PARIS...

PARIS...

Wandering around the deserted streets of Paris on our first night here turned out to be the best thing ever for our sense of direction. The next day we accidently slept well past our desired wake up time, and liesurely went about our day. We finally got to breakfast at another Cafe' sometime around 2pm. It was a saturday afternoon and the streets were filled with commotion. When we got to the main square a few blocks from our hostel, there were people lining the streets in different colored matching T-shirts with French writing on them. They were lining up in groups with banners, while police cars and vans surrounded the area. In one particular section police were putting on their riot gear. We asumed a parade or carnival was about to start and the police were just very prepared for the occasional out-of-hand Euro. Later that day when I Skyped with Robert, he told me the papers said the Unions were rioting in the streets of Paris this weekend. Unfortunately I had already told him about the great Carnival we saw that earlier, and how the people were lining up to start some sort of afternoon parade. When I got to the part about the SWAT gear he started busting up laughing. Oops. Apparently the Union marches and protesters are very very organized here. There was no chanting or chaos of any kind. It was quite civilized, but this was at 11am, maybe the Parisian's esspressos hadn't kicked in quite yet. It's kind of shitty too, because today (Tuesday) we're heading to Amsterdam by metro/train, and hopefully the metro is running because the front desk told us today and tomorrow are city transit protest days. Nothing runs till they get better wages, or at least just for a few days to express their power. How we managed to travel on transit protest days is beyond me. We can walk though, its only about a 30min walk to the staion so it'll be fine. Ok where was I oh yes, Saturday after plans to meet up with Caehle's cousin at the Eiffel tower around 9pm after her tour. I was soo excited. breakfast we came back to the hotel and caught up on some internet time down in the lobby, because aparently floors 2-5 dont get the WiFi. We avoided napping at all cost because thats what led to our waste of an evening on Friday night, and we had an exciting dinner to get to.


That evening we exited the metro station and swung ourselves around a corridor to avoid mass crouds and BAM! The most beautiful sight I had seen yet in Paris: the glowing, sparkling, Tour Eifel. (Mom, yes i found that corridor; it happened to be the first view of the tower I saw & I got a night shot but it's not the same because a tree is there now... but it's still pretty good!) It was the most magnifique thing I have seen here. Well maybe that and the Louvre, but both exquisite. After somehow managing to find Caehle's cousin amongst the hundreds of people, we had a litte wine and dinner at a corner Cafe'. Then we came home for some early shut eye.


Sunday was Monet's Garden... It's in Giverny, which is well outside Paris, around Normandy (sorry Dad, the beach was another 2 hours form there, otherwise I would have sent you a little sample of sand). We took the metr, to a 40min train to a charter bus that took us to his house and gardens from which he drew his inspiration. The entire time I was there,I wondered over and over, "Who gets to keep this up, whose full time job is it to keep this garden looking prestine as it has for hundreds of years, who gets to be the lucky person to put on their resume Monet's personal gardener?" Haha . (Lisa, there were parts of this place that fully reminded me of the secret garden and that painting dad had made for you, I kept thinking of how you would have loved it here!) After walking around the tour gardens and taking some beautiful pictures around the cobblestone streets we had a perfect picnic style lunch on two tree stumps, near a little brook that just happened to be across a rickety old bridge. It was honestly breathtaking... and one of the best meals I've had yet. We made or way home and I tried to upload my pictures and listen to music, but wound up falling asleep around 7pm. Caehle was nice enough to take my warm computer from my sleepy clutches and cover me with a blanket, and I didn't wake till 7am the next day.



Monday monday, the Lourve, and reserving/preparing for Amsterdam. The Louvre was exelante'... Damn, that place is BIG and AWESOME! I'll let the pictures dictate that story, I'll just say I felt kind of bad bacause I was more interested in the walls and ceilings than in the art hanging on them. There were still remains of the Medieval Louvre in the bottom levels, they were built sometime around 1360. My history teachers would have been so proud, I guessed the 1300's then looked at the sign and saw the actual date. (Boston Accent) Wicked smatt. OH! Also when we were in line at the bakery there was an undercover cop take down. Me and Caehle were in line at the bakery, and i literally got shoved while these three civilian dressed men took down this couple. It was pretty intense. When I say "take down" I literally mean they took them down, to the ground, wrestled them into cuffs and read them their rights. I mean I asume it was thier rights, it was in french after all. Yeah, gnarly, I guess you chouldn't ever steal anything from the Lourve huh!?! ha ha.

OK, its Tuesday morning. We are going to Amsterdam for only one night instead because the hostel we want to stay at is only available tonight. Then onward to Prague!