Hello all! Im sorry that I have not been as faithful in updating the blog, it seems that Paris does not have internet cafes? It is very strange! haha right now we are actually in Munich, but Ill tell you about gay Paris first!
The chunnel trip was great, so quick and comfortable! I didnt even notice when we went under water! When we arrived in Paris on Wednesday around noon, Michael and I set out to find our hostel in the 4th arr. (abbreviation for french word for district) We arrived at our metro stop, Hotel de Ville and the first thing we encounter in Paris is.... a protest!! It was so crazy there were people everywhere and I could hardly get through! Typical me, my suitcase flipped over in the middle of the crowd but a protester bent down and helped me get through. So my first encounter with a Frenchman was good, and I felt that the trip was off on a good foot! We ended up getting lost on our way in finding the hostel, and I asked for directions in French! Luckily he spoke English too so it was sort of a two language conversation. I didnt think I could actually speak it when it came down to it, but I proved myself wrong! When we finally found our hostel we were burning up and out of breath from walking around the area. I again had to speak French to the receptionist, and we checked into our room, stored our luggage, and set out to do some siteseeing!
The first thing we did was go to Notre Dame and walk around the outside. What an absolutely stunning cathedral, I especially liked the flying buttresses in the back of it with the turquoise colored statues. We ordered some lunch (une croque!) and ate it on the side street next to ND before going inside. It was equally as impressive as the outside, and I really enjoyed walking around and seeing the different saints and different nooks on the sides of the cathedral (Michael and I dont know their name). We lit candles and sat in the main area just admiring the cathedral ceiling and construction. After Notre Dame, we set out on a long walk to the Musee d'Orsay. We took mainly backstreets and saw a lot of cute stores and vendors. I just loved this walk, I saw the Paris I (oh so clichely) dreamed of. The architecture was phenomenal and the city was just charming. We finally reached the Musee and entered in to see my favorite: the impressionists! Unfortunately, I was so disappointed with this musee. Its not that it did not have all the artists or works of art I wanted to see, but there were entirely too many crowds to comfortably see the works of art. It was so frustrating! There were too many people looking at the same picture, so I ended up discovering some new impressionist artists like Sisley. I also thoroughly enjoyed Monets paintings of Notre Dame, okay well I think it was Monet anyway. It was a series of five that showed the cathderal at five different times during the day, and each time was a different color as a reflection of the color present at the time. We did however get an excellent view of the city towards Montmarte on the top of the musee, it was phenomenal! A couple asked me (in French) to take their picture, and I responded and understood! Haha I was so proud of myself! (maybe they thought i was french! doubtful.)
After the musee, Michael and I embarked on the longest walk of the day: to la Tour Eiffel. It was funny because we kept seeing it and then wed turn a corner and it would still not be any closer. This was a lovely walk as well, we went through some beautiful residential areas and saw the true Paris. Once we arrived at la tour, my immediate reaction was, "oh seriously? its so small!" yes, i said that. haha but after awhile i actually realized how phenomenal the structure really is. we spent an hour or so relaxing on the benches in front just people watching and enjoying the day, it was a great time. and of course we took a series of eiffel tower pictures.
By the end of our time at la tour, I was super exhausted so we hopped on the metro to get back to the hostel. We accidentally went too far so we had to walk a bit to find
