The Last Days of Break

Saturday the 25 of October we decided to do a "Hop-On Hop-Off" tour of France's capital city. This was the perfect way for us to get where we wanted to go efficiently and without having to figure out all of the traffic. We got to see so many more things than we thought we would, which made it so worth it.

First stop: Moulin Rouge!

The place where the can-can was invented and mastered. Andrea, me, Erica, Veronica and Mary Kate re-enacting some great dancing!

The Madeleine Cathedral (spelt Magdalenae on the top.) Of course, I also have a picture of just the "Nae!" This is Erica, Andrea, MK and Veronica.

We then went on to Notre Dame! It was so beautiful. Seeing the gargoyles and, of course, talks about the Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame was all in the cards.

Here we are! It was very cold this day - hence the scarfs on people's heads! You had to stand in line to get in, but the interior is gorgeous with a ton of stained glass windows, carvings, and beautiful woodwork.

The entire day was spent getting on and off the bus, hearing all sorts of history about the city while on the bus. We were supplied with headphones and put it in our own language; they had about 10 different languages to choose from, showing just how international the city is. This is very common in London, as well.

We got off at a stop after seeing Notre Dame for lunch and to explore a little bit and then got back on and went to the Pantheon!

There were all sorts of these human-esque statues around the Pantheon. It was some form of exhibit where the statues were all in different colors/textures and different body shapes. Very interesting. This is Heather, me, MK, Erica and Veronica with the statue and the Pantheon in the background.

We walked down the street that the Pantheon is on and found Luxembourg Gardens!

The day had warmed up quite a bit by the time we walked through the Gardens so we went in and sat for awhile. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, Parisians were very relaxed around the area, children were poking at sailboats in the water that we are sitting next to, parents are making sure their children are being fair and keeping the sailboats afloat, couples were lounging in chairs that were scattered about. It was just a really calm area. Right before we had gone into this, Heather and I went into a chocolate store and bought something we had been salivating over since we got to Paris - a tart. We chose a strawberry and raspberry tart and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.

See? Doesn't that look delicious?

After our great, long, busy day we got a bus back to an area near ours and walked the rest of the way to our hotel. Everyone got ready and we went out that night and met a Paris college student whose mother was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin! How random, right? His name was Sam and he and his friends hung out with us for the rest of the night. They all spoke very good English and we ended up meeting more Americans who were studying abroad in France at the club we went to. It seems as though there are more Americans outside of the country than in when things like this happen!

Sunday, most of the girls had an early flight so we got up and checked out of our hotel and they went to have some lunch and headed to the airport. Heather and I had booked our flights for a little bit later as it was cheaper at the time, so we spent the day at the Louvre!

Very pretty. There was a concert going on outside of the Louvre, and one outside of the Opera House, as well. The Opera House was very near our hotel.Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. I really think that it is as cool as it is hyped up to be. Her eyes follow you no matter where you are!The Last Supper in its full view. This painting is SO large - and my picture is not very good. Sorry!

After our stay at the Lourve, we went to the airport and finally went back to London. The trip seemed so long yet so short. It's funny how that always happens. I do, however, have an incredibly increased amount of respect for those people who travel around for months. We met so many people who were taking off the semester to travel the world in Rome, and they had my envy and now so much more respect.

The trip documenting is over, but come back again tomorrow for one more fun post on it!