On London Time: Bonjour Paris!

Too Excited for Sleep...

I was up before the sun on Friday morning. All night I had dreamed about the upcoming week. All week I had tried by best to focus on teaching, but daydreams of Friday overtook my concentration. I looked at the clock. 3:00am. Too early to get ready for the day. I threw the covers over my head and tried to push past my excitement and fall back asleep. Finally, at 9:00 the alarm went off and I leapt out of bed. I quickly dressed, washed up, grabbed a bite to eat and nipped over to Heathrow Airport, escorted by Luis, who is the “dad” of my host family and was so kind to give me a lift. My Mum and Aunt Sheryl were arriving! Beyond excited to see my Mum! I got to give her a hug for the first time in three months.

This was a great start to a wonderful vacation. The remainder of Friday was spent talking, relaxing, and planning. I gave Mum and Aunt Sheryl a tour of my new town and then whipped up some hot cocoa and snacks to warm us up from the British wind. We planned what sights we wanted to see for the first location of our vacation: Paris!

Under the Sea, Up in France!

Bright and early on Saturday, I took Mum and Aunt Sheryl through Victoria Station and on the underground to St. Pancreas, where we caught the Eurostar for Paris. The Eurostar goes through some English countryside, under the English Channel, through scenic France and eventually ends up in Paris.

Popping up in France, the countryside was lovely. The grass rolled alongside of the train. Little red-roofed French towns splashed themselves randomly in the country. Each town had a tall, pointed church steeple near the centre. French farmhouses held dairy cows and little courtyards, and narrow gravel streets connected petite towns to one another.

It was rainy in Paris when we arrived, but that didn’t dampen our spirits! Well, how could it? We were in Paris! I was a bit nervous, as I wasn’t sure how we would be welcomed or how we would get along with the language difference, but I was pleasantly surprised. We hailed a taxi and went straight to our hotel: Hotel Derby Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower could be seen from our hotel. Beautiful! I didn’t take a picture of it, but the elevator was hilarious at our hotel. It was SO narrow! The three of us could barley fit in it! When we had our luggage, I got stuck in the door….

Our first day there we took a nice long walk then hit up some museums. In London, walking is the thing to do. In Paris, biking is the thing to do. Check out these bikes. You pay to rent them, then just hook them back up when you’re through!

This is where Napoleon was buried.

The building architecture was much different than England and Ireland. Note the rounded structure and chimneys at the top of the buildings. In England, the architecture is very thick, heavy, rich, and elaborate. In Ireland, I found the architecture to be more light-hearted, Celtic, and colourful. In Paris, the colours were light (mint greens, greys, and sandstone) and the metalwork was very swirly. Lovely, lovely!

The first museum we went to was the Rodin Museum. Rodin is probably most well-known for his statues “The Kiss” and “The Thinker.”

Thinking....

Rodin's House and Gardens

Then we walked along the Seine River to the next museum: Orsay Museum! Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures; however, it was gorgeous inside! It had a lot of great Impressionistic art. Van Gogh and Monet, baby! Could it get much better?

Next stop to complete the day? The Eiffel Tower. I loved walked along the Seine River. Strolling on the gravel sidewalk, holding my Mum’s hand, seeing the blossoms on the flowers and the trees, watching the boats pass by, and soaking in the beauty of Paris and the Eiffel Tower. It was perfect. My ambition was to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but because of the time and such, I was told I couldn’t climb to the top. I was really disappointed, but no matter! I was at the Eiffel Tower with my Mum! How amazing is that?! The view of Paris at night from the Eiffel Tower was breathtaking. We got to see the Eiffel Tower light up and shimmer in the French night.

The View from Eiffel Tower

From the Eiffel Tower, how far is it to.....Los Angeles?

Distance to London?

Exhausted after a day of walking, we collapsed for a sound night’s sleep. Saturday we freshened up and hit the town again! Having planned our agenda for the day we headed out, but got distracted by a little French market. Away from the tourists and hubbub, this little French market was selling fresh fish, veggies, fruit, clothing, and jewelry. They were preparing themselves for Easter Sunday. They weren’t expecting tourists, but I’m so glad that we made time to enjoy the market. The market was teeming with potent smells (olives, fish, flowers). There was a morning mist on the market tables and everyone was hustling to set up for the French buyers coming. The Eiffel Tower posed as the backdrop for this little market. All of the tourist attractions in Paris were wonderful; yet, this was my favourite sight in Paris. I felt like I got a real taste of the Parisian culture. It was divine.

Moving onward, we got a little squirreled around with directions. Well, sort of. I had a pretty good idea of where to go (which isn’t saying much….) but I was with two very Type A Map Ladies. I swear, every two blocks one of them is pulling out a map. I’m more of a wanderer and get-lost type of person. Probably a good thing they were with… Anyways, we were trying to get to the Pantheon. While they were scanning through the map, I stood aimlessly by, watching Paris bustle along. This lovely little elderly French lady came up and asked if we needed help in French. Perfect! A chance to use my new French! “Oui a Pantheon?” Granted, I probably pronounced it wrong, but my French instructor (aka: Youtube) did its best. “Por que?” she replied. “Oh, um, do you know how to get to the Pantheon?” I resorted to English and dramatic hand motions and facial expressions. She then elaborated in French how to get to the Pantheon. Believe it or not, I got what she said. I didn’t understand a word, but she also resorted to dramatic hand motions and facial expressions to get her point across. See? People aren’t so different. :D

Nearly at the Pantheon, we passed through the lovely Palace of Luxembourg.

The Pantheon!

Pantheon ceiling before entering the building. I love the ceilings here..

See?!?!?! SEE!!!! Out with the map again way at the back of the picture! :D How adorable…

Funny little dog sign we passed along the way. Cute, ey?

An alleyway with a little scooter. Paris is definitely a scooter/motorcycle city. Some of the alleyways and sidewalks are completely parked with them.

St. Michael’s. I got such a kick out of their gargoyles. Unlike the menacing gargoyles in England, the French resorted to nasty weasels to scare away evil spirits. Hahaha So funny…..

Notre-Dame! All of the lights were off in the cathedral, I think because of religious reasons, so the pics are pretty dark. Only candles lit the church.