Paris! Day 2 Friday

Friday morning we had to wake up super early (around 600) so we could get ready for our all day Paris walking tour. I wasn't too thrilled because I always am the one that gets up first. Plus 4 girls were having to use one straightner which is always annoying because it takes forever.



We left the hotel about an hour to early so we were concerned about making it to the tour meeting spot on time. So we enoyed a nice little breakfast in a little cafe near the Louve. I had ham and cheese quiche which was out of this world and the best croissant I have ever had.



Our tour started at the Louve, where I saw the inside of the glass pyramids. It was so cool to see the bottom of one pyramid meet the top of another. There is a myth that says this is where Mary Magdelene was buried. I also got to see an ancient moat of a fortress in the bottom of the Lourve that wasn't even discoverd until the late 1980's. It is so amazing that they can find and restore something so old. The most interesting thing about the moat was that there was an inside (dry where they disposed of all their trash and waste) and an outside (had water in it to protect against enemies) and also the stones used to make the moat had differnt symbols such a a heart, cross, or square engraved into them which distinguished which group of brickmakers made that particular brick. I was also able to see the Mona Lisa, which was totally cool because it is sooo famous; however, it isn't super impressive in real life. It was a small portrait that has its huge own indivual wall with fire proof, bullet proof, idiot proof glass surrounding it. I also saw a couple of other pieces, but because there is like 8 miles of things to see in the Louvre and would take approximately 2 months to see it all, I wasn't able to see and observe much in the hour and a half I got to spend there. After the tour was over, I got STARBUCKS which was so delicious. I got so excited when I saw it on the way end that I was determined to get some before leaving. Not to mention I was completely out of it since I hadnt really slept in a couple of days.

After we left the Louve, we took a boat Taxi down the Siene River to the Effiel Tower where we had a couple of hours to eat lunch and enjoy the view. One of the main reasons we took the all day walking tour was because lunch in the Effiel Tower was included. I had a Chicken Ceasar Salad as my first course and then seared salmon with mixed vegatbles as my second course. It was absolutely amazing. On of the things I am learning most is to try new foods no matter what is in them. And because of that I have had some of the most amazing food ever! My friends had some cheese and noodles with asparagus and mushrooms (not as good as my salmon, but good none the less) cheesecake and mixed fruit. We all tasted each others dishes and the food was so good. I've said this so man times, but I am going to be so spoiled when i get home. We also enjoyed a class of wine on the first floor. After we were done with lunch, we walked to the second floor (just to say we climbed) and then we tried to take the elevaor to the top, but the line would have taken forever and we wouldn't have had time to enjoy ourselves at the top since we had to be back at the boat taxi by a certain time. That was ATTEMPT ONE to get to the top.

After leaving the Effiel Tower, we took the boat Taxi to the Notre Dame as the last stop on our tour. The church was gorgeous. One of the most beautiful places I have been. While we were there, I was able to witness some kind of catholic ceremony. I have it on film, but I have not been able to figure out what it was. It was interesting and intriguing and really cool and I don't think I will ever forget that experience. I also lit a candle for Holly as well as for my family. This whole trip would be so much better if I could have them here with me and one day, I want to bring them here.

Once our tour was over, the five of us headed home where we grabbed subway for dinner because it was quick and easy and they had free internet! After dinner, we got dressed up and decided to go back to the Effiel Tower and go to the top at night. This was ATTEMPT TWO and the most outrageous of them all. We got to the tower and while waiting in line to go through security, these people (from Poland as I later learned) tried to front us in line. It is really easy to do so, since the lines are straight and they just throw you in between two gates. I started paying closer attention to them and despite my efforts they fronted us and went through security before us. Well, they didn't know what to do once they got through security, so we were able to get back in front of them. HA. or so I thought. Well as we are waiting, this other lady was seperated from her family so I let her go in front of me since it was just her. I thought I was being nice. Well then they let like 20 to 30 people jump in front of me. Boy, was I unhappy and they knew it because they could understand English, but I couldn't understand Polish so they were just laughing about it. Finally, we are a couple of rows away from getting up to the ticket stand and this woman tries to front me to go get with the group who just let 20 or so people in front of me. I lost it. I told them they were rude and ridiculous and they fronting a million people was uncalled for. They laughed and pretended they didn't speak English. Lets just say everyone in line for the Effiel Tower that night was quite listening to me have it out with this man. They say Americans are rude. I say people walk all over us and then we voice our opinions. Anyway. We finally get up in line to buy our tickets and the lady informs us there are no more tickets going to the top that night "becuase too many people are already up there." I was soooo frustrated because of all of the hassel to get the tickets and we had missed the tower sparkle.

So that night we decided to go watch the 11:00 sparkling from the fountains at the Louvre. It was beautiful seeing it all lit up, but of course the tower didn't sparkle. The most memorable part was when I went to throw a coin into the fountain and a pearl braclet that belongs to my mom flew off my wrist into the fountain. I started freaking out because theyre Mommas! I couldn't leave them there, so I took off my shoes and rolled up jeans and went into the fountain to retrieve the pearl braclet. It was so funny and I can't believe I actually got into the fountain.

After leaving the Louve, we went back to the hotel where we enjoyed a view drinks and I had my first Nutella crepe. It was soo good. That night led to a bunch of tears and deep conversations and revelations that I would rather have been ignorant about. But hey what can you do. I learned alot about others around me as well as myself.

That night three of us pushed our beds together and made one huge bed! It was so much fun because we had turned our three singles into one extra king size bed.