Paris is for the Romantics

And I’m not one of them. I don’t know if it’s because Paris is always romanticized in movies, pictures and stories, but I thought it was just….eh, ok. It was a nice city with lots of things to see and do, but after a few days, it was all the same to me. Granted, I was just walking around looking at things and not actually doing anything, so maybe that’s why I’m so ambivalent about this city.

I did see some nice things, though. Monuments, cathedrals, and museums. Unabashed public displays of affection (even the old folks get in on the action). Parisians walking with a fresh baguette in hand. Boulangerie and patisserie on every street corner. Unleashed dogs walking obediently next to their owners. Baguette, baguette, baguette….mmmmm...the smell was heavenly.

 

Jardin Tuileries

 

Champs-Elysees

 

Arc de Triomphe

 

Eiffel Tower and a view from the Seine River.

 

The Pyramids and fountains at the Louvre. I didn't see the exhibitions inside the Louvre because it was just too big and massive and I was getting tired at the end of that day. I went to Musee d'Orsay instead, which focuses on works from Impressionism and on. I think I preferred this museum anyway because it was smaller, and I able to see most of it in the 1.5 hours I had before closing time.

 

Notre Dame on a Saturday night.

 

The last three pictures were taken in the catacombs. I didn't actually take any pictures of the skulls and bones because I was too freaked out about having those pictures on my camera. The walk was 2km, about 1.25 miles underground in Paris. It was dark in some spots and kind of chilly. I stood in line for about an hour because they only allow 200 people in at a time. I went down and followed the people ahead of me. But then people started speeding up or slowing down to read the plaques posted on the walls or to take pictuers, so I was by myself for a part of the walk. I started to get the creeps so I start running up that corridor in the last picture to catch up to the people ahead of me. Then I made sure I stayed close to someone when we walked through the part with the bones.

Canterbury to Paris

In Barcelona now, but I wanted to update everyone on what I've been up to this past week.

I was in Canterbury, England last Monday and Tuesday. It was a nice change of pace after London. It's a nice, quiet town. Quaint and picturesque...except that I didn't take any photos. It was nice because there wasn't much to do. I just caught up on some reading and online business.

From Canterbury, I took a night bus to Paris, which took about 7-8 hours. The bus arrived on Wednesday at 6:00 am, and after some time trying to figure out how to buy metro tickets, I was on my way. I wasn't quite sure which direction I was supposed to head towards after I got off the metro, so I took a guess and end up walking maybe a third of a mile before I figured I was going the wrong way. I worked up a good sweat walking back and fourth four times! I hadn't even seen Paris yet, but I felt like I was already done with it. (I guess it wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have a huge backpack and two other bags weighing me down. Lesson learned. Pack lighter next time.)

Anyway, I find the place that I booked, run a few errands and then take a nice nap. The studio I booked was a good size for 1-2 people, and it ended up being cheaper than reservations at some of the hostels/hotels I was looking at. It averaged out to be about 54 euros a night, and I stayed six nights in total. Not a bad deal.

So funny story about the little washing machine below. I tried to figure out how to use it, but there were no instructions and some of the settings around the knobs were rubbed off. So I turn the timer dial and it starts. I tried turning the knob both ways to see which way had the least resistance, guessing that if it had less resistance when turning, then I was turning the knob the right way.

I watch the clock to see how long it takes, and it's been swishing around there for over an hour. I check on it after an hour and twenty minutes of washing and the knob doesn't seem like it's progressing to the "stop" tick. Crap...maybe I turned the knob the wrong way. So I end up opening the door and all this water comes pouring out. Ahhhhh...hurry close it...run and get the small trash can to collect the water. I scoop out the remaining water inside and just as it gets low, the freaking thing starts filling with water again! Omg....wtf....everytime it starts to get lower water comes up. Finally I see the plug and unplug the damn machine. Now there's water all over the bathroom floor, and I've got a sink full of soaking clothes. Great. What a night.

Stonehenge and Bath

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's been difficult get access to the internet these last few days. I'm in Paris right now, and trying to survive with the little bit of French that I know. I made my first reservation to use my Eurail Pass for the train to Barcelona on Tuesday morning. I'll be there until Saturday and then the plan is to take the train to Geneva and then a bus to Annecy, France. I'm excited to get to Annecy! I'll be there for one month and won't have to worry about moving around every few days.

I have some pictures of Paris, but haven't had a chance to upload them to my computer yet, so here are some pictures from the day trip I took from London to Stonehenge and Bath, about an hour to two hours away. Miss you all!

London Days

Tonight is my last night in London. I meant to post an entry earlier, but after walking around all day, I didn't really have the patience to deal with the stupid wifi. So here's what I've been doing so far. My flight from Dulles left at 7:40pm on Wednesday night, and I arrived in London at 7:30 in the morning on Thursday. I was a walking zombie. I didn't get any sleep on the plane...I was too busy watching all the free movies! I watched 127 Hours, The King's Speech and You Again. It was like the flight to Vietnam all over again. If anyone plans on flying to Europe, I recommend Virgin Atlantic. I think it was the best flight I've ever had.

I took a free walking tour on Thursday and saw Buckingham Palace, the house where Prince Charles, William and Harry live, the Prime Minister's House, the Clock Tower/Big Ben, Parliament, the Horse Guards Building, and Westminster Abbey. I forgot to bring my camera that day because I was totally out of it, but I went back and snapped some pictures of the Parliament building and Westminster Abbey yesterday.

There is an admission fee to tour the inside of the church, but our guide on the walking tour suggested that if we wanted to see the inside of the church for free, we could attend one of the services and then take a look around afterward. So I went to the Evensong service on Saturday and got to see the inside of the church and also got to hear the choir sing. I wish I could have taken a photo or recorded the choir singing because it was so beautiful.

My battery is running low right now, so I'll leave you with a few other pictures of London from the last few days. I'm headed to Canterbury tomorrow morning, and I'll continue the update!