Day 65, 3/26/2010

I only have 6 more weeks in the country I can't believe it. Just one more period.
I'm over 2 weeks behind with spring break to write about so I don't expect to be able to catch up at least not for a while.

Day 51, 3/12/2010


This was the first day of spring break. We had to start the day with school. It was our last day of Videography so we were suppose to look at the videos that we've made throughout the last two weeks. I went first because Trisha, Catie and I would be leaving early. He put Colton and my video in and gave his critique and then we looked at the lighting exercise that we did last week and he gave his critique and then we did a few other videos and we also watched Catie, and Trisha's video before it was time for us to leave. I went through my bag and decided not to take my video camera because I was too afraid that I wouldn't use it and it would take up a lot of room. So I left it in the video room so they could lock it up while I was gone. The we left and headed to the train station. We caught our train to Dusseldorf then on to the airport. When we got there we had to do the usual check in and check and go through security. We waited the mandatory time till our plane was ready to go and then we were off on our way to Paris. As we were waiting for our plane in the airport I went and bought some Haribo that I've wanted for a while. We also met an awesome person while waiting for the plane. Her name was Bernadette. She talked to us for a while and it turns out that she would have some time to hang out after we got to Paris so we decided that she could come along with us. While we were on the plane she came and sat by me so we could talk during the flight. She also helped us out with the train system and how to find things while we were in Paris and she helped us find our hostel. After getting to the air port then getting to Paris by bus we went on the underground to our hostel. At the first underground station we came to we bought our Paris pass for the days that we would be there this allowed us to use any public transport while in the inner part of the city. So in that way she helped us find our hostel. We dropped our stuff off then immediately went out again. Our first goal was to find a place to eat. So we walked around the streets near our hostel to find a cheap place to eat. We finally found one that had 6 Euro meals. It was a Chinese food place. Not my ideal place to eat but better than nothing. After that we headed back to the hostel so I could grab my camera and we would be able to learn our way to the metro from there and not from the restaurant. We didn't ride this time because we wanted to see Moulin Rouge. It wasn't too far to walk and we weren't tired yet because it was the first day. It was humorous in this area because it was like the Red Light district in Amsterdam. Lots of sex shops. Trisha and I laughed about it fairly hard. The building was awesome. Although it isn't used a brothel anymore it is still used for the dancing. It was still an awesome thing to go see. After that we got on the metro to go see the Eiffel Tower for the first time. It was amazing. I was more in awe of it than anyone else was. We got out of the train station and ran outside to see it sparkle. It sparkles because of lights that they do at the top of the hour every hour for a little while. Usually around 15 mins. So we walked around and I took a lot of pictures. We also walked up to the 'perfect' spot to take pictures. Its up a hill and some long stairs but is one of the best places to take pictures. It was amazing to get to see it at night. We walked around a bit more and found an artist that Trisha and I really liked. We talked to him for a few mins before we headed to the other side of the Eiffel. After a little while of walking around Bernadette had to go. After she left we walked around a bit more and looked at the lights and talked. After that we decided it was time to head back to the hostel and get ready for bed. We rode the train back and when we got there I put the sheets on my bed because apparently that is what you have to do at this place. I also discovered that I had to use the community toilet and shower. That was kinda gross. Well I wasn't tired yet so I grabbed my computer and went down stairs to talk to Sean on the internet. After that went to bed so I could be fresh for the next day.


Day 52, 3/13/2010

Well this morning I got up and had to wait for the shower before I could get one and head down stairs. I grabbed a breakfast of cereal and cresonts with butter. Then we waited for Catie to head out. The first thing that we did was get on the Underground and head to the RER station that would take us to Versailles. This is the palace of King Louis XIV. It was also used by several of the kings after him including Napoleon. It was beautiful the whole place. It was also very very gaudy. We got there and before we walked up to the palace we had to get our Museum pass. This was being sold in a shop around the corner so we walked over there and bought it. It was rather expensive but completely worth it. It paid for itself over that week. The we walked to the gates. I of course took WAY more pictures than necessary but I don't really care I loved ever min of it. We walked inside and that is where the self guided tour started. We spent the entire first part of the day doing this. It was awesome. We walked through all the rooms and saw everything that we could. Again like most of this trip I spent most of the day by myself seeing this stuff by myself. I was amazed at how much money was put into these places just because they could. I walked every room as slow as I could so I was able to take it all in. The one room that was the most impressive was the hall of mirrors. It was amazing to be in this place. It made me wonder if the king ever thought that a nobody like all the people there would ever be just wondering through his home like that. The inside was beautiful but nothing compared to grounds. It was just as amazing. Sadly it is winter time so all the statues were covered and it wasn't very green. I was just happy to get to see it. I wish I could have been there when the fountains were running. I learned something about the fountains which I found amusing. There wasn't enough water pressure to run them all at the same time so servants had to keep track of where the king was so they could turn the fountain on nearest him. We walked down the lake in the middle for a little while and I decided I wanted to go see the other palace on the grounds. First, however we wanted to eat lunch. Catie remembered a cafe that she ate at the first time that she was here. So we found it. It was a small little place but also expensive like every where else we realized later. I had a club sandwich and some tea. It was really good. After that was when we headed to the other palace. This palace was supposed to be where Marie Antoinette stayed most of the time. Personally I like this place better. It wasn't just Covered with stuff and it was entirely too gaudy like the bigger palace was. I walked through these halls also. This was when I realized that Trisha and Catie have very little patience. I like to take my time and they zoom through these places. It kinda irritated me. This wasn't the only time it would happen on this trip either. So I finished this place and we walked back to the lake then down to the big palace again. This was about the time that we decided it was time to go. So we headed out of the palace grounds toward the train station again. Along the way we stopped at several souvenir shops to see if there was anything worth buying. I ended up getting a Picasso cat and a picture frame that I could frame our group picture that I made of us. Then we headed back to the main part of Paris. Since it wasn't too late in the day and we still had time to do something we decided to go to the Arc de Triomphe. This was an arch built in the 19th century dedicated to all those who died in war. It was huge I've never seen a monument that huge. It also had some very interesting sculptures on it. I took as many pictures as Trisha and Catie would let me and keep up with them. Again the no patience thing. Well we walked around it and studied the sculptures and looked at it. We couldn't walk around the entire thing because they were having some sort of ceremony I don't really know what for. They had the memorial lite underneath the arch and there were a lot of people in uniforms. Since we couldn't walk around the whole thing at the moment we decided to go up to the top. This was awesome but hard. We had to walk up all the steps to get to the top. It felt like forever but once we got up there we were able to get a very nice view of Paris and it was right at sunset so it was even more beautiful. It was a very colorful sunsets but I just find them to be extremely beautiful. We stayed up there taking pictures for a little while. I was OK with it because I was able to get as many as I wanted. After that we noticed that whatever ceremony was going one was over so we were able to head back down. Before we went all the way down we stopped by the souvenir shop and milled around. I ended up getting a book. I also bought a book at Versailles. I forgot to mention that. Then we headed back to the hostel for the night. Again, after we got there I grabbed my computer and went down stairs to talk to Sean. Then I headed to bed.