So I failed in the objective of finding internet, which means again you have no pictures. I had an AMAZING day thought!
I woke up kind of late and decided that instead of the bike tour I'd thought about doing, I would do this free walking tour. So I went trotting down to the Tube station (I have discovered A Route which I take, meaning I don't get lost! I have the feeling it's a MUCH longer route than I need to take, but I KNOW IT, so it stays) and went over to Hyde park to meet the group. It was a tour of Royal London, so we went and saw Buckingham Palace (sans the guards with the funny hats; I was so upset I think I'll have to go back tomorrow when they ARE there) and many other places which I can't think of right now, but which are very carefully documented in the pictures you will get as soon as I find internet which is not TOTAL CRAP. And I met two lovely girls from Nova Scotia! They are also on a European Adventure, although there's is actually European unlike mine, which is really more of a British Adventure.
We had a lovely lunch, and then I marched off to find my way to my evenings entertainment, a reading by the fabulous Sarah Rees Brennan followed by a showing of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which is one of my favorite movies. Up to this point, I had only gotten lost in London one time for about 40 minutes, so I thought 'THIS WILL BE NO PROBLEM!' ...I was wrong. BUT! I decided not to be a stubborn ass about it and hailed a taxi (Hailed! A taxi!) and he got me there no problem.
I've been to readings before, and enjoyed them, but this was something else. For one thing, I am pretty much completely in awe of Sarah, and she was just as amazing in person! If not MORE SO. I thought I might pee a little, she was so funny. And I met two more amazing girls! They were from Cambridge, and had lots of wonderful tips about touristy things that I should make sure not to miss, and things that were okay passing by. Also, they gave me sneaky tips for how to get in to the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, which I am not supposed to be able to do. Given my success in Paris, I don't think I'll have a problem, but you never know.
And now I am returned to the hostel! Where the internet still sucks, but at least I have several books to read.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
DAY FIVE
I didn't mention yesterday that my dorm has 8 beds. This means that there are 8 girls staying in a room with one sink. It's kind of cool- I think there's someone from every continent save Antarctica. Two girls from Australia, a girl from Brazil who is living in Ireland (yeah, her accent is a DOOZY), sisters from somewhere else in England, a girl from Japan, and then me and another girl from the states. It's also kind of insane- one of them came in at four in the morning sobbing HYSTERICALLY, and someone is always trying to sleep so it's always this awkward half-dark-trying-to-be-quiet thing.
Despite the middle of the night hysterics, I woke up early and went to the zoo! I managed to A) Get to the tube station B) Figure out what line I wanted and get on it and C) Navigate from the tube station to the zoo ALL WITHOUT GETTING HORRIBLY LOST. It was a little touch and go for a minute there, but I FIGURED IT OUT.
The zoo was SO cool. It's one of the oldest zoos in the world (it's been around since before Montana was even a state!), and one of the best funded- the Gorilla enclosure alone cost London over 5 million pounds. I saw a fish bigger than my dog, and a baby monkey smaller than my pinky. All the employees thought I was pretty funny- the zoo was almost TOTALLY full of school trips, and there were a few couples, and then there was me. All alone. They do this thing, where they take a picture of your group as you go in- so I put on my sunglasses and did a badass pose. If it hadn't cost 20 pounds, I'd have it to show you- but anyway, all the employees recognized me all day as 'that one girl with the shades', which was pretty funny.
It was a lovely experience, right up until the end- the day had started out without a cloud in the sky, so of course I didn't have my rain jacket, and it started POURING right as I was leaving. Whatever, it was atmospheric.
Then I navigated BACK to the tube, soaking wet, figured out my line, and went to meet Sam! Who was so LOVELY, even if I totally got turned around coming out of the station and was totally late to meet her. We went out to a beautiful dinner in which I had the TASTIEST lasagna (I think it might have been my first non-stressful meal of my whole trip) and like, hours of awesome conversation. Then she showed me the London Bridge and the Globe and St. Paul's. THE GLOBE, YOU GUYS. It's so unreal. I mean, Paris was awesome but- I've wanted to be in London my whole life. And I'm- HERE. THE GLOBE.
Tomorrow I'm going to find somewhere I can get actual internet, this is driving me up the wall. Also, somewhere else probably wouldn't have this seriously bizarre British version of MTV on all the time.
Despite the middle of the night hysterics, I woke up early and went to the zoo! I managed to A) Get to the tube station B) Figure out what line I wanted and get on it and C) Navigate from the tube station to the zoo ALL WITHOUT GETTING HORRIBLY LOST. It was a little touch and go for a minute there, but I FIGURED IT OUT.
The zoo was SO cool. It's one of the oldest zoos in the world (it's been around since before Montana was even a state!), and one of the best funded- the Gorilla enclosure alone cost London over 5 million pounds. I saw a fish bigger than my dog, and a baby monkey smaller than my pinky. All the employees thought I was pretty funny- the zoo was almost TOTALLY full of school trips, and there were a few couples, and then there was me. All alone. They do this thing, where they take a picture of your group as you go in- so I put on my sunglasses and did a badass pose. If it hadn't cost 20 pounds, I'd have it to show you- but anyway, all the employees recognized me all day as 'that one girl with the shades', which was pretty funny.
It was a lovely experience, right up until the end- the day had started out without a cloud in the sky, so of course I didn't have my rain jacket, and it started POURING right as I was leaving. Whatever, it was atmospheric.
Then I navigated BACK to the tube, soaking wet, figured out my line, and went to meet Sam! Who was so LOVELY, even if I totally got turned around coming out of the station and was totally late to meet her. We went out to a beautiful dinner in which I had the TASTIEST lasagna (I think it might have been my first non-stressful meal of my whole trip) and like, hours of awesome conversation. Then she showed me the London Bridge and the Globe and St. Paul's. THE GLOBE, YOU GUYS. It's so unreal. I mean, Paris was awesome but- I've wanted to be in London my whole life. And I'm- HERE. THE GLOBE.
Tomorrow I'm going to find somewhere I can get actual internet, this is driving me up the wall. Also, somewhere else probably wouldn't have this seriously bizarre British version of MTV on all the time.
DAY THREE AND FOUR
So Day Three of Paris started out really lovely- I woke up in time for breakfast, got all checked out of my room and started wandering. Getting lost is impossible when you don't have anywhere you're going, so that made everything MUCH less stressful. Plus, I kind of figured out ordering! Ish! So I got to eat, which was totally awesome. And then, as I was wandering, I found a sweet bitty toystore, and bought Ms. Bunny! So since I can't take pictures of myself, she's going to take my place.
I then continued my wandering and ended up in these huuuuuuuuuuuge gardens. I don't remember what they were called, but it was the equivalent of Central Park (although obviously smaller). It was Saturday, so there were all these families having picnics, and I sat down and read for an hour in front of a fountain. There was something going on which I THINK was theater? Maybe? Anyway there were some guys, one of whom had a giant mustache and one of whom was dressed up like a rabbit, and they wandered around giving people carrots. The people around me kept cheering and laughing, so I assume it made sense in French.
So I started panicking about making it to the train on time, and found a cab- wound up at the station an hour early. But it turned out to be a good thing, because it took me FOURTY MINUTES to get through customs. Jesus, England, lay off. I swear, I'm no threat to you.
On the train, I sat next to this French guy playing his obnoxious French pop REALLY LOUDLY and sprawling all over the place. But across the aisle from him were two single moms and their two British children, and they were so FREAKING CUTE they pretty much made up for everything.
Then I went through the Chunnel! It was a feat of engineering, an amazing wonder of the modern- okay, it was really dark and boring. It's a tunnel. I admit to being slightly underwhelmed.
When I got in, I took a taxi (THEY ARE SO CUTE YOU GUYS! They look all wee from the outside, but they are SO ROOMY inside! It's like the TARDIS but with WHEELS!) to my hostel- I'm staying at the Generator, and basically it's like a giant, crazy, international dorm. With a bar. There are people EVERYWHERE ALL OF THE TIME, it's actually kind of amusing.
There isn't really a blog for Day Four, because I spent all day sound asleep. I slept until one, and then blearily went in search of a store where I could buy shampoo. As I wandered, I found a pub, and thought 'yay food!' and went in. Turns out, they only served dinner not lunch, so I ordered a coke. There were only four old guys in there, including the bartender, and they were watching the World Cup- every so often one of them would go "That's why (futball lingo I don't understand) is just such PISS" and the others would go "aye" and then they'd all go back to their beer. It was hilarious. That has been pretty much my entire day.
I then continued my wandering and ended up in these huuuuuuuuuuuge gardens. I don't remember what they were called, but it was the equivalent of Central Park (although obviously smaller). It was Saturday, so there were all these families having picnics, and I sat down and read for an hour in front of a fountain. There was something going on which I THINK was theater? Maybe? Anyway there were some guys, one of whom had a giant mustache and one of whom was dressed up like a rabbit, and they wandered around giving people carrots. The people around me kept cheering and laughing, so I assume it made sense in French.
So I started panicking about making it to the train on time, and found a cab- wound up at the station an hour early. But it turned out to be a good thing, because it took me FOURTY MINUTES to get through customs. Jesus, England, lay off. I swear, I'm no threat to you.
On the train, I sat next to this French guy playing his obnoxious French pop REALLY LOUDLY and sprawling all over the place. But across the aisle from him were two single moms and their two British children, and they were so FREAKING CUTE they pretty much made up for everything.
Then I went through the Chunnel! It was a feat of engineering, an amazing wonder of the modern- okay, it was really dark and boring. It's a tunnel. I admit to being slightly underwhelmed.
When I got in, I took a taxi (THEY ARE SO CUTE YOU GUYS! They look all wee from the outside, but they are SO ROOMY inside! It's like the TARDIS but with WHEELS!) to my hostel- I'm staying at the Generator, and basically it's like a giant, crazy, international dorm. With a bar. There are people EVERYWHERE ALL OF THE TIME, it's actually kind of amusing.
There isn't really a blog for Day Four, because I spent all day sound asleep. I slept until one, and then blearily went in search of a store where I could buy shampoo. As I wandered, I found a pub, and thought 'yay food!' and went in. Turns out, they only served dinner not lunch, so I ordered a coke. There were only four old guys in there, including the bartender, and they were watching the World Cup- every so often one of them would go "That's why (futball lingo I don't understand) is just such PISS" and the others would go "aye" and then they'd all go back to their beer. It was hilarious. That has been pretty much my entire day.
Friday, June 11, 2010
DAY TWO
So the plan today was to wake up super early, breakfast at the hotel, and then wander the early morning streets of Paris.
...I left at about noon. No problem, I thought, I'll just pop over to one of the many tasty bakeries of Paris and nab a croissant!
Guys, I don't know where they hide the many tasty bakeries of Paris, but I found not a one. But in my wanderings, I found myself at the Louvre, so I decided to postpone my search for food and look at super cool art instead.
Let me take a minute to describe the Louvre to you. I want you to imagine the biggest hedge maze you can possibly imagine. The one from the Shining, perhaps. Now multiply that times ten. Now, instead of hedges, make all of those walls giant stacks of paintings. Then, put that maze under a roof, and cover the roof in paintings. Then randomly throughout the maze have giant pillars, made of more paintings.
Then you will have imagined something approximating the Louvre.
I'm sure you've heard it's big- it's said it would take nine months to see every piece of art inside. But just the OUTSIDE is huge. There are two giant wings- my guess is, about a mile long each. Then a smaller wing connects them- probably about 3 or 4 city blocks. Then there is another of these smaller wings kind of halfway down the two larger wings.
All of those wings have four floors, and all of those floors are full of art. And not just like, rows of paintings side by side. No, the paintings are usually at least three high, and these aren't small paintings. The Mona Lisa was one of the smallest I've seen- the rest are, I'd say on average about 5 feet by 5 feet. HUGE PAINTINGS! And so beautiful!
Now, as you may remember from yesterday, I don't speak French. I also don't read French. And I didn't want to pay the 9 Euros for an auditory tour, so I had NO idea what most of the paintings were, or who painted them, or why they're important. In some ways though, I think that's better- I enjoyed almost every piece of art entirely on it's own merit, without expectations. My pictures, therefore, have very little explanation- they're just pictures and statues that moved me for some reason. I particularly liked the Spanish paintings- the ladies all looked very sassy. Most of the statues I loved because they were so LIFELIKE- I actually couldn't look at any of them for very long, they looked like they were going to start moving and it freaked me out. No seriously- I looked at the first one for at least ten minutes, and was convinced I saw it breathing.
After I left the Louvre (about five hours) I wandered (read: got very lost) the streets of Paris until ending up at the Musee d'Orsay. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, which is too bad- almost every piece of art was out of this world beautiful. Including what was, I think, my favorite piece I saw all day:
Ophelie done by Auguste Preault. Sadly, I didn't get to finish my tour of the Musee d'Orsay as it was closing. So I wandered (re: got very lost and eventually stumbled) back to my hotel, stopping at a grocery store on the way for some delicious pasta salad, strawberries, and (finally) a yummy torte. I have no fork, so I had to eat the pasta salad with my fingers- messy, but still delicious. Now I'm going to go run me a bubble bath and eat my strawberries in the tub. Au Revoir!
p.s. Oh yes! I almost forgot. I uploaded my pictures from yesterday and today- you can see them http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/wotchermoony/Paris/. I would recommend clicking on the first one and then clicking the 'next' button in the upper right hand corner- I wrote explanations for most of them, and that way you can see them. For the ones with no explanation- they were just art, which I liked, and which were painted by old famous artists.
...I left at about noon. No problem, I thought, I'll just pop over to one of the many tasty bakeries of Paris and nab a croissant!
Guys, I don't know where they hide the many tasty bakeries of Paris, but I found not a one. But in my wanderings, I found myself at the Louvre, so I decided to postpone my search for food and look at super cool art instead.
Let me take a minute to describe the Louvre to you. I want you to imagine the biggest hedge maze you can possibly imagine. The one from the Shining, perhaps. Now multiply that times ten. Now, instead of hedges, make all of those walls giant stacks of paintings. Then, put that maze under a roof, and cover the roof in paintings. Then randomly throughout the maze have giant pillars, made of more paintings.
Then you will have imagined something approximating the Louvre.
I'm sure you've heard it's big- it's said it would take nine months to see every piece of art inside. But just the OUTSIDE is huge. There are two giant wings- my guess is, about a mile long each. Then a smaller wing connects them- probably about 3 or 4 city blocks. Then there is another of these smaller wings kind of halfway down the two larger wings.
All of those wings have four floors, and all of those floors are full of art. And not just like, rows of paintings side by side. No, the paintings are usually at least three high, and these aren't small paintings. The Mona Lisa was one of the smallest I've seen- the rest are, I'd say on average about 5 feet by 5 feet. HUGE PAINTINGS! And so beautiful!
Now, as you may remember from yesterday, I don't speak French. I also don't read French. And I didn't want to pay the 9 Euros for an auditory tour, so I had NO idea what most of the paintings were, or who painted them, or why they're important. In some ways though, I think that's better- I enjoyed almost every piece of art entirely on it's own merit, without expectations. My pictures, therefore, have very little explanation- they're just pictures and statues that moved me for some reason. I particularly liked the Spanish paintings- the ladies all looked very sassy. Most of the statues I loved because they were so LIFELIKE- I actually couldn't look at any of them for very long, they looked like they were going to start moving and it freaked me out. No seriously- I looked at the first one for at least ten minutes, and was convinced I saw it breathing.
After I left the Louvre (about five hours) I wandered (read: got very lost) the streets of Paris until ending up at the Musee d'Orsay. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, which is too bad- almost every piece of art was out of this world beautiful. Including what was, I think, my favorite piece I saw all day:
Ophelie done by Auguste Preault. Sadly, I didn't get to finish my tour of the Musee d'Orsay as it was closing. So I wandered (re: got very lost and eventually stumbled) back to my hotel, stopping at a grocery store on the way for some delicious pasta salad, strawberries, and (finally) a yummy torte. I have no fork, so I had to eat the pasta salad with my fingers- messy, but still delicious. Now I'm going to go run me a bubble bath and eat my strawberries in the tub. Au Revoir!
p.s. Oh yes! I almost forgot. I uploaded my pictures from yesterday and today- you can see them http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/wotchermoony/Paris/. I would recommend clicking on the first one and then clicking the 'next' button in the upper right hand corner- I wrote explanations for most of them, and that way you can see them. For the ones with no explanation- they were just art, which I liked, and which were painted by old famous artists.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
DAY ONE
HELLO!
I am in Paris in a beeeeeautiful hotel room (with very thin walls, Random Couple Next Door) which has a terrace overlooking this amazing walking mall, and which is across the street from the University of Paris! I'd show you pictures, but the wifi here is not cooperating.
So THINGS I DID TODAY:
1. Remembered why I hate flying. It wasn't that bad, really- I watched Sherlock Holmes. Twice. But I couldn't sleep and after awhile I was pretty sure nothing would EVER BE FUN AGAIN.
2. Managed to get into Paris without going through customs! I was really paranoid about it at first- I just walked off the plane and out into the street, and I kept waiting for a customs officer to be like ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT! ...but they did not. About half way through the (hour and a half) taxi ride to the hotel, I realized what I (think) happened- we went through customs when we landed in Iceland, and I think you only have to do it once for the whole EU. Either that, or Charles De Gaul could SERIOUSLY use a security update.
3. SPEAKING of things that could use a security update- remember when I said that my hotel is across the street from the University of Paris? Well, when my driver dropped me off, I misunderstood where he told me to go. (In my defense, I don't speak French, he didn't speak English AND he had some kind of crazy Asian accent. It was a VERY SILENT taxi ride.) Anyway, the point is, I thought he pointed toward the University, and so I grabbed my stuff hopped out of the taxi and walked through the gate into the University.
'... So?' You say.
Well, here's what you need to know about the University of Paris- NO ONE gets in, not without showing the guards a student ID or having VERY EXTENSIVE paperwork. I don't know WHY, the parts I saw before I realized I was not in a hotel were kind of like any University, but there's the facts. Only somehow, I just walked RIGHT past THREE GIANT GUARDS (I know this because I saw them as I sheepishly walked back out) and NO ONE QUESTIONED ME. Apparently, I look like I belong.
4. All you people who told me 'Oh don't worry, you won't need French, all Parisians speak English.' Well I say to you: LIARS. Maybe I have just been EXTREMELY unlucky, but you know how many Parisians I've met who spoke English? Two. One, luckily, was the receptionist at my hotel. The OTHER leads me to number
5. I met a random French guy! It was raining, and he shielded me with his umbrella, and then decided to take me under his Tourist Guide Wing! Which was awesome in many ways- he knew a TON about the history of all these random buildings, and about the most beautiful ways to see things, AND warned me about Gypsies (which I know he was serious about, but which made me giggle inside. GYPSIES.) but was slightly LESS awesome because as it turns out Paris? REALLY BIG. MY FEET HURT.
Annnnnd that's it for me- I am exhausted, and must sleep. But when I can get my pictures to upload, I will share my adventures with non-english-speaking waiters, a gay bar called 'The Bear Den', and also Notre Dame!
I am in Paris in a beeeeeautiful hotel room (with very thin walls, Random Couple Next Door) which has a terrace overlooking this amazing walking mall, and which is across the street from the University of Paris! I'd show you pictures, but the wifi here is not cooperating.
So THINGS I DID TODAY:
1. Remembered why I hate flying. It wasn't that bad, really- I watched Sherlock Holmes. Twice. But I couldn't sleep and after awhile I was pretty sure nothing would EVER BE FUN AGAIN.
2. Managed to get into Paris without going through customs! I was really paranoid about it at first- I just walked off the plane and out into the street, and I kept waiting for a customs officer to be like ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT! ...but they did not. About half way through the (hour and a half) taxi ride to the hotel, I realized what I (think) happened- we went through customs when we landed in Iceland, and I think you only have to do it once for the whole EU. Either that, or Charles De Gaul could SERIOUSLY use a security update.
3. SPEAKING of things that could use a security update- remember when I said that my hotel is across the street from the University of Paris? Well, when my driver dropped me off, I misunderstood where he told me to go. (In my defense, I don't speak French, he didn't speak English AND he had some kind of crazy Asian accent. It was a VERY SILENT taxi ride.) Anyway, the point is, I thought he pointed toward the University, and so I grabbed my stuff hopped out of the taxi and walked through the gate into the University.
'... So?' You say.
Well, here's what you need to know about the University of Paris- NO ONE gets in, not without showing the guards a student ID or having VERY EXTENSIVE paperwork. I don't know WHY, the parts I saw before I realized I was not in a hotel were kind of like any University, but there's the facts. Only somehow, I just walked RIGHT past THREE GIANT GUARDS (I know this because I saw them as I sheepishly walked back out) and NO ONE QUESTIONED ME. Apparently, I look like I belong.
4. All you people who told me 'Oh don't worry, you won't need French, all Parisians speak English.' Well I say to you: LIARS. Maybe I have just been EXTREMELY unlucky, but you know how many Parisians I've met who spoke English? Two. One, luckily, was the receptionist at my hotel. The OTHER leads me to number
5. I met a random French guy! It was raining, and he shielded me with his umbrella, and then decided to take me under his Tourist Guide Wing! Which was awesome in many ways- he knew a TON about the history of all these random buildings, and about the most beautiful ways to see things, AND warned me about Gypsies (which I know he was serious about, but which made me giggle inside. GYPSIES.) but was slightly LESS awesome because as it turns out Paris? REALLY BIG. MY FEET HURT.
Annnnnd that's it for me- I am exhausted, and must sleep. But when I can get my pictures to upload, I will share my adventures with non-english-speaking waiters, a gay bar called 'The Bear Den', and also Notre Dame!
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