Paris Day Two/Three

Day Two: This day after making Andy and Rob about kill me, I decided to make an effort to make the day seem much more chill. Today we did not wake up until 11 and then didn't leave I don't think until about 1, but we grabbed some hotdogs (which were two hot dogs in a baguette and then covered in cheese!) and some crepes. Then we walked through the snow to a Metro stop to head out on the Commuter train to Versailles. We took even longer than we were going to in the first place because we decided to get a few pictures of Notre Dame in the snow. It was really stunning, but cold haha. I haven't been that cold since I've come to Europe and honestly I hope I don't feel that again until I'm in Chicago or Champaign next winter! When we arrived in Versailles we walked up to it and it too was stunning. The snow had stopped, but the whole palace was gilded and covered in snow. People were also making snowmen on the front lawn of the palace. We hurried inside after seeing the outside because it was cold. When we were inside it was not that warm, but at least we weren't freezing. Versailles was so impressive. It was enormous. It felt like the Louvre all over again, but this time we weren't allowed into half the rooms. This time, however, the artwork was the walls rather than on the walls. Some spots in the palace had paintings and busts, but for the most part we just looked at the high ceilings and the walls. I just can't imagine how much that place would cost by today's standards. I don't think it could. All the brick work, gilding, and intricate works of art on every crown molding. Huh, maybe that's why they call it crown molding, to look like a palace... or I could be thinking too much into it and it just means the top of the room. I really don't think I could describe the palace in enough detail to get the point across of how beautiful it was, so I'll leave it up to the pictures. I will mention one thing though. I believe I took a picture of this, but look at the fireplace. They had several of these and they were so large that to have a fire, a whole tree would have to be burnt. I guess that was no problem though because they had a forrest out behind the palace that we never got to walk around because there was snow.
On the way back we were in no rush, so we strolled along and looked in all the shops for souvenirs, but none of them were nice. As a side note, I'm not suprised the shops were expensive because there were only about three of them and the surrounding area was very beautiful/upscale which means souvenir shops should not even be there in my opinion. We saw a mini mall though and stopped by a football (soccer) shop for a minute. I was surprised because right next to it there was a Games Workshop shop and for those of you who don't know what that is, don't worry cause you're not missing anything, but it is basically an overpriced model shop that I used to buy models from. After the sports shop we grabbed a bite to eat from a chain store in France and I bought a quish which was pretty good, but not anything spectacular. Then we decided to stop by the McCafe and grab a cup of joe. I didn't get joe, but I did grab a macaroon. That was interesting, but way over priced. It was the size of a quarter, but cost one euro. Basically I just wanted to try it. Now I'm satisfied.
We didn't get back until dark, but that was fine and the train we went back on was practically empty, so we had a little party in our tired state. When we got back to the Eiffle tower area, we decided to go check out the Champ Elysees and then the Arc du Triomphe. That was also impressive, but after seeing so much, we were practically blasé. The other problem was that we had seen all these sites and didn't really know much about them at all. Sure they were historical in some sense, but we maybe knew one detail of what I'm sure were imensely long stories. After doing a quick photo shoot atop the Arc, we headed back down the Champ and enjoyed a little car show and shopping without buying. I say car show because we went into about 5 different car manufacturer's stores and most of the stores had just concept cars and one or two real cars. So I feel like I've been to a European car show without having to pay! We also stopped by Louis Vuitton and I now know I will never, ever even think about buying that brand because that's all it is. It is a brand. Sure they have quality stitching and quality materials, but I don't care what kind of cotton you use, you cannot charge 250 Euro for a t-shirt. I also got a picture of Michael Jordan's hand prints from the Nike Paris store. After that we decided it was time to eat since it was about 10. We didn't feel like searching for a real nice place to eat, so rather than paying 300 euros for a meal at a nice restaurant on the Champ, we actually found another place on the Champ that was serving pizza. It was pizza like I've never seen. It was real Italian, cooked over a wood fire and the artichoke was crisped, yet olive oily. Superb. After that we just called it a night and went back to the hostel. Rob didn't do much, but Andy and I had a couple of beers including the Desperado which was delicious. I think I mentioned it, but I'll mention it again just in case cause it is worth mentioning. Desperado is the best beer I've ever had. I don't think I'd like more than one in one sitting, but it is sweet with a bitter aftertaste. I don't know how to describe food well, so you'll all just have to try it. I'm going to search Friar Tucks when I get back [of course when I'm 21 :)]. Oh, that last part is so depressing. I can't even think about it. Going home and being 21. 21 is almost harder to take then 20. Honestly I feel like I've about hit the ages where it gets progressively worse! None of them are saying you are more like a kid, but I want to stay a kid. There are definitely good things about getting another number on your birthday cake though.... I just can't think of them!
Sunday morning openned to our final day in France. This day was meant to be filler and if we had something else to do we would do it this day, so this was relaxing. We started at 10 because we had to check out by then. When we walked out we searched for a local cafe to have breakfast. We found one after we watched a tour boat head through some locks in the river. I really didn't think I'd see locks in the middle of Paris, but they have them! I even have a video of the first lock. It almost didn't look like the boat would fit, but once it made it, we were done and headed off to breakfast. At the cafe I had omelette du fromage, which was actually omelette fromage to my disappointment. Darn Dexter's Lab for teaching me incorrect French. After breakfast we headed back to the Latin Quarter to round out our trip. We found an eiffle tower for Andy's mom and then got back into the metro and headed back to the hostel to grab our bags and go home (Madrid). The End.