Paris!!!

Hi all! I'm still recuperating from an exhausting but fun-filled trip to Paris this weekend. On thursday, Maren and I rushed home from class at 1 to make it to the train station by 2:15 (our train left at 2:30). We were running around packing last minute things, and our host grandma was home! she offered us a ride! It saved us because otherwise we would have practically been running to the station with all of our stuff. Our mom also made us fried chicken sandwiches for lunch. They were very good. She's so cute. She gave us chocolates too :D

The train trip was great. I definitely prefer the train to the bus. It doesn't even seem like a long trip. Alex, Lisa, Janelle, and I played cards pretty much the whole way. We played hearts, and then go fish. Which Alex some how missed out on in her childhood and we had to teach her to play it. She was pretty confused through the whole thing. I think it was too simple for her...if that makes any sense.

Once we got to Madrid we began our first adventure which basically consisted of running from metro to metro to get to the airport. We made it with time to spare and started to check in. We flew air france so we went to the air france desk and this guy with a heavy french accent asked if we were going to paris...or so we thought. We said yes and so he sent us to the aireuropa desk because that airfrance flight was being run by that airline. Well apparently he said Paris-Orly which is the other airport in Paris. We were going to Charles de Gaulle. So we had to be sent back to where we started. After all that confusion i managed to get checked in, and made it onto the plane without any hiccups.

During the flight we got a fantastic surprise. There was a meal!! I devoured it. Besides the two raisens i had picked out of the dessert, you would have thought that the platter had gone through a dish washer. We arrived in Paris just after 11pm. It was time for our first experience with the parisian public transportation system. We had to take an RER train to a metro station, and then had to take 3 metro lines to get close to our hostel. We were all exhausted and irritable by this point because many of us had been up since 7 that morning. We finally made it to our hostel around 1am. We weren't the only ones. We had to wait in line for quite a while, and then trying to get 12 people checked in is fun thing. We got to our rooms, and I changed and went to bed. I slept fantasticly. I was very impressed with the quality of the mattresses.

We woke up bright and early at 7:00. And guess what i had for breakfast? COCOA KRISPIES!!!! I have been craving them for forever. I took a baguette and stuck it in my purse for lunch. We were out the door around 8:30 and headed to our first site, Trocadero. It was a palace built in the 1800's to celebrate the conquering of the spanish fort Trocadero. It was destroyed in the 1930's and replaced with a new palace. It is across the Seine river from the Eiffel Tower so you can take sensational pictures from the stairs. You also are likely to be attacked by the many people selling souvenirs.

We then of course crossed the bridge to the Eiffel Tower. We didn't go up it because we didn't feel like waiting in like and spending money. It was cloudy anyway and we wouldn't have been able to see anything. We continued towards the military school on the other side of the tower.

From there we headed to the Hotel of the Invalids. No offense mom but guess who i thought of when i heard the name...hehe love you! It was build by Louis XIV to honor and help the soldiers that had been injured in the French wars of the 16th and 17th centuries. We were able to go inside parts for free, and they were having some type of ceremony so we got to see some of the french army.

Next we went to the bridge dedicated to Alexander X. It had very ornate gold decoration. It was built in the 1800s. We then walked past the Gran Palace and Small Palace. They are across the street from each other. One was from the Byzantine Empire and the other was newer.

We then swung around to the Plaza de la Concordia. It was the plaza where during the french revolution Louis XVI killed thousands of people with the guillotine he had installed. Now there is a monument created in Egypt that stands there.

We were all starving by this point and found a nice little cafe. I had a panini with ham and cheese as well as a chocolate tart. It was also the first time we had sat down since we left so it felt good to rest a bit.

After lunch we trekked down to the Arc d' Triomphe. Again we didn't go up it to save money but I took plenty of pictures, and got to go under the streets that go out from the Arc. They had a fire burning commemorating the soldiers lost in the WWI.

Next we headed to the Magadelene. It was a cathedral build by Napolean. It looks like a greek temple and has i believe 50 some pillars around the outside. Nearby was the Opera House. The art inside the opera house was incredible. My favorite part of buildings to look at here in Europe are the ceilings. They always have the most fabulous art and it's even more impressive because its on the ceiling.

We had a little time to kill before we were going to the Louvre so we headed to a cafe for a little pick-me-up. I had a Cafe Latte and the most massive chocolate croissant. It filled me up. We mosied over to the Louvre. It's free for people under the age of 26 on Friday nights so we took advantage of that and some of us spend the full 4 hours there. The Mona Lisa was everything I had hoped it would be, and i took a picture with a 4000 year old pharoah. Some of the art we saw was 8,000 years old. I definitely now have a totally different perspective on time.

By the time we left at 9:45 I could barely walk after being on my feet since 8:30. We stopped at a cafe for some crepes to allow us to rest a bit before the trek back to the hostel. I got laughed at when I walked into our room because I apparently looked on the brink of death. Again, I slept like a baby.

I got up at 7 again but we didn't quite get the early start we wanted. We started out with Notre Dame cathedral. It was here that it finally hit me that I was in Paris. As I walked through the church I was just in awe with the simplicity of the art and yet how powerful it really was. I sat in the pews for a while just taking it all in. It was so peaceful. I think I could have easily sat there for hours.

Alex, Erin, and I crossed town to the highest point in Paris, Sacre Coeur. We could see the entire city from there. We also went inside the basilica where we were not allowed to take pictures but i couldn't have captured the feeling in a picture anyway.

Erin and I then crossed town again to the highlight of the weekend. The paleontology museum!!!! I saw dinosaur skeletons. I can now die a happy woman. I look like a little kid on christmas morning. They also had skeletons of mammals and birds and humans as well as all their ancestors. The even had real brains of animals in jars. It was so sweet!

Erin and I then had some time to kill so we wandered around. And when i say wander that's exactly what i mean. We found a couple dead ends, one of which was the police station. We got out of there quickly. We eventually found what we were looking for: a cafe with affordable crepes and wine.

So we had some crepes and wine and chit-chatted until we met the group by the river for our cruise. We took a night cruise down the Seine river. It was the most unrealy experience. We basically got to see all the sights again except at night when the lights are on. And in case you didn't know, not only does the tower light up at night, but it also sparkles every hour. I took a couple videos. You know how I love shiny things.

After the cruise, we stopped a store for snacks and drinks and headed back to our hostel. We chilled in our room til about 12:30 then headed down to the bar in the hostel. We stayed there til it closed and then went to the lounge room where we met people from New Jersey studying in Barcelona. Only one of them kind of knew spanish. No wonder they looked so confused when I started talking away to them in spanish.

I don't know when this occured but it needs to be shared. We were making on of our several metro trips this weekend, and I got through no problem and I'm standing waiting for everyone else. All of a sudden I notice that maren somehow got her self stuck between the little turnstile and the gate. So another girl in the metro tried to put her ticket in to get her out but then they both got stuck. It was hilarious.

I planned on getting up early and taking one more walk but i couldn't find my phone to set an alarm. So i got up around 9, and yes, had more cocoa krispies. And don't worry mom i found my phone in the morning.

Around 11 we started our trek home. We got to the airport with much more time this time and didn't have any confusion about the desk. I however kept pressing the button that i was carrying weapons, fireworks, knives etc. I kept pressing no because to me it made sense "no i don't" but i guess your supposed to answer "yes i don't". I eventually got my tickets after Lisa practically did it for me.

We didn't get a meal on this flight but I did sit next to a girl from Minnesota. She is studying at a study abroad university in Toledo where all the students are foreign. We got to Madrid and made our way to the train station. I was about to drop from exhaustion and lack of food but I made it. When I got there, I got a hot bocadillo with bacon and cheese. I also bought some yummy cookies.

The train ride home was interesting. At first I sat by a guy with dreadlocks and he always had his sunglasses on even though it was night outside. Then he got off and this kid gets on. I doze off right after he sits down. He must of had to go to the bathroom or somethingin because he stood up and hit his knee on the table. It startled me and I jumped a foot. Of course Janelle and Alex just cracked up for the next 5 minutes. The kid felt so bad. After that none of us slept and we were so tired that everything was funny. We laughed so much. We played cards with the spanish boy. He was 16 and had been visiting his girlfriend. He was very intrigued by the american coins so when he left we gave him a quarter, dime, nickel, and penny. One of the things that cracked people up was i had just woken up from my nap and i turned my head and looked in the window. I turned back to Alex and said "I look so attractive right now" Now if you could see me you would be laughing too. i had on no makeup, my hair was everywhere, i my eyes were have open. Alex almsot fell out of her seat. We played hearts and I finally won!! We arrived back in Caceres around 11:10. Then maren and I had to walk home. We got home around 11:35. Our mom made us pizza and then I had to do homework :(

I got only 3 hours of sleep last night due to my internship at 8:00 this morning. So tonight I will be going to bed very early and I don't have class til 11 tomorrow. Tomorrow I will add photos!