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Published: October 16th 2006
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Sainte Chapelle
It is so sparkly and colorful, just like a jewelry box. Salut mes amies!
Are you hanging on for more tales of excitement (hmmm?) and mishaps (definitely!) while your friend Shelly putzes around France? I left off while I was still in Paris..... Among the many sites seen in Paris I can not forget to include:
La Sainte-Chapelle
We learned about this beautiful cathedral in Medieval studies with Dr. Spear, Middle Ages Extraordinaire. Under Louis IX, construction began in 1246 and unlike Notre Dame, it was quickly finished two years later (rather than two hundred) in 1248. It used to house holy relics, such as the really popular headband of twigs, err, I mean The (famous) Crown of Thorns.
As you can see from the photo, the chapel is spectacular. Floor to ceiling, wall to wall stained glass. Walking into La Sainte-Chapelle is like walking into a jewelry box!!
Champs-Elysées and L'Arc de Triomphe
Possibly the world's most famous avenue, Champs-Elysées, or as I affectionately refer to it as "Zee Chamseee", is a massive road full of cafés, cinemas, galleries, and some of the planet's best shopping. Being on a budget I did not spend much time on said avenue of wonder (don't worry Daddy!) Instead I
St. Chapelle
From the outside, the chapel is not as pretty... it is attatched to the Palais de Justice. went to see L'Arc de Triomphe. The Arc lies at the center of Paris's super road system. Standing really tall, around 165 feet high and some 50 feet wide, this baby is one of the biggest arcs in the world. Apparently some dude in North Korea decided to beat the booty of the late (and arguably not so great depending on whom you are speaking with) old Napoleon , and built an even bigger arc. In my opinion, what is the big deal? An arc? I mean, at least put a bar at the top or something Napoleon! The arc really is a sight to see though. The sculpting around the top is amazing and I doubt anyone except the guy who first sculpted it and maybe a lone Arc washer has ever seen it up close.
A European Family:
One memorable night in Paris included a dinner party, or shall I say a "dinner extravaganza" at our new friend, Christophe's flat. I felt like I was in the movie "L'Auberge Espagnol" sitting around the candlelit table listening to jazz and the street sounds of Ol' Paris, talking and laughing with my new found international friends. For the
majority of the time spent in Paris Kelly and I spent lots of quality time with our European family. I'll give you the lowdown on the clan: Onnur is a Turkish guy from Germany. You can't miss him, because he enjoys making rather sarcastically dry remarks at the most random times and places. Claudia is a petite girl from Spain. Claudia served as our translator official, as she is fluent in several languages. Oh and the Aussie, Christophe... what can i say? He likes red wine and playing the violin, and cracking jokes at Onnur. Oh, what a group. We also got to be friends with some people who worked at the Hostel of Hell, including Raoofee, our Algerian buddy who taught us some fun french slang words! I miss Paris already!
Hard to Forget......
Kelly and I brought back some rather unique souvenirs from Paris. The word souvenir means to remember, and boy do we remember Paris NOW! It all started with a bug sighting in our hostel beds. Being the strong and fearless young women that we are, Kelly and just shrugged the bugs off and decided to write them off as just extra protein while
we sleep! Little did we know.....
Fast forward eight days to the appearance of red itchy bumpy welts on both Kelly and me... after a trip to the pharmacy (wow that was fun, Bonjour Madame mais j'ai un beaucoup de BUG BITES) and several applications of cream, countless phone calls to Kelly's parents and many searches on the Internet, we found out that what we had was indeed major Bed bug bites. We were not just bitten, we were attacked, unjustly while we innocently slept the night away. All I can say is... gross!
Other than the bugs the problems with public transportation and other wacky events... I enjoyed Pais immensely and I am already planning my return trip there!
Now, have no fear, all is well here in Chatellerault, the town where I will be living in for the next 7 months. We are happy to say that we are bed bug free! Stay tuned for an update including some sweet photos of my cute medieval town.
à bientot!!
Shelly
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Ngaire
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My ShellyBula, you are just fantastic!! I loved your trip through Paris it looked like you had loads of fun. And so your a member of yet another internatiobal family....man I can't wait for your family reunions! All the best with your travels Love from your Kiwi sister Ngaire