J'adore Paris!

---

Bonjour de Paris!

Well it’s been quite an ordeal since I arrived. Let’s recap a little:
First of all, the bus driver responsible to take us to our apartments decided that he didn't want to take us all the way so we had to walk about 20 minutes dragging all of our luggage. At least our apartment is beautiful. We actually have a cute little two-person elevator in our building which I like to ride in sometimes 😊. Our neighborhood is strictly residential so it’s nice and quiet at night. I have never felt unsafe walking around it, or any part of Paris, even at night.

The first night we went grocery shopping and got a little lost but, thankfully, the people here are not as stuck up as they’re made out to be. Since arriving, we have gotten help from countless people, without even asking, when we were lost. Now that isn’t such a problem though since we’ve figured out the Metro. Oh, the metro. It moves surprisingly fast and is filled with some pretty interesting smells…but other than that it’s pretty convenient.

The second night was our welcome dinner. My roommates and I woke up about 15 minutes before we were supposed to be there and then got pretty lost. We finally got there two hours late but it was worth it. The food here really is as good as they say!

The third day we had a three hour bus tour of Paris. I thought it would be an open-bus tour but, sadly, it wasn’t. On top of that, it was raining so I couldn’t get any good pictures anyway. The weather here has been very unpredictable. At our meetings before we left they told us that the summer temperature would be very similar to that in Long Beach. Well they lied. It has been windy and cloudy a lot of the time and it tends to rain for 2-5 minutes and then it will stop and the sun will come out. That is pretty much how the weather is every day although today it is nice and sunny. We have not planned the Siene River boat ride yet because my teacher is hoping to get it on an evening with agreeable weather.

Yesterday we went to Versailles and it was really amazing. I’ve always loved the story of Marie Antoinette so it was really cool to go and actually see where it all happened. Unfortunately, we only had 2 hours to see the whole thing and we spent the first 30 minutes getting situated. I felt very rushed but at least I got all the pictures and video that I wanted. Apparently the bus had to leave promptly at 5 because the driver had another appointment back in Paris.

On the way back into the city we got a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and one of the two original Statues of Liberty. It was pretty bizarre to see a Statue of Liberty standing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

So far I have seen the Luxembourg Gardens, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe and the Loire Valley. Later this week, we are going to go to the Louvre and Normandy (where I will tour a cheese factory). I am pretty much having the time of my life here and I don’t ever want it to end! I’m pretty sure I could live here quite happily.

Before we leave we are also going to go to Belgium, the Orsay Museum, hopefully to Germany and to watch the fireworks by the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day. I can’t wait!

I miss you all and I’m looking forward to sharing all my pictures and stories with all of you when I get home!

Love, Amanda

---

Photos

Versailles3
The Hall of Mirrors

Versailles6
The Queen's Chamber

Versailles7
Marie Antoinette

Loire Valley3
Salamander crest at Blois Castle

Loire Valley4
Chambord Castle

Loire Valley5
Chatres Cathedral

Loire Valley6
"the most beautiful cathedral in Paris"

Luxembourg1
A statue in the Luxembourg Gardens

Luxembourg3
Fleurs

Loire Valley1
One of the castles we didn't see

Loire Valley7
Chenonceau Castle

Loire Valley8
Leonardo Da Vinci's tank

Loire Valley10
Loire River

Loire Valley9
Loire River and one of the oldest bridges in Paris

Comments

[me]

well i am jealous
the pictures are amazing! isnt it crazy to see these things in person youve seen on tv? makes you say 'heh. it really DOES exist....'

[me]

p.s. sounds like the bus driver is a pain in the ass. id fire him.

[J. Hermann]

DaVinci Tank
That is really neat that they have DaVinci's tank on display. I have only seen it in his sketch book. I did not realize that he actually made a prototype and that someone kept it. Or was this a replica? I'll have to check online. You are finding out a truth about travel. Until you actually go somewhere you don't realize there are plenty of other places that would be interesting and nice to live in. It really opens one's mind. You find that people are more or less the same--some good, some not so good-- and they want many of the same things everywhere -- love, liberty, a chance to get ahead and grow, etc.