Then we realized that we had forgotten to validate Jess’ rail pass about 5 minutes before our train left. We ran through the station and we were able to get everything taken care of just about 1 minute before the train left. If we hadn’t made it we would have been stuck in Paris for another 3 hours. Close call!

Marseille by night

We made it to Marseille in just 3 hours. Our hostel was very close to the station and the other major sights in the city, completely adorable, super clean, and super cheap. Jackpot. I love the internet for helping me find this place. It was a dream come true. We dropped off our stuff and decided to have a look around. It was nearly 11 pm but the hostel had a little bar and courtyard. We split a bottle of wine and chatted.

Down the street from the hostel we found this tiny locals bar and went inside. The bartender didn’t speak any English but we managed to get our drinks and find a seat. He turned on the jukebox and rainbow disco ball just for us. It was so fun.

Headed back to the hostel and dragged my tired self up a ladder and into my bunk bed. Now that is not as easy as it used to be.

July 20

We woke up the next morning and decided to walk down to the port. Along the way we found a beautiful cathedral and managed to catch the end of Sunday mass. The hymns were so beautiful in French. Just outside the church were two sculptures of giraffes made out of books. Very cool.

Port of Marseille

Down a side street we found a farmer’s market complete with open air butcheries and fish mongers, produce, and baked goods. Apparently there is a very large Muslim community in the city of Marseille and their influence was very apparent at the market. This whole section of the city felt very much like Cairo complete with hookah bars and tea shops. Then we walked the rest of the way down to the port and harbor. This area felt very much like Greece. The Mediterranean is such an amazing color – almost like dark blue velvet. All around the harbor vendors had little tables set up selling jewelry, soap, lavender products (very famous export of Provence), shirts, baskets, everything you can think of. We found one vendor selling antique postcards of Marseille and bought a couple.


We noticed a little gas powered train that takes tourists around the city. We hopped on and for only 7 euro we got a great tour of the city and a free ride to the Basilica at the highest point in the Marseille. This area was much more mountainous and rocky than I expected. Along the way we got to see the island prison that inspired the Alexander Dumas book The Count of Monte Cristo and panoramic views of the sprawling city of Marseille.

The Basilica. See the boats?

Finally at the top of the hill was the stunning Basilica de Notre Dame de la Garde. Inside models of boats and planes hung from the ceiling on long strings and the walls were covered with paintings of maritime and aviation disasters. The church is dedicated to the struggle of pilgrims in their journeys and so is covered with images of boats and planes. I have never seen anything like it. The outside of the Basilica also bears scars from battles fought there during World War II. We sat for a while in the church and then hit he church cafeteria for a crepe and hot chocolate and bought a couple of things at the gift shop. The wind was strong at the top of the hill and so ended the day with both windburn and sunburn! Totally worth it though!

We went back to the hostel to share a 3 euro bottle of wine and write postcards (which we still haven’t had a chance to mail – dang post office). Later that night met an 8 year old who totally schooled me in French and then did the moonwalk.

July 21

Early morning train and again we’re running! Even though we give ourselves plenty of time to make it to the station there is always some miscommunication and confusion to clear up before we are safely aboard our train. While the train system here is extremely impressive and comfortable I’ve been surprised to find that most rail employees have no idea what they are looking at when I show them my rail pass. The rail passes are written in English and for the most part the conductors look at the passes shake their head and shrug their shoulders. They just let us sit on the train and for the most part they aren’t making us fill in the dates on our passes. We purchased 5 days of travel and so far we have used 4 of those days but have only had 2 days documented. We traveled all the way from Paris to Marseille on a TGV (high speed train) and we didn’t have to use a day of our passes. The tickets for that train run about 200 US dollars. We basically got to Marseille for free! Now we have an extra day of train travel to use when we are in Spain that we planned to pay for out of pocket.

Lunch in Arles. This fan has turned out to be the best 4 euro I ever spent.

Anyway, off to Arles then on to Nimes to spend the night. Arles turned out to be really cool. This was the place I wanted to see most in Provence and it didn’t disappoint. The city is riddled with history and we strolled around with our packs taking in the sights that ranged from Roman to Medieval to Renaissance.

The city’s claim to fame is that Van Gogh painted some of his best works and cut off his ear while living in Arles. The sun is hot here but it is very pleasant in the shade. We had lunch at a little café. I ordered something from the menu that said steak hache and frites. What came out was a baguette filled with salisbury steak and topped with French fries. Surprise, it was delicious.

Packin' it in

Around three we left Arles for Nimes. Jess and I had been lugging our packs around all day and we were exhausted by the time we got to the hotel we decided to take a shower and a nap. We took a look at the local amphitheater (the best preserved) and withdrew to the quiet cool of our hotel. The Hotel de Provence turned out to be an adorable ramshackle place with a tiny one person lift, floor to ceiling windows, and pink toilet paper. Jess and I had another two hour meal – I had real fettuccine carbonara complete with a raw egg cracked right on top. The yolk was bright orange and frankly it was a little scary. I mixed it in and miraculously it made a creamy sauce. It was very good.

Hotel de Provence. Doing laundry French style.

On our way to dinner. The hotel had these huge mirrors in every hallway.

We are on our way to Barcelona. I have been accidently speaking Spanish to every person in France and I’m looking forward to being able to read signs. I have become accustomed to the sound of French and picked up some vocab that has made things easier. It is hard to imagine that in under a week I will be headed home. I will miss this so much. But we have Spain to conquer before then.

p.s.- I know, I know I talk a lot about food. Let me know if it's annoying.

Mounting the Mont

The train to Mont St. Michel was absolutely beautiful (I know I keep saying everything is beautiful but that’s because it is!). I stared out the window as the amber and emerald French countryside slid past the window. The train was pleasantly devoid of passengers, a nice change from the crush of the Parisian metro. We got on the train at about 8 am. It was an early morning after staying up till 2 am saying goodbye to all my classmates.

We had a layover in Folligny for about an hour. We walked a little ways from the train station hoping to get something to eat. Unfortunately there was nothing to this town but a few houses so we headed back to the station. I wanted to use the bathroom but they only had one of those porcelain holes in the ground that I saw all over Egypt and Turkey. No thanks! I have no idea how to use those things. They seem like something that would take A LOT of practice. Here are a couple of pictures of Folligny.

Can someone explain this to me? It's a guy on a beach with a lighthouse in the backgrond. Is he kicking the sand? Is he dancing? Why isn't he wearing a shirt? Why would you paint this on the side of a truck? It was airbrushed by the way. Borderline amazing.

This is what there is to see in Folligny. Also, they have chickens. That's Beth on the right.

Finally our train to Pontorson arrived. I was shocked to see it had only one single car – about the size of an RV or bus. It was such a funny little train – really I didn’t know that they existed. From there it was only about 1 hour to Pontorson. We arrived to find a cute little resort town and we hopped a bus to the Mont. I had read repeatedly in guide books that Mont St. Michel is overrun with tourists but I guess that I didn’t really expect the hoards we encountered. The Mont has only narrow streets and alleyways for pedestrians. It was like Disney. You had to fall into a queue to get anywhere. Regardless of the crowds the trip was definitely worth it. The Mont springs from the sea surrounded by salt marshes as far as the eye can see. It’s built atop a rocky crag with the abbey at its summit. We had lunch and toured the abbey, cemetery, and shops then made our way back to the train station on a bus. We actually ran into two of our classmates on a tour of the abbey. Later we ran into another on the streets of Paris. It’s like I know everyone in France!

We had about a two hour layover in Dol-de-Bretagne which was the cutest little Brittany town. This region of France is near to the UK so they have a lot of British influence in their architecture. We sampled some local cider and had a sandwich. We also noticed the cathedral that the center of town and stopped info for a quick look around. I’ve spent some much time in cathedrals and churches in the past 3 weeks my grandmother must be thrilled! On a side note, I will never forget the time I was traveling with her in Greece. We were on the island of Santorini and we stopped in a little chapel to have a look around. My grandmother dipped her fingers into the holy water when we entered the church and crossed herself. Then she looked at me and started chasing me around with it trying to bless me with it. It was hilarious and something I will never forget.

Anyway, so then we took the TGV to Paris. Along the way a terrible storm broke out complete with hail and heavy winds. It reminded me so much of home. Luckily, I was safely tucked inside a train or under the streets of Paris in the Metro but apparently it was quite the storm. We saw a little flooding and wind damage to the trees as we made our way back to the hotel. Lightning lit up the sky every now and then. The thunder here sounds so funny echoing off all the buildings. It sounds hollow and it echoes on for a long time. It’s almost like when you put a shell to your ear and it sounds like the ocean. Very strange.

When we got to the hotel around 11 pm (long day!) we had a few problems checking in. We first room we were assigned didn’t have the beds made. The second was still destroyed by the prior guest. Finally the third room was clean and we collapsed into bed.

Today I slept in a little then headed out to run some errands in preparation for Jessica’s arrival. Hit the post office to ship some more things which turned out to be really easy. It was a hard process in London even without the language barrier. I was worried that Le Poste would be impossible. Turned out to be a breeze.

Should have known I was pressing my luck though. I went to the local lavarie to do laundry in preparation for the next leg of our trip. I accidentally shoved my laundry into a washing machine that had a black bathroom rug in it that belonged to some French guy. Of course I looked in the washing machine before I put my stuff in but it’s a front loader and I guess this rug was stuck to the roof of the machine so I didn’t see it. I should have shoved my arm in it and felt around before I put my clothes in. I’ll never make that mistake again. So anyway, I have no idea the rug is in there and this French guy comes in and starts trying to pull open the door of my washing machine and pushing all the buttons. I said, “Oh that’s my washer.” He spoke a little bit of English and pointed to this giant black rubber thing swirling around the washer along with everything I own including my unmentionables. This guy is pissed. Luckily there are two women from Montreal in the Laundromat who speak both English and French and they intervene and calm him down. At this point, there is still 30 minutes left on the wash cycle and we can’t get the washer to open. We were going to have to wait it out. I apologized profusely and the guy grimaced at me and left.

Fast forward 30 minutes. The wash cycle ends and the guy comes back. I pull out the rug and it’s the kind that you see in the doorways of buildings. We have them at the library. They are rubberized and are usually used commercially. This thing was mingling with my clothes for over 30 minutes creating some kind of disgusting bacterial marinade. I pulled out some of my clothes and they are covered with grit and hair. It is beyond gross. Obviously, I’m washing them again. Not the way I want to spend the day. They are just finishing their cycle now and I’m hoping that nothing is ruined. Everything I have with me is in there except for the clothes on my back.

Whew! After the second wash, everything came out just fine. Off to the Carnavalet Museum then to Charles De Gaulle to pick up Jessica!

Now that all my classmates have left and freed up the internet a little I finally got some pictures to post! Hooray!! Now i just have to go back and add pictures to all the Paris posts. I'm not sure when I'll have it finished but I'll be updating everything so make sure to take a look.

We'll Always Have Paris

The fireworks for Bastille Day were amazing!!! We headed down to the Louvre on the Metro and walked up to a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower. Within minutes the fireworks started. They shot off the top and sides of the tower and exploded in the sky above. It was incredible to turn one way and see the Eiffel Tower bathed in the light of fireworks, turn 30 degrees and see the Louvre, then turn another 30 degrees and see lights of a giant ferris wheel and a carnival. It was gorgeous and we had a great view.

After the fireworks we decided to check out the carnival. I ran around snapping shots of all the crazy French carnival games and rides. It made for great material. Heather and Dillan hopped on a couple of rides and we ate cotton candy and crepes to our hearts content. The midway was lined with dusty white gravel and all of us were covered in dust from head to toe by the time we left. My black sneakers and jeans looked white from all the dust and when I stomped my feet they looked like they were smoking.

By the time we finished with the carnival it was past 1 am. We headed to the Metro and were relieved to see the trains were still running. The train was crowded but we were exhausted and hopped on. We managed to make it smoothly for a while but when we stopped at a station along the way, the train stopped moving. We were stopped at the station for more than five minutes which is a very long time considering that most stops last less than 15 seconds. Of course there was some explanation for the stop broadcast over the PA but it was in French and none of us had any idea what they were saying. We weighed our options. Getting off the train proved to be a problem because we didn’t know the neighborhood at all. There were tons of other people on the train who were speaking French and they were staying on so we decided to as well.

Finally the train started to move and we were relieved. But about 30 seconds in to the tunnel to our horror the train stopped dead on the tracks. The lights flickered and we all stared at one another aghast. All these crazy thoughts raced through my head about us being stuck there for hours. Would they let us off the train and walk along the tracks back to the station? What if they do and we get electrocuted? I couldn’t breathe. About 1 minute in the wait of terror the strain started moving. But from then on we didn’t trust it. We decided to get off early and walked the rest of the way to avoid the possibility of getting stuck again. Disaster averted. I got home and collapsed into bed after a great night.

This morning we headed to Notre Dame Cathedral. It was beautiful and I got some great shots. We walked around the neighborhood for a while and stopped by Shakespeare and Company Book Store. They had an Anais Nin 1st edition in the window and I was tempted but the rare book store was closed.

Next up, week boarded a lovely 1 hour cruise down the Seine to take in the sights of beautiful Paris. Now this is the romantic Paris that I’ve heard so much about. We cruised from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower and back passing under graceful bridges and past houseboats, museums, and stunning architecture. We also saw the gilded flame-shaped monument dedicated to Princess Diana near the location of her death. It was great.

Unfortunately, this was our last night together. All of us are splitting up tomorrow, some headed for home and others, like me, for more traveling. We had a farewell dinner complete with live accordion music, French onion soup, and chocolate mousse. We were separated into two tables which made it hard to say our goodbyes but it was a good way to end our trip.

It’s been a great experience traveling with all my new found friends. I’m especially going to miss the 11A-ers and the clan from Flat 14. Thank you to everyone for making this such a fun and exciting experience - wouldn’t change a thing.

Dancing in the Streets

Last night turned out to be another exciting night in Paris. Merle, Megan, Heather, Dillan and I hit the town. July 14^th is French Independence Day the city of Paris has a lot of festivities planned for the occasion. Just a short walk from our hotel is the Bastille monument. This area is home to a lot of bars and cafes and is touted as one of the hippest, youngest parts of Paris. The Bastille monument itself is at the center of a traffic roundabout. All day yesterday this intersection was closed to host a free international music festival. Bands from all over the world (including Ireland and Brazil) poured music into the square from two stages with acts playing simultaneously. As you can imagine, this made for an interesting blend of music.

We made our way into the crowd of revelers. Everyone was dancing and singing along to the bands. We watched a Brazilian band for a while then moved to the other stage which was hosting a French Rap-Rock band. That was crazy! The crowd screamed along to the lyrics and danced like crazy so we joined right in. I couldn’t believe that we were hearing Rap-Rock in French!

The band finished playing around 11:30 signaling the end of the festival. We made our way through the crowd and found some vendors selling street food. I opted for some sort of grilled meat (still not sure what it was – maybe pork?), sausage, and onion sandwich on baguette. It was one of the best things I’ve tasted since arriving in France. Then we shared a crepe with nutella as we headed back to the hotel. Another great night.

This morning we made our way to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. I was really looking forward to this excursion and I wasn’t disappointed. The cemetery consists of large family tombs of all different shapes and sizes. We got a chance to see some of the famous gravesites like Oscar Wilde, Proust, Victor Noir, Raspail and countless other unknowns. We also found Jim Morrison’s famous grave and were confused to find that it didn’t look as we expected. The monument used to include a bust of Morrison and a different headstone. Apparently, the bust was stolen in the late 80’s and they haven’t been able to obtain a license to place a new monument on the grave as of yet.

Some of the monuments and statuary in the cemetery were really interesting. Oscar Wilde’s monument was covered in waxy lipstick kisses.

From there we headed to the Moulin Rouge and then to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. We took the funicular to the top of the hill. How beautiful. The view from the top was crowed but spectacular. Stopped to buy some souvenirs then hopped on the Metro to head home. I have gotten really used to the ease and reliability of public transportation. I’m definitely going to miss it when I get home.

Tonight we plan to see the Bastille Day fireworks then tomorrow we will visit Notre Dame.

Swanky

Gare du Nord Train Station

The bustling Paris Metro

Today we visited the picturesque French town of Epernay. This adorable, sundrenched city is nestled amongst vineyards in the Champagne Region. Somehow we managed to get 1st class tickets for the train ride over and let me tell you it was wonderful. We had plenty of room to stretch out, great big windows, and a private bathroom for our car. It was so comfortable that when I turned on the soothing sounds of a Rick Steves podcast about Notre Dame I fell right asleep. I awoke to see the rolling green hills of the Loire Valley. Not too shabby!

Dillan and Jen riding in style

We hit the streets of Epernay and quickly found an adorable Italian bistro for lunch. I had pizza and it blew my mind. This was no ordinary pizza – which by the way I have been craving for the past 4 days. It was slathered with goat cheese and gorgonzola. Amazing.

Epernay

So from there we headed the The Moet & Chandon Winery. They make champagne here people. My fave! We had a lovely tour of the cellars with an informative lesson on the art of making bubbly. We concluded the tour with a tasting (of course) and I had three, count ‘em, three glasses of free champagne. Oh and by the way, two of those glasses were pink champagne. You know how much I love that, Kristen.

The cellars at Moet & Chandon

Vineyards in the distance

The tour and the town were simple and beautiful. I think that Epernay looked and felt more like the France I was expecting to see. Paris, as nice as it is, can seem a little sinister at times and is more urban than I was expecting. A lot of my classmates have remarked that it seems a lot like New York – except of course for all the French people.

Heather and I checking out Epernay

Today was very relaxing and very indulgent. Looking forward to Pere Lachaise Cemetery tomorrow.

Close Encounters

Last night I decided to go out and have a drink, Paris-style. Dillan and I found a small bar very near the Bastille and grabbed a couple of seats out front to people watch. No one in the bar was speaking English but we managed to get our drinks. We made idle conversation for a while and wondered if anyone nearby spoke English.
Soon, the woman (let’s call her Sarah) at the table next to us asked us where we were from. She is a student at the Sorbonne and speaks 3 languages. She was with her boyfriend (Alex) and his two friends. Both her boyfriend and his friend were Russian nationals in the Foreign Legion and were wearing their uniforms and accompanying stiff white hats. The two men in the Foreign Legion were paratroopers. At one point one of them pulled out their cell phone and showed us a four minute video of his military training. How incredible is it that -- using a cell phone to overcome a language barrier?!

Sarah said that when she first met her boyfriend, he couldn’t speak a word of French, only Russian and German. They only spoke in German to one another for the first few months of their courtship. Since then his French has developed and his Russian accent was nearly indiscernible. The woman was the only one who could speak English so she served as translator for the rest of us.

We were mostly talking with Sarah and then Alex interrupted and asked Sarah to interpret for him. He told us that when he was a small child in Russia that he had two dreams. One was to come to America and see the Twin Towers before he died. The other was to see Michael Jackson perform in concert. Then he looked stonily at both of us and said something that translated to “now both those dreams are dead.” It was fascinating.

Next we met two German nationals, Tom and Martin. Martin has been living in Paris for the past twelve years with his wife and children. He and Tom were childhood friends. Tom was in town visiting Martin for the weekend. They both spoke impeccable English (actually they put most Americans to shame) and they were a lot of fun. I have a very German last name and when I told them what it was they were horrified that I didn’t speak German. They felt that I was turning against my heritage. Overall, they were very confused as to why most Americans don’t speak more than one language. Honestly, interacting with all these Europeans who speak at least three languages fluently made me feel inadequate.

Anyway, it turned out to be a really fun night. Hearing about these strangers’ lives and how they live was extremely interesting. Thanks to Dillan for letting me tag along!

Paris has fleas

I went to the most amazing flea market today called Porte de Clignancourt. It’s the largest in Paris and had just about everything you could ever think of from taxidermy to medical models and from clothes to jewelry. Heather, Merle and I were all over that place! I got the best souvenirs. Of course there were tons of things that I couldn't afford though. boo.

Had a lovely dinner at a French bistro. I read somewhere that no matter where you go if something on the menu says "provencal" or "bolognese" order that. You will never be disappointed. I ordered the provencal and I loved it.

Today was our one free day in Paris and I really feel like I did it right.

au revoir

Ja'dore Paris

The Eiffel Tower was beautiful last night. We got up to the 2nd level right around sunset. The lights of the city sparkled as far as the eye could see. As we were leaving we got caught right in the middle of a scuffle. The police were chasing a guy who was selling souvenirs and he used us as a human shield. Luckily the guy gave up the fight and the police ushered him away with no gun play. It was a tense moment to be sure.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was way past 11pm and we hadn’t had dinner yet. We tried to get something to eat at a nearby restaurant but our exhaustion combined with the language barrier made it to difficult to find anything easily. We headed back to the hotel and ended up having a twenty euro dinner for four out of the outrageously priced vending machine in the lobby. You can eat M&M’s for dinner, right?

This morning we got down to breakfast late and were thrilled to see that the dining room was still serving. It was great! I had my first French crepe and croissant. Yum.

We headed to the Louvre and within the first twenty minutes I was standing in front of the Mona Lisa. There was definitely a crush of people but seeing it was incredible. The crowd was so big I lost the rest of my classmates and after looking for them for a couple of minutes I decided to head off by myself. I spent 5 hours walking around the labyrinth that is the Louvre and I still didn’t see everything. I spent the majority of my time in the French painting collection. I could not get enough of the large scale painting or the portraits. I also managed to see Napoleon III’s apartments, the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, and countless other masterworks by every artist you have ever heard of.

Around 5, I met up with the group and 8 of us split off to find dinner. We came across a place called Vapors. They have a case full of entrees that are raw and when you order them they are steamed in little wooden baskets then brought to your table. I had ravioli with mushrooms. It was great and so different than anything I had ever had before. We topped that off with more crepes (of course) for dessert.

Paris is wonderful so far. Tomorrow we have a free day and I am hoping to go the flea market (!!!) and then on a self guided tour of Paris. Maybe after that we will hit the Carnavalet Museum. I already bought like 100 bucks worth of souvenirs. Somebody stop me.

I see London, I see France

Today is our last morning in London. I really feel like I’m not “done” with the UK. There are still tons of things I didn’t get a chance to do. Leaving is sad and exhilarating at the same time. Right now I’m sitting on the Eurostar to France. Can’t believe I’m here! In less than three hours I will be in Paris.

This morning we had to say our goodbyes to our flat and the labyrinth that is the study center. Gonna miss the hike up to the 4^th floor after all. I had one more cup of english breakfast tea with milk and sugar and then headed to the British Library.

I didn’t have time to see the general collection at all because I wanted to focus on the exhibits. The British library houses a rare book collection that is incredible. It was amazing to see original handwritten manuscripts by Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre manuscript!!), Sylvia Plath, Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Oscar Wilde. It just went on and on. They also had a Gutenburg Bible and the Codex Sinaiticus written in the 4^th century. I was blown away by the entire collection but when I was younger Austen, Bronte and Plath all had a significant impact on my life so they were my favorites. How incredible to see these treasures.

They also had a stamp exhibit that was interesting. I spent a while browsing the Polish stamps. Very cool. In the center of the library the King’s Collection is housed in a three story transparent glass tower.

We took the tube back to our corner of town and got off at Leicester Square to have one last walk through the West End. Then got our bags and headed to St. Pancras. We are well on our way now under the English Channel. Just imagine the millions of gallons of ocean above us right now.

Paris here I come!

Ok so I just arrived in Paris. No kidding, I have been here about 20 minutes and I have already had a somewhat crazy experience.

Well, we were all lugging our stuff from the train station on the metro. We finally reached our stop and headed to the exit. I was leading the pack and at the top of the stairs I noticed a guy lighting a cigarette. I thought to myself – I don't think you're allowed to smoke in here. Then I looked over and noticed a no smoking sign and thought – what a jerk. Can’t anyone follow simple directions anymore? Then I noticed it was the biggest cigarette I have ever seen and thought – wow that must be some kind of crazy French roll your own cigarette. Then I smelled it and realized it was pot! He was just standing there with 20 American tourists swarming around him with 5000 bags smoking the biggest doobie I have ever seen! As I was waiting for the rest of the group to make it up the stairs another French guy noticed the guy smoking. The rest of their interaction I gleaned from body language and context clues because it was all in French (of which I don’t speak a friggin word). Here’s how it went:

French guy: Hey is that marijuana?

Guy with giant doobie: (shrugging shoulders) yep

French guy: Can I have some?

Guy with giant doobie: yeah sure. (hands over the doob)

French guy: thanks man that’s really nice of you. Can my girl have some, too?

Guy with giant doobie: sure have as much as you want. Take another drag.

French guy and girlfriend: Thanks man.

OK so I was just standing on the stairs watching these three people smoke pot in public. IN FRENCH. Amazing! What a crazy introduction to this country. We just checked into our rooms which are European size (i.e. - tiny) yet comfortable and functional. Michele and I are rooming together again. Yeah!

Here’s the best news yet: we have a full size shower!! I will finally be able to bend over to pick up a dropped shampoo bottle without having to open the shower door. I’m excited. Also, they have an elevator in the bldg which is wonderful.

Off to see the Eiffel Tower in about an hour.