Paris, round 2

How did Paris get more enchanting over the past year? Seeing the Eiffel Tower just doesnt get old. Until I see the Taj Mahal, my eyes have been opened the widest in Paris. And just like London, you have easy access to transit systems and can walk around the city. I would think....now if I was someone visiting San Diego, for example, how the heck would I get around? Would I be able to walk all around downtown...little Italy, Seaport Village, Old Town etc? And the bus system takes FOREVER. San Francisco, on the otherhand, is smart like these European cities. You think LA and San Diego would be too.

Highlights in Paris:

1. The Eiffel Tower, of course. We got dropped off before dusk, with about 2 hours worth of daylight. I was fortunate enough to go to the top last year, so this time...I wanted to get pictures from EVERY angle. As my friends took their trek up the Eiffel Tower, I decided to wonder by myself. I literally went in a circle around the Eiffel Tower across streets and Seine River. I took over 50 pictures of that thing! I tried to call my mom, thinking...how cool is that to call from a payphone in Paris, looking straight at the Eiffel Tower across the way. Too bad no one answered the phone. At night, the illuminations began. Last year the tower was lit white. This year, it sparkeled blue, and had the European Union stars. According to wiki:

"At the start of the French Presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2008, the twelve golden stars of the European Flag were mounted on the base, and whole tower bathed in blue light."

Im not sure how long the tower will be lit as such, but I thought it was pretty lucky that I got to see that in person!

3. The Louvre & Mona Lisa. You have to see the Mona Lisa if you go to Paris. Its small, very small, but worth the pushing and shoving. Its quite an adventure to even get to it! Old ladies shoving and pushing...just ask Chantel. The Louvre is just so big! So many things to see! I wish I was more into art to appreciate it more. And here is Liz entering the Mosh Pit:

4. Walking to the Notre Dame. Last year I wasnt sure how far the Notre Dame was from the Louvre, I thought it was further than a comfortable walking distance. But its not! We just walked along the Seine River. We couldnt resist stopping at practically every little souvenir vendor along the wall. I finally got to go into the Notre Dame! If you recall my blog from last year's visit, I seemed to have lost my new group of friends and in fear of losing them permanently, I stood by the exit so I could see them come out. Which meant that I never went inside, and I was rather bummed. BUT, here I was inside! And I lit a candle for my great aunt, whom had just passed away a few days before my departure.


5. The CATACOMBS!!! Ok, so this was my big story in Paris. The one thing I had crossed my fingers to make my way to this trip was the Catacombs. Last year, some of the interns had gone there and I really wanted to go there this time! I have some really great friends who were willing to help me get there. The lady at the tube (I forget what they call it) station definitely didnt understand us, so that was nice. And then finally when we figured out where to go, the lady I asked, "How do we get to the catacombs" in English didnt understand us either. I dont even know if they call them catacombs there? Because I thought "Catacombs" was enough for them to know where to send stupid tourists like me, lol. It was across the street and this lady didnt know what I was talking about! Anyways....so to try and make a long story short....the line was kinda long. My friends didnt really care to wait in line, so they went to a cafe. I waited in line, then the guy comes and tells us that they are closing soon, and that we probably wouldnt be let in. What the hell! Who knows when I would be in Paris again, right in FRONT of the catacombs. I was gonna see that shit! Some people left the line...good, I got closer to the front! The couple in front of me was so funny. The guy was just as frustrated as I was. He refused to leave the line as well. We were determined to see these bones! Again, the guy came around, and some more people left the line. Finally...12 people away from the door, checking the time every minute, the guy walks out and says....the next 20 people are the last to come in. WHEEWWW. Number 12 baby. So then...I get inside all excited and eager to take pictures. When...flash! DEAD! WHATTTT! Just my luck. And of course none of my eight friends with cameras were with me. But, I still got one really cool shot as a last breath of flash. And this site, was SO MUCH different then I thought! Here's a link, but I think not knowing was even cooler. And they check your bag at the end for stolen skulls. Haha, one was sitting on the table next to the guard. Come on people, thats sick!

Catacombs Site

6. Banana Nutella Crepes and pizza with eggs. Need I say more? Mmm...

Paris, France

Day 1:
After a pretty easy-breezy flight to Paris and finding the Contiki coach (some people had some horror stories) the first group got lucky and were sent into downtown Paris. We were dropped off right next to the Notre Dame. First, we all cashed in some money for Euros (the death of me) and then we went to a cute cafe and ate outdoors. I had a pretty amazing salty crepe. During lunch there were lots of anticipation of getting to know each other.


Next, we all headed to the Notre Dame. It was pretty huge and really cool to be standing in front of such a huge historical cathedral for the first time. The group was taking pictures and I decided to get a little closer for a better picture. Next thing I knew I lost the group of girls I was with. There were a bunch of people around the square and I looked around for Ally (she's pretty tall) but I couldn't find anyone. I guessed that they probably walked into the Notre Dame, so I decided to wait until they came out. I would be the first one to get lost.



After a few hours, we waited for the Contiki coach along with the others to come and pick us up. We played a little speed dating on the bus to get to know each other. We checked into the Hotel (which the rooms were pretty small, btw) and then got ready for the coach tour around Paris. Ryan, our beyond amazing/awesome/crazy Tour Manager, pointed out all the highlights of Paris as we traveled along. We got to see the place where Napoleon's tomb is (above).


This is how awesome Ryan was: At one point during his historical fact giving and pointing things out, he told us to look for the name "Naps" (aka Napoleon) along this one building that was on our left. To motivate us, he bribed the winning find with a bottle of wine, so of course everyone was trying to find this "Naps." After a few minutes goes by, he tells us that he made it up and to look to our right. At once everyone was "ooooh, awwwwwing" as we focused on the Eiffel Tower. Such a clever trick, Ryan. It was a perfect way to see the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

Dinner was pretty good - gotta love those tarts and wine. After Dinner, we went back to the Eiffel Tower to experience it from the top! There were some rude people in line, but James set them straight (damn straight!) The view was amaaaaaazing from the top of the ET. Paris is anything but dirty (as a lot of people think).

The best thing was that we got to experience the ET during the day, during sunset, and when it was illuminated at night, along with VIP status (only a 25 min wait in line). Once we got down to the bottom, a few of us ran further away so we could take some better pics before the coach left. Here's a favorite of mine during our photo-op (stolen from Shannon):


Day 2:
The second day in Paris is actually one of my most memorable days. Paris is such an iconic city to visit, there are tons of museums and monuments to be seen! Plus this was my first visit to Europe so it was pretty awesome to get a first impression from such a lustrous city like Paris. Ally, Bethany, and I decided to stick together and explore the city. We first stopped at the Arc de Triomphe in which we had to go underneath the Place Charles de Gaulle through a tunnel to get to the other side. That round-a-bout has some pretty crazy traffic (video to come soon).

Next we strolled down the famous Champs Elysees, where there were a plethora of name brand Designers. The weather was near perfect and it was peaceful to be able to walk at our own pace and check out the stores we wanted to go to. It was nice that we got this free time to do what we wanted in Paris.

Ally and I made our way through random streets in order to find the Louvre. Considering its rather LARGE size, it was difficult for us to find for some reason. But the detours were entertaining as we took in some locals playing some weird ball-type game on the ground. What was different about this picture was that they were all dressed in semi-formal business clothes. I wish my lunch breaks could be that fun!

The Louvre was beyond belief! Nearly every inch of that museum was covered in beauty. According to Ryno (aka Ryan) if you were to look at every single piece of art in the Louvre for a minute, it would take you 6 months to finish the entire museum. I must say tho, that the Mona Lisa was kind of a disappointment. It was a small picture on a huge wall, with nothing else on it. It makes sense for this placement, but I guess I expected something else. But not gonna lie, its pretty cool to say I have seen the Mona Lisa. Oh yeah...and thanks to Ryno and his tidbit on a secret entrance way into the Louvre, no lines were necessary. Everyone loves a Ryno in their pocket!

The exploration of the city was coming to an end, however....we still needed to head to the Red Light District. The night before, the staff more than excitedly told the group that they had a special treat for us - The Moulin Rouge! This excursion was not listed in our itinerary, although I had greatly hoped for it! I couldn't wait to get glammed up and experience this famous French Cabaret! It definitely was Spectacular, Spectacular! And...more free wine, what do you know. The wine hit me pretty hard cause I was struggling to stay awake and the show was fantastic, I just wasn't used to the wine.

Lets Recap

Yay! Finally back home. Not that its as exciting as traveling Europe of course, but it is rather refreshing. I now have unlimited internet (no Euros needed) so its time to update the world on the craziness that happened in Europe! The places traveled were (along with some commentary):

Paris, France (novice and entertaining!)
Lucerne, Switzerland (laid-back yet randomly crazy)
Florence, Italy (um...karaoke, anyone?)
Venice, Italy (hot and ugggh, yet very unique)
Tyrol/Hopfgarten, Austria (my faaaaavorite...so adventurous/crazy!)
Munich, Germany (kind of depressing, modern, and lots of beer!)
Prague, Czech Republic (insane, place of lost/stolen/broken items)

Disclaimer: Some things that happened during these past two weeks are probably best kept off of the www. Hopefully I will keep the posts G-rated, better than MTV-style.

Ciao Bella!

Pretty much my signature shot.

Im in Europe!

So I haven't gotten much time like I wanted in order to type up a few of my journal entries. The internet is really expensive in Europe and Ive been extremely busy doing incredible things that its hard to fit in an internet sesh. But right now I am currently in Austria, and its so bad ass. Yesterday we went white water rafting and today we went on a pretty scenic bike ride. Im pretty tired and sore right now, but it was all worth it.

I will eventually update the rest of this blog when I get home. But one thing I just wanted to tell everyone is that everything is Europe is TINY!! Everything is sooo small, the cars, the streets, the elevators, drinking orange juice in the morning is like taking a double shot, so you need a few glasses. But its cool because as most of you know, Im in love with miniature things. Its just a trip to see how all these things are so tiny, I guess it makes sense in such small countries.



Little car on street in Paris, and the little dessert given in Switzerland. Wish I had a pic of the little elevator that fit 2 people from the hotel in Lucerne.

Europe so far is more than I could have imagined and I cant wait to share it all with everyone.

Oh yeah and I got some narly bug bite/ rash (acutally I dont know what it is) on my wrist...But its pretty cool not that it stopped itching, lol.

Miss you all!!