Tuesday, May 06, 2008

• So I'm in Paris. P to the A to the R-I-S. I've built it up so much in my mind because I've been wanting to come here for years and years, and guess what? It's even more incredible than I thought it would be!! Seriously, what an amazing city.
  
  Our journey here was very long and by the time we actually got to our apartment we had no idea what day it was. Luckily, I was able to pretty much beat the jet lag. Our overnight flight was about 10 hours (LAX to Heathrow), then we had to haul our luggage all over creation to get the tube to the Eurostar station, and another 2 hour train ride later we were in Paris! Our taxi driver didn't speak a word of English, but we got to our apartment without a problem and my mom was even making some small talk with him. I am so impressed with her and so thankful that she can speak more French than I can. We've met many nice French people who speak plenty of English, so we've been getting along with the language thing just fine.
  
  I want to try to remember all of the wonderful details of this trip, so I'm going to try to blog daily. Besides, my mom is already asleep (we keep very different schedules) so what else do I have to do?
  
  Jour Un (Day One)
  This morning we walked to the neighborhood grocery store to pick up a few things to stock the fridge with, and grabbed a pastry at a boulangerie on the way back. We ate our petit dejeuner on the balcony of our apartment while we looked at our amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. Then we packed some sandwiches for lunch and set out on our merry way.
  
  And... we got lost. Not so much lost as in "we don't know where we are" lost (because trust me, we have maps-a-plenty), but more like "we don't really know how to get anywhere that we want to go" lost. We had purchased a 2 day pass on this thing called the Hop On/Hop Off bus, but we walked around for a good hour before we figured out where to get on the bus. Once we got on we were certainly glad we had decided to buy the passes. They are these double decker buses that travel around Paris on 4 different routes and stop at all the major monuments and museums. So we got on the bus, took it over to the Eiffel Tower, spent several hours there, mailed some post cards from the Eiffel Tower because they put a special stamp on them to show where they are mailed from, and then ate un glace (ice cream) in the park next to the Tower. Then we hopped back on the bus and took it over to Notre Dame.
  
  As soon as we walked inside Notre Dame, we heard an organ playing and we hurried to the front of the church to grab a seat for mass. Now, I'm not Catholic, but I really wanted to attend a service at Notre Dame, so I was thrilled that they were having one randomly on a Tuesday evening. We sat there, listening to the priest giving a message in French (something about disciples... and joy... and now... those are the only words I picked up.) It was one of those out of body experiences. Now, I am a big fan of the small home church. I don't care if a church meets in the back of a van. The surroundings don't matter as long as God is there. But I've got to tell you, there's something to be said about the grandeur of a church like Notre Dame. I was listening to the pipe organ and staring at the beautiful stained glass windows and trying to take it all in and it just reminded me of the awesomeness of God and the vastness of his love and his glory. Wow. Talk about a spiritual experience.
  
  After Notre Dame it was getting late, so we wandered over to one of those cute sidewalk cafes to order dinner. We split a crepe and a pizza (and it turned out to be WAY too much food so we brought it home, which was funny because when we asked for a box our very French waiter said "une doggy bag?") and watched the world go by. The food here is sooooo good. Especially the cheese.
  
  We also had a good time maneuvering ourselves through the somewhat complicated Paris Metro system. It's great, because there are Metro stops everywhere, but... well, all the signs are in French! I think I've got a handle on it now, so we're good to go. We bought a pass for the entire week, so I'm sure I will be a pro soon.
  
  Tomorrow is another day on the bus, and I'm not entirely sure what we're doing yet. I believe L'Arc de Triomphe will be our first stop in the morning, followed by a stroll down the Champs Elysees and then maybe up to Montmartre to see the Sacre Couer. Our schedule isn't too planned out, which is wonderful, because we can just go with the flow and do what we want!
  
  My mom said to me today that she enjoys traveling with me, which I was so glad to hear. I've been on lots of vacations with lots of different types of people, and I know how important it is to travel with someone who has the same travel style as you do. I've come to find out that we're both fairly easygoing, we don't freak out when things don't go exactly as planned, and we have a good time together. So yay for that.
  
  I'm posting pictures every day to my Facebook album, so be sure to check them out by clicking here. I'll post a couple of my favorites right here as well.
  
  Bon soir!
  
  
   
  
  

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