Bon Jour. We are having a wonderful time. We are constantly on the go. For the most part, we have seen the sights of Paris. It took us a while to recover from the jet lag. That first day was rough. For a while, Katina and I did not think that we were cut out for this trip. We were wrong!! We can definitely do this, and we are.
We are staying at the Blue Planet Hostel. It is a cute little place fairly near the center of Paris. We are staying in a little room with bunk beds. It is so quaint. There is no air conditioning, but the weather has been wonderfully cool, so it hasn't been a problem. We just leave the window open (it also helps dry out our clothes that we wash in the sink).
The second day that we were in Paris, we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was so beautiful!! We decided that we were pretty energetic, so we decided to pay to climb the 387 steps of the narrow spiral staircase of the south bell tower. The view was amazing, and we were able to see the gargoyles. It was wonderful, but we were exhausted. After the Notre Dame, we strolled around a bit to explore some of the area, and then made our way to the Sainte Chapelle. The high chapel is almost solid stained glass. Different panels tell the stories of the Bible. It was truly stunning. It was cloudy on the day that we went, so I can only imagine what it looks like on a very sunny day. Just a little ways down the street was the Conciergerie. The pamphlets that we received provided a short history lesson of the building (we were just so glad that they had some in English). All I know is neither Katina nor I would ever want to be a prisoner there!!
We took a little break to rest our feet and grab a bite to eat. We stopped at a little cafe on our way to the hostel. Following our period of rejuvination, we went to the centre of Georges Pompidou. There were two performers in grey mermaid tails doing a little show. It was definitely interesting, and the boy performing was definitely CUTE!! In the center there was a huge fountain with fun, colorful figurines. It was very unusual, but really neat. We made our way to the Pantheon and explored every nook and cranny of the building that we were allowed to see. There were huge beautiful paintings covering the walls and ceilings. A massive pendulum hung from the elaborately painted dome of the building. The point where the string of the pendulum attaches to the dome is said to be the eye of God. After viewing the main building, we went into the crypts and saw where Voltaire remains.
After a long day on seeing, doing, walking, and climbing stairs we decided to retire to our room for a while and write in our journals. We nodded off for a couple of hours, which took care of the rest of the evening. Most things in Paris close fairly early.
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to another wonderful day in Paris. The weather has been wonderful. It has been overcast and dreary (which is not my preference), but it has stayed in the lower 70's which is such a welcome change from the Texas heat! After our breakfast, we went to the catacombs. What an eerie place!! There were tons of tunnels lined with neat stacks of bones. All of my memories of the anatomy bone lab practical came flooding back!! Our next stop was the Sacre' Coeur. It was so beautiful. It was perched on this high hill, so we had an amazing view of the whole city below. The inside was just as spectacular as the outside (or even more so.) All of the cathedrals that we have been to are so beautiful, but very unique. Everything is so intricate and ornate, but in its own style. The journey up the hill to see the cathedral was not quite as wonderful. I am so sick of stairs!!
The sun finally broke through the clouds a little, so I let Katina tackle the Louve by herself, and I explored a little more of the city. I made my way down to the Place de Concord. There were beautiful fountains, and the obleisk that Egypt gave France. I could see the Eiffel Tower in the background, which made the whole scene even more picturesque. I decided to head for the Arc de Triomphe and passed the Palais Petit and the Grand Palais along the way. They were very ornate and huge. I continued my little journey down a peaceful, tree lined walkway that ran parallel to the river. Then I headed down Champs Elysees down to the Arch de Triomphe. That thing is so mammoth!! I was neat to finally see it in person. My stomach told me that it was time to meet Katina, so I took the metro back to Gare de Lyon and walked to our hostel.
We decided to find some yummy French cuisine, so we followed the advice of our Let's Go book, and went to the little restaurant, Orestias. It definitely satisfied our hunger, and our tastebuds were quite happy as well. After dinner we decided it was time to go to the Eiffel Tower. We had been in Paris for three days and had yet to go to the Eiffel Tower. We opted to climb the stairs to the second level (Mom would have loved it!!). Man, what a workout. We were exhausted, but the view was definitely worth it. It was spectacular. We were able to see all of the lights of Paris. Towards the end, Katina and I got separated which definitely put a little spin on the rest of the evening. (Everything turned out okay) Back at the hostel, I met Cliff from Boston. He is a 23 year old who is touring the world for four months by himself. He kept me entertained with his wonderful stories while I was waiting for Katina to return.
Our last morning we packed up and said goodbye to the room that was our little home for the past three days. We headed to the train station with the intent of spending the day in Chartes, and that evening taking a train to Rome. (We were rather fed up with the rude French, and had heard wonderful things about the Italians!) The train schedules did not work out to our advantage, so we hung out in Paris with our huge backpacks until our train boarded. Au revoir France!! Buongiorno Italy!!!!!!!