Three Days in Pareeeeeee and the End of our Travels

Perhaps because it was the last stop in our journey, or perhaps the environment was affecting us, but we lived it up in Paris. Three solid days of walking produces quite an appetite, and, with the use of Mike's lovely associate card, we had some amazing meals at the Marriott. We ate out one night, and had the Plat de 'Jour Menu that included roasted lamb, steamed muscles, and creme broulee. I think back to our baguette and cheese picnics at the beginning of the trip, and just laugh at how far we've come. Three days in Paris was the perfect amount of time for two lazy travelers. Here is a breakdown of what we saw:

Day 1: We took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower, and did that. Then we walked up to the Arche de Triumphe, and did that. We walked down the Boulevard de Champs past all the trendy shops and fancy hotels, and came to a "Hostel de Invalides" that Louis XIV built to house those infirmed by his military campaigns. It is now a museum of war, where we spent the remainder of the day. It had quite an extensive armory, Napoleon's tomb (and he really was THAT short), and a fascinating interactive WW2 museum that focused on their local hero Charles de Gaulle (airport named after him).

Day 2: We saw the Louvre. It is almost frustrating to have the most extensive collection of art and artifacts of Western civilization in one spot because it is impossible to see it all. You get tired, and realize you haven't even gotten to Hammurabi's Code yet! The biggies (the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa) were exciting, but so crowded that you didn't really want to stop and ponder the meaning behind her mysterious smile. Dan Brown solved that problem for us anyway... After the Louvre, we walked along the river to Notre Dame. It was big and beautiful, but honestly just another cathedral. The Latin District around Notre Dame is very fun; we did some shopping there and had our amazing dinner.

Day 3: On this day, we took the opportunity to go to Versailles to see the Palace and surrounding gardens/chateau. The palace was bigger than the Royal Palace in Madrid, although it featured the same fancy, baroque style. There was a rather cool exhibit going on at the palace. Each room housed a modern art piece created by French artist Dean Koonz. They included giant, metal twisted balloons, cartoon boquets of flowers, and blow-up floatation devices. At first, I thought it was tacky, but after a while it became kind of exciting to see which odd-ball piece would be in the next historical room. We wandered the extensive grounds a little, and flew through Marie Antoinette's chateau. I would have liked to spend more time here, but after so much walking we were pretty tired. I guess I'll have to go back!

This morning (17th), Mike and I woke up bright and early to travel to the airport together to catch our respective flights: him to Portland and me to Norwich. I am sad to lose the companionship because it has felt like having a little bit of home with me. I am also sad to end our travels, but at the same time it will be nice to not move around so much. Saying goodbye in the airport was the equivalent to being operated on without anasthesia, but you know what they say: We'll always have Paris...

The rest of the day was quite the roller coaster. My flight from Paris to London was late (as flights often are), which stressed me out since I only had 1 hour to catch the shuttle to Norwich. If I missed it, I would have had to go into London and find a bus or train... I did not want to do this. After literally the shortest flight of my life, I sped through immigration, and went to baggage claim. My bag was put on the wrong conveyor belt, which took a little figuring out, and pushed me back even later. Then I had to take an UNBEARABLY SLOW train from my terminal to the terminal the shuttle would meet. It was SUPER slow, and even had to stop for a random security check. I was going nuts... After I got off, I booked it with my heavy backpacks and caught the UEA folks just as they were leaving to go to the shuttle. It was too close for comfort.

I am now checked in to my new room at UEA. It feels like being back in the dorms for the second time around, and has that exciting "beginning-of-school" feel. I am now faced with the task of making all new friends AGAIN, which is kind of daunting, but I know it will be better once I do. It is crazy to think that fall is suddenly here, but the FRIGID weather outside confirms it. Now I have twelve weeks of school, and England to see!