Paris!

Been a long day. Had a bit of free time at the hotel so I thought I'd post real quick.
So this what the past two days have been:
Arrived at Paris somtime mid-afternoon. As we rode to the hotel through the narrow, crowded one-way street, I was reminded of how every city(no matter how glamourous it may seem) always has good and bad neigborhoods(we passed some of these on the way to the hotel). The hotel, by the way, is a real small place in the middle of the city. It's pretty far from all the tourist attractions so it's more like being in the real Paris. It's nice though. It's a bit more adventurous than just staying in one of the big ol' hotel chains. Nice view from the balcony too :)


Since we had been tired from many hours of travel, we didn't do too much that night. We went and traveled the area around our hotel, just to get an idea of what's nearby. Some good resturaunts. Lots of nice little bakeries. Then we went to see the Arc De Triumph. I'll spare you all the historic facts about it and just say that it is absolutely incredible! Gorgeous. We couldn't go up top because they were honoring the unknown soldiers buried there so they roped off the area. Might be going again tomorrow. Got some great pictures though :)


The second day(after a quick brekfast), we went to the Eiffel Tower. Weather was wonderful so we hung around there and took some great pics too. Didn't go up top either because waiting in line just to get to the first floor of it was going to take half the day. And then you had to wait another few hours to get the elevator up top. So we decided we could just admired it without climbing up. After that, we went 0n a little boat tour and passed pretty much all the big monuments and such. Eiffel Tower, the Lourve, Mueseum D'Orsay, the other Statue of Liberty, the Oblisque, Notre Dame, and some old government buildings and such. Then, we had a quick lunch and went back to the hotel for about 20 mins before heading back to see the Lourve.


The Lourve, of course, was incredible. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. They pointed it out on our boat tour, but I did not know it extended as far as it did. It would take a person days to look through the whole museum. Possibly longer if you looked at every painting, statue and artifact. So since we didn't have much time, we just went and saw the more famous paintings and sculptures. One thing I found quite humorous was the size of the Mona Lisa. It is in this big room with another fairly well-known painting by Paolo Caliari- The Wedding Feast at Cana. This painting is huge. Takes up a whole wall(I'll have to find out how long it took him to paint it). The Mona Lisa, however, is tiny(especially in comparison to Caliari's painting). It is on a wall by itself but it is so small compared to most in the room. You would think it was this huge majectic painting. Apparently not.Anywho, the rest of the mueseum was incredible too. I wish the rest of my family was as interested as I was so we could have stayed longer. Once we see the Mona Lisa and the La Venus de Milo they were ready to leave.


After the Lourve, we went back to the hotel for a bit to relax and drop off some little souveniors we had purchased along the way. Then we went back out to town for a bit of shopping. I only bought a pair of sandals, however, because most of the stores in the area were all designer stores and it was hard to get help since not many people over here speak english.


That is another thing that has certainly been interesting. It's always an adventure traveling to new places. I love it. But this is the first time I have been to a country where hardly anyone speaks english. Most of the people around the big tourist attractions know enough english to talk to you and help you out. But as I said before, our hotel is not by any tourist attractions. So when we want to grab something to eat or shop around a bit, it is very difficult to communicate. But since arriving, we have learned a few basic things that usually help us when ordering food or other simple things. For example, I am very familiar with how to say please, thank you, excuse me, how much and "one coffee":)
Beyond that I know very little. It's easy ordering off a menu because you can usually just point it out or read them the name. But when someone asks you a question or if you're trying to get help trying something on at the store or getting directions from someone, it becomes difficult. But we're learning a bit everyday. Hopefully one day I will be able to come back. After I brush up on some of my french of course :)


Day 3: First on the list was The "Musee D'Orsay". Not as big or as nice as the Lourve, but still beautiful. Many different paintings, the more well-known being those of Monet, Van Gogh etc. Had a quick lunch there. Then went off to the Notre Dame cathedral.It is, of course, beautiful. They sure don't build structures like those anymore. Absoltely stunning. We didn't stay in long since they were having mass and we couldn't walk around too much. So we decided to get in line to climb to the top. Sean and Grandma were not keen on going up to the top since there was no elevator and 422 steps to climb to the top. And looking up at it, I was'nt looking forward to walking up either. But I knew it would be well worth it. The whole way up the stairs spiral and become narrower the closer you get to the top. And if you wanted to see the bells you went up another set of stairs. So it was technically more than 422. It was a difficult climb(especially considering the amount of stuff you've already done on the trip. But just as I thought, it was well worth it. The view was amazing and it's always very satisfying when you can say you made it all the way to the top.


After a quick breather, we went back to the Eiffel Tower so we could go to the top. The lines were a bit shorter, so we decided it would be worth the wait. The view from there was breathtaking. Reminded me of the view of NYC from the Top of the Rock when I visited NY last April. So glad for elevators though. Don't know if I'd have made it even to the first level after two busy days.


One thing I will say is that words and pictures would not do any of these places any justice. Pictures are the next best thing to actually experiencing it for yourself. Looking up at the Arc De Triumph, seeing the whole city on top the Eiffel Tower, admiring the amazing architecture of churches like Notre Dame and Sacre Couer, seeing such famous paintings as the Mona Lisa as well as many other incredible works of art. The whole trip was amazing and I would love to go back one day. Of course, it would be for a few more days so I can really get to see everything and spend more time at some sights. Two and a half days wasn't nearly enough.


Now: Off to Ireland. My birthplace. Where the food is great and everyone speaks english. Really looking forward to this. Will post more as I get the chance. Thanks for reading :)\

P.S. Pictures are on the Facebook. Will try and put some on here soon.