PARIS!!

Yesterday I finally made it to Paris!! It was amazing!!! I spent almost 12 hours there, so when I got back I was T-I-R-E-D!! But it was an awesome day!! I went grocery shopping in the morning with Veronique and the boys so she could buy food I like to eat, so of course I got Peanut Butter!!! But anyway, enough about grocery shopping, now about Paris!! After grocery shopping she dropped me off at the train station and then I took the train all the way to Paris, to Saint-Lazare station. From there I took the metro all the way to Ile de la Cite and found my way to Notre-Dame! I walked around Notre-Dame and Ile de la Cite for quite a few hours. I bought (of course) a chocolate crepe, and baguette sandwhich and ate that right in front of Notre Dame! It was really neat. I also went to the Crypte Archelogique because A) it looked and interesting, but more because B) it was sooo cold out and I needed to warm up! haha But the Crypte was neat, it was underneath the Notre Dame Square, and it housed the foundations of a very ancient Paris, and explained all the history about the beginnings of Paris. After that I crossed the Petit Pont and made my way into the Quartier Latin, which is chock-a-block full of restaurants!! I got another chocolate crepe ( I had too!! I needed lots of energy!!) and explored that area for a while, then I made my way to the Effiel Tower!! It was soooo amazing! I have been there before, but I forgot how huge and imposing the Effiel Tower is!! It truly is magnificent! I took lots of photos and then got in line to climb up it! I walked all the way up the the to the second part, but to get the very top you have to go up an elevator, and there was a HUGE line up so I thought I would just come back another day in the morning, because by then it was dark out. It was neat because while I was on the tower it light up and then started to sparkle!! It was quite magical actually!! After some time of looking at all the sights, I made my way back down. I then took the metro back to the Quartier Latin, got a bit to eat, then took the RER back to Sainte Lazare then back to Vernouillet! I was so tired so I just flopped into bed and went right to sleep!

While that was yesterday, here was today:
So today I had planned to just spend the afternoon in Paris at the Musee d'Orsay as I was tired and didn't want to do lots of walking. So I drive to the train station only to find out that there is no to train to Paris today! Wooo hoo!! That's just great!! Some a**holes decieded to attack the attendants/security guards that patrol each station at night so as a result, those workers went on strike and my line to Paris was cancelled. I was upset because I had really wanted to go into Paris again, and wouldn't be able to into Paris till next weekend, but what can you do? I cut my loses and knew that whoever these jerks were, Karma would get them reaaaaaaal bad!! So I drove back home and told the family what had happened because they were very surprised to see me again. But much to my delight, Fabrice offered to drive me to La Defense, where I could take the train to Musee d'Orsay!! How very nice of him!! Of course I said yes, so after a very very VERY delicious LUNCH of a whole Norweigan Salmon, potatoes, and leeks and green onions fried and mixed in a lovely cream sauce, Fabrice and I headed to La Defense. (Ya, I know, that's how the french do Sunday lunches: big, tasty, and delicious!! But followed by a light dinner. Last sunday it was a whole roast chicken for lunch!! Yummmmmm) So from La Defense I took the RER and metro to Musee d'Orsay, where I spent a lovely afternoon!! I saw many beautiful sculptures and paintings, and they have a huge exhibit on Van Gogh that I didn't even get to today but most certainly have to go back to see!! There was one especially beautiful statue that really caught my eye. It was a statue of a woman made in marble, but the marble was coloured!! It was incredible, I had never seen anything like it!! Her dress was a beautiful pattern of earthy browns, with a large turquoise pendant just underneath her bust. She also had a beige shawl drapped around her shoulders and even her hair and skin were different shades of marble!! It was so beautiful, I don't know how the artist managed to get all the different types of marble together because all the different pieces of marble were so seamlessly pieced together. After a few hours at the Musee I made my way back to the metro stations then to La Defense and then back home!!

You know, navigating all the metro stations and streets all over Paris all by myself has made me quite proud of myself!! I haven't yet got majorly lost (knock on wood!!) and have managed to find all my destinations relatively easy. I am quite proud of myself!! :D

Back to the subject of museums, Veronique was telling me that I can buy a museum pass to practically all the museums in Paris so I can go see them anytime I want for free!! I'll definatly have to look into that!

Another week of "work" is coming up, hopefully this week will be better!! I haven't metioned much in the blog, but this past week was really challenging!! The boys, especially (and mostly) Gregoire were putting me through their little tests and made it really challenging to take care of them as a result. I think they are more used to me now and hopefully (!!!) will be a bit easier to take care of this week.

I'm really, really enjoying my time here, everything is awesome!!

Next weekend I think I'll hit up the Louvre all day saturday!!

Bisous,

Kelsey