The next day, after enjoying a breakfast of bread, croissants, coffee and juice, we set off to take in Paris. Our first stop was Sacre Coueur, as the iconic church was just a brief walk from the hostel in the Montmartre neighborhood. Sacre Coueur is a beautiful church, but the real appeal lies in the fact it is built at the highest point in the city and offers awesome panoramic views of Paris. Then, we rode the Metro down to the center of the city to hit up the Eiffel Tower. My opinion of the Metro is that it is a bit grungier then the tube (though still nicer than the El) and the seating layout is a bit inefficient, but on the whole, still a solid form of public transit. I think we probably could have found a closer stop, as our walk to the Eiffel Tower was pretty long, and on our arrival there, we chose the cheaper option of taking the stairs. The long walk did allow us to walk along the Seine and stumble upon a neat little playground, which was fully enjoyed by our group. One disappointing aspect of the Eiffel Tower trip was the failure of the canned wine experiment. Myself and a couple other gentlemen had planned to enhance our day in Paris by partaking in the wonderful past time of canned wine drinking (an art we learned from the fine program, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). What better way to enjoy Paris then with a can of the finest 3 euro wine to accommodate one's violent hand gestures? Alas, our wine was lost upon entry to Eiffel Tower, as apparently bringing bottles of wine up the iconic structure is forbidden. An attempt to hide the wine in a nearby bathroom failed miserably, as on our return to the hiding spot, the vino had disappeared. C'est la vie. Anyway, the Eiffel Tower did not disappoint, as the views were amazing.
Our next stop, after a gyro for lunch, was l'Arc du Triomphe, which I must say, was a bit of a hike from the tower. Though the arch was pretty cool, as was walking up the Champs de l'Eysee (sp?), it was significantly out of our way, and I don't know if it was necessarily worth the walk. Moving on then, we next hit up a tea shop/brunch place called Angeline's that had been recommended to someone for its hot chocolate. I didn't buy one, but I did try it, and I must say, delicious. It seemed to be basically a melted Hershey bar, and I dunno if I could have drank a whole one, but it was definitely pretty damn good. After that, it was off to the Louvre, where on Friday's from 6-10 EU students can get in for free, and, as we are studying in London, us Americans outsmarted the French and didn't have to pay. Everybody kind of split up, and I decided to forego seeing the Mona Lisa and just kinda wandered. I really liked the stuff by Delacroix (Liberty Leading the People is sweet to see in person). I probably could have spent some more time there, but as everyone was pretty wiped out and hungry from the long day, we left after a couple hours.
We headed back to Montmarte for dinner and managed to stumble across a pretty neat little place, with some cheap grub and wine. Our waiter was this hilarious Moroccan guy and it was a piano bar, so the whole atmosphere was pretty neat. Montmarte is apparently really touristy, but as January is kinda the dead season for tourism, there weren't too many Americans around, so that made me feel a little better about rolling with such a big crew. After dinner, we grabbed some drinks to enjoy back at the hostel before trying to find somewhere to go out, but a couple of the girls had found out that there was some live music and people hanging out and drinking up at Sacre Coueur, so we brought our drinks up there. It was a little chilly, but hanging out up there with the view and everything was very cool. After that, a few of us were heading back while some others stayed at Sacre Coueur, and we walked past a big group of people standing outside a bar. The bar was small and crowded, but it had a great vibe, and I'm glad we stumbled across it. One of my fellow Americans, having imbibed a bit too much, took a leak on a door near the bar, which didn't sit well with the Frenchmen who's door it was. As tensions were increasing and my attempt to diffuse the situation with my terrible French skills failed, we decided it was probably time to head out, and that was it for our first action-packed day in Paris.
Day 2 started a little later, as the day before had been such a whirlwind, but eventually we hopped on a commuter train to the Parisian suburbs to see Versailles. I was blown away by the place. You hear stories about how opulent Louis XIV's pad is, but it went beyond what I had imagined. The place is huge and the gardens outside are insane. I can imagine in the spring, once all the shit starts blooming, its pretty beautiful. Beautiful enough to inspire people to revolt, one might say. After Versailles, we headed back to Paris, so some people could do some shopping, and some people could nap. I opted for a nap. Dinner that night was definitely a highlight, as we went to this place Refuge du Fondu, that someone's friend had recommended he check out. The deal is that for 15 euro, you get appetizers, a shit load of fondue and fixings, a dessert, and a baby bottle filled with wine (the bottle held about 2 glasses and for an additional 2 euro, you can get another bottle, which is a great deal in Paris). This wine out of a baby bottle thing isn't just some cute little gimmick either, apparently there is a tax on glasses o wine and the baby bottle thing is a way to get around that. Clever Frenchmen. The restaurant itself was pretty cool too. It consists of this small room with too long tables, and you are literally squeezed in to the person next to you, whether you know him or not. People had written all over the walls, and the staff was rude in a fun Ed Debevic's kind of way. Overall, solid venue. After dinner, we wandered out in an attempt to find a place for some dranks. The first attempt was an epic failure, as it was way too nice and expensive for our large group of American college students, but the second place was pretty neat. It was cheaper, had a couple dudes playing the saxophone and piano, and Frenchmen hitting on our American girls in a way that was creepy/funny, rather than creepy/creepy. And thus concluded day 2 of my Parisian adventure.
Day 3, the plan had originally been that some people would hit up a market, some people would go to mass at Notre Dame, and some would just sleep in before our 1 pm train back to London. Alas, everyone was so wiped out/hungover, that the entire group ended up sleeping in; epic tourism failure. Still, the weekend had been a huge success and a lot of fun. Bravo Paris, bravo.
Nothing else of note to report really, except that the homestay in Wales this coming weekend should be neat. Until next time then, au revoir, mes amis.
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