So. I was traveling on spring break without internet for a week. (That's sort of a lie. All the McDonald's restaurants, or, as that say in French, "MacDo's," have free wifi. But my itouch has limited battery life.) Anyhoo, between dodgy internet and not having my battery charger with me, I couldn't do much in the way of blogging. Thus, here is an account of my spring break travel adventures.
Day One: vendredi le 17 avril (Friday, 17 April)
After class I attempt to "pack light." As usual, I fail. (It's all that girl-scouting "be prepared" nonsense. I've just about packed up when a little voice inside me is like, "What if your plane crashes in the jungle? Better bring bug spray, water purification tablets, and a machete. Good luck getting that through security, though.") Anyway, I ate an early dinner with the family (we usually eat between 8 and 9 and that night they ate at 6, just for me...they're so nice) and Corinne gave me a list of things to watch out for in Italy (pickpockets, pickpockets, being charged for bread and silverware in restaurants, pickpockets, and there was one more thing...oh. Pickpockets. Apparently they'll steal the ring right off your finger.). After that I gave them my house key (didn't want it to get stolen in Italy) and set off to meet Rachelle in Place Bellecour so we could walk to the train station and get the airport shuttle. Our flight didn't leave until the next morning at 7:10, but the airport shuttle doesn't run that early and a cab to the airport costs like 80 €, so we decided to just sleep at the airport. Which we did. First we checked the departures board. Despite the volcanic ash and a slew of flight cancellations, ours was unaffected. (SCORE!) We then went over to the airport hotel, went down to the fitness center, and sat on chaise lounges in the shower area (awk) to read Cosmo. If you ask me, the shower doors should have been a bit more opaque, but I guess when you sit on a lounge chair in the shower section you kind of get what you expect. Anyway, the staff lady that ran into us several times was very nice and pretended like she didn't know that we were totally freeloading (she talked to us like we were guests at the hotel although we clearly were not), and she only kicked us out of the fitness center at 11 when it closed, at which point we went up to the lobby and napped in their comfy chairs until like 1:30, when another kind staff member informed us that they needed to clear out the lobby for cleaning. We went back over to the airport, checked our flight (still on), and tried to find a place to sleep. Unfortunately all the food court booths and other prime sleeping spots had already been snapped up, and a guy had used the cafe chairs to make a bed. But we went up to the area outside a bar/restaurant on the second floor and found two cushioned(ish) benches all by themselves. No one else had apparently thought to try the second floor (SCORE AGAIN!). We went to bed around 2 and set our cell phone alarms for 5 am.
I can't say I slept well, considering I was sleeping in an airport and kept getting woken up and totally freaked out by a loud male voice (which was, each and every time, the announcement to remind people to watch their bags and report suspicious parcels to security). But all things considered, it wasn't that bad, and I was gonna be in ROME in less than 8 hours!
Day Two: samedi le 18 avril (Saturday, 18 April)We woke up at 5, 5:30 and headed to the check-in area, only to pass a board where our flight status had been updated to a big fat red CANCELED. WHAT?! (ANTI-SCORE.) Turns out that at some point within our three hours of sleeping, they canceled all flights out of Lyon Saint-Exupery. And Paris. And Europe. Damn you, Iceland! Daaaammnnnnn yoooooouuuu!!!
We weighed our options. We could try to fly to Rome on Tuesday, but there was no guarantee that flights would be leaving by then and we didn't want to waste half of the break hanging around Lyon waiting for a flight that might or might not happen. (As it turns out, it didn't happen, so it was a good choice on our part.) This being the case, we hustled back to the train station to try and book a ticket to somewhere, anywhere. I waited in line while Rachelle checked the auto-ticket machines. She came back and said there were trains to Milan and Paris available. Milan? SCORE! We could just skip Rome and tour around Tuscany for spring break. Great! Wrong. We got to the ticket desk and the lady there informed us that the odds of the train to Milan actually going were slim on account of the national SNCF (railroad) strike. Damn you too, SNCF! Daaaammnnnnn yoooooouuuu!!!
We booked tickets to Paris (first class! - it was all that was left) as she said it was our best bet for a train that would actually function. And then we tried to figure out how to kill the time between then (8 or 9 am) and the train's departure (20h00). We went to the market in Lyon and bought cheese, bread, and fruit, then climbed up Fourvière and had a picnic brunch. Then we climbed back down, dropped our stuff at Rachelle's apartment (or, rather, her host mother's apartment) and went to Parc de la Tête d'Or. We relaxed in the sun (it was a gorgeous day) and I fell asleep (or so I assume, because Rachelle said I was snoring and I don't have any recollection of it). Rachelle decided to take a walk and I napped some more in the sun until I woke up from overheating. (I was still wearing jeans and a long-sleeved, FLANNEL shirt. Not the most fortunate choice of outfit for a 70-degree day.) Bored with just sitting around examining the contents of my purse and reading my passport, I walked over to the park's zoo and looked at the giraffes and some water birds for a little while before heading back to the spot we were in before, where Rachelle met up with me. We walked back to her place and relaxed there (her host mom had left us muffins and tea) before heading to the train station. The train surprisingly arrived on time with no problems, and we got to Paris on time. We headed straight to Rachelle's aunt and uncle's apartment, since they had kindly allowed us to stay with them. We got there and ate some fresh-baked cookies and I got to call home, since their calling plan makes free calls to North America. It was lovely.
Day Three: dimanche le 19 avril (Sunday, 19 April)The next morning I slept in a bit (travel + stress = exhausting) and then accompanied Rachelle and her aunt to the Sunday morning market. Her aunt was really nice and asked me what kinds of veggies and cheese I liked, since I don't eat meat. It was really pleasant - I love the markets in France. We need more things like that in the US.
After the market, Rachelle brought me down to the train station and I took the train out to Versailles to meet up with some of my friends who were spending their breaks in Paris/stranded there because their flights were canceled. I was sooo psyched to see Versailles - it's been a dream of mine for years. And it didn't disappoint. The palace was beautiful and so were the grounds, which are so extensive that you literally cannot see where they end. We only got to walk through them a little bit before closing.
In the Hall of Mirrors (la galerie des Glaces) at Versailles.
The grounds at Versailles stretching on...and on...and on.
I got back later than I intended to Rachelle's aunt and uncle's and missed dinner, which I felt really bad about, especially since Rachelle's aunt had gone out of her way to make sure there was stuff for me to eat. They left food out for me, though, which was really nice of them, and the lentil salad Rachelle's aunt had made was SO GOOD.
Day Four: lundi le 20 avril (Monday, 20 April)
Rachelle really wanted to go to Normandy, so I decided to go with her. We went to the train station and waited in line forever to get a ticket for the 10:10 train to Caen. By 10:05, we were still waiting. At 10:07, Rachelle asked the lady in front of us if we could go ahead of her since we were pressed for time. She said yes, as did the lady in front of her. Now there was only one guy ahead of us, and he had to sympathetically decline our request, since he was trying to catch the same train. I
started buying my ticket at 10:09. My credit card didn't work. I handed over my debit as quickly as possible and prayed that I wasn't overdrawing (and that it would actually work). It did. We ran like we were the next victims in a bad horror movie and managed to make it onto the train (which, praise Jesus, left four minutes late). As we stood in the compartment with two or three other last-minute passengers, we saw the guy from before. We all congratulated each other on our good luck and speedy running and then set off to find seats.
I really liked the way the train was set up. There was one aisle running down one side, along the windows, and then there were little compartment-type things on the other windowed wall, each consisting of eight seats (two rows of four facing each other) with a table between the two window seats. I liked it because it reminded me of old-timey trains like you see in movies, ones where the dashing hero or gorgeous heroine become involved in some kind of train murder-mystery caper in 1930s Great Britain or something. (Sometimes I think I'll never fully grow up, but that's okay. Playing pretend is wayyy too much fun.)
We got to Caen and asked some people where we could find the tourist office. "Down the street, to the left, behind the castle," is what we were told. I had to laugh because I mean, only in France would "behind the castle" be included in a set of directions. It sounds like a joke the locals play on the tourists, like how upperclassmen enjoy telling high school freshman to look for the swimming pool or that their classes are on the non-existent fourth floor or something. At any rate, we found the tourist office, ate lunch, got a hotel, and then took the bus to the Memorial de Caen, a really interesting museum about WWII, the Battle of Normandy, the Cold War, and just war and peace in general. They also had a temporary exhibit of political cartoons, all of which were very amusing:
"It's a cease-fire!"
We spent a lot more time in the museum than we realized, so we did a quick walk through the gardens (they were nothing super-special) and checked out the gallery of Nobel Peace Prize winners before taking the bus back to the town center, wandering around a bit, and treating ourselves out to dinner.
Day Five: mardi le 21 avril (Monday, 21 April)
The next morning we woke up early, ate the most delicious crêpes ever, and took the bus to Juno Beach, the beach in Normandy where the Canadians landed in WWII. It was freeeeeezing, especially since we only had lightweight cardigans with us (we'd packed for the weather in Italy, remember). While the morning was overcast and foggy, the sun came out around noon (or maybe a little bit before then) and it was gorgeous:
Juno Beach: I swear it was not as warm as it looks.We had some time after that, so we went to Bayeux, which is known for its 900-year-old, 70-meter-long tapestry which tells the story of William the Conqueror's invasion of England. (They don't let you take pictures of that, though...understandably, the thing's literally as old as dirt. Well, some dirt.) Having learned all about William's grand journey to jolly old England and the jolly good time he had (spoiler alert!) shooting Harold, the wrongful king, in the eye with an arrow, we walked around Bayeux a bit before catching the train and heading back to Paris. That night, we met up with some Dartmouth girls studying in Paris and went out to a bar, but we had to cut the night short in order to take the metro home before it closed. Long story short, we still missed the metro and ended up walking all the way from Notre Dame back to the Eiffel Tower (which, if you've ever been to Paris, you'll recognize is a mighty long walk. And I was in going-out shoes. Hello, blisters. Nice to see you right at the beginning of my foot-travel-intensive vacation.). On the plus side, though, it was cool to see the city at night, and Rachelle pointed out a lot of sights to me, which was useful the next day...
Day Six: mercredi, le 22 avril...as I walked around Paris on my own, exploring. Rachelle went on a day trip to another town, since she's been to Paris several times already (lucky her!) and the same old sites are getting a bit boring for her, I imagine.
Anyway, I walked from the Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) to Hôtel des Invalides to Place de la Concorde, then through the Tuileries (formal gardens) to the Louvre, where I spent the afternoon walking around and taking an insane number of photos.
Obligatory picture of La Jocunde (the Mona Lisa). Don't be fooled; there was a GIANT crowd around me as I took this picture. But yeah, she's TINY.
The sculpture gallery, probably my favorite part aside from the Napoleon III apartments.
Outside the Louvre.
Day Seven: jeudi le 22 avril (Thursday, 22 April)
I pretty much
did nothing of interest all day. Hung around the apartment until about 2 pm, when Rachelle left for the airport (she was going to Venice) and I went off in search of alternate lodging. I had a list of hotels I'd found online, but they were either impossible to find (and believe me, I looked and looked) or twice as much as they'd been advertised online. Fortunately, I found a hotel for 60 € a night. Still pretty expensive for just me, as 60 € was, at the time, just under $100 US. (The exchange rate is slightly more favorable this week. I don't know why, but I'm not questioning it.) At any rate, the hotel seemed a wee bit sketchy to me - not dirty or anything, but not clean. There was a hair in the shower. (It's not the hair itself that bothered me, but the fact that it meant the shower might not have been cleaned since The Shedder was there.) But I was too tired to care. I flopped down on the bed, fully intending to rest a minute and then head back out into the city. Ten minutes later, I decided to take a nap until 6:15 (it was around 5). At 6:15, I decided to extend the nap until 6:45. And at 6:45 I just admitted defeat, got under the comforter, and fell asleep. I woke up at 9, changed into my PJs, and went to bed for real, then slept until 10 the next morning. It was glorious.
Day Eight: vendredi le 23 avril (Friday, 23 April)I headed out around 11 and decided to check out the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens. The gardens were not what I expected. I thought they would be all formal gardens, but most of it was actually a park with tennis courts, playgrounds, courts for boules (similar to bocce, I think), and souvenir/snack kiosks. Near the palace, there were formal gardens and a fountain, and I basked in the sun there for awhile before wandering off in the general direction, I hoped, of Notre Dame and the Pantheon.
Luxembourg Palace and some of the Gardens.Luckily, I reached the Pantheon pretty easily. Originally constructed as a shrine to Saint Genevieve, Paris's patron saint, the Pantheon was secularized after the Revolution and is now the burial place for many of France's best and brightest; Voltaire, Rousseau, Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, the Curies, and many others are interred in the crypt under the Pantheon.
The interior of the Pantheon.
Once I'd walked around the Pantheon for awhile, I headed down Rue St-Jacques in the direction of Notre Dame, stopping every so often to check out things that looked interesting, like the garden at the Cluny Museum or a random church. When I got to Notre Dame, it looked different than I'd expected:
Notre Dame Cathedral
I hadn't expected it to be right on the river like that. And I dunno, I guess I thought it would be bigger. And I thought there would be stairs leading up to it. Although it's true that I'm basing all these assumptions on a Disney cartoon that I haven't seen in quite some time, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's different from what I'd anticipated.
I walked around inside (it was free!) and then walked up to the roof (it was not free!). The roof was really cool; it had a great view of Paris and of the famous gargoyles that Notre Dame is known for. (Also unlike the Disney movie, these gargoyles did not sing, dance, and make wisecracks. Thanks, Disney, for bolstering the hopes of another generation so that reality falls short of film. Thanks.) They were still pretty cool, though:
Gargoyle at Notre Dame, with the Sacred Heart Basilica way off in the distance on the hill.After Notre Dame, I took the metro to the Champs-Elysées (Paris's big shopping street) and walked up toward the Arc de Triomphe. I climbed up to the top of that, too (basically in Paris I just climbed to the top of lots of things):
The Arc de Triomphe. It was tough to get a good picture, what with its being located in the middle of a giant traffic circle and all.
View of the Champs-Elysées from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.It was starting to get late-ish (it was around 7:30) and I wanted to get back to my hotel before dark, since I knew it was located in the general vicinity of the red-light district (although I'd yet to actually see the red-light district.) I took the metro back to Pigalle, which was closer to my hotel than the metro stop I'd been using previously, and it let me off - wouldn't you know it - in the red light district. A street full of sex shops, porno theaters, and peep shows stretched out before me. I almost turned on my heel and headed straight for the hotel, but it was still light out and there seemed to be plenty of non-sketchy people around (businesspeople, other single women, even a couple of families), so I decided to be daring and see if I could find the Moulin Rouge. It was actually almost too easy - straight down the street, one block (and one metro stop) away.
It's actually probably the classiest establishment on the street, apart from Monoprix (a supermarket chain) and McDonald's...which is kind of sad.
Having taken my pictures, I started to get the heebie-jeebies a little bit - I mean, I still felt safe, but I didn't quite feel comfortable - a girl can only take so much leering and weird noises directed at her before she starts to feel a bit iffy. So I went back to the hotel and went to bed.
And that's all for now. I realize that I'm behind and still have two days left to recount for spring break, but I'm absolutely exhausted and really should go to bed. I have a whole free(ish) weekend coming up, though, and hopefully I can get all caught up then. Until next time...!
