I started Wednesday morning at Oklahoma City airport where I actually ran into Kacie as we waited for our separate flights. My first was to Minneapolis, and when I arrived, I hung out at the gate for several hours. I was surprised by how many families with children waited to board the plane. The kids entertained themselves by playing tag and running all around the gate. It was an overnight 8 hour flight and there was a screaming baby in front of me. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.
When we finally landed in Paris, the plane was taxing to the gate when I Parisian man looked at me and said "selon." While I was trying to figure out his sudden declaration of "living room," he repeated, "It's long," referring to the taxi time. I can already tell this two languages thing is going to be a struggle.
Once I met up with Kacie at baggage claim, we got a taxi and dropped our bags off at our hotel. The woman there was very helpful and told us which bus to take to get to Notre Dame. The church was beautiful, and the line to get inside wrapped around the block. There was an actual service happening while we were there, and that was cool to see.
Riding buses is quite the experience. I'd forgotten how much they jolt around; I've already almost fallen twice. This afternoon, we crammed so many people into one bus I thought the driver would tell the next passengers no; but he didn't.
I've already learned to ask for a carafe at restaurants so I don't get charged 5 euros for some water. Another group of students traveling abroad gave us that tip after I was complaining about the bill.
That afternoon we had dinner and walked around in the rain looking at flowers. We barley made it until bedtime; I fell asleep at 8 pm and slept until 9 the next morning. Talk about jet lag.
On our second day, we had a lot more to see. We started right in our own neighborhood at the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, a famous cemetery where Oscar Wilde rests. The cemetery was huge, with named streets cars could drive on and more graves than I have ever seen. It was almost like it's own city with a tall wall around the whole area.
There were even lipstick marks on Oscar Wilde's grave! :D
We found the Eiffel Tower and waited in line for a good 45 minutes to buy tickets. But there were a lot of people watching opportunities, and time doesn't really exist when there's no where you have to be and your internal clock is 7 hours off. We decided on "le deuxième étage" because of the price and hopped in an elevator. The view was gorgeous!
After all of this navigating, that view really helped cement Paris' layout in my mind. It's kind of a complicated city. They don't have blocks in Paris, and so streets just start and stop whenever they feel like it. They also will change names for a while and then switch back. There is so much traffic that you really have to pay attention before you cross a street, even if the crosswalk is on. And of course, you must always be vigilant about your purse to fend off pickpockets, who have yet to make an appearance.
Next came the obligatory "getting lost." We tried to find a metro stop for a good half hour and walked in a gigantic circle, ending up back at the Eiffel Tower. Finally, after ironically being asked by a tourist where the metro stop was, we did find it. My feet were already hurting before our wild goose chase.
We rode up to the Montmartre district of Paris, which is on a hill 130 meters (427 feet) high. The view from that hill almost out did the view from the le Tour Eiffel! It was breathtaking. In Montmartre, we toured le Sacre Cour, where a mass service was happening. We seem to always go to church with everyone else.
We also stopped by what I thought to be le Moulin Rouge at the time, arriving with help from my first time at asking directions, successfully might I add. Apparently there is more than one building with a windmill on top of it in the same district! Sad day. What we saw was actually le Moulin de la Galette, named for it's brown bread.
It was a successful day full of a lot of walking, pictures, and sightseeing! Here's to seeing Versailles tomorrow!
Au revoir,
Alissa
