Day 11
After writing my last blog entry, I met up with a guy from Australia(Ben), 2 girls from Austria(Valley and Dude), and 2 guys from Sacramento(yeah thats right I met 2 guys from Sacramento in Paris). We went out for some wine, then walked around town after the sun went down and ended up making it to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was excellent at night. We walked up to the second level and had an amazing view of Paris at night. Although my camera couldn't take very good night shots because they all ended up blurry, it was a great view. After heading back down we sat down in the grass under the tower and bought some beers from a guy carrying around a bucket of beer and champagne(he looked pretty legit). We sat there for a while, just soaking in the view of the tower and at midnight we were treated to a light show where all of the lights on the tower started flashing. After staying for a while longer and even getting nutella crepes next to the tower as well, we headed back to the hostel. On the way back we didn't know where we were going, but the old saying held true, "All roads in Paris lead to the Arch De Triumph". We realized where we were and how much farther we had to walk, so we hailed a cab and went home.
Day 12
I spent the day wandering the streets of Paris, heading to both Notre Dame and The Louvre. I was most excited about seeing the catacombs under Notre Dame, but they were closed that day. The cathedral itself was amazing though, with impressive stained glass and beautiful architecture. After spending some time at the cathedral I headed over to the Louvre, stopping periodically to look at the street vendors merchandise while walking along the canals. The Louvre, for anyone who has never been there, is simply overwhelming. You could spend a week in the Louvre and never see the same thing twice. So for me, as a person who admittedly knows very little about art, I was completely overwhelmed. I had a map with me that gave an overview of the major pieces, like Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa, so I hit those stops first. My plan was to run around and see the major pieces before I got burnt out, then wander around looking at the various art until I was ready to leave. I have been told the the Mona Lisa is a small painting, but I forgot about that until I actually entered the room that housed it. There was a lot of cool looking art and sculptures, but I am sure I walked right past so many "Priceless pieces" that an art student would cry. After being completely burnt out of art for the day, I headed back, stopping at a cafe to get some lunch and people watch for a while. I sat and watched a leg of the Tour De France in the cafe and watched the Parisian people walk by outside. On a side note, the fashion on Paris is at a level I will never get too, it is simply ridiculous how fashionable people are just to walk down the street.
After getting back to my hostel, I wasn't feeling very good, and just sat with my book for a few hours in a chair. It helped me relax and I chugged bottle after bottle of water to bring down what felt like a fever. Later that night I met up with the group from the Eiffel Tower and we headed to Sacre-Coeur, or the highest point in Paris. There is a church on top and massive steps the the locals and tourists alike sit on to watch the sunset and street performers. There was one guy singing American songs, a fire twirler, and a 3 person violin band to entertain us while we drank more beer from another guy with a bucket of beer. They decided to go out clubbing, but I still wasn't feeling 100%, so I went back to the hostel and went to bed.
Day 13
Today I met up with Ben from the Eiffel Tower group and we took a day trip out to Versailles. We took the guided tour of the gardens which were massive on their own, let alone in addition to the equally massive palace of Versailles. We learned a lot about the history of the city and the palace. After the tour, we had a beer in town and had a good time just people watching. After making it back to the hostel Ben and I made a delicious dinner and spent the rest of the night chatting with some girls from Norway in the common room.
Day 14
Today is the day I go home. I had to take 2 metro trains, 1 regular train, and 2 flights just to make it to Las Vegas. When I finally arrived in Las Vegas, my flight was late and I missed my connecting flight to Sacramento. The airline put me up for the night in a hotel in Vegas and the next day I caught 2 more planes to make it home. I spent so long in airports over these two days that I am more than happy to not be flying for quite some time.
