The plane ride back was the first time I opened the book Paris, Paris. As it was assigned as a suggestion to read before the trip, I took that as some reason to not read it until now. However, from the first pages of the foreword I can clearly tell that it was something I should have done already. The book has already (I'm only so far in) described major monuments and places in a way travel guides and most books don't.
The first chapter offers insight into the Seine River and talks about the beginning of Paris. Maybe its because I've been there and can now relate to the author, David Downie, when he describes the characteristics. The way he writes about the color, the smell and this sort of free flowing body trapped between walls are all things I can call back onto my own experiences and know just how true these things are.  Thus, I find interest when he explains the history of the names "Seine" and "Paris" and when he gives background information about the river... Like how it has ran red at least two times- once during St. Bartholomew's massacre in 1572 and in the French Revolution.

(pages with history on both here respectively 1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bartholomew%27s_Day_massacre 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution .. 1, 6, 10 to point out some areas to read)

 .. and how approximately 50 people try to jump off bridges and commit suicide each year..or that because of such heavy pollution over time there are now only 3 species of fish left in the River, and also the need for 6 oxygen pumping plants along the river just to keep those fish alive. Also, the stench of water I described previously makes perfect sense because 80% of the drinking water comes from the Seine and according to rumor, by the time it reaches the table, its been through at least 5 other people and come out the same.
But besides all this, the Seine has made itself a key player, if not the key player, in making Paris the city it is today. And Paris itself seems to have modeled its personality after the river, it's something free flowing and untamed which makes it all the more enticing to see.

In the words of Ernest Hemingway, "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

London VS. Paris

Customer Service - Paris has hardly any so it was a refreshing change, I got a little weirded out when the waiter poured my water for me.

Starbucks- They are everywhere in London! There's one on every other block and in some areas every block. Paris has a few scattered throughout, but is dense with cafes instead.

Sidewalks- Paris' are either tiny or small and crammed with pushy people whereas London had large, accommodating sidewalks.

Smell- Although a very large city, London is one of the greenest in the world. I saw few people smoking, maybe like two total. In Paris, it's more like every other two people are smoking. London's city buses are also hybrid and I even noticed a few that were completely gasoline free.

Things to do- Paris is an unbelievable city filled with so much to learn, I could go on and on. London has so much to do also. There's places to go, things to do, things to see, and interactive ways to have fun in the city in a modern way or in a way that shows off London's history. There's so many different attractions- the Eye, the aquarium, the famous landmarks and muesums, shopping, Madame Toussauds, and many more. It would be great to go back and experience the rest that I missed.

English Language- After two weeks of constant french, it's pretty self-explanatory. My ears greatly missed the English language.

Homeless- I saw NO homeless people in London, but I see so many in Paris.

London

I was so excited to go to London; I didnt even care that I had to get up at 4:50 A.M. Yes.. 4:50. In. The. Morning. We had decided to go through a company because we thought it would be easier to get around London; get through customs, and that there would be help if anything happened. When we got to the company, we learned that we were an hour and a half earlier than we needed to be. That went over well with everyone, especially since we weren't tired or anything (sarcasm..). Thankfully there was a restaurant open which is VERY rare in Paris at 7 A.M. I ordered another crepe- this time with a banana and Nutella on top. :)

We then got on the bus and went to the train station.The train took two and a half hours so I had plenty of time to catch up on my missed sleep. The train passes under the English Channel for 20 minutes; which I though would be cooler than it was, but it just felt like we were back on the Metro- not a good thing.

Arriving at King's Cross, a guy from our tour was waiting for us and I quickly found out that the London Eye was closed for repairs. I was more than disappointed. Anyways, the bus tour took us past Madame Toussaud's, a place where they filmed scenes from Harry Potter, and where Sherlock Holmes solved crimes according to the author. We also got to see Buckingham Palace and the Gardens where the queen has tea parties in the summer. I thought this was interesting because the gardens are blocked from view and are topped with two types of barbed wire. After that we hopped on the bus and headed for Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliment. We kept going and stopped by the Tower of London and Shakespeare's Globe.


Fun Facts about my Arc de Triomphe Project for the class I am completing while abroad:

Arc de Triomphe

-The squares with shields in the center name battles Napoleon won (30 total)

-Made after soldiers won Battle of Austerlitz in 1806

-Jean Chalgrin was designer in 1806, but completed by Jean-Nicolas Huyot because in 1811,  Jean Chalgrin died

-Finished after Napoleon's death, 1836

-In 1919, after WW1 Charles Godefroy flew a biplane through arches

-Four columns name other major battles during Napoleon's time

- Unknown Soldier is underneath arch and represents the 1.5 million French Soldiers in WW1

-Flame of Remembrance for WW1 and WW2 inspired JFK's wife to have one at his grave after his assassination

Versailles continued

Finally updating with a picture post! Enjoy :)

Making the crepes :)

Chapel from the first floor

King Louis

View from Hall of Mirrors overlooking gardens, such a stretch of land!

Hall of Mirrors.

View of the gardens.

Top of Marie Antoinette's bed in the Versailles palace.

State portrait of Marie Antoinette with children.

Delacroix bust in Versailles

Amazing Angelina's hot chocolate with strawberry macaroon and chantilly (cold whipped cream). Best thing I've ever eaten!

Marie Antoinette

Back view of the Petit Trianon

Tons of fish just waiting to be fed!

The first house you'll see in Hamlet.

One of the many pastures in Hamlet.

Sunset at the Grand Trianon

Sunset while walking back through the gardens

After getting wasted on chocolate..again, we left the palace and made our way through some carefully designed gardens. Everything seemed to have it's place and was in rows and squared off. We followed the path past the turned off fountains and went into the Petit and Grand Trianons which played home to another Angelina's. Helene then led us to Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. It seemed like we had wandered into either a deserted medival town or a movie set for one. It wasn't just a few buildings either, this place was expansive. It had a pond with a stream complete with bridges, fish, and birds. There were gardens, vineyards, pastures for animals, and plenty of houses to play pretend in, which is apparently what she did.

Versailles

Yes it is very clear I need to post some pictures and will hopefully do that later tonight.. fingers crossed! :)

Yesterday we took a group trip to Versailles to visit the castle and a creperie. This was by far the most chocolate I've ever had within a 5 hour timespan. Our crepes were freshly made in front of us which was cool to see.. I'll have to try the technique when I get back. My teacher has some good pictures of each step that it takes. We each got to order our own sort of flavoring because we were the only ones there and they really like CEA.. so that's awesome for us :) Mine had raspberry jam in it, with hot chocolate over the top, and a side of black currant glacee or ice cream. It was so unbelievably good! We also got to have a bottle of the restaurant's own brewed cider which was much better than anything similar that I have tried before.

 After we left, it was a short walk to the castle, but it wasn't hard to find. Not only is this thing incredibly massive, but it also dominates the entire city. Walking up the cobblestone courtyard (I should have worn better shoes for this) I could see the massiveness of the castle looming back at the curious tourists.

We quickly got inside though because it was very cold out, and started our tour of the castle. A main room was the Chapel, which we saw from two different views- first and second floor. Remember this was at one point a "house" but like I said, this place is huge. There was clearly no restraint to the  building of this castle. We also got to see many dining rooms, the king's bedroom, Marie Antoinette's bedroom and the door she ran through to escape from those who stormed the castle during the French Revolution and of course, the Hall of Mirrors. This elegant hallway was beautiful. Although I was expecting more glitter and sparkle than I saw - what can I say, people build it up so much!- it still had more than extravagant amounts of jewels and sparkle and chandeliers. The King Louis-Phillipe clearly knew how to live life lavishly.

From there, we made a pit stop at Angelina's, a tea room well known for their hot chocolate. Even though I was just beginning to recover from my food coma from the creperie, I could NOT stop eating the hot chocolate. It was just so unbelievably thick and rich and creamy and.. it was amazing. AHH-mazing. And that's just the hot chocolate. We were also treated to macaroons which were exceptional. The shell of the cookie was done just right- a small crunch to bite into, followed by creamy filling on the inside. My favorite was definitely the strawberry flavor. It went perfectly with the hot chocolate. After this, I was definitely ready for a nap.. so much so that I took a rest on the steps outside the cafe while the others took a bathroom break. But once they were done, we were headed on in search of the Petit and Grand Trianon, and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. I will post about that next post seeing as this post is very long already!

Updating

I figured I should post while everything is still fresh in my mind. Yesterday morning, Sam, Sharie and I went to the Pere-Lachaise Cemetary and visited the graves of Oscar Wilde, Chopin (a pianist), Collette, and Jim Morrison. This was by far the craziest cemetery I have ever been too. Shrines were stacked on top of each other and there were no straight and even rows like you see in America, but just a mess of old and new all tangled upon the other. Seeing Jim Morrison's grave was very somber.  There were gates posted around his grave in order to prevent tourists from vandalizing or obstructing his grave. It seems as though he always had and always will have fans trying to reach him. His grave was covered in gorgeous flowers and pictures in memorium.
Later that night we went up the Eiffel Tower. The line was so long; I can only imagine how long it must be during the summer. We had tickets that allowed us to "cut the line" so to speak and only had to wait about 20 minutes. (Thank you CEA!) The first floor of the tower has an ice skating rink on it for tourists and Parisians to skate on and enjoy the view of the beautiful city, but my group continued on to the second floor. The view was absolutely breathtaking-and not just because of how cold it was ;) We got to see the sun set over the Seine, which we had a great view of, and we got to pinpoint all the distant landmarks and monuments. A few of us decided to go to the third level because it was open and we wanted the ability to say we did it. It took a minute and forty seconds according to the chart, and once we reached the top it was dark outside. Paris truly is a "City of Light" and it was beautiful to see everything glowing in the darkness.
After our descent back to the 2nd level, I got my first glass of mulled wine, which actually turned out to be quite good!

Jim Morrison's Grave

My lunch! A good book, cheap wine, and a great sandwich :)

   

I loved the way the sun hit the metal on the bottom of the tower.

View of the Seine River at sunset, so gorgeous!

View from the VERY top of the tower.

A pigeon with no toes in the tower, so cute I had to feed him and take a picture!

Today we went to Versailles which was unbelievable. But! because I am exhausted, I will post about it tomorrow and also post pictures from the past few days.

Boat Cruise and Bruges

After a week of rainy, windy, drizzly weather, Paris presented herself with a gorgeous day of sun and light breeze. Our excursion of the day was to take a boat tour on the Seine and view major monuments near the river.

                                        

  

First time seeing the tower lit up!                                                                              We have a small Eiffel Tower and they have a small  Statue of                                                                                                                                         Liberty so I thought I'd take a picture in case I  never get to see the actual Statue of                                                                                                                                                                                                               Liberty

I think I'm truly forgetting how to smile for pictures, especially since I haven't been doing as much smiling as usual as it could be culturally  misconstrued as a sign of interest in another person romantically.  

                                                                                       

                         

We'll always have Paris <3 so cute!:)

Moulin Rouge

One of Michelangelo's sculptures. Part of the "Slaves" collection

Mona Lisa and myself

                                  Winged Victory                          Venus de Milo. I was so excited to finally see this!

One of the few actual homemade chocolatiers in Bruges. 

Mom-you have some coming your way :)

Chocolate mousse with white and dark chocolate shavings.

So unbelievably good- definitely took my time to enjoy this.

Steak made with beer, and potatoes. almost like home.. almost. Maybe even better? 

Beer from a family brewery in Bruges, delicious!

View from top of belfry in Bruges

try saying that three times fast

Mom- this was the book I thought Wyatt would like:)

Eiffel Tower in the distance