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Backtracking to two countries ago... I did *not* in fact get to go the Guinness Factory. I thought I'd be able to swing it before the airport, but I did the math in my head and there was no way, as it was I barely made it to the airport...mostly because I ran down the street to buy a pretty Claddagh ring. Necessary!!!!
I flew to Paris with no mishaps. I read my French guide just about the whole way there and practiced ways to ask where my train and hotel were, which proved unnecessary. Unnecessary!!! When I got to the immigration guy I had a big ol' smile on my face when I salut!ed at him and he wasn't entirely impressed. He checked my picture with my still ever smiling face and handed it back to me where I promptly said "Merci! Au revoir!" in what I feel was a beautiful accent and he gave me a big smile and said have a nice day 😊. Ooh, speaking of my wonderful accent...the last night in Kinlay House in Dublin, I was on the computers (surprise surprise) with free internet!!! while I was waiting for my camera to recharge and right as I was getting up to leave some people asked me how long I was staying...etc... and that's how I met two South Africans and a Kiwi. One of the South Africans was a guy and he was the one who went with me to "go" to the Guinness storehouse and we ended up buying some food for dinner and while we were making it in the kitchen we made friends with 3 French guys. So there me and the S. African were...making our frozen pizzas and the 3 French guys were making a full blown CRAZY dinner. A-w-k-w-a-r-d. Two of the French guys ended up coming out with us...and mom...are you ready for your mind to be blown?? ONE of those little Frenchies....is from Laval!! I was talking with one of them and I asked him if he knew where Laval was...and he pointed at the other one and said he was from there! So I told him that I owned him 😊 Ithink it was lost on him because his english wasn't so great, so the entire night was spent with my talking really slowly and occasionally in my awkward French. He said my pronunciation was surprisingly good 😊 Surprisingly!! How about that!! I was the only one in the group who spoke any sort of French which is why I talked to him because I also felt bad cuz he looked so confused. It was awesome though because by the end of the night we were speaking really well with each other and we could understand jokes better 😊
But back to Paris!! I couldn't find Tobias for a little bit and I asked these two guys that I had spoken to earlier (They were speaking rapid French in line to get on the plane and then pulled out French passports and then US ones too, so I asked how they had both and they turned around and spoke perfect, accentless English to me. Weird) some questions, so I'm glad I had someone I could ask in English. Ended up finding Tobias alright and got a big hug! I havent seen him in 5.5 years!! Turns out the army worked out well for him and we swiftly navigatged ourselves to the train and eventually our hotel...even though we passed it once and walked a long way. I almost died. DIED! There were a lot of beggers and I felt really bad for the first one because she asked me if I spoke English and I beamed and said yes! and she shoved a piece of paper in my face saying she was from Bosnia etc...etc... Tobias eventually started yelling at them in Dannish (harsh language, lol) because we were accosted so much. By the way, the Regent at Montmartre was a craphole. It was 5 floors and only one shower and two bathrooms.....what?on diff floors mind you! And it was expensive and we both had to pay...not just for the room, but per person. Lame. Even though they only had one bathroom, it was at least free... because I went to a couple cafes and stuff and you had to pay...unless you went to a free public one that said "gratuit" in which case it helps to be a gymnast. We went to the Eiffel Tower and I had to go to the bathroom...and they were closed! Hard to find and closed!! At 8:30!! The Tower doesn't close until 11!!! GARG!!! So we wandered with our broken directions from a soldier and found these little...Jetson/time capsule type bathrooms which only flush like every 6th visit...gross. So when it was my turn it was completely filled with pee and toilet paper. Ew. Bush please. But I closed the door (well, it closed itself, partially on me) and it "cleaned" itself. Cleaning of course meaning that it flushed and sprayed water everywhere, so when it opened back up for me it was sopping wet... and there was no seat so I had to do a hover...anyway...Gross.
Eiffel Tower was HUGE! Arc De Triomph was HUGE!!!! Both were bigger than I had expected vs. the smaller than I expected of Stone Henge. What impressed me most architecturally was Notre Dam (I'm dumb, I only just realized that meant our lady even though I know both those words....MAN I'm American). On the front side where all these statues and gargoyles..etc...and everything was different...nothing was the same! I'll try and upload pics. A lot of our time was spent just lounging in a park or on the side of the street watching people. That was just as cool as seeing something...but what else did I see... Musee D'Orsay (but didn't go inside, Palace of Justice...Moulin Rouge, Sacred Heart....uh... lots of places!! Didn't do the Louvre. We were going to go after 6 when it was cheaper, but that only left 4 hours and I oculd see he didn't want to go for 4 hours, so I felt we should pass it. I know I'll be coming back, and probably with mom who would want to bring a tent, so I wasn't too worried about it. oOH, DID go to the Buddha Bar which is Johnny Depp, John Malkovich and Sean Penn's bar!!!!!!! I got a sex on the Beach. Heee hee hee. I did, however, forget to go to the Hilton in Paris and take a picture inside. D'oh!
The first night Tobias and I wandered around a lot to find a pub to sit in and have a drink and talk. Apparently my "bonne soir" is very convincing and I got rapid French again until I raised an eyebrow and we talked in English. Some people were ok with speaking in English...but some people were really mean. I would try and do stuff in French and tehy would wave their hands impatiently and say "English?" to which I would blush embarrassedly and say yes. Tobias hated the Parisians and says he'll never go back. Silly boys. The second night Tobias and I were so tired from all the walking that we just went home and made fun of French Tv. I translated some of it!!
OOH! Almost forgot the most important thing!! Crepes!! The first one we had was under the Eiffel Tower and it was exceptionally delicious. I know that because the next day we found another one by the Moulin Rouge and he had about 3 stacks of premade crepes...and they were really gross. The ones under the Eiffel Tower were only .50 more and were infinitely better. So good, in fact, that Tobias and I went halfway across the city on the metro and by foot to get there and have another before we left. Great 😊
Well it is time to go and see Luxembourg! I saw a little last night but we're about to leave so I'll wrte about it later.
AU REVOIR!!
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Emily
non-member comment
forgot to tell ya that....
I'm so excited to hear about Paris and can't wait to talk to you about it....yeah. People will use you just to speak english...and Darlin- Tu as un passeport americain. C'etait possible qu'il pensait ta francais etre minion! ~ Em