Bonjour! - That's All I Know

Sorry it has been a while since an update. I'm working on balancing my schedule as best as I can.

This weekend I went to Paris with seven of my roommates that live with me at Palace Court. There, I was able to meet up with my boyfriend and three other IU students studying in Sevilla. Also, there were about 20 other students from my program in Paris, too. Basically, the Americans took over the city. Just kidding.

On Friday we left London via the Eurostar at 5:25 in the morning. We got to Paris around 8:45 and arrived at our hostel around 10. The hostel was extremely nice. It's called St. Christopher's, and it is one of the highest rated hostels in Paris. The facilities were very nice, and it gave us free breakfast and 15 minutes in the internet cafe (which I unfortunately did not utilize).

On Friday, Derek and I took the metro to The Louvre, and ate a cafe close by. Then, since the weather was nice, we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower instead of inside the Louvre. Although the wind was bitterly cold, the two of us went all the way to the top! It was a really cool experience, and I love being able to say that I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Friday night Derek took me on a really romantic date to a restaurant half way in between the Pantheon and Notre Dame. The outside of the restaurant had ivy on the walls, and the inside was a series of dimly lit rooms (because I hear the building used to be a home). We ordered the house wine, an appetizer, and an entree. I ordered the greatest meat I have ever tasted - a duck leg. It was so good that I actually exclaimed at the table that I was going to blog about it. So I am. It was delicious. As were the potatos that came with the meal. The service was also very lovely.

After dinner we walked around Paris at night a little and took some pictures outside of the Pantheon and Notre Dame. I kept singing to Derek the song "Our Last Summer" by ABBA from Mamma Mia because the lyrics talk about walks along the Siene and being by the Notre Dame. He didn't know the song so he had no idea what I was talking about. Very typical.

Saturday we took the Metro to the Arch de Triumph and the Champs E'Lysse (I probably misspelled those because I'm not looking them up). It was very fun, even though I felt extremely poor walking down the street. We decided to walk all the way to the Louvre, which again we decided not to go in because it closed at 5:30 and we got there at 4:30. What a bummer.

Sunday morning Derek left so I carried on my tourist activities with my roommates. After we checked out of the hostel, we went to the Musee D'Orsay. I LOVED that museum because I was able to see soooooo many Claude Monet paintings! I have always been a huge Monet fan, so I took a picture of every Monet painting in the museum. There were other works of art that were very cool to see too - such as Van Gogh's self portrait.

After the Musee D'Orsay we went to Notre Dame, which was cool because we were walking through while they were having their Sunday service. The music was beautiful and everything was very ceremonial. We didn't stay for the service, though. Instead, we went to get lunch at a cafe across the street. Luckily, I had Bita there with me that time to speak French to the server.

After the restaurant we walked around the shopping district, but realized that most of the stores were closed because it was Sunday. That was a bummer, but we decided to go visit the Catacombs instead. We had to wait in line for about and hour before we were let in. It was really creepy, and it definitely freaked me out to see the bones of millions of people piled up as if they were bricks forming a wall. I couldn't get into that.

We took the Eurostar back to England on Sunday night, and did not get back to Palace Court until 11:30pm. I was so tired by then that I basically just passed out on my bed, thankful to be home. Paris was alright, but I definitely feel like I enjoy London better. Maybe it's because I speak the language, but I'm not sure. I truly feel the tube is cleaner and faster than the metro. I had a lot of fun with my friends, though, and I especially enjoyed seeing Derek. No one can deny that Paris is a fun city.