Paris

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so mom and i made it through paris. i must admit i liked paris a lot. it is very quaint, comfortable, and seems quite friendly. i can fool them that i am french up through "bonjour", then i lose it as i speak no french. but i like saying bonjour and merci and au revoir. i would be very happy living in paris.

we took the fast train down from amsterdam to paris the day after we arrived. it was a nice trip. about half way through the trip though, i noticed our tickets were missing. i was next to the window, and i had them near me, so i knew no one had stolen them. i looked around and under the seats, but i couldn't find them. i was glad the inspector had already came by and checked them. finallz i looked up near where they had been sitting on the edge of the window, and i found they had fallen down into the air conditioner. i tried for like half an hour to pry open the vent without letting the people around see me, and i finally got it open enough that i could put a pen down inside. i used some gum and put it on the pen, but i could not get the tickets out. i was worried the whole trip that we would need them to get off the platform, but lucky enough we didn't need them.

we had a small hotel near the paris opera house. it was a decent location, right in town. we checked in and went over to the lift. when we opened the door though, we found the lift to be a rectangle, with barely enough room for mom and me, let alone our two suitcases. i tried to get mom to go up with the luggage, but she was scared to go alone in such a small and creaky lift. so i packed in and we made it up. all three days though she was jumping each time the lift made a groan or noise. we were in the top, and had a small room, but it was adequate. we spent the first afternoon in the louvre, it has to be one of the biggest buildings in the world. we saw the mona lisa, some michelangelo sculptures, some of Louis the VIII crown jewels, etc. pretty nice, but i am not big on art or museums. we then went to the arc de triumph and over to the eiffel tower to watch the lights come on. it was a very nice evening.

the second day was very busy. we did the hop on/hop off tours, and we visited notre dame, the city district, and victor hugo's house among others. we then had a nice dinner at a sidewalk cafe near the hotel.

the third day we finished the other areas of the tour, with hemingway and the artsy area, the pantheon with the famous tombs, napoleon's grave, the national assembly area, all on the bus. we got off on the champs de elyss (sp?) and had lunch. in the evening we waited in line and went to the top of the eiffel tower and also took a cruise on the seine. paris is verz beautiful at night.

today we flew to london. it was a short and comfortable flight. now we are just taking a day off. it has been a new way of traveling for me, as i am adjusting to mom's ways. whereas i like to go cheap and fast, mom likes comfortable and slow. she gets tired pretty easy and likes the bus tour where she can see things from the outside without having to get off. i am the opposite, and like to take metros and get things done, but i am learning. so today she is very tired and we are resting. been a good trip.

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