PARIS

PARIS!!! Wow, where do I start? I'm still in shock that I got to see my dreams come true by visiting the destination that's been at the top of my list for years. And thankfully, it was more than I imagined...

First, let me explain the scenerio. During my last semester at Butler, I made some really great foreign friends coming from all parts of Europe. One of these, Ben, lives in downtown Paris. Happily (at least I think), he provided me with a place to stay and was a tour guide for me while he wasn't working. I can't thank him enough for making this trip AMAZING!!!

On Thursday, I took the TGV up to Paris. TGV is France's high-speed train system. It was good. It took about half the time driving would have and was cheaper, too. Nothing else of great interest.

Day 1
Thursday was my day of walking. Most of these places I saw on foot...my feet were killing me! I saw...
The Champs Elysees- pretty neat. This reminded me a lot of Michigan Ave. in Chicago, but the road was much wider. They had everything from Niketown Paris (MUCH smaller than Chicago's) to Louis Vuitton. The high-end stores were interesting. They had SOO many security guards. It was amazing.
Arc de Triumph- This was my favorite monument. It was so grand, and the carvings where so detailed.
Place de la Concorde- neat to see something Egyptian in Paris.
The Louvre- I didn't go in...saving for the colder weather. However, the park that's in front of it was rather special to me. It wasn't all that great, but it was VERY French. When I saw this, it really hit me that I'm in Paris. I actually got choked up a little.

The Eiffel Tower- Impressive. What else can you say about it. Oh, I didn't go to the top. Saving it.

Musee d'Orsay- I loved this museum. It was the first museum that I've ever bought those audio-tours for. That was nice...but not that great. I don't have the attention span. This museum housed many of my favorite works, the Impressionists. It was great to see them in person. However, I did notice something. They seemed less impressive. Before, I loved these paintings because I felt like they transported me to a magical France wonderland. Now, that feels gone. I'm not saying that they aren't interesting anymore, but they've lost a lot of their luster to me.

Trocadero- I think many people have photos like this. This is just a large building with a great view of the Eiffel Tower. Here it is.

Day 2
To tell you how much my feet were hurting, I bought 25 euro sneaker inserts. For those of you who know how much of a cheap-skate I am, that's saying a lot.
Anyway, Friday...Basically, I went to Versailles and then Ben took me around the city at night.

Versailles was simply stunning. Easily my favorite thing I've seen. The size and the sheer decadence was unbelieveable. This is the highest end of being classy.

My mom liked this picture. See the colors? I think that's neat.

Look how big this room is!!! The walls are marble, the ceiling made with huge paintings, and look at that painting on the wall!

The gardens were the best part. If it weren't for my feet, I could have stayed 4 hours there. Hedge upon hedge, canal upon bigger canal, fountains upon fountains, etc. There was even a smaller palace on the other end!!! I don't think its easy to comprehend just how big this place is.

Beef Tartar!!! For those that don't know, its uncooked beef mixed with eggs and some other things. No heat whatsoever. It was fantastic!!!

A carnival we stumbled upon. We took the ferris wheel.

From Ben's Smartcar.

And again...

and again (Champs Elysees).

Day 3
Ben had the day off, so he took me around Paris hitting the things that I had missed...these included:
Notre Dame- pretty impressive. The gothic architecture is all its cracked up to be. Next time I'll go inside. There were SOOOO many people waiting to get in.
The Pantheon- nothing to write home about
Luxembourg Gardens- Very French, very beautiful. I recommend this to anyone coming to Paris.

INDIANA?!?! I guess we are a big deal...or they think our name sounds like an Indian. This is a coffee shop, btw.

Catacombs- Around 1800, the Parisians felt their dead bodies were spreading too many diseases. So they buried them under the city in tunnels. Ye, these are REAL skeletons!!! So creepy, but so amazing!!! Do you see how neatly they were stacked? Imagine having that job!

Montmatre (Sacre Coeur)- Montmatre is that hill that overlooks the city and Sacre Coeur is the church. I loved this. Live music everywhere and artists, too. Such a great, Bohemian feel.

Day 4
We spent Sunday at Ben's summer house in Burgundy. I loved this. This area is very old and it has a lot of old, old Roman ruins and Medievel villages. But what made it great was his family. His mom and dad were SOO welcoming! They made me great French meals and treated me like a welcomed guest. They also know very little English, so I had to speak in French the whole time. Very difficult and exhausting! Thankfully Ben was there to translate!

Ben's house. It used to be a water mill. They done a great job of mixing the old with the new.

Cormatin- A castle nearby. I really felt like I was Robin Hood. I loved it!

Ben's parents insisted that I try to frogs legs for something "tres francais." They were great! They were like VERY small and tender chicken wings. Honestly, too much work for not that much food. Thankfully they gave me lots of other things.

Phew! I'm too tired to go on. If you have any questions or want more or more photos (I have a lot more on Facebook), feel free to leave a comment...I get an email notice with each one.