Terra Incognita

j’aime paris
Now, I could go on and on about what we did, where we went, the wonderful experiences we had, but this post would simply be extensively long. So, I’m going to list what we did in what order and maybe add some comments next to the sites. It will still be monstrous, sorry.

friday
Two hour bus tour of Paris. Saw just about everything from the bus windows. Nothing I didn’t see when I went with my mom after my eighth grade year. We got out and walked through Notre Dame.
Dropped our stuff off at the hotel and split up. Ellen, Meg, Elizabeth (from SMS), Dave, Russ, and I started our whirlwind tour of Paris.
Louvre - two hours, an hour longer than I spent there 6 years ago. I saw The Gericault painting, Raft of the Medusa, to which I feel a certain attachment. For my very first paper in college in my English 20 class, I wrote about the composition and colour, etc of that painting. So I got a picture of me in front of it, as if I were meeting a celebrity. (Speaking of celebrities, Ellen saw Rob Thomas by the Mona Lisa.)
Walked through the Tuilleries.
Walked through the Place de Concorde.
Down the Champs Elysees, past the residence of Jacques Chirac, toward the Arc de Triumph.
We climbed the bazillion of stairs to the top of the Arc.
Ate a crepe. : )
Walked to the Eiffel Tower and went up it.
Went to dinner at a really good restaurant. Got hit on by a waiter.
Got back to the hotel at 12:30, got to bed by 1:45.

saturday
We were a little late leaving and didn’t get out of the hotel until 11 a.m.
Went to the Musee d’Orsay. It. Was. Wonderful. We saw Monet, van Gough, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Whistler, and tons others. I was really hoping to see Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party so I asked one of the museum workers in French where to find it. Unfortunately, it’s in Washington DC. But he completely understood me and I completely understood him! I was quite impressed with myself, considering I haven’t spoken French in two years.
Went to Montmartre. On the way there we stumbled upon the Tim Hotel, where my mom and I stayed the first night we were in Paris.
Walked around Painter’s Square and found a café for lunch.
Went through Sacre Coeur. Had an Amelie moment going down the stairs by Sacre Coeur and the carousel.
Went to Marais, which we were told is the Jewish/gay district of Paris and has many shops.
Saw a protest against the war and had to pass through riot police to get to the Metro stop. We think one of the policemen hit on us, but we couldn’t really understand them. We were glad to have guys with us.
Saw the Bastille. (Or the monument where the Bastille was.)
Went on a dinner cruise along the Seine. Wonderful.
Walked through the red light district to see Moulin Rouge.
Dropped my camera, spilling out my film. Fortunately I had only taken 6 pictures on that roll and was able to salvage the remaining film.

sunday
Went to Versailles. They were doing restoration on the Hall of Mirrors and another room, so that was a little disappointing.
I had another French moment. Meg, Ellen, Laine and I went out into the gardens and tried to find Marie Antoinette’s ‘cottage.’ We had no clue where to find it, so I went up to one of the many people who looked like they were locals out for a jog or stroll in the park. I asked them, ‘Ou se trouve Marie Antoinette?’ cleverly forgetting to insert the important phrase, ‘le chateau de Marie Antoinett.’ The lady replied, ‘Oh! Elle est morte!’ (‘She is dead!’) Oops! It ended up being to far away for our time allotment.
Before leaving le Gard du Norde to return to London’s Waterloo train station, I bought the French magazine, Paris Match. I’m such a good journalist to expand my knowledge of foreign media. (And yet I have not read my assigned newspaper in a week.)

observations
The Paris Metro is better than the London tube by far.
Kids speaking French will always be adorable.
Megan and I make a good team in translating descriptions of pieces of art.
Americans are almost pitied by people in Paris because we can’t speak any language but our own. I would have to share their pity, to tell you the truth. It’s sad that as a country, we are unwilling to make the effort to be multi-lingual.
We walked into the first random café near the Louvre on our first day, asked if they had any sandwiches that we could take and eat as we walk and got an amazing ham and cheese on baguette in five minutes. In Bath last week, we ate at a highly recommended restaurant, Sally Lunn, waited an hour and a half for our turkey and cheese sandwich and was sorely disappointed. The French have better food. Case closed.