Bonjour Paris!

Bonjour!

This is my first post from Paris!! Exciting! My internet is being very touch and go at the hotel, so I'm going to write all of these things without the pictures from my phone...so I'm sorry if it's a bit rough writing wise. I don't have the pictures as my guide (except on my phone which isn't the same)

We started out the day bright and early at 5:30. I'm not much of a morning person...but it was worth it in the end!

On our way to the station we realized that we were in none other than King's Cross Station! Naturally we had to stop by a little place special to my eleven year old self's heart:

After that we went to our station.

It was pretty...

Then we went through customs and waited to board the train.

I don't like waiting

Finally we boarded the train. It was suspiciously quiet the whole way there, and we later learned we were in a quiet car. Also we decided to splurge and got a meal with our train trip for the way there.

It was tasty good! Also I had my first cup of tea! I think it will be a return experience for me!

Hint: It was

On the train I slept for a bit before flipping through a magazine about 30 minutes out of Paris. I learned about these quaint houses set up in the 40s during the war that people still live in even though people want them torn down for the land which is now worth a lot of money.

This guy was showing off his collection of old radios!

It was a pretty cool article. After that we were in Paris! We got off the train and got our two day passes and we awayed to the hotel. Or at least the area. Check-in wasn't until at least two so we ended up eating at a little cafe in the roundabout of our area. There were lots of little cafes in our circle that held he possibility for future dinners. I had a cheese omelette and a little side salad. The dressing was a bit bitter, but I ate a little. I mainly ate the bread they gave out.

Luckily for us, our hotel room was clean so we checked in an hour early.

New bag!

After a little rest we went on our Paris adventure! First up on the list was the Pantheon! It was a super cool building with crypts! Here's a series of pictures!

First View

                                               

My attempt at an attractive selfie

Inside of Pantheon

Pretty ceiling

The pretty floor design I want on the floor of Boyfriend's lakehouse addition

What I would settle for

Into the Crypts!

He had a cool hat

Random cat sculpture in tombs

Writer of Les Mis

If you can find out why I took this picture you win a virtual hug

 On the way out of the Pantheon we got our first view of the Eiffel Tower.

 Naturally a picture had to be taken!

One last Pantheon picture

After that our next destination was Notre Dame. However, on the way we ended up loosing the Notre Dame. We walked in a big square until we finally followed signs for it. However, while looking for it we passed by some pretty things.

St. Jaque's (Not Notre Dame)

Exorcist sphinx 

Selfie with exorcist sphinx

Normal sphinx on the fountain

Pretty lamp post

After walking, in what we later discovered was a giant square, we found Notre Dame!

Next up was Musee d'Orsay! It was a beautiful museum but no pictures were allowed inside. I did get to see Vincent van Gogh paintings, so I'm happy about that! Also there was a rhino up front!

Majestic Rhino is Majestic

Front of d'Orsay

Second to last we went to the Eiffel Tower herself. It was so surreal being there. I've always wanted to go to Paris and now I was there...

Along the way I brought a few souvenirs and took lots of pictures! Then it was time for the Arc de Triumph!

Finally it came time for dinner. We ate close by the hotel once more! I had a cheese and egg crepe and for dessert French Toast!

After dinner we went to bed for the night in preparation for a big day the next day!

DAY 2

Morning hair check

Upon waking up the next morning we got ready and went downstairs to enjoy our complimentary breakfast. On the way down we shared a lift with a German man who said he had lived in Texas for five years and he was taking his kids down to San Antonio to visit soon! Even though I'm not much of a personal fan of Sea World after a particularly hot summer and the splash zone, I told his kids to enjoy it. I'm just an optimist like that. Anyways, for breakfast I had a piece of toast with ham, turkey, and cheese and an apple. I also had my second cup of tea! It was mint flavored and delicious!

After breakfast we ended up buying our train ticket to Versailles. The previous day we had decided that since the stuff Jordan had planned for today wouldn't take that long, we could go to Versailles for the afternoon and then finish up our sights in the later part of the day. It was a thirty minute train ride to Versailles full of like minded people all going to the palace, however it was well worth the ride! Because of the other things we had yet to see, we decided to only get Palace tickets. The gardens would've taken more time, but I'm sure they are beautiful. I'd also like to see Marie Antoinette's estate some day, but it was a thirty minute walk from the palace, not quite practical on a schedule.

Next is just going to be my pictures from the castle. It was so beautiful! Everything was so luxurious and I could picture all the royalty of France riding up the drive way to the grand, elaborate doors. It blows my mind that actual people lived here! It was a home of sorts! I'd imagine the children of the palace had many fun games of French hide and seek, which is like regular hide and seek but with French people.

The line to get in

Canadians tanning

Ballroom 

Monkey riding a goat...I'll buy it...

 So these next few statues were all pointing towards a gift stand...I found it amusing and decided to give them words.

In case you're wondering, you're heading in the right direction

Still doing good, you're awesome

Don't know if you're aware, but it's right there...

Ummm I'm sorry,but you've seemed to have missed the gift stand...

Girl in the fireplace

Is that what I think it is...???

That French man is riding a unicorn...

Random rope in the center of the room...

I heard a tour guide talk about queen's giving birth with an audience...

Plastic on the sofa...

 We stumbled upon the restaurant and ended up stopping because Jordan needed food.

Pastries for the tea room

My chicken sandwich and water

Even though we both asked for water we always get different ones...

The REAL Girl in the Fireplace

Want to know the best thing about this picture?

This little guy

After finishing a lovely afternoon at Versailles we were off to visit the Opera palace that inspired Phantom of the Opera. We had free admission because of our d'Orsay tickets, but we arrived a bit too late. It was still pretty from the outside though!

Onward to what I had hoped was a vintage store I looked up. Though we didn't find the store, we did find a substitute store for me to peruse. I also got some nifty pictures on the way to our final destination.

The Moulin Rouge was the last stop of our Paris trip! I wish we could've seen a show, but it was much too expensive and we hadn't the time. But it was pretty to see up close! We also got souvenirs in this area. The souvenir man tried to tell me the United States was in Australia, but he couldn't fool me. I ended up going back for a second time to retrieve another souvenir that he helped me dig through and find. On top of that he gave it to me for ten euros instead of twelve!! Overall a fantastic experience!

After our mini-shopping spree we headed back to our hotel area for dinner at our last little cafe.

The waiter gave it to us.

I got another chicken sandwich, this time it was toasted though so it was a bit different then the first!

For dessert I got a Dame Blanche which was just vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.

After a peaceful dinner we went back to our room to get ready for our train the next day (today). I really enjoyed seeing Paris! Maybe I'll get to go back!

Sunday AKA the Here and Now:

This morning we got up bright and early only to discover our complimentary breakfast did not start until we would already be gone. Slightly disappointed, we made our way to the station only to discover that our tickets were for 8:13 instead of the 8:31 we originally saw! We made it on the train though, and back to London without any problems.

Found this in the tube

Upon arriving a group of people were outside and said that they were going to the markets. I'd thought about going anyway, so I asked to join along. Professor Goldberg took us to this anarchist bookstore with a wall of famous anarchists. There were some funny bumper stickers in the windows, but it wasn't open to take a look inside. And my phone died before I could get any pictures of the markets!

It's okay though, I went to the markets and ate a cheese crepe. After that I wandered around and found a souvenir before going to take a gander at Absolute Vintage which was just around the corner from the markets! They were having a sale, but the dress that I wanted didn't fit well enough for me to spend money on it. I figure I'll go back to these stores the last weekend when I'm not as concerned about budgeting my money! 

When I got back to the dorm I talked to Friend Wes on Skype for a bit before going off for dinner at the park. I walked to Victoria Park, but it seemed that you needed to bring your own food as there were no stands like at Hyde Park. I ended up buying a slushie for the walk back.

The pizza place I went to last week was open, so I ended up just getting a slightly bigger version of the pizza I ordered last time. It was really good!!

After that I came to the dorm to type of this blog and basically just take a chill pill from the exciting weekend. Tomorrow I have class bright and early, so wish me luck!

Thanks for listening!

-Pat