The Rest of Paris

After dinner, we were supposed to meet people to go to the Eiffel Tower. We got a little lost, and missed the rendevue. We bought another bottle of wine from a little wine shop. The proprietor was a really nice guy who spoke excellent English. When we saw the display of wines going from 200 to 2000 Euros, we thought we were in the wrong place. But he sold us an absolutely delicious bottle for 13 Euros that we drank walking around the streets of Paris. After much confusion on thier subway system (they put the bus and subway routes on the same map!!! what the hell!), we finally made it. Remember the brown paint? You hit that with lights, and it glows gold! Magnificent. It was too late to go up the tower, so we lay back on the grass and watched it sparkle. Every hour it starts sparkling with about a million flashing lights. Pretty!

Let me take a moment to speak about the people hawking cheap shit in Paris. They are PUSHY! Don't take no for an answer, and annoying as hell. One of them handed Brooke a rose, and I almost died laughing when she said "Oh, thanks!" and walked away. He chased after us, of course, and I think she was honestly (drunkenly) surprised when he wanted us to pay for it. I gave it back to him. On Monday, a woman actually grabbed Brooke's hand and tied a cheap string bracelet onto it before she could react, then demanded 5 Euros! There was no cash between us, so the woman just walked away. Dumbass...

We bought another bottle of wine from a passing seller for 8 Euros (he certainly made a profit on THAT crap), and made our way back to the hostel. It was after the subway stopped running, and it was a long-ass walk. Met up with some of our BUNAC crew, and followed them home.

The next day we went to the Palace of Versalles (sp?). This was the first palace I have been to that looked like it belonged to Royalty, at least from the outside. I'm sure Buckingham is nice inside, but outside it's kind of drab. We went to the Gardens first, and they were great. Hedges, fountains, statues everywhere. Dad would have loved it. The only part of the inside we went through was the Kings' Chambers. Cool, but just more gilded rooms. Honestly not that exciting. And we spend a half-hour standing in the wrong line. That was discouraging. We did make friends with Jessica, the other girl in the pictures. She's awesome. Lots of fun, math major, dancer, high on life type. Definitely added to our good times.

We went back to Paris and proceeded to the Louvre (I insisted on calling the Loov-Rey the whole time). Amazing. Totally amazing. Saw the Nike, the Mona Lisa, the Venus De Milo, and tons and tons of other incredible artwork. I was told that if you spend 5 minutes looking at every single piece (or was it just paintings?), it would take you 3 months to see the whole place. Humongous.

After the Loov-Rey, we went on another walking tour. We climbed a giant hill until we were overlooking the city, and in a neat-o part of town. Very touristy with lots of restaurants. We ate, and Paul had the escargot. I tried one. Tasted like garlic and butter, and the consistency of on oyster, but not as chewy. Kind of boring, really.

We saw another old gothic church, and then walked to the Mulin Rouge. It was 90 Euros for a show (!), so we went elsewhere. Had a drink at a Irish pub nearby, and then Brooke and I headed to the Eiffel Tower again so we could go on top. The top floor was closed, but the view from the 2nd floor was still amazing. Very romantic. Made the last subway home, and stayed up at another Irish pub (odd trend here). It was the only thing open at 1. She just wanted water, so I bought a beer. It was very good, but only a half-pint for 4 Euros. So I stole the glass. Hah!

The next day we bummed around Paris some more, and went to the Victory Arch and the square where Catherine of Aaragorn was beheaded. Big obelisk, too.

Caught the Eurostar home, but not before blowing my last 5 Euros on a glass of scotch with Scott and Paul.



So that was Paris. Now I have to pack for Edinburgh.

Cheers!