The first trip to another country with the gang. The nights were long, and our bed were small.
Friday morning we were off to Paris in an 8 hour bus ride with a bathroom that reeked of poo and BO. The ride only felt so much longer because it was hard to sleep and the person sitting next to me was acting awkward. In order to get across from UK to France, we had to cross the English Channel; in bus!? The bus driver drove into a train carrier which then went in the under water tunnel across the channel, pretty neat invention. By the time we arrived in Paris it was the evening, but the sun doesn’t set until 10pm, so the days last forever. After checking into Hipotel, a 2 star shit hole, we briefly explored the city. Walked to the Tower de Eiffel, gorgeous big thing with no structural purpose but a tourist landmark. Took the train to see the Arch de Triumph which sits in the center of Paris to honor the people of the Napoleonic Wars. Made our way down Champs Elysees, a shopping area with only the finest shops, toward the Obelisque which had scriptures carved on the sides and a golden top. Knocked out at the hotel with 7 people squished on two double beds. Not cool, I feel bad for sardines. The person at the front desk knew we were sneaking people in, so we had to look for another hotel for Chauncey and Michael for the next night.
Saturday was a 24 hour day packed with adventures and emergencies. We started the day early with the Louvre. Spent 3 hours in it and not even close to finishing the museum. Since I took Art History, art piece was priceless. Being able to see some of the art that I had learned through pictures in a textbook, with my naked eyes, made me want to fall to my knees. These paintings were larger than life, so intricate with perfect shading and outlines. The Mona Lisa was whatevs, couldn’t really observe the painting because there was a huge crowd around her. My eye candy was the Nike Goddess. Damn, when I presented this sculpture in class explaining the flow of the drapery, I did not understand why it was “so great,” but now, I know what Mr. Johnson meant by majestic.
Notre Dame was also beautiful. The details in the panels of the doors to the tower bells and stained glass windows, was pretty amazing. Everything from each crevice to the tiles of the floor in all the cathedrals we visited, were carefully detailed with perfection. We also went to see Saint Etienne du Mont. The inside of this looked like the best place to get married. Spiraling stairs on both ends in the front of the church with carved out railings. The tops of the ceilings had ornament-like carvings.
The last cathedral we visited was a mission. Placed on the top of a hill overlooking the city of Paris, was the Monamarte. This church looked like a castle. I couldn’t go inside because there was a certain dress code, and I did not meet the requirements =[ But nonetheless I sat outside with the girls and enjoyed this priceless view.
Dinner time rolled around and we went back to the Notre Dame area to check out the alley ways. These alleyways were like its own little town filled with restaurants, bakeries, creperies etc. Workers would storm out at you and bribe you to come eat at their place for free drinks. We chose French cuisine, 3 course meal. Escargot, Lamb and Apple Tart. YUMMMMM!!!!
Time to get trashed at the Eiffel Tower. Smikes blacks out, Chauncey is Crossed. We missed the last train to our hotel. We had to taxi it back home, costly.
Chauncey and Smikes go to their new shady ass hotel in a shady alley way. Supposedly theres a sketch family that lives there. We get a call from Chauncey and he tells us that he’s locked in the bathroom and someone came in and jacked their stuff. Smikes was knocked out on the bed and had no clue what was going on. Chauncey starts going crazy screaming for Michael to wake up, and he never did. He kicks down the door and makes sure everything is ok. Michael, still blacked out, thinks he’s in a movie or something. The whole time us girls had no clue what to do, to call the police? We didn’t know the police number, and thought it was 999. The person at our hotel couldn’t speak english. We were freaking out because we couldn’t get a hold of them. It was a disaster. The guys ended up being okay though, bumming it out on the streets of Paris for a night.
Sunday we went up the Eiffel Tour to see the pretty canal and blue skies. Weather was perfect! Had bomb Greek food for dinner and a Nutella and Banana crepe for dessert.
Paris is really the city of Romance. I wish you could’ve shared it with me
