Thursday, July 4, 2013

Europe - Day Two

Weird that there was no night before this day(: So we got to the Charles de Gaulle airport at about 8 AM. It was like we'd been on a plane for 24 hours. It was midnight our time back home so talk about jet lag. We were all pretty tired this whole entire day because of it.  

We got off and it took like 2 hours to get through the bathroom line and security line. Dang. Forever long. And we were tired. I was kind of scared about going through Customs because I've always heard its a bad experience but no(: It was easy! And I got my first passport stamp(: I plan to get many more in my life(: 

Then we waited about an hour for the other tour groups to arrive and we went to our hotel. I was nervous they'd be nasty like Erin's were when she went, but it was a super nice hotel(: I roomed with Kena, of course, and a girl named Melanie.  

We met our tour guide Dimitrious. He's a pretty cool dude. He grew up in Greece and now lives in Germany. He speaks four languages and is way funny.  
 
 

We got changed and headed out for the day! He first took us to the Latin square and it felt incredible just to be there. Breathing in the Paris air(: We took a walking tour of the area and then had some free time. Kena and I did a little window shopping and then made our first European purchase - a crepe. Good thing I have some French background so I could read the menu. It was still scary though. French people talk so fast I have to work really hard to understand them. We went with a sucre, sugar, crepe. It was incredible. Ahhhh.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then we went to Notre Dame. I was so excited. It's just as beautiful, but probably more, in person!! Touring the inside was incredible. They even had people in confessionals we saw walking through the cathedral. We walked outside and found the center point of Paris. The legend is that if you put your left foot on it, you're destined to come back. So you betcha we did(: It was awesome(: 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It started down pouring on us so Kena and I took refuge in a souvenir shop and bought some souvenirs for our friends. 

Then it was off to dinner in the rain. We had to wait outside for our table for like half an hour. It got pretty miserable at this point. The jet lag caught up, we were exhausted without real sleep for 55 hours, my feet were soaking wet, I was sore from walking the4-5 miles we did, and we were hungry. I think we were all dozing off during dinner. I could barely manage to keep my eyes open. 
 

We had a cheese croissant for appetizers, mushroom chicken and rice and an apple tart for dessert. Everything was excellent except the cheese croissant which I hated. (: 

Then we went back to the hotel to get the sleep which we desperately needed. We went to bed at ten that night. Dead asleep(:
 
The only transportation we use, like most Parisians, is the metro. It's chaotic and confusing, but we were prepared beforehand with a crash course from Mrs. Henson. So we were the only kids to know how to use it. It's crazy because in France there is no real concept of personal space. You just have to crammmmmm. It's normal to not even be able to turn around. Sometimes there's musicians on the metro who play cool music to try to earn money which was interesting. 

We also saw a street performance by a dancer which was pretty cool and funny while we were in the Latin quarter(:


Pretty good first day. But so tiring!!

No comments: