Paris - round 2!

I am writing this as I sit on the train that will take me to Interlaken, Switzerland. I cut it way too close this morning on getting to the train station. I left the hotel at 7:40 for an 8:10 train. What was I thinking? I have no clue- but I made it! I am on the 4^th of the 4 trains it will take to get me to Interlaken and have met a couple girls who are staying in my same hostel. We are going to hike together tomorrow while the weather is nice. It is supposed to rain the next 2 days but as long as it’s not storming a little rain won’t stop me!

Paris with Emma and Reuben was so much fun. It was great to see my sister. This was by far the longest amount of time we had ever been apart. But after about half an hour it felt just like normal, like a day had gone by, not almost 5 months! So what did we do in Paris? We walked and walked and walked! We got to do everything I had wanted to do the first time I was in Paris but didn’t have time to do. Meaning we went on a cruise down the Seine! Emma, always the planner, made sure our days were chalked full of activities and I am so thankful for that. We never had a dull moment but Em and Reuben were also like me in that they are more than happy to sit in a park for a while to rest tired feet and people watch.

One of our favorite places to chill was in the Marias district where Aunt Marj, Jerri, and Hannah will be staying in a week! Here you find Paris’s oldest square complete with lots of shaded benches and lots of Parisians basking in the warm sun by the fountains. The square was bordered by 4 story red brick apartments – including Victor Hugo’s! We went inside Hugo’s house (now a museum) and I have to say, it was a pretty sweet location – at least 12 foot ceilings, crazy wall paper, giant windows, and hardwood floors. But Reuben and I both agree that the Orsay Museum (the old train station) would make the coolest house on earth. We would decorate it differently – he would have a sports court on the first floor while I would opt for a swimming pool and a ball pit like at Chuck’E’Cheeses.

We hit the big 3: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the crepe stands along the way! Reuben got to see the Mona Lisa for the first time along with Venus d’Milo. We walked all the way down the river to see the French Statue of Liberty (WAY smaller than the one they gave us). One of my favorite things we did was walk through the gardens of the Rodin museum. For only a euro (free for me with my handy Sevilla University card!) you get to stroll through the beautifully manicured gardens and see some of his most famous bronze statues including the Thinker!

Apart from museums and walking – we ate so well! The first night there Em treated me to dinner. What a nice big sister! We had giant salads with warm goat cheese on toast. Paris is delicious! We went to the grocery store every day and got our breakfast of yogurt, croissants, and bananas, and our lunch – a baguette split 3 ways, a delicious herb cheese spread Reuben’s grandmother would bring home from France when he was little, a carrot, apple juice, and nectarines. All for under 5 euros a person! You can’t beat that!

Our second night 3^rd night in Paris we tried to do Paris by night – to see the city of lights! We had it all planned out (thanks to Em) we would walked down the Champs-Elyesse, shopping and dessert eating until night fall when we would climb the almost 300 stairs to the top of the Arc de Triumphe. We did not triumph – the arc’s stairwell was closed indefinitely due to a strike. It was 9:50pm when we read the sign about the strike. I had an idea – at 10pm the Eiffel Tower would begin to sparkle… one problem- we were at least a mile away from the tower. We power walked like none other and in the end got to see the top 1/4^th of the tower sparkling like a jewel in the Parisian night. It was kind of comical that our city of lights night turns out to be kind of a bust – but on the plus side earlier that evening Emma and Reuben got into the Louvre for free!

The only thing we did in Paris that I would not enjoy doing again would be the sewer tour. While the information is really very interesting and I enjoyed that part, the smell I could do without. Paris has the worldest largest sewer system and it was started way before the majority of the rest of the world’s sewers. If you straightened out all of Paris’s sewers they would reach past Istanbul!

It was fun to get to shop for souvenirs with Emma because she (unlike me) actually has room to bring them home! When she gets home, she comes bearing treats for the family! Em and Reuben had a great time on their cruise and enjoyed their time in Grenoble with Reuben’s great aunt and uncle. The view from their backyard is probably the prettiest view possible. The French Alps! Right now they are on a 9 hour flight back to the states. See you both in 2 and half weeks! My backpacking is already half way over! I can’t believe it – it is going so fast!  I head from Interlaken to Vienna on the 1^st where I will meet up with Nick, my travel partner. After a couple days in Vienna, together we head onto Budapest. There could be a ruder pest! Haha Sorry, my dad’s joke!

Hannah leaves in 5 days with my Aunt Marj and Jerri to head to Paris. I will meet them on the 8^th in Brugge. I look forward to it! I have only 2 hostels left! Interlaken and Budapest. In Vienna Nick and I get to stay in a swanky 38^th floor apartment of my friend Mitzi’s aunt and uncle. In Karlsruhe, Germany I will stay with my friend Evan in his apartment (my stop between Budapest and Brugge), in Brugge and are staying and a B&B, and in Holland we get to stay with Marieke (she was an exchange student with my Mom’s family when she was younger and has stayed a close friend). I look forward to the rest of my trip and am trying to make it last! I will be happy to be home though – family, friends, and the lake await! 

Under the Arc du Triumphe!  Our semi-failed attempt at seeing Paris by night   :)

Cruising down the Seine!

The gardens at the Rodin Museum

Thinkers

Tres cute!

Notre Dame from the boat cruise view

Un croque madame  - toasted bread with melted cheese, ham, and an egg on top! Yummy, paired with goat cheese, baguette, and salad and it was a scrumptious dinner

The beginning of the Champs-Elyesse

Em and I at Luxemburg gardens - so much prettier in the summer when there are actually flowers blooming! They completely change all the flower beds and pots 3 times each year.