París Hacía Mucho Frío

Let's start from the very beginning. On Thursday evening, we arrived in Paris at about 10:30 p.m. I thought the Charles de Gaulle airport was very strange because there was nobody there, and most of the lights were off. Like, the only people there were maintenance men. Wha? It was like being in a school after-hours or something - I thought airports never closed down, but I guess I was wrong. Lucky for us, the train leaving the airport stopped running just as we were about to buy our tickets, so instead we paid 50 euros for a taxi to take us to our hotel. Me moleste París.

We decided to stay in a hotel rather than a hostel for three reasons: 1. Hostels are ridden with bedbugs (and we all know how I feel about insects). 2. Our hotel was in a great location, and wasn't that much more expensive than a hostel. 3. We thought a hotel would be safer than a hostel.

I roomed with Vanessa and Hanna. It was special. (Note: Just to clarify, I have two friends here with the same name: Hanna and Hannah. You can tell who is who by the extra "h," or lack thereof.)

Vanessa, Hanna, and the Ceiling

Vanessa With Our Decorations

Hanna Dancing

After we dropped our luggage at our hotel, we ventured out to find some crêpes. We found a place less than a block away that was pretty cheap. The crêpes are made fresh right when you order them, and they were so good! I got mine with banana and Nutella, which is a chocolate-hazelnut spread (and it's apparently available in the States, but I had never tried it before). I got one every day. They were so good.

Our hotel actually ended up being really nice, and it was right next to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, which was absolutely beautiful. It was our first stop on Friday morning, and it was by far my favorite thing in París - the most beautiful church I have ever seen. I told my mom that I would go to mass every weekend if we lived in Europe because the churches here are so wonderful (but I would probably spend all my time looking around at the art, not paying attention). We paid 5 euros to walk up through the bell tower, which was well worth the money because I learned that Quasimodo was REAL. Well, he wasn't real per sé, but the legend is real. I thought the whole thing was made up by Disney, but I'm so happy to know that they didn't make it up, they just commercialized it.

Inside

Main Altar

View From the Top

Gargoyles

Hanna as Quasimodo

Kara . Andrew . Me . Vanessa . Hannah . Ryan . Hanna . Carolyn . Lambchop

Our next stop was the Pantheon. Estaba muy grande. I'm going to be honest: I don't even know what the Pantheon is, (other than an important landmark) but it was still really fun to see. Today when I was talking to Blair about my trip, I told her all the places I went in París. Then she tells me that the Pantheon is in Rome. So then I was really confused, because I know that I was at the Pantheon two days ago - I even have a pamphlet to prove it. But I still doubted myself, and I couldn't prove it to her because I don't even know what the thing is. But after a quick Google search, I learned that there are two Pantheons - one in París and one in Rome. So redundant, so unnecessary.

See, Blair? I told you!

Then we went to the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was kind of disappointing because everything was dead, but the statues were the bee's knees. 

Ryan . Kara . Hannah . Lamia

Queen Poonawalla

Palace

¡Chachi qué sí!

Then we got to see something really exciting: La Iglesia de Saint-Sulpice. It's one of the churches in the Da Vinci Code. Though much smaller than Notre Dame, it was still very big, very ornate, and very beautiful.

Beautiful fountain outside of the church.

This was my favorite part.

This was behind the main altar.

On the way to the Louvre we stopped at a small pastry shop where I got a hazelnut-praline macaroon. Though our relationship was short-lived, I will never forget all the fun we had while I ate it. Bon appétit. The Louvre itself was really amazing. I don't think I've ever been so amazed at a building in my entire life (and again, that whole Da Vinci Code thing gave it a little more 'oomph'). I got to see the Mona Lisa, which was slightly anti-climactic. I mean I have been seeing this painting my entire life in movies, books, posters, or wherever. I just don't really get it. I mean it was really fun to see and everything, but it didn't move me the way that some art moves me, and it didn't really make me think. What I really liked seeing was the Code of Hammurabi. I remember learning about it in sixth grade, when we learned about Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. This was one of the only times in school that I actually thought History was interesting, so being able to see some of the artifacts from this time period was really my favorite part about the museum.

Venus de Milo

La Victoire de Samothrace

Some chick.

The Menu of Tepemankh

The Code of Hammurabi

I really wanted to touch it. 

Lion

By this time of the day, we were all getting pretty tired. You know that I've-been-walking-all-day-and-I-just-want-to-close-my-eyes kind of feeling. But did that stop us? No! We had one more place to go: Montparnasse. Montparnasse is a sky scraper in París that offers a panoramic view of París, supposedly the best view in the city. So we walked there, just in time to see the Eiffel Tower glittering. That's something I didn't know about París. The Eiffel Tower twinkles for the first two minutes of every hour. We really wanted to see this from the top of the building, and we made it just in time. After about ten minutes looking around at the skyline, we discovered that we could go up on top of the building to look at everything. Literally. The tippy-top. It was the coolest (and coldest) thing ever. I don't think they let you do this kind of stuff in the States.

Twinkle Twinkle

Ferris Wheel

View from the Tippy Top

Everybody on the Tippy Top

So that was Friday. We did a lot, don't you think? My legs were so sore. But that didn't stop be from being excited for Saturday. First stop: Eiffel Tower. We would have gotten there muy pronto, but we were slightly delayed at breakfast because a bird pooped on Hannah's head. And guess who got to help her clean it off? Such a good friend am I. So it took us a while to get to the Tower. But once we did... confusion set in. Again. The Eiffel Tower is... brown? Brown? Poop is brown. The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be black, and chic! But no, it was brown. Which was fine, I got over it. But I're pretty sure that Kara was devastated because she thought that it was gold. I wish I was joking, but I'm not. She really thought it was gold. My favorite part about going to see the Eiffel Tower was the carousal (you'll see what I mean).

Brown... Like the Dead Trees

What is that hunk of metal behind that beautiful young woman?

Wee

The Eiffel Tower is a lot cooler from far away.

By this time of day, we were really tired and really cold. Who knew París would be so freezing. Before I left, Julia warned me that it would be muy frío. But she tells me that every day in Madrid, and when I go outside it's balmy, so I never believe her. I should have believed her about the París though because it really was painfully cold. I digress. We made our way to the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. For whatever reason, I didn't realize that this was not only a statue, but a statue that you can climb! What a fun surprise. So after about three hundred stairs, we got to the tippy top of the Arc. The view was fantastic, more of a view of the layout of the city than anything.

Parade of Old Cars

Muchas Escaleras

If you look closely, you can see the ferris wheel.

I wish it had been sunny.

Lamia . Me . Kara . Ryan

And last, but not least, was the Moulin Rouge. I was very intent on seeing it because I love the movie so much. By this time we were really losing steam, and had walked past a countless number of sex shops, but it was worth it.

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

We decided to sleep in the airport last night since our flight was so early. It was very college-student of us, and I'm happy I did it even though it was arguably the most uncomfortable night of my life.

Photo Credit: Lamia

There is one more thing I must mention before I end this post. I decided not to bring Whitey to París conmigo. I know, I know. You're shocked, I'm sure. But I was too nervous that I would lose him, or that he would get a bedbug. I couldn't risk it. Instead, he stayed here in Madrid with Blackey for the long weekend, getting much needed rest.

Waiting for Mom

♥