Paris- Crêpes, Stairs and a certain... Je ne sais quoi

I have always wanted to go to Paris, just like I have wanted to go most places in the world. When talking to several people before I even went to London, there were many mixed feelings about this city. I heard that it is dirty and "smelled like piss." I also heard that it is just amazing. Either way, going into London I knew I wanted to try it out for myself. Little did I know I would have so many defining moments that gave me a true understanding of the world outside of what I have known my whole life.

With Paris only being a 2 hour train ride from London, the commute is exactly the same amount of time as it takes for me to go to St. Louis from Columbia. That in itself completely boggles my mind.

Although the commute time may be something comparable to the states, it was still so overwhelmingly different than anything I had ever experienced before. When getting off the train, everything was in French- I know that sounds really obvious and stupid for me to say. But really, it was the first time where I have been in a situation where my language wasn't the majority. I studied Spanish in high school, which would help me in Barcelona, but had no idea how to speak any French. It was pretty scary because the three other girls who I went with also didn't really know much French. The cab driver that took us to our hotel only spoke a little English, and we felt bad that we didn't know much. The hotel that we stayed in was also completely different from what we were used to. In booking the hotel, we booked a "double room," which in the states would be a room with two beds. Oh no, not in Paris. The room was as big as the bathroom, I kid you not. And, of course, we walk in to ONE double bed. We didn't care at this point, though. We were in Paris! Since I strangely don't mind sleeping on floors, I slept on the floor all weekend while one of the other three girls volunteered themselves to sleep on the floor each night.

From left, Meara, Kristina and Lauren in front of our hotel. The desk clerks there were our lifesavers and gave really good advice on what to do and where to go. The bathroom was about twice the size of our bathroom in London, which was also nice. The hotel was also central, which helped.

On our first day in the city, with wise direction from our clerk, we took a bus tour. Taking bus tours in every place that we went were helpful because we could get a great overview and find destinations where we wanted to go to afterwords. I have to say that it was hard to do 'Paris in one weekend for this reason: there are too many amazing things to take advantage of.

The Louvre

Along the Seine were market booths that attached on the side of the walls that unfold and are in business during the day. Most sell antique magazines, posters and other souvenirs for tourists.

Farther down the street is the Arc de Triomphe

The photo below is the view when standing right underneath the Arc de Triomphe.  The Arc de Triomphe is surrounded by an enormous roundabout, so there is an underground tunnel that people take to get to the structure safely. We found this out after running across the roundabout and almost getting hit by multiple cars, all of which don't drive in lanes. Why? Because there aren't any!

 

Below is the view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It was just breathtaking. For some reason I love getting really high up to look at landscapes. This one of the best views I have ever seen in my life.

This are all of the stairs we had to climb in order to get to the top of the Arc. It was so tiring, but worth every step! Paris is definitely the city of stairs, that is for sure.

This photo was on the side of a tour bus that I saw while walking around. 

The famous Eiffel Tower was everything I thought it would be. This photo is just from driving around in the tour bus. Although we didn't get to climb to the top because it was closed when we went at night, we did climb all 704 steps to the second floor since we didn't want to wait for the elevators. It was by far the biggest workout of the trip and I can say in confidence that we burned off a pastry or two from that day.

This is the Place de la Concorde where the character Andy is seen throwing her phone in the movie The Devil Wears Prada

I just loved seeing all of the high designer stores even though I can't afford anything in them.

Another one of our saviors that we met up with in Paris was Kristina's friend Sam. She had lived in Columbia and graduated from MU last year, but has since moved back to Paris with her parents. It was great to go to dinner with her because not only did she speak fluent French, she was also able to help us get the transportation figured out as well as what lines to take in order to get to our major destinations. She was also so fun to talk to and it was interesting to hear her perspective as a French student who once lived in Columbia, MO.

Kristina and Sam before we parted ways in the Metro (equivalent to the Tube in London)

It is sad that the photos I have are so blurry. If I had my Nikon D700 with me, it wouldn't have been a problem. I intend to go back and make these images better someday.

The combination of city lights and live music from an Irish band playing down below filling the crisp night air gave us all a moment we never would have thought we would experience. All of us teared up a little that night. It was a moment of recognition that we were actually in a city such as Paris, where things are different, exciting and new. It is amazing to me how I have lived my whole life in the state of Missouri, not aware of the different outlooks and ways people carry out their lives around the world. There is so much more out there than people think, and that moment in Paris was one of the defining times where the concept that usually seems so complex actually made sense. I was in Paris just for the weekend and felt like a true Londoner on a weekend vacation.

After we came down from the Eiffel Tower we laid on the grass and waited for the lights to start sparkling. It was magical and this photo above doesn't do it justice. I can't even describe how it felt to be there underneath this amazing structure that means so many things to so many different people.

The next day, we went to the Louvre, which could have taken us about a month or more to go through if we tried to tackle it all. The place was enormous, so we made sure to find the Mona Lisa and the famous Venus. We also looked through a lot of Italian Renaissance art, which was all unbelievable. Later that day we came across a carnival in a park near our hotel. We had seen the Ferris 

Wheel in the distance earlier that day and decided to pursue it. It's no London eye, but we still got some amazing views. 

 

Below is a view of the cafes that were by our hotel. There were about four different cafes right next to each other and they all had wonderful outside seating. I loved going there and we tried all four over the course of the weekend. 

On the last day we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which I was so excited to visit. It was amazing that I had studied this beautiful piece of architecture in one of my classes not knowing I would be walking in there one day. It was amazing. 

After that we went over to the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur, which we sadly didn't have enough time to go into. We also had amazing crepes and made our way to the Eiffel Tower to say goodbye for a while. 

 

 All of us took turns jumping in front of the Eiffel Tower. It's cheesy, I know, but I am really glad that we did it. Every time I look at it I think of that day and how wonderful it was to be that moment.

In all of my travels this summer there was a weird defining moment that I had one of the mornings we were there. We had just left Longchamp where I bought my mom and myself two perfect bags. After crossing the street on that sunny morning we stopped in a small cafe to grab some coffee and a quick bite to eat (of course that involved croissants). After purchasing my croissant I waited for my other friends to buy their coffees when I saw that the cafe was playing Coldplay's Live 2003 Concert DVD. I can't remember now which song was playing, but I want to say it was Shiver. I don't really know what it was- and I can't really explain it. I don't know if it was that we just got done shopping at Longchamp, or if it was that my favorite band was playing, or if it was the fact that I was casually stopping into a cafe in Paris to grab a coffee and pastry. Whatever it was made that moment stick in my mind to the point where I got choked up just feeling the moment and telling myself that I was in Paris and it was the perfect morning. I would give anything to get back to that moment right now. I'm hoping someday that I will be able to have that feeling again, only I will be enjoying a lovely weekend in Paris before heading back to my home in London. Maybe someday.

Oxford, Gondola Rides and Shisha Bars

One Saturday Lauren, Kristina and I took an hour long train ride to Oxford for a day trip. When we got there we immediately got on a sightseeing bus to get an overview tour of our amazing surroundings.

Oxford is truly a beautiful town. There are so many historical buildings as well as brightly colored shops and flats along the streets.

One of our first stops after we got off the bus was Oxford Castle. Although we didn't go inside because of time restraints, we did go up on the mound, also known as St. George's Tower.

The views from the mound were beautiful and gave us a little more of an overview of what Oxford is made up of.

We then made our way to Christ Church where the Harry Potter dining hall is located. Unfortunately, it was closed when we went there. There are normal closing hours so that the people that really eat there in real life aren't bombarded with camera flashes and tourists while they enjoy their meal. Due to an event going on there that afternoon, the public was not allowed in.

 This was all we were able to see of Christ Church. We harassed the man who was in charge of keeping the public out for quite some time before we gave up. He was a really nice man and tried to get us in, but had no luck.

(This photo was found on Google Images- This is what it looks like on the inside.)

After being denied at Christ Church, we headed down to the river where there are gondola rides available. We stopped by a candy shop, which absolutely made my day. It reminded me of when I would get candy with my little brother when we would go into candy shops like these after being to apple orchards and such. He always got the "Tootie Fruitie" flavored candy cane, so I made sure to buy him one at this store.

 

 

 I also bought some dark chocolate that was made in Barcelona. We ended up finding the same kind in Barcelona when we went there later on in the summer.

After the candy shop we made it to the river to ride the gondolas. We took one that we could paddle with instead of using the long rod, which got many people stuck we noticed. After we headed down the river, we slightly regretted not paying extra to have one of the staff people push us down the river, since all of them were handsome, muscular guys our age. Oh well. It was by far the most fun thing we did in Oxford that day.

Kristina staring off into the distance on our wonderful gondola ride. I was really good at steering so that was my job most of the time. I even was able to parallel park the boat at the end! What can I say- I'm a natural.

We had a little duck friend follow us for a while. She kept trying to jump in the boat, which terrified Kristina. Lauren got a Lollipop from the candy shop that we went to earlier and tried to feed the rest to the duck. She didn't like it too much.

Daring Lauren sits on the tip of the boat while we paddle through an archway.

There were so many beautiful views along the way. I never wanted it to end.

After the gondola ride, we went to the top of a Cathedral to get even more amazing views of Oxford.

We got really hungry by this time and stopped by the oldest pub in Oxford- The Bear.

Any man walking into the pub wearing a tie will get it cut off. They are displayed on the walls of the pub.

 

 Although it was really exciting and fun to see the ties, there was no air conditioning and it was as big as our living room in our flat on Edgware Road, so we decided not to eat there.

 

After eating and eating way to much Tartar sauce with our fish and chips, we decided that it would be a good idea to stop by Somerfield and get some Strongbow for the ride home. When we were checking out, we showed our Missouri Licenses to prove we were of age. Lauren was almost not able to purchase hers, so we started arguing with the grocer. 

"Why on earth would someone make up a Missouri drivers license to purchase alcohol in Oxford?" we asked. 

"You'd be surprised. I've seen so many fake IDs from the states. The students use them here because it's easier to get away with," he responded.

Since we were obviously American, he let Lauren have her Strongbow, and we headed home that night after a successful day trip to Oxford University.

We got back late and decided to head home. However, I was stopped by two Kiwi accountants who were looking for the nearest hookah bar (also known as shisha bars). Of course, I knew exactly where to take them. We walked several steps more and we pointed out all 7 of them that lined our street. We decided to join them for a while before heading home. 

 

 Our new found friends from New Zealand. My camera didn't work that well in the dark on manual.

Kristina, Lauren and I trying out one of the many hookah (also known as shisha) bars on our street.

 

It a random and interesting end to our night. We left early in the morning to go to Oxford and came back to go to a hookah bar with two New Zealanders. You never know what will happen in a city like London- and that's why I love it.

James Morrison performance and the Tower of London

On one sunny afternoon in London my friends Meg, Kristina and I went down by Tower Bridge to see the amazing James Morrison perform the song "Man in the Mirror" live on the CBS early show in dedication to Michael Jackson. Our friend Becky had an internship with CBS this summer and informed us of this amazing opportunity. We got a little lost trying to find the location, but while wandering the streets around the bridge, we heard a small group cheering right on the River Thames, where we then found James and were able to get autographs and photos with him.

From left to right: Juliana, James Morrison, me, Meg and Kristina (photo by Becky Berg).

 

Oh, and did I mention that we were on the CBS Early Show live across the United States? It was pretty amazing, I'm not going to lie. It was a little awkward to see myself on this video, but it is even funnier to see the close up of Kristina's face! I can vividly remember standing right next to the river calling my parents right after they filmed it, and they were able to watch it in Virginia when they were on their way to my cousin's wedding in North Carolina. Although I did get a little choked up talking to my mom on the phone about missing the wedding and being with my family, I looked back at what I was a part of, and remembered that this was an opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime.

Afterwords, Juliana, Meg, Kristina and I went out to eat at a restaurant right on the river. To my surprise, there was some type of little worm in my salmon salad, which I found on my fork right before putting it in my mouth. Shocked and completely disgusted, my friends told me to call the waiter over to show him the little visitor that decided to live in my salad. When I told him, he simply looked into my salad bowl and exclaimed, "Oh, little man! What are you doing in her salad!" in which Kristina replied, "Oh, not ok!" Because of this traumatic incident, I didn't have to pay for the meal. When the waiter offered to bring me a brand new salad, I told him that I would pass and just have some chips (also known as French Fries), deciding to play it safe.

Since we were in the area, Meg, Kristina and I decided to go to the Tower of London, which has been around since the 1080s.

Monarchs such as William the Conqueror (who was responsible for building the castle), Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I are associated with the Tower of London along with many others. Many beheadings, including the beheading of Anne Boleyn, took place there. We were able to see the Crown Jewels as well as different Medieval torture mechanisms used in the Tower, such as the rack , the street sweeper's daughter and others. 

Tower of London (google images photo). I sadly didn't have my camera when I went there.

Since I was a failure and didn't bring my camera out with me, the next photos of the Tower of London were taken by Kristina Knaus.

The tourist part in me came out.

Of course Meg and Kristina had to join in the fun.

They are everywhere!

This was dedicated to those beheaded within the Tower, including Anne Boleyn.

Tower of London was definitely worth doing if one considers going to London. Tower Bridge is also amazing to go see, especially at night. After a wonderful day appearing on US television, walking along Tower Bridge and touring the Tower of London, we all returned home to our flat content with the day we had just experienced. I would do anything to be back there right now standing by the river watching James Morrison perform.