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Published: April 16th 2007
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Homeless
Playing cards with the homeless folk. Bonjour!
I finally made it to Paris for an exhausting fun-filled weekend full of crepes, art, a lot of walking, and very little sleep. What a city...
Just because I know that you were wondering, of course I bought a beret within our first hour in Paris and wore it the entire time. Would you expect any less from me? :^)
I left in a bus from Granada at 7:00 p.m. to arrive in Madrid around 12:30 a.m., just in time to pull up a spot on the floor and play cards with the homeless people. By homeless people, I mean Matt, Carla, and a Spanish girl named Maria that we ran into at the bus station. Technically we were all homeless. :^) After several hours of Rummy we got our plane tickets, went through security, and were on our way to France at around 5:00 a.m. We arrived at Beauvois Airport close to 8:00 in the morning, and rode on a bus for an hour and a half before finally arriving in Paris.
Since this was a weekend trip, we didn't really have time to sleep. We took off right away to see the sights.
Paris is such a beautiful and unique city, and the weather was beautiful! The first day (Friday) we walked straight to Notre Dame, and then to the famous Louvre museum (if you haven't seen the Da Vinci Code you absolutely have to!), and we was the real Mona Lisa! It was so neat to see something so old and so famous. We spent more than 4 hours at the Louvre, and still didn't come close to seeing everything. I did take a half an hour nap on a bench outside of the Louvre though. Haha. I was already really exhausted.
Then, we walked through gorgeous parks and along the river until we spotted the Eiffel Tower. It is a lot bigger than I imagined. I took a million pictures before riding all the way to the top, riding back down, and buying some really good ice cream. We spent the rest of the evening lying in a park and staring at the incredible Eiffel Tower all lit up. I was finally able to get some sleep at the hostal around 1:00 a.m.
Carla and I woke up for breakfast at 9:00 (when you're on a budget and
Alhambra Bar
Ironically, we ate lunch at the Alhambra Bar. breakfast is included you NEVER miss it). We met up with Matt and the three of us headed back to the Notre Dame cathedral. Carla spotted a guy that had little sparrows eating out of his hand and though that I should give it a shot. Despite the fact that I was terrified of getting the Bird Flu, it was cool. :^) After that, we basically took our time walking through parks and along the river until we reached the Arc of Triumph. We took some pictures there, and then took the metro to the real Moulin Rouge, and then napped at the hostal for a little while.
I'd have to say that my favorite part of the trip, however, was dinner that night. We weren't sure what to do for dinner so we stopped at a grocery store, bought some picnic supplies and champagne, and walked back to the Eiffel Tower right before sunset. There is this giant park in front of the Eiffel Tower that is a common place for young people to go to play music, drink, and have romantic moments. We found a spot there and had a picnic dinner, right in front of the
Carla and Matt
Scoping the map for the Metro. awe-inspiring Eiffel Tower all lit up. Every hour they turn on these blinking lights so that it appears that the tower is sparkling. It is quite possibly the most beautiful and romantic sight I have seen in my entire life. I joked with Carla that all of the most romantic moments of my life I have spent with her. :^) I could have camped out in front of the Eiffel Tower all night, but alas we had a bus and a plane to catch in the morning. After our romantic picnic we took the metro back to our hostal to sleep.
We got a whole three and a half hours of sleep before Carla and I had to catch our bus back to the airport. After the bus, the plane, and another bus from Madrid to Granada we finally returned home around 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening.
I think it will take me awhile to recover from this trip, although I enjoyed every minute of it. Oh wait, I don't have time to recover because I have a 1:30 a.m. bus to catch on Wednesday to pick up Dad and Grandpa at the airport in Madrid! I guess I'll
just have to recover when I am back in Washington. 😊
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Patrick
non-member comment
Hey! I am glad you had a great time in Paris! I bet you are excited to see you dad and grandpa too!!! Have fun! Can't wait to see you when you get home! Have a great rest of your time over there!!! Miss ya!