Paris and Versailles

Found some amazingly cheap (70 Euro roundtrip!) train tickets to Paris, so Kimmie and Carolyn and another student named Karen all headed to France for the weekend. We booked this trip only about a week into the semester, so at the time we had no idea what we were in for. I'll start this story by saying that I really did have a great time in Paris with the girls and would not trade the experience for anything. I know I will laugh about some of the things that happened along the way for the rest of my life! Having said that, here's how I spent my weekend:

The trip started normally enough. I had made most of the travel arrangements and done most of the planning, so prior to the start of the trip I announced that as compensation for my hard work, I was entitled to the largest bed on the overnight train to Paris. This was my first time spending the night on a train so I really had no idea what to expect. I looked at a few pictures on the internet that showed the little cabins (called cuccettes) had bunkbeds. No biggie. The travel agent told us that we had been booked into a 4 person cabin so we would have it all to ourselves. Upon boarding the train, we found that they had stuck two other people into our small cabin, a man and a women both traveling alone. Thankfully, it worked out that they both were very nice, but I had read in the past that they usually don't mix sexes in the cabins if they are not all in the same traveling party. Apparently, I have been misinformed. Regardless, it ended up being fine because the man (from Spain) was very nice and seemed to be able to put up with us.

Because the cabin is so small, we hurried to put our things away and settle into our seats. Two beds (the largest) are at the top of the cabin. The seating converts into the other 4 beds. Karen jumped up into one of the top bunks right away. I didn't really think anything of it because it was only about 8pm and we would travel for a while before we hit the sheets. Let's just say that this girl Karen is not someone Kimmie, Caro or I would consider a friend. Actually, she is sort of an outcast in the group because she is really aggressive, difficult to talk to, and for a lack of a better word, weird. Of course we didn't know any of this when she decided to book the trip with us over a month ago.

The train pulls out from the station and we are all talking and looking out the windows. Karen produces a bottle of wine from her bag and starts chugging it and singing out loud to her Ipod. Then she takes off her shoes (mind you this is the bed that I am supposedly sleeping on later). Then from HER BRA, she produces a pocket knife which she flicks open and starts hacking away at a callous/blister on the sole of her foot letting the little skin bits fall to the floor. Kimmie, Carolyn and I stare at each other for a moment with huge eyes before simultaneously yelling at her to stop. She initially refuses but eventually concedes. She then returns to her wine-swilling and then lifts her leg and audibly passes gas. Needless to say, we were all horrified. This was about 30 minutes into the trip and already I am at my limit with this girl. There were more incidents throughout the train trip, most of which I will spare you, dear reader.

Ok, so then it's time for bed. Karen has taken up residence in my bed and fallen asleep. We are all so relieved that she has stopped embarrassing us/disturbing the entire cabin that I give up the dream of the good bed and opt for one of the lower berths. At the time, we weren't really clear whose bed was whose, so we let the other two people have the center berths and Caro and I took the bottom two. I figured they were all the same. Well, I has horribly wrong. The bottom berth is about 1/3 smaller than the other 2. The head rests from the seats that convert into the bed intrude on the sleeping space, making it much smaller. The bottom part that you lie on is tilted up so there is no flat surface to sleep on. I aborted my first attempt to get into the berth because I got totally closterfobic! I had to leave the cabin and walk around for a few minutes. Thankfully, one of the girls had tylenol PM. I popped a couple of those, squeezed myself in there laying flat on my back. I got my book out and attempted to read but it was so small that I couldn't the book far enough from my face to read! I found the only position that was remotely comfortable and stared out into the small open space between the berths trying not to think about how cramped and honestly scared I was being in there. I'm not kidding -- it was like being in a coffin. I caught a few snatches of sleep but it was a restless night.

In the morning, I waited for everyone else to wake up. The train was slated to arrive around 9 am but was running about 1 hour late. We all got up, dismantled the beds, passed around the salami, crackers and cheese we had brought for breakfast and stared out the window at the beautiful French countryside. Karen insisted on changing in the cabin (getting completely topless at one point) even though we told her repeatedly that it was completely inappropriate. We finally arrived at the station and headed to the hotel.

We hopped on the metro and arrived quickly and easily. I love the metro! Paris is such a huge contrast to Florence! It seems so… civilized is the only word that comes to mind. It is so metropolitan and the phones work. You can actually get a taxi on the street and they have public transportation! Everything is on a much larger scale and they have sidewalks! Vehicles follow traffic signals and there are crosswalks! Incredible! I hadn’t really been missing any of these luxuries until getting to Paris and realizing that I was living an impoverished existence without them. Don’t misunderstand me, Florence and Italian culture in general have my whole heart, but visiting Paris gave me a little taste of the modern world that I had conveniently forgotten. We checked into our hotel then headed to lunch. We found a great little bistro and we had quiche, croque monsieur, and french onion soup. Oh la la!

We spent the rest of the day walking around the city visiting the Tuileries Gardens then walking along the Seine Past the Musee D'Orsay toward Place de la Concorde. We took pictures of the obelisk then crossed the street. As soon as we crossed the street we were swarmed by a bunch of kids ranging in age from about 8 to 15. It was really chaotic and 2 of them kept shoving these folders with a petition or something that looked like one right in my face. Then an older boy did the same thing. I instinctively reached down for my purse and when I looked down I saw that he was trying to reach inside it. GYPSIES!!! I pushed the kid's hand away and said "arret!" He started making kissing noises at me to get my attention back up to his face but I just moved away from him. Then all of the sudden all the kids started running away. We all got our bearings and checked our purses, luckily nothing was gone. Karen, of course, was enraged and borderline hysterical. We came across the kids again a few minutes later and, I couldn't make this up if I tried, she got out her pocket knife and brandished it at the kids while shouting obscenities in English. Of course, I yelled at her because you can't just threaten people on the street with knives. Duh. This was apparently a new concept for her.

Anyway, we walked from there up the Champs Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe. After some pictures, we hopped on the metro bound for the Eiffel Tower. Then we headed to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We found a really cute bistro right near the hotel which was about a five minute walk from the Louvre and had a lovely meal. I had steak au poivre with the best potato gratin ever made. Karen had the roasted chicken which she proceeded to eat with her hands like an animal. She asked, rather she demanded, a taste of my food and when I cut a piece and handed it to her on my fork, she reached across the table and took it off my fork with her hands. Her hands! Again, Kimmie, Caro and I spent the rest of the evening horrified by her behavior. Of course we tried to correct her repeatedly or suggest that she not use her hands to eat but she always shrugged it off saying that she didn’t care what people think. Apparently, consideration for other people and common table manners are also new concepts.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and collapsed into bed. At about 4am I woke to the most delicious smell in the entire universe. I remembered seeing a bakery downstairs and figured that they were preparing the next day’s items. When we headed out the next morning (Saturday) we stopped by the bakery for breakfast and discovered that in fact that glorious smell was jambon et fromage croissants! So amazing!

From there, Caro, Kimmie and I boarded a regional train for Versailles. Thankfully Karen decided not to join us. We spent the entire day roaming the palace and gardens and the Grand and Petite Trianon as well as visiting Marie Antoinette’s hamlet. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and it was amazing to think that we were walking in the footsteps of royals as well as all the major historical events that occurred there. We were there for a full 7 hours and only left because the palace was closing for the day. It was a great experience.

We took the train home and met Karen for dinner. We walked toward Notre Dame and the lively Latin Quarter. We browsed the menus at some of the bistros and settled on one that offered a prix fixe for 13 Euro. When we sat down and looked over the menu, Karen asked if they had any side items. I explained that prix fixe menus include different courses to which she countered that she only had 8 euro to spend on dinner. 8 euro! You can’t get a coke in Paris for 8 euro. I had heard stories about her borrowing money from other people in the program and not paying them back so I told her that if she didn’t think she could afford to eat there then we could leave and find somewhere else to eat and that I couldn’t cover her meal. She said no that she had the money and that she wanted to eat. So we ordered. I had French onion soup and when Karen asked for a taste she complained that the bite I gave her didn’t have any cheese on it. When the bill came Caro, Kimmie and I all anted up but Karen just sat there putting on lipstick. When I asked her for her share of the bill (18 euro) she said, “I’ll just pay you later.” I almost exploded. Rather than making a scene in the restaurant, I paid her share. Needless to say, I was angry but I was exhausted and didn’t have the energy to fight with her. When we got home she decided to strip down to her thong and carve at the bottom of her feet in front of a window where she was clearly visible to other people staying at the hotel. All of us pleaded with her to get dressed and stop picking at her feet with a pocket knife but she refused. She left a pile of skin next to the bed. Eventually she put on pajamas but when we woke up in the morning she was buck naked again. I swear I am not making any of this up.

The next day (Sunday), we had breakfast – lovely potato, ham, and swiss omelet and the most expensive cup of Earl Grey known to man – and then Kimmie, Caro and I visited the Louvre for a little bit. Kimmie and I split off and visited Sainte Chapelle (the nave was being restored which kind of ruined it L) and Notre Dame. I also had a crepe with nutella at some point. We met back at the hotel at 4 then went to the train station to catch the train. We had dinner nearby – ham and cheese on baguette (Jessica’s favorite!). The train ride home was mostly uneventful. The lovely Italian couple who got stuck traveling in our cabin with us helped us with our Italian pronunciation. It was so fun! Later, Karen came on to one of the conductors, promising to meet him later for some kind of tryst then reneged. The conductor continued to bother us all night long in an attempt to get Karen to come out of the cabin. It was totally embarrassing. I slept pretty well and woke up back in Florence around 7am. Karen got topless in the cabin once again. Horrifying.

Kimmie and I walked past the Duomo on the way to my house. The piazza was almost empty and the sun was just coming up. What a nice way to end a crazy trip! As much as the lights and bustle of Paris seemed wonderful at the time, it was so nice to return to sleepy, Ocre-colored Florence. I had just enough time to drop off my stuff at home, get cleaned up, and head to work for the day. Trust me there are plenty of Karen anecdotes that I left out of this post due to their explicit nature. Every moment we spent with her was like a complete freak show. Regardless, I had a great time with Kimmie and Carolyn.

On Thursday, the girls and I are heading to London for 5 days, then Dublin for another 5! Must pack tonight because we leave right after work tomorrow. I am so excited to see London again. Love that city. Hopefully I will make it to Piccadilly Circus, the National Portrait Gallery and Buckingham Palace this time! The weather should be chilly (high of 55 degrees) so I am nervous about what to pack. Coat or no coat? Also, excited for free museums! Ciao!

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.

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.

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.