J'ai deux amours... mon pays et Paris
So I went to Paris this past weekend, for the first time in my life (if you check Facebook, there is a "WE'RE GOING TO PARIS" picture of me and Rachael). It was the most amazing weekend of my life! So under the cut is a long ass description of my amazing weekend, during which I went to Normandy and Paris.
Friday: I went to Caen, a city in Normandy that was practically destroyed in WWII, with my friend Rachael. To get anywhere Normandy from the south, you have to go through Paris, which from Lyon you can take the TGV, the fastest train in France. It only takes 2 hours. However, the one we were on broke down, and we ended up getting to Paris 3.5 hours later, and missed our connecting train. We got to the second train station, got in line to explain our situation, and when we finally got to the counter, the woman said we could just use the same tickets. While we had been waiting in line, a train had already left. So we had an hour in Paris! We got crepes and bought stuff. I now have a scarf and a wallet from Paris. I am so cool.
Friday night, we went to William the Conqueror's old chateau. It was fun to walk around the gates and towers and stuff. We got there late because we missed the train, so we just walked around a lot. Saturday, we went to Caen Memorial Museum, and it was really interesting. During WWII, ¾ of Caen was basically destroyed. We spent 4 hours in the museum, then did a tour of D-Day beaches. We went to Omaha Beach, American Cemetery, Pointe du Hoc, Arromanches, Longues-sur-Mer, and some old batteries. It's so historical. Omaha Beach is so peaceful. I was standing there thinking, "Sixty years ago, there was a battle going on in this spot. Three thousand men were killed in a span of three days." The history in France is amazing. I mean, William the Conqueror's chateau is from the 11th century!
After we got back to Caen, we went to MACDO! My first McDonald's experience in France, and I loved every single bite, haha. Then we went to PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got to Champs de Mars, right next to the Eiffel Tower, just in time to see France lose to England in the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup. We met this woman from Australia at the metro station, when we weren't sure how to get from the train station to the Eiffel Tower. England beat Australia in the quarters, so she was also rooting for the French. We went with Steve back to his apartment to drop off our stuff, then we went out. We walked around Latin Quarter, just looking for a bar to chill. The first bar was a sports bar that was soon invaded by drunk Englishmen, so we tried a bar that was called Sexy Bar or something, where all the bartenders were men in tightie whities… So we ended up at this random café-bar, where we bought drinks to find out that a pint was 11 euros, oops. We went back to Steve's apartment after a chugging contest and gyros and slept.
On Sunday, Rachael and I attended mass at Notre-Dame, the service was beautiful. And of course, the cathedral is amazing. After that, we got lost for a bit and walked along the Seine. Then we went to the LOUVRE! We didn't go in, but we took lots of pictures. The palace is amazing! We went on a ferris wheel after that, which was really fun. We got three revolutions, and at the start of the third one, a worker walked by our car-thingie and spun it, and Rachael was scared, it was hilarious. After that, we walked from there to Arc de Triomphe, and saw Jardin des Tuileries and walked along Champs-Elysees. L'arc de triomphe is HUGE! We went up it and saw lots of Argentinians psyched for their rugby semifinal against South Africa (South Africa won). Then Rachael and I went to Jardin de Luxembourg for 10 minutes before it closed. After that, we met Steve and Dan for dinner at a restaurant called Le Petit Prince, then accompanied Rachael to the train station and walked back along the Seine to the Latin Quarter.
On Monday, I went to the Pantheon, walked along the Seine, walked to Jardin des Plantes, got ridiculously lost, then went back to Lyon. It was nice spending a day just walking around by myself. I really like Paris. I can definitely see myself living there.
Friday: I went to Caen, a city in Normandy that was practically destroyed in WWII, with my friend Rachael. To get anywhere Normandy from the south, you have to go through Paris, which from Lyon you can take the TGV, the fastest train in France. It only takes 2 hours. However, the one we were on broke down, and we ended up getting to Paris 3.5 hours later, and missed our connecting train. We got to the second train station, got in line to explain our situation, and when we finally got to the counter, the woman said we could just use the same tickets. While we had been waiting in line, a train had already left. So we had an hour in Paris! We got crepes and bought stuff. I now have a scarf and a wallet from Paris. I am so cool.
Friday night, we went to William the Conqueror's old chateau. It was fun to walk around the gates and towers and stuff. We got there late because we missed the train, so we just walked around a lot. Saturday, we went to Caen Memorial Museum, and it was really interesting. During WWII, ¾ of Caen was basically destroyed. We spent 4 hours in the museum, then did a tour of D-Day beaches. We went to Omaha Beach, American Cemetery, Pointe du Hoc, Arromanches, Longues-sur-Mer, and some old batteries. It's so historical. Omaha Beach is so peaceful. I was standing there thinking, "Sixty years ago, there was a battle going on in this spot. Three thousand men were killed in a span of three days." The history in France is amazing. I mean, William the Conqueror's chateau is from the 11th century!
After we got back to Caen, we went to MACDO! My first McDonald's experience in France, and I loved every single bite, haha. Then we went to PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got to Champs de Mars, right next to the Eiffel Tower, just in time to see France lose to England in the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup. We met this woman from Australia at the metro station, when we weren't sure how to get from the train station to the Eiffel Tower. England beat Australia in the quarters, so she was also rooting for the French. We went with Steve back to his apartment to drop off our stuff, then we went out. We walked around Latin Quarter, just looking for a bar to chill. The first bar was a sports bar that was soon invaded by drunk Englishmen, so we tried a bar that was called Sexy Bar or something, where all the bartenders were men in tightie whities… So we ended up at this random café-bar, where we bought drinks to find out that a pint was 11 euros, oops. We went back to Steve's apartment after a chugging contest and gyros and slept.
On Sunday, Rachael and I attended mass at Notre-Dame, the service was beautiful. And of course, the cathedral is amazing. After that, we got lost for a bit and walked along the Seine. Then we went to the LOUVRE! We didn't go in, but we took lots of pictures. The palace is amazing! We went on a ferris wheel after that, which was really fun. We got three revolutions, and at the start of the third one, a worker walked by our car-thingie and spun it, and Rachael was scared, it was hilarious. After that, we walked from there to Arc de Triomphe, and saw Jardin des Tuileries and walked along Champs-Elysees. L'arc de triomphe is HUGE! We went up it and saw lots of Argentinians psyched for their rugby semifinal against South Africa (South Africa won). Then Rachael and I went to Jardin de Luxembourg for 10 minutes before it closed. After that, we met Steve and Dan for dinner at a restaurant called Le Petit Prince, then accompanied Rachael to the train station and walked back along the Seine to the Latin Quarter.
On Monday, I went to the Pantheon, walked along the Seine, walked to Jardin des Plantes, got ridiculously lost, then went back to Lyon. It was nice spending a day just walking around by myself. I really like Paris. I can definitely see myself living there.