Day 6: Transfer to Paris

Just a quick note before I begin my breakdown of what’s going on in my life here in Europe, I just wanted to wish my husband and my dad a happy Fathers Day. Sorry I’m not there to celebrate with you!

Things I learned today:

1. There are a lot of bridges across the Seine River.

2. Sometimes you have to go forward to go backward.

3. People can not walk through poles.

4. It’s always a good idea to keep looking for a better deal, especially from street vendors!

5. Europeans really like their Hazelnuts.

6. Books can teach you something if you let them.

7. Some people really annoy me.

8. Be careful when you ask someone for a favor, it might cause you pain.

9. I really miss not being home to celebrate Justin's first Fathers Day

More Words:

Sortie = Exit
Poussez = Push
Fraises = Strawberries


We awoke to a dreary gray morning with a smattering of light rain and more on the horizon. I do love the feel of these types of days, they just seem to bring me complete peace. These are the types of days I wish we had more of in Vegas so I could cozy up on the couch with a warm blanket and a good book as I just watch the weather unfold outside. But no matter how much I would have liked to do that I had to be content with cramped quarters on a moving bus! And although we are getting somewhat tired of the bus transfers they have all been worth it, and today might have been the best outcome yet. Today we arrived in Paris!
On our way to Paris we stopped in Chartres, a town along the way. I think every town in France must have a Cathedral in it! And although they are quite amazing, the kids are not too keen on seeing them over and over again, In their minds eye they are all the same thing! But that did not stop us from taking a moment to enjoy the Cathedral before picking up some lunch. The Cathedral had some amazing stained glass windows. They are amazing by today's standards so if you think back to how long ago they were painstakingly created, its is even more awe inspiring.
For lunch most of us grabbed a baguette sandwich form a corner store, but a few of our students decided they needed McDonalds so they made the trek to the nearest McDonalds and picked up a Big Mac. It was so funny we had to take a picture. It was almost like they had been deprived for months instead of days! All I know is I am really wanting a meal that doesn’t begin and end with bread. I used to think I was a bread lover, and I am. But there comes a time when you just need some protein and some veggies!
We still had about an hour left on the bus after lunch, but we kept it interesting by playing a little bit of trivia on the bus. Adults vs. Kids (they chose teams so the outcome is truly there fault!) Our tour director would shout out countries from all over the world and we would have to name the Capital of it. I am afraid to say the students really did not know much during this game. Especially when it came to the less popular countries like Romania. (Although I myself could not remember the Capital of this one! I was really wishing that Cristi Larson was around as I figured she would have the answer to that one!) Anyway, the adults did end up winning so we thought that was grand!
We entered Paris by traveling up and over a hill, so basically the first view we had of Paris was a panoramic view of the city with the Eiffel Tower standing tall and proud! I can not believe that I have actually seen the Eiffel Tower with my own two eyes and stood just feet from its base! It’s amazing. Truly a beauty to behold! But I am getting ahead of myself.
We arrived at our hotel, which is not too bad. But I haven’t slept in the beds yet, so we will see! We did have a minor hiccup with the first room that Amy (my roommate) and I were assigned to. When we arrived we realized that there was only one bed. Now don’t get me wrong we like each other, but that was getting a little too close for comfort. Lucky for us, it was a quick fix and we are now situated in a room that has a double bed, a twin bed, and a pull down bed. (There is actually a small bed bolted to the wall that you can fold out for children to sleep on!) Amy kindly gave me the use of the larger bed, as I had a little trouble with the last twin I had to sleep on. :)
We had our first adventure on the Metro today. The Metro is Paris’s version of the subway. And it basically runs the same as all the other mass public transportation systems I have used. You have a ticket, you run it through the reader, and you make your way into the landing. The difference here is that the ticket is smaller- which I just feel makes it much easier to lose. But at the same time they probably don’t worry about that because they are only good for one journey. Every time you go through the turnstile you have to have a new ticket. Now I am not sure how much a ticket costs, but no matter how long your journey is, it is all the same price. So if you travel two stops it is the same price as traveling across the entire city, no matter how many internal changes you make from one route to the next.
We traveled on the Metro to the center of Paris, as we were going to be eating there. But we had some time to kill before our reservation time so we stopped off at the “Jardin Du Luxembourg” or Luxembourg Gardens. It is basically a big park, but with a major difference form our city parks. As the majority of grassy areas are not to be walked on! I am not sure why exactly, but they are off limits. So we kept to the paths and made our way around the park. There where a lot of art sculptures around as well as a ton of people. It was very interesting to see how the park was used.
We also saw a very interesting ritual on our way to the gardens. I guess every Sunday is Free Skate day. Basically, a large group of Roller Bladders and Skaters gather on one of the main roads and then get a police escort as they skate a predetermined route through the city. It’s not a race, it is just an activity they do every Sunday. And there were a ton of people participating in it.
We ate Dinner at Flam’s. I am not sure what their specialty is but we had something I would describe as a wanna be pizza. Basically it was a very thin piece of dough with cheese and toppings. They had ham and onion and ham, onion, and mushrooms. As I am not the worlds biggest eater of onions, the fact that both varieties came with onions was disheartening. But I am very good at picking things off, so that is exactly what I did. It was interesting to say the least. The cheese must have been some type of gouda or something similar, as it was a bit stronger than we are used to. It was edible, and would have been even better if we had any say in what went on top!
Our last activity of the day was a boat ride on the Seine. The boat itself left from the docks right across from the Eiffel Tower, so we got some really fun shots of the tower itself. And it is very big. I knew it was, but in person it is almost bigger than I imagined. How I wish everyone I care about was here with me to see it!
The tour down the river was nice, they pointed out some of the more prominent features of the city including the Louvre and Notre Dame. The Louvre is huge. I know it is one of the worlds largest museums, (So tomorrows trip there should be interesting! Hopefully they will give us more than 30 minutes there!) but just the amount of realty space we saw from the river is impressive. I am not sure how many miles of hallway there are in there, but I bet it is quite a bit. What’s nice is that we got a kind of preview for our activities tomorrow as we are having a guided tour through the city and going to the Louvre. I am sure I will learn tons more I can share with you.