Sorry about the wait. Truth be told, there's so much to tell I don't think I could do justice to my trip even in one massive blog post. So I've decided to break it down to a blogpost for each city; this way I can get it done in more manageable slices, and it'll keep you guys on your toes.
Well, well, well. I'll start by saying Paris is ridiculously expensive. While this wasn't wholly Paris's fault, as admission to the Louvre and Eiffel Tower did take it's toll, food is very pricey, as are hostels. No complaints on this end as to the quality of either, but the price-tags did have me thinking about the joining the strikes there for a bit.
From the top, we arrived in Paris with a bang. Literally. The landing of our flight there was the worst one I've ever been a part of. I was fast asleep right before the landing, and as I woke up to it, it felt like bouncing up and down on a trampoline. I guess that's to be expected when you fly with RyanAir, the cheapest flying service of Europe.
Our first day, we started by taking the metro to the Louvre. The metro was the nicest I've seen in all of Europe, and according to my man Rick Steves, most certainly is. We walked in the back entrance to the Louvre, and accordingly, were not impressed in the slightest. After wandering around in the back courtyard for 10 minutes or so, we finally walked out into the middle of things. The front of the Louvre is stunning, as is the famous glass pyramid. We toured the Louvre for 3 hours or so, and saw the Mona Lisa on the way. My friends were letdown by it's small size (it's probably about 3 feet by 2-ishy) but I enjoyed it nontheless. The museum was filled with thousands of stunning works of art, and was a real pleasure to see.
From there, we walked across the city to Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a spectacular church from head to toe. The inside, however, is dark and gloomy. As I walked around, I slowly started to appreciate the church's design: the material world around us, at eye level, is not fulfilling, while raising one's eyes to God, and the heights of the interior of the church, is much more satisfying. The stain glass windows are dazzling.
Grabbing some ham crepes on the way out, we took a metro to the Eiffel Tower. It's alot bigger in real life than you think. As we approached the city via bus from the airport, my initial viewing of the tower from a distance had caused it to appear minuscule. By foot, however, the thing was a skyscaper. Standing directly underneath it was really cool: it spanned hundreds of feet over my head in every direction. We rode the elevator up to the 2nd floor, and then to the top. The first floor consists of a snazzy restaurant, about 300 euro per person too snazzy. The views from the top were stunning; we caught an awesome French sunset.
Our second day there, me and Nico journeyed out to the Palace at Versailles, as our friends weren't really feeling up to the challenge. It was a rainy, cloudy day, but it turned out to be an awesome decision. The palace was more ornate than any other building I've ever seen in my entire life. It was almost sickening how lavish the life of the French kings was; no, it was sickening. While the people starved, King Louis XIII and his successors built one of the most sumptuous buildings in the history of man, if not THE most. The Hall of Mirrors was unbelievable. Words cannot describe it. Even the gardens were eye candy to the max: they are so large, it would take an hour to walk their length at a good, steady pace.
On our way back, we went to Sainte Chapelle, the church where the crown of thorns lies. Unfortunately, after a 45 minute wait to the front of the line, we were told that the main part of the church was closed for renovation (a common theme throughout Europe, this renovation business) but we went to see the sacristy anyway. More beautiful stain glass windows, blah blah blah. I hate how traveling around Europe so much and seeing so many beautiful things has a habit of desensitizing you to them, but it's true.
Being at these sites which were the center of so many movies, books, and lives was powerful. I just wish it didn't cost so much.
Ciao,
Jacimo
P.S. I know I spell Jacimo wrong. Deal with it.
P.P.S. PICTURES: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=563418&id=824235363&l=0df87232a9
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