An American in Paris

BONJOUR MON AMI!!!!! AHHH PARIS EST TRES TRES BEAU!!!! 

OK so enough with the crappy french that the french make fun of me for. I AM BACK, and while not in black, I'm still feeling accomplished. Not only did I pack for 7 days in my 6th grade back pack but I also went on two of the greatest vacations of my life in the same amount of time. I'm going to break them down into two posts because other wise it would be way to long. So here we go. 

PARIS! 

Oh my god, Paris was fantastic. The school flew us over for free on Air France and put us up in this swank hotel just north of the city center. The first night the director of our program took us down town to show us how to get there. There's a giant square right at the heart of the city that will take your breath away - it did mine literally - the Eiffel tower dominates the skyline, and as you pan over you see the Arch de Triumph down the Champs Elise, the Obelisk that marks were Louis XVI was beheaded that the French stole from Egypt, the Louvre, and the Sinne. It's gorgeous. The whole city is built out of white stone so it's gorgeous. 

That night a group of us went to Eiffel tower for a picnic. They light it up Blue at night which is amazing but then every once in a while it flashes little lights so it looks like the whole thing is being showered in stars. It's great. 

The next day it was raining so we went to the Louvre but it was closed. So we went to the Muse d'Orsey which has he biggest collection of Impressionist paintings in the world. I liked it even more than the Louvre.  

On our way there at an intersection there was a man who looked like a little frenchman cut out of a comic strip. He was all in matching brown, with a turtle neck, and matching brown beret. He was looking around nervously and for some reason - I was wearing a North Face and Jeans while all of the french are about 30 lbs lighter than me and would scoff at such poor fashion - looked at me and said "OOO -  AEY  - LE - MUS-AY - Da - Or-Say." Clearly he was american. I said 'I'm sorry I don't know man," then he turned around and said "I shouldn't even open my mouth around here." I felt bad for the guy he was trying so hard, but pretty hilarious. 

The museum was perfect. Starry night was on loan, but Monet's water Lilly's, gardens, bridges, hay stacks, Van Gough's self portrait and room, and tons of other stuff that I loved. It is in an old train station so they have the huge lobby filled with sculptures. 

After that we walked through the Luxembourg Gardens - giant gardens with a palace attached, and then into this beautiful church. 

Then we made our way to the Catacombs. In the 19th century the french government decided to move all the city cemetery bodies into underground caverns  because they feared that the bodies were causing disease. Being french though they didn't just put the bodies down there. They arranged them in what amounts to art. Stacks upon stacks of bones that make designs. Really creepy. 

It was raining so bad that my shoes were absolutely destroyed. To avoid getting trench foot I finally broke down and got new shoes. I changed them at a bus stop and got some pretty dirty looks from old french ladies. There noses where higher than the Eiffel Tower 

Then I met up with Cody and Chelsea! That was so fun. Cody took me to his school, and then we met one of his friends and Chelsea at Chelsea's school. Then the three of us went out for dinner in the Latin Quarter - the old part of the city that the Romans lived in (also where Notre Dame is). It was so great seeing them. Two of my favorite people, in Paris, over a mussel, steak, and chocolate moose (10 Euro what a deal!) diner. I couldn't have asked for a better day. But I got one the next. 

We went to the Louvre the next morning - after of course the free all you can eat breakfast in the hotel. It is massive. Grant - a kid in the program - and I rocked it out though. We covered about twice as much ground as every one else in the same time. It was amazing. The mona lisa was cool but little with too many people. My favorites were the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory. The amount of art there that just touched you to the core was unbelievable. I had never understood what was amazing about these two statues before, but seeing them in real life is indescribable. 

Walking through the louvre was like walking through a history text book. Every painting of a famous person, every famous painting period it seemed was within its walls. A lot of them were really funny - the statue of the boy wrestling the goose in the middle of a room of very ornate roman statues - and others were just breath taking - the painting of a girl in the woods that I swear glowed. The size of some was over powering too. Paintings as big as the side of a house, and statues three stories tall. It blew my mind. 

After the Louvre we made our way up to Notre Dame. We ran into a public funeral for the head nun there. It was crazy. The French President, Nicolas Sarcozy, and his wife were there and we saw them walk by as well as the old president Jeac Chirac. People were everywhere. We watched the ceremony for a bit and moved on. The Cathedral is beautiful. There are little carvings all over it that you don't pick up in pictures. As impressive as the whole structure is i felt like the amount of detail that went into it was fantastic. The bells were ringing non stop and I thought that Quasi Modo must be getting a work out. 

We went to the Pompidou center after wards. It is a modern art museum that looks more like a hamster cage than anything. It has plastic tubes that people walk through on the outside of this bizarre little building. There are famous fountains outside as well. Google it, it's worth a look. 

Then up to Sacre Cour for sun set. Sacre Cour is an all white church on top of the highest hill in pairs. Its the highest point in the city. We walked up through the African part of the city to get there. It was strange not only because everyone there was African, not African American like in the states - I know this is a strange thing to say, but there is a definite difference just as there is between Irish Americans and the Irish - But also because it was the first predominantly black neighborhood that I'd been to that wasn't poverty stricken. I think we forget sometimes how insane it is that poverty in our nation is still determined by the color of your neighbors, and accept it as just the status quo. It was refreshing to see a society work like it should (not that the french don't have their own racial issues, but in my fairy tale land all is well in Paris. 

When we finally got there I thought my feet were going to fall off. We walked so much in paris - probably about 10 miles each day, that by the end of each day my legs were just done. The view was breath taking. You could see the whole city from there with the sun setting behind it. I don't think I've ever watched a more beautiful sunset - though Long Boat Key may take the cake. The sun setting behind the Eiffel tower with the Arch de Triump, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and everything else in the area was just fantastic. I don't think that a person could take much more. 

We walked back to our hotel past the Moulin Rouge - HILLARIOUS! And then collapsed. 

The next day we made it to Versaille. The gardens are massive. literally they go to the horizon in some directions. As we walked in classical music came on and the gardens fountains all blazed into life. We had a tour of the building which almost hurt the eyes because it was so ornate. paintings on every wall, gold everywhere, huge in every way. They had an art exhibit going on at the time which was very strange. Jeff Koontz an American. He sculpts strange things like lobster pool toys out of tin that look like plastic, Michael Jackson and his monkey Bubbles, Baloon Animals, hoover vacuums... all the better things. No one else liked it but I thought that it was hilarious. Odd fact Louis the XIV - the sun king who built the palace - only bathed 12 times in his life because the royalty were convinced that water would kill you. As a result he drank only wine (originally it was champaign but it gave him stomach problems) and ate huge amounts of food still living to be 73 in the 17th century. Impressive considering that'd be 130 years to today. It seems that if Bathing is the secret to life, Grace is well on her way to immortality (sorry Grace couldn't help it). 

When we got back we took a river cruise. It was fantastic. Everyone told us to go on one but I said no cause I didn't want to spend the money. I was so wrong. I don't know what it is about seeing the city from the river, but wow what an experience. 

When we got done I went up to the top of the Eiffel tower by my self because everyone else had already gone. Walked up 680 steps to the third floor and took an elevator the the top. Wow. To see the sun set from the top of the Eiffel tower on my last night in Pairs. I did pretty well. The best part was undoubtedly the Taiwanese  tourist I made friends with because they asked me to take their picture twice. They wanted a picture with me and I gave them my E-Mail so I should be getting a picture of me and four Thai tourist on top of the Eiffel tower soon. I CAN"T WAIT!

I realized on my way down that I didn't have a map home. I got lost for two hours. That was bad. I made it though and flew out to Dingle the next day.