This beer garden was incredible. When you walk in, you are all of a sudden overtaking by everything that is going on inside. All of your senses are trying to take everything in and its impossible. There are huge men (german men) who are all sitting along these long benches drinking, laughing and drinking. Some are singing, some are having serious discussions and others are just having an after work drink or two... or three. You smell the pretzels that they serve, you hear the band that is playing crazy crazy german music. Oh, and I should mention that the band members have shorts with suspenders on. They are playing the coolest instruments that I had never seen before. You see all the people moving around, looking for spots, trying to find friends. There is so much comotion it takes a while to adjust to where you are and it was exhausting taking everything in. Graham (the guy from BC) and Paul and I found a spot in the non-smoking, family section which was a lot quieter and we ordered a beer. They only serve beer in 1L jugs. wow. That's a lot of beer for me. Im not normally in a beer drinker (except in Quebec) so I wasnt sure if I was going to be able to finish it. I managed quite fine.
I spent most of the time people watching. Germans are crazy. They are loud and obnoxious but then I guess most people who have a few drinks in them are the same way.
Prost
bonne soiree
Tuesday, January 30
more on Munchen
Munich in German in called Munchen. Now, Paul and I decided that people who were from Munchen were probably called............ munchkins.
The beer in Munich is so cheap. So, naturally, one (not me.. but one) would take advantage of this cheapness especially if she/her were living in the most expensive city in Europe. right? naturally. The beer at the hostel was so cheap. the beer and this amazing restaurant that Paul and I went to was fairly cheap and even at the Haufbrauhouse (which is the biggest beer garden in Munich) the beer was pretty cheap.
Paul and I also ate quite a bit of kabobs. They actually have part of a cow in a turny thing that is being heated and they shave off the meat anytime someone wants a kabob. Man, are they ever good.
We went on a guided tour our second day in Munich and it was great. We walked all around the city, learning how it was all destroyed during the war and how they built it up to what it used to be like. We learned how Hitler started a riot in Munich. We walked down the most expensive street (with the best shopping- which I sadly cant afford) we also saw Pope Benedict's old church which is the cathedral in Munich.
After the tour, Paul and I split up. Paul went to a museum (which I thankfully got out of going to) with a guy we had met from BC and I went off by myself to do some shoppping and sight seeing. We were going to meet up later at the Haufbrauhouse for some beers. I went to the church were our guide told us we could climp up the stairs. There were 310 stairs. The view was amazing. I was up right at sunset and it was gorgeous. You could see the mountains and then the city.
The beer in Munich is so cheap. So, naturally, one (not me.. but one) would take advantage of this cheapness especially if she/her were living in the most expensive city in Europe. right? naturally. The beer at the hostel was so cheap. the beer and this amazing restaurant that Paul and I went to was fairly cheap and even at the Haufbrauhouse (which is the biggest beer garden in Munich) the beer was pretty cheap.
Paul and I also ate quite a bit of kabobs. They actually have part of a cow in a turny thing that is being heated and they shave off the meat anytime someone wants a kabob. Man, are they ever good.
We went on a guided tour our second day in Munich and it was great. We walked all around the city, learning how it was all destroyed during the war and how they built it up to what it used to be like. We learned how Hitler started a riot in Munich. We walked down the most expensive street (with the best shopping- which I sadly cant afford) we also saw Pope Benedict's old church which is the cathedral in Munich.
After the tour, Paul and I split up. Paul went to a museum (which I thankfully got out of going to) with a guy we had met from BC and I went off by myself to do some shoppping and sight seeing. We were going to meet up later at the Haufbrauhouse for some beers. I went to the church were our guide told us we could climp up the stairs. There were 310 stairs. The view was amazing. I was up right at sunset and it was gorgeous. You could see the mountains and then the city.
Dauchau- Concentration camp
Paul and I went to Dauchau, the concentration camp in Munich. It was very emotional. When we first got there, they gave us a audio guide to show us around the camp and they were explaining the different buildings, different memories of some of the prisoners and what the prisoners had to do while in specific spots around the camp. For example, the entrance to the camp is the same one the prisoners used when they were being admitted into the camp. It was a very overwhelming feeling walking through the gate and to realize that you were walking in in safety but that there were so many others who were terrified for their lives while walking through those same gates.
We walked around a bit, went through the museum and saw a movie on the concentration camp. It was a working camp not a gas chamber camp so we didnt see any gas chambers or anything like that but there were a lot of footage of bodies being deposited. It was a lot to handle. I found it very interesting and considering it was a huge part of our history, I thought it would be good to go. I'm not sure if I would recommend others to go there or not. There were quite a few kids there walking around with their parents and I know I wouldnt take my kids there but its good for others to see.
We walked around a bit, went through the museum and saw a movie on the concentration camp. It was a working camp not a gas chamber camp so we didnt see any gas chambers or anything like that but there were a lot of footage of bodies being deposited. It was a lot to handle. I found it very interesting and considering it was a huge part of our history, I thought it would be good to go. I'm not sure if I would recommend others to go there or not. There were quite a few kids there walking around with their parents and I know I wouldnt take my kids there but its good for others to see.
Sunday, January 28
Paul's visit- Germany (Munich)
Paul and i went to Germany for a few days between Christmas and New Years. We took an overnight bus from Paris to Munich which was like 14 hours or something. Turns out this wasnt the smartest idea ever. We thought we were really going to be saving money but its not worth it. You have to basically sleep sitting and you have no where to rest your head aside from straight back.. there isnt enough leg room so you cant stretch out your legs and people around you are talking and laughing anyways so even if you were completely comfortable, it was loud. Paul and I were huge geeks on the bus because we were the only ones with our lights on and reading. Once again (surprise surprise) we didnt really talk to each other. So, we arrived in Munich early in the morning. Turns out the bus station, unlike in Canada, is in the middle of nowhere. We had to somehow manage to get ourselves to the touristy part of Munich which was pretty easy for anyone who could speak German. Neither Paul or I could (just to say yes-ja, no-nein, cheers-prost) so it was fairly difficult. We had to figure out the metro ticket machine which of course was all in German. We actually didnt even really need a ticket anyways because the metro runs basically on the honor system as no one really goes around and checks tickets. So, we got to downtown Munich and went to the tourist office and they told us there was a hostel around the corner so we went there. We stayed at Wombats. Now, this hostel was amazing. It was fairly cheap, had a bar, a pool table, nice rooms, lockers and tons of people. It was fantastic.
Saturday, January 27
Paul's visit- South of France (Lourdes)
We arrived in Lourdes fairly early in the morning and as soon as we stepped off the train we realized how cold it was. In France, it doesnt' really get below minus 3 or 4 but the cold here is so much different than that of Canada. In France, its a bitter cold becuase there is so much moisture. Its the cold that chills you immediately to the bone. So, actually minus 1 feels more like minus 25. So anyways- it was cold in Lourdes. Plus, in Lourdes you are closer to the mountains and so that automatically makes it really cold.
So, we left our bags at the little coffee shop across from the train station and started walking towards the grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette 16 times in 1858. Now, at the grotto there is a very large church, a museum, a water hole where you can bath in water from the grotto as well as the grotto itself. Neither Paul or I really knew what the grotto was going to look like and it was like a cave with a stream of water going through it. There, Mary had appeared to Bernadette. Apparently, the church has pronounced 66 miracles that have happened at the grotto. Miracles such as people walking away from their wheelchairs and things like that. So, it was actually very holy being there.
So, we walked around there for a long time freezing our butts off. It was a very different tourist experience. I felt like I was walking on holy ground. Paul went into the pool of grotto water where they wash you with the grotto water (which is freezing cold as well) and then they pray with you but I couldnt do it. I wasnt comfortable enough but Paul said it was a really good experience.
We walked around the town a little bit more but it was mostly dead because winter (because its so cold) is the off season there and there werent that many people. The museum was actually closed as where other things so there were a few things that I would have liked to see that we werent able to.
We ate at a little dinner that wasnt very good and then we decided to go for a cafe (which we always did) and we played cards in the cafe for about 5 hours because it was way too cold outside to do anything. our train back to Paris was at 11:30pm and we sat in the cafe from 6pm to about 11pm.
Our train ended up being 45mins late and we realized we werent going to make the connection we needed to at another town to get back to Paris. I was talking with the train guards and they said there was another train going back to Paris later on that night that we could ride on for a whlie but that it was actually pronounced as full so we might have to stand. We were supposed to get off at a particular town where the train that we were supposed to be on and the one we were going to go on, met. Talk about confusing. So, we got on the train and looked around for seats which actually werent hard to find (thank goodness.) we sat down but then at each stop we had to keep getting up just in case we were sitting in people's seats but no one came to claim them the whole time we were on the train so we were lucky. We made our connection at this random town and made it back to Paris.
So, we left our bags at the little coffee shop across from the train station and started walking towards the grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette 16 times in 1858. Now, at the grotto there is a very large church, a museum, a water hole where you can bath in water from the grotto as well as the grotto itself. Neither Paul or I really knew what the grotto was going to look like and it was like a cave with a stream of water going through it. There, Mary had appeared to Bernadette. Apparently, the church has pronounced 66 miracles that have happened at the grotto. Miracles such as people walking away from their wheelchairs and things like that. So, it was actually very holy being there.
So, we walked around there for a long time freezing our butts off. It was a very different tourist experience. I felt like I was walking on holy ground. Paul went into the pool of grotto water where they wash you with the grotto water (which is freezing cold as well) and then they pray with you but I couldnt do it. I wasnt comfortable enough but Paul said it was a really good experience.
We walked around the town a little bit more but it was mostly dead because winter (because its so cold) is the off season there and there werent that many people. The museum was actually closed as where other things so there were a few things that I would have liked to see that we werent able to.
We ate at a little dinner that wasnt very good and then we decided to go for a cafe (which we always did) and we played cards in the cafe for about 5 hours because it was way too cold outside to do anything. our train back to Paris was at 11:30pm and we sat in the cafe from 6pm to about 11pm.
Our train ended up being 45mins late and we realized we werent going to make the connection we needed to at another town to get back to Paris. I was talking with the train guards and they said there was another train going back to Paris later on that night that we could ride on for a whlie but that it was actually pronounced as full so we might have to stand. We were supposed to get off at a particular town where the train that we were supposed to be on and the one we were going to go on, met. Talk about confusing. So, we got on the train and looked around for seats which actually werent hard to find (thank goodness.) we sat down but then at each stop we had to keep getting up just in case we were sitting in people's seats but no one came to claim them the whole time we were on the train so we were lucky. We made our connection at this random town and made it back to Paris.
Thursday, January 25
Paul's visit-South of France (Marseilles)
So we arrived at Marseilles pretty early in the morning. The night before, when we were still in Lyon, we were talking to this American who was in Marseilles the day before with her friend who had her purse stolen right out of her arm at the train station. Of course, this is the only thing I can think about when we arrive at the station the next day. I was holding onto my purse so tight my knuckles were turning white. While we were at the train station, we thought that because it was so close to Christmas that we should book our trains from Marseilles to Lourdes and then from Lourdes to Paris that day because the trains are already busy on a regular day and around Christmas it might be all full if we were try to book later. So, we did. Now, my mind could rest because I knew we were getting back to Paris for Christmas.
The weather in Marseilles was really nice although Paul and I were both expecting it to be warmer, I think. At least the sun was shinning which was a nice change. We got out of the train station (which wasnt really a nice area-it smelt like urine.) and went to the tourism office to get a map and to find out what we can do in one day. The lady was super helpful. She told us where to stay/what to see/how to get there. We decided to check into our hostel and then we went to a huge church up on a hill. It was gorgeous. The bus we took was on an incline the whole time because this hill (more of a mountain) was massive. You should check out my pictures of the view from the church on my photo page www.photos.yahoo.com/mandylynnmurray
From the church you could see the bay, the mountains and the city. It was gorgeous. I hadnt seen a mountain since I was in Jasper in Grade 9 so I was super excited.
After the church, we went to a Christmas market. It was a really cute market selling the coolest little knick knacks and Christmas things. We went down by the water to grab a coffee (I had a hot chocolate) and both of us couldnt get over how expensive Paris actually was. Paris is seriously twice the price of Marseilles. I appreciated getting a break on my bank account for the day.
We then went on a boat tour around Marseilles. It was gorgeous and pretty cold. We wanted to get off and stay on one of the islands and then wait for the next boat to come pick us up but both of us were afraid that we would miss the other boat (which was the last one for the day) and we would be stuck on the island. So, needless to say, we didnt get off the boat. After the boat ride, we went out for a drink and window shopped and just walked around Marseilles and then went back to the hostel.
We had to catch the train to Lourdes at 6am so we went to bed pretty early.
We got up the next day, checked out, got on the trains and didnt speak to each other for another 4 hours until we got to Lourdes. It was great.
The weather in Marseilles was really nice although Paul and I were both expecting it to be warmer, I think. At least the sun was shinning which was a nice change. We got out of the train station (which wasnt really a nice area-it smelt like urine.) and went to the tourism office to get a map and to find out what we can do in one day. The lady was super helpful. She told us where to stay/what to see/how to get there. We decided to check into our hostel and then we went to a huge church up on a hill. It was gorgeous. The bus we took was on an incline the whole time because this hill (more of a mountain) was massive. You should check out my pictures of the view from the church on my photo page www.photos.yahoo.com/mandylynnmurray
From the church you could see the bay, the mountains and the city. It was gorgeous. I hadnt seen a mountain since I was in Jasper in Grade 9 so I was super excited.
After the church, we went to a Christmas market. It was a really cute market selling the coolest little knick knacks and Christmas things. We went down by the water to grab a coffee (I had a hot chocolate) and both of us couldnt get over how expensive Paris actually was. Paris is seriously twice the price of Marseilles. I appreciated getting a break on my bank account for the day.
We then went on a boat tour around Marseilles. It was gorgeous and pretty cold. We wanted to get off and stay on one of the islands and then wait for the next boat to come pick us up but both of us were afraid that we would miss the other boat (which was the last one for the day) and we would be stuck on the island. So, needless to say, we didnt get off the boat. After the boat ride, we went out for a drink and window shopped and just walked around Marseilles and then went back to the hostel.
We had to catch the train to Lourdes at 6am so we went to bed pretty early.
We got up the next day, checked out, got on the trains and didnt speak to each other for another 4 hours until we got to Lourdes. It was great.
Saturday, January 20
Paul's visit- South of France (Lyon)
Paul and I went travelling for a few days to the south of France right before Christmas. We went to Lyon first, then Marsailles, then Lourdes. We were travelling by train and so we both bought a carte 12-25 which acts somewhat like a ISIC card where you get a percentage off of your train fare because you are under the age of 26. So, we both bought this card and went on our way. We went to Lyon via train that took about 6hrs. I dont think we actually talked to each other the whole time we were on the train. It was nice to be with someone else but then at the same time, we were both reading our books (well-actually, I was mostly sleeping) We arrived at Lyon without a clue on really what we should do next. We knew we had to find a hostel, hope they werent full, book a few nights and then figure out the city. So, we started with step one, we went to the tourism office which are normally in trains stations and we got a map as well as a list of the hostels in Lyon. We went to the first one on the list (there were only 2) and we each booked into a room. First, let me tell you about Lyon. The city is gorgeous and half of it is built on/in a hill. Now, Im not talking about a Huron-Perth county hill, Im pretty much talking about the side of a mountain (a small mountain but a mountain nonetheless). So, the train station is on the flat part of Lyon but (of course) the hostel wasnt. Boy, it was quite the climb. When we finally got to the top, we were both SO exhausted. We booked beds and signed up for a walking tour (of course we both knew the walking tour was going to be up the mountain) for the next day and then we went out to explore the city. We went on a ferris wheel which was very pretty. Like, the ferris wheel in Paris, you could see all the city sites. We ate out at a little Italien restaurant (which was lovely) and Paul will tell the story about how we were sitting in the restaurant in Lyon, listening to the radio (which plays mostly english music that would NEVER get air time in North America) and Nickleback came on the radio. Paul says "man, no matter where you are in the world, you can never escape Nickleback." He's probably right. So, after dinner and after our cafe (people in France always go out for dinner and then usually go to a different cafe for a coffee and so Paul and I had gotten into the habit of doing that as well) we walked around Lyon some more. We found this really nice church that has a time clock in it that shows the time until 2019. I didn't really understand the whole thing but basically, this thing will show the time, the month, the date, the year, the day of the week until 2019 and it has different hands to point to the month, the date, the year and the day of the week. I'm still not quite sure what will happen in 2019 to make this thing incorrect but I decided not to think about it because its way too over my heard. Anyways, the time clock was really cool..
We didnt really do too much the first night because were both tired. We played a bit of Pay Me (which is a card game that I always beat Paul at) and then hit the sack.
The next day we went on out walking tour with this man who had THE BEST combover Ive never seen. Seriously, it was amazing. Also, he had dyed his hair so many times that part of it was actually yellow (the rest was white) and the whole left side was combed over to his right side. It was incredible. He was a very nice man who wanted you to know,love and appreciate the history (renaissance vs. middle ages buildings and what the differences are- we saw about 15 examples) of Lyon. We walked up the mountain to a cathedrale and then around the city and its two rivers. It was an excellent tour. Afterwards, Paul and I, this other Canadian who was on our tour as well as this guy from Quebec and this girl from the states went out for lunch. We had kabobs. This started Paul's love for kabobs. It was all down hill from there. So, basically the only thing we all had in common was that we were about the same age, all traveling, and all from North America and that, at that moment, made us all best friends.
Paul and I spent the rest of the afternoon in an art museum. Art is finally growing on me and I have Paul and his love for art to thank. We went for dinner and then for coffee and went back to the hostel to see what the other people were up to. We ended up talking in a huge group of travelers for a while and Paul and some other guys (including a crazy Irelander) went out for a couple drinks. I ended up talking to this girl who hadnt seen her fiance in over 2 yrs and was going to see him in 2 days. Apparently, they mostly talk via internet and they are finally meeting up in Paris to make sure they still want to marry each other. It was actually a very weird conversation. I was thankful when Paul came back although, I did really enjoy this girl. She was also talking about all of the work she has done in other countries and where she's lived. Her and her family picked up and came to France for 3 weeks and she might stay longer or she might go back to the US.. talk about having your life in mid air. wow.
Paul and I had to get up pretty early the next day because we were catching the train to Marseilles (and we got to walk down the hill to the train station this time). When we got to the train station, we went to our platform and it said that the train was just about to leave and (of course, me, not being able to remain calm) I start freaking out because the train was going to leave and we werent on it. We get on the right cart and start looking for our seats and find out that our seat numbers dont exist on this train. We were confused until we realized that the train we were on was not going to Marsailles but it was a train that was en retard and hadnt even left yet (and that was going to another completely different city). Not only that, but we were in first class looking for our seats. You can imagine how funny this was for people who are already on the train because clearly they have money, they're all settled in their seats because the train was supposed to leave a half hour earlier and here we are, getting on the train, speaking english, clearly we're backpacking as we both have backpacks on and then to top it all off, we cant even find out numbers on the cart and it took us a while to realize that a) this train was about to leave and b) it wasnt even the right train. Haha, it was halarious.
So, our train to Marseilles finally came, we got on and once again, didnt speak to each other the whole train ride (which was about 6 hrs)
Alright, thats enough for today. Ill write more about the rest of our trip a little while later.
We didnt really do too much the first night because were both tired. We played a bit of Pay Me (which is a card game that I always beat Paul at) and then hit the sack.
The next day we went on out walking tour with this man who had THE BEST combover Ive never seen. Seriously, it was amazing. Also, he had dyed his hair so many times that part of it was actually yellow (the rest was white) and the whole left side was combed over to his right side. It was incredible. He was a very nice man who wanted you to know,love and appreciate the history (renaissance vs. middle ages buildings and what the differences are- we saw about 15 examples) of Lyon. We walked up the mountain to a cathedrale and then around the city and its two rivers. It was an excellent tour. Afterwards, Paul and I, this other Canadian who was on our tour as well as this guy from Quebec and this girl from the states went out for lunch. We had kabobs. This started Paul's love for kabobs. It was all down hill from there. So, basically the only thing we all had in common was that we were about the same age, all traveling, and all from North America and that, at that moment, made us all best friends.
Paul and I spent the rest of the afternoon in an art museum. Art is finally growing on me and I have Paul and his love for art to thank. We went for dinner and then for coffee and went back to the hostel to see what the other people were up to. We ended up talking in a huge group of travelers for a while and Paul and some other guys (including a crazy Irelander) went out for a couple drinks. I ended up talking to this girl who hadnt seen her fiance in over 2 yrs and was going to see him in 2 days. Apparently, they mostly talk via internet and they are finally meeting up in Paris to make sure they still want to marry each other. It was actually a very weird conversation. I was thankful when Paul came back although, I did really enjoy this girl. She was also talking about all of the work she has done in other countries and where she's lived. Her and her family picked up and came to France for 3 weeks and she might stay longer or she might go back to the US.. talk about having your life in mid air. wow.
Paul and I had to get up pretty early the next day because we were catching the train to Marseilles (and we got to walk down the hill to the train station this time). When we got to the train station, we went to our platform and it said that the train was just about to leave and (of course, me, not being able to remain calm) I start freaking out because the train was going to leave and we werent on it. We get on the right cart and start looking for our seats and find out that our seat numbers dont exist on this train. We were confused until we realized that the train we were on was not going to Marsailles but it was a train that was en retard and hadnt even left yet (and that was going to another completely different city). Not only that, but we were in first class looking for our seats. You can imagine how funny this was for people who are already on the train because clearly they have money, they're all settled in their seats because the train was supposed to leave a half hour earlier and here we are, getting on the train, speaking english, clearly we're backpacking as we both have backpacks on and then to top it all off, we cant even find out numbers on the cart and it took us a while to realize that a) this train was about to leave and b) it wasnt even the right train. Haha, it was halarious.
So, our train to Marseilles finally came, we got on and once again, didnt speak to each other the whole train ride (which was about 6 hrs)
Alright, thats enough for today. Ill write more about the rest of our trip a little while later.
Monday, January 15
Paul's visit- Paris
so, we did pretty much all of the touristy things in Paris while Paul was here. We did some touring when he first got here and then around Christmas and then after New Years. We spent Christmas and New Years in Paris and then we went to the south of France the week before Christmas and then to Germany the week between Christmas and New Years.
While in Paris, we went up the eiffel tower which, of course, was awesome. We went up to the top level at night and it was incredible seeing all the sights that we had toured and to see all the lights around the city as well. It was really pretty. There is a skating rink up there on the first level but we didnt go skating. It actually didnt take us that long to get up there-I thought we were going to be in line for a long time, but we werent.
One day we went to the Moulin Rouge and the red light district. We walked into the Moulin Rouge but didnt see a show. Apparently the shows are very expensive and just a money grab so we werent planning on doing that. We also went to Sacre Coeur which is a really nice church on a huge hill in Paris where you can see all of Paris. It was nice.. but, not as impressive as Notre Dame. While we were at Sacre Coeur, two guys came up to us and started making bracelets on our wrists and then convinced Paul to pay for them. What a sucker.
We went to the louvre a few times, which, Im sure was Paul's favorite. Ill tell you about my louve experience in a later post. We saw the Monna Lisa and other famous paintings. We saw a collection from Hogarth as well at the Louvre and that was really interesting. We also went to another museum called Musee d'Orsay that has a great collection of Van Gogh, Monet and tons of other painters in it. Very impressive.
We walked around Paris a lot and saw a few parks like the Luxembourg Gardens. We also went to the Pantheon where Victor Hugo and others are burried. Paul really enjoyed this because he got to hang out with Victor for a little while. It was interesting because they had a write-up about each person that was burried there so you could read a little bit about what they did and why they have the privledge of being burried there. I found the cript a little creepy because you're in a cave-like almost way under ground and you're walking around looking at coffins. I didnt want to be left alone down there and I kept following Paul around everywhere he went. There were a lot of other people down there looking at the coffins but it was really creeping me out.
We ate out a lot in the Latin Quarter. You can get a pretty good meal for about 10 euro and they were in pretty nice restaurants. I pretty much just ate French Onion Soup. I now LOVE french onion soup oh, and french fries and mayonnaise. Oh wow- that is SO good.. you dont even have to ask for mayo.. they automatically give you mayo with your french fries and you dont pay any extra for it. At home, I know Leanne always gets mayo with her fries (which I always thought was gross) but it would always cost her a little bit extra but here, they give it to you. I dont know why french people arent really fat.
We also went to Versailles which is a castle just outside of Paris where Louis XIV and Louis XVI lived (and I think other royalty..) we took a tour inside the castle and saw where Marie Antoinette slept and where the kings did all of their entertaining and also their chapel and their theatre.. we also saw the hallways of mirrors which was really cool. The tour was expensive but I think it was well worth it. We also toured the grounds (the back yard) that has a pool in it and tons of trees. Apparently the grounds are 3K long or something like that. It was incredible.
We went on a ferris wheel one day in Paris. It was awesome. We could see all of Paris and we were up there right at 5pm so the eiffel tower was sparkling. It was really cool. We could see Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the eiffel tower and the Louvre. It was great.
We went to the market one day to buy some souvenirs. Paul bought a blanket and I dont think I bought anything. It was funny seeing Paul barder.
We went on a boat ride around Paris which was really fun but very cold and rainy. In Paris it rains quite a bit but not for very long at a time. It rains at least once a day but only for about 10 mins at a time unless its a huge downpour. But, you can pretty much count on at least one rain a day. And, of course, the rain that day happened while we were on the boat, sitting out on the front of the boat trying to keep warm. We saw all of the sights from the water and they taught us about the different bridges (there are tons!).
We went to Christmas eve midnight mass at Notre Dame. What a mess. We got there at about 11pm to stand in line to get into the church. I have never had to stand in line to go to church and Im sure most people would say they have never stood in line to go to church. Well, now I have.. We waited for about a half hour and we finally got in. Now, just because we got into the church doesnt mean we had a seat. The church was already packed when we got there. This church is huge. To this day, I still cant believe it was as full as it was when we got there. There were SO many people. They had tvs set up on the sides of the church because they had set up extra chairs and from those extra chairs you couldnt see the altar, so they had tvs. It was nuts. There were people talking, laughing, taking pictures and not paying attention to the mass at all. We ended up standing off to one side and watching a screen. A guy passed out while he was walking by Paul and Paul had to catch him before he fell. We were getting in line to receive the host at communion time and then all of a sudden, the priests walked back up to the front of the church and communion time was over. We missed it. The whole experience was really crazy and nuts. Im glad I was there on Christmas Eve but I wouldnt do it again. It was too nuts for the both of us.
While in Paris, we went up the eiffel tower which, of course, was awesome. We went up to the top level at night and it was incredible seeing all the sights that we had toured and to see all the lights around the city as well. It was really pretty. There is a skating rink up there on the first level but we didnt go skating. It actually didnt take us that long to get up there-I thought we were going to be in line for a long time, but we werent.
One day we went to the Moulin Rouge and the red light district. We walked into the Moulin Rouge but didnt see a show. Apparently the shows are very expensive and just a money grab so we werent planning on doing that. We also went to Sacre Coeur which is a really nice church on a huge hill in Paris where you can see all of Paris. It was nice.. but, not as impressive as Notre Dame. While we were at Sacre Coeur, two guys came up to us and started making bracelets on our wrists and then convinced Paul to pay for them. What a sucker.
We went to the louvre a few times, which, Im sure was Paul's favorite. Ill tell you about my louve experience in a later post. We saw the Monna Lisa and other famous paintings. We saw a collection from Hogarth as well at the Louvre and that was really interesting. We also went to another museum called Musee d'Orsay that has a great collection of Van Gogh, Monet and tons of other painters in it. Very impressive.
We walked around Paris a lot and saw a few parks like the Luxembourg Gardens. We also went to the Pantheon where Victor Hugo and others are burried. Paul really enjoyed this because he got to hang out with Victor for a little while. It was interesting because they had a write-up about each person that was burried there so you could read a little bit about what they did and why they have the privledge of being burried there. I found the cript a little creepy because you're in a cave-like almost way under ground and you're walking around looking at coffins. I didnt want to be left alone down there and I kept following Paul around everywhere he went. There were a lot of other people down there looking at the coffins but it was really creeping me out.
We ate out a lot in the Latin Quarter. You can get a pretty good meal for about 10 euro and they were in pretty nice restaurants. I pretty much just ate French Onion Soup. I now LOVE french onion soup oh, and french fries and mayonnaise. Oh wow- that is SO good.. you dont even have to ask for mayo.. they automatically give you mayo with your french fries and you dont pay any extra for it. At home, I know Leanne always gets mayo with her fries (which I always thought was gross) but it would always cost her a little bit extra but here, they give it to you. I dont know why french people arent really fat.
We also went to Versailles which is a castle just outside of Paris where Louis XIV and Louis XVI lived (and I think other royalty..) we took a tour inside the castle and saw where Marie Antoinette slept and where the kings did all of their entertaining and also their chapel and their theatre.. we also saw the hallways of mirrors which was really cool. The tour was expensive but I think it was well worth it. We also toured the grounds (the back yard) that has a pool in it and tons of trees. Apparently the grounds are 3K long or something like that. It was incredible.
We went on a ferris wheel one day in Paris. It was awesome. We could see all of Paris and we were up there right at 5pm so the eiffel tower was sparkling. It was really cool. We could see Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the eiffel tower and the Louvre. It was great.
We went to the market one day to buy some souvenirs. Paul bought a blanket and I dont think I bought anything. It was funny seeing Paul barder.
We went on a boat ride around Paris which was really fun but very cold and rainy. In Paris it rains quite a bit but not for very long at a time. It rains at least once a day but only for about 10 mins at a time unless its a huge downpour. But, you can pretty much count on at least one rain a day. And, of course, the rain that day happened while we were on the boat, sitting out on the front of the boat trying to keep warm. We saw all of the sights from the water and they taught us about the different bridges (there are tons!).
We went to Christmas eve midnight mass at Notre Dame. What a mess. We got there at about 11pm to stand in line to get into the church. I have never had to stand in line to go to church and Im sure most people would say they have never stood in line to go to church. Well, now I have.. We waited for about a half hour and we finally got in. Now, just because we got into the church doesnt mean we had a seat. The church was already packed when we got there. This church is huge. To this day, I still cant believe it was as full as it was when we got there. There were SO many people. They had tvs set up on the sides of the church because they had set up extra chairs and from those extra chairs you couldnt see the altar, so they had tvs. It was nuts. There were people talking, laughing, taking pictures and not paying attention to the mass at all. We ended up standing off to one side and watching a screen. A guy passed out while he was walking by Paul and Paul had to catch him before he fell. We were getting in line to receive the host at communion time and then all of a sudden, the priests walked back up to the front of the church and communion time was over. We missed it. The whole experience was really crazy and nuts. Im glad I was there on Christmas Eve but I wouldnt do it again. It was too nuts for the both of us.
Paris
so, we did pretty much all of the touristy things in Paris while Paul was here. We did some touring when he first got here and then around Christmas and then after New Years. We spent Christmas and New Years in Paris and then we went to the south of France the week before Christmas and then to Germany the week between Christmas and New Years.
While in Paris, we went up the eiffel tower which, of course, was awesome. We went up to the top level at night and it was incredible seeing all the sights that we had toured and to see all the lights around the city as well. It was really pretty. There is a skating rink up there on the first level but we didnt go skating. It actually didnt take us that long to get up there-I thought we were going to be in line for a long time, but we werent.
One day we went to the Moulin Rouge and the red light district. We walked into the Moulin Rouge but didnt see a show. Apparently the shows are very expensive and just a money grab so we werent planning on doing that. We also went to Sacre Coeur which is a really nice church on a huge hill in Paris where you can see all of Paris. It was nice.. but, not as impressive as Notre Dame. While we were at Sacre Coeur, two guys came up to us and started making bracelets on our wrists and then convinced Paul to pay for them. What a sucker.
We went to the louvre a few times, which, Im sure was Paul's favorite. Ill tell you about my louve experience in a later post. We saw the Monna Lisa and other famous paintings. We saw a collection from Hogarth as well at the Louvre and that was really interesting. We also went to another museum called Musee d'Orsay that has a great collection of Van Gogh, Monet and tons of other painters in it. Very impressive.
We walked around Paris a lot and saw a few parks like the Luxembourg Gardens. We also went to the Pantheon where Victor Hugo and others are burried. Paul really enjoyed this because he got to hang out with Victor for a little while. It was interesting because they had a write-up about each person that was burried there so you could read a little bit about what they did and why they have the privledge of being burried there. I found the cript a little creepy because you're in a cave-like almost way under ground and you're walking around looking at coffins. I didnt want to be left alone down there and I kept following Paul around everywhere he went. There were a lot of other people down there looking at the coffins but it was really creeping me out.
We ate out a lot in the Latin Quarter. You can get a pretty good meal for about 10 euro and they were in pretty nice restaurants. I pretty much just ate French Onion Soup. I now LOVE french onion soup oh, and french fries and mayonnaise. Oh wow- that is SO good.. you dont even have to ask for mayo.. they automatically give you mayo with your french fries and you dont pay any extra for it. At home, I know Leanne always gets mayo with her fries (which I always thought was gross) but it would always cost her a little bit extra but here, they give it to you. I dont know why french people arent really fat.
We also went to Versailles which is a castle just outside of Paris where Louis XIV and Louis XVI lived (and I think other royalty..) we took a tour inside the castle and saw where Marie Antoinette slept and where the kings did all of their entertaining and also their chapel and their theatre.. we also saw the hallways of mirrors which was really cool. The tour was expensive but I think it was well worth it. We also toured the grounds (the back yard) that has a pool in it and tons of trees. Apparently the grounds are 3K long or something like that. It was incredible.
We went on a ferris wheel one day in Paris. It was awesome. We could see all of Paris and we were up there right at 5pm so the eiffel tower was sparkling. It was really cool. We could see Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the eiffel tower and the Louvre. It was great.
We went to the market one day to buy some souvenirs. Paul bought a blanket and I dont think I bought anything. It was funny seeing Paul barder.
We went on a boat ride around Paris which was really fun but very cold and rainy. In Paris it rains quite a bit but not for very long at a time. It rains at least once a day but only for about 10 mins at a time unless its a huge downpour. But, you can pretty much count on at least one rain a day. And, of course, the rain that day happened while we were on the boat, sitting out on the front of the boat trying to keep warm. We saw all of the sights from the water and they taught us about the different bridges (there are tons!).
We went to Christmas eve midnight mass at Notre Dame. What a mess. We got there at about 11pm to stand in line to get into the church. I have never had to stand in line to go to church and Im sure most people would say they have never stood in line to go to church. Well, now I have.. We waited for about a half hour and we finally got in. Now, just because we got into the church doesnt mean we had a seat. The church was already packed when we got there. This church is huge. To this day, I still cant believe it was as full as it was when we got there. There were SO many people. They had tvs set up on the sides of the church because they had set up extra chairs and from those extra chairs you couldnt see the altar, so they had tvs. It was nuts. There were people talking, laughing, taking pictures and not paying attention to the mass at all. We ended up standing off to one side and watching a screen. A guy passed out while he was walking by Paul and Paul had to catch him before he fell. We were getting in line to receive the host at communion time and then all of a sudden, the priests walked back up to the front of the church and communion time was over. We missed it. The whole experience was really crazy and nuts. Im glad I was there on Christmas Eve but I wouldnt do it again. It was too nuts for the both of us.
While in Paris, we went up the eiffel tower which, of course, was awesome. We went up to the top level at night and it was incredible seeing all the sights that we had toured and to see all the lights around the city as well. It was really pretty. There is a skating rink up there on the first level but we didnt go skating. It actually didnt take us that long to get up there-I thought we were going to be in line for a long time, but we werent.
One day we went to the Moulin Rouge and the red light district. We walked into the Moulin Rouge but didnt see a show. Apparently the shows are very expensive and just a money grab so we werent planning on doing that. We also went to Sacre Coeur which is a really nice church on a huge hill in Paris where you can see all of Paris. It was nice.. but, not as impressive as Notre Dame. While we were at Sacre Coeur, two guys came up to us and started making bracelets on our wrists and then convinced Paul to pay for them. What a sucker.
We went to the louvre a few times, which, Im sure was Paul's favorite. Ill tell you about my louve experience in a later post. We saw the Monna Lisa and other famous paintings. We saw a collection from Hogarth as well at the Louvre and that was really interesting. We also went to another museum called Musee d'Orsay that has a great collection of Van Gogh, Monet and tons of other painters in it. Very impressive.
We walked around Paris a lot and saw a few parks like the Luxembourg Gardens. We also went to the Pantheon where Victor Hugo and others are burried. Paul really enjoyed this because he got to hang out with Victor for a little while. It was interesting because they had a write-up about each person that was burried there so you could read a little bit about what they did and why they have the privledge of being burried there. I found the cript a little creepy because you're in a cave-like almost way under ground and you're walking around looking at coffins. I didnt want to be left alone down there and I kept following Paul around everywhere he went. There were a lot of other people down there looking at the coffins but it was really creeping me out.
We ate out a lot in the Latin Quarter. You can get a pretty good meal for about 10 euro and they were in pretty nice restaurants. I pretty much just ate French Onion Soup. I now LOVE french onion soup oh, and french fries and mayonnaise. Oh wow- that is SO good.. you dont even have to ask for mayo.. they automatically give you mayo with your french fries and you dont pay any extra for it. At home, I know Leanne always gets mayo with her fries (which I always thought was gross) but it would always cost her a little bit extra but here, they give it to you. I dont know why french people arent really fat.
We also went to Versailles which is a castle just outside of Paris where Louis XIV and Louis XVI lived (and I think other royalty..) we took a tour inside the castle and saw where Marie Antoinette slept and where the kings did all of their entertaining and also their chapel and their theatre.. we also saw the hallways of mirrors which was really cool. The tour was expensive but I think it was well worth it. We also toured the grounds (the back yard) that has a pool in it and tons of trees. Apparently the grounds are 3K long or something like that. It was incredible.
We went on a ferris wheel one day in Paris. It was awesome. We could see all of Paris and we were up there right at 5pm so the eiffel tower was sparkling. It was really cool. We could see Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the eiffel tower and the Louvre. It was great.
We went to the market one day to buy some souvenirs. Paul bought a blanket and I dont think I bought anything. It was funny seeing Paul barder.
We went on a boat ride around Paris which was really fun but very cold and rainy. In Paris it rains quite a bit but not for very long at a time. It rains at least once a day but only for about 10 mins at a time unless its a huge downpour. But, you can pretty much count on at least one rain a day. And, of course, the rain that day happened while we were on the boat, sitting out on the front of the boat trying to keep warm. We saw all of the sights from the water and they taught us about the different bridges (there are tons!).
We went to Christmas eve midnight mass at Notre Dame. What a mess. We got there at about 11pm to stand in line to get into the church. I have never had to stand in line to go to church and Im sure most people would say they have never stood in line to go to church. Well, now I have.. We waited for about a half hour and we finally got in. Now, just because we got into the church doesnt mean we had a seat. The church was already packed when we got there. This church is huge. To this day, I still cant believe it was as full as it was when we got there. There were SO many people. They had tvs set up on the sides of the church because they had set up extra chairs and from those extra chairs you couldnt see the altar, so they had tvs. It was nuts. There were people talking, laughing, taking pictures and not paying attention to the mass at all. We ended up standing off to one side and watching a screen. A guy passed out while he was walking by Paul and Paul had to catch him before he fell. We were getting in line to receive the host at communion time and then all of a sudden, the priests walked back up to the front of the church and communion time was over. We missed it. The whole experience was really crazy and nuts. Im glad I was there on Christmas Eve but I wouldnt do it again. It was too nuts for the both of us.
update
I know I havent written in a while and for that I apologize. Every time I go to write a post, something comes up or I realize how much I actually have to write that I just dont do it.
So, what Im going to do with my blogs while Paul was here is sum up the whole trip instead of writing about each day. So, Ill tell you what we did, where we went and the funny things that happened while he was here and then Ill go back to writing my normal posts.
So, first things first. I have an address. Its:
Mandy Murray
26, rue de l'avenir
Vanves, 92170
"rue de l'avenir" actually means road of the the future. Thats kind of cool.
So, what Im going to do with my blogs while Paul was here is sum up the whole trip instead of writing about each day. So, Ill tell you what we did, where we went and the funny things that happened while he was here and then Ill go back to writing my normal posts.
So, first things first. I have an address. Its:
Mandy Murray
26, rue de l'avenir
Vanves, 92170
"rue de l'avenir" actually means road of the the future. Thats kind of cool.
Sunday, January 7
Dec 15 & 16
well, now that Paul is gone, I will update you on our last 3 weeks.
So, like I said last time, I picked Paul up at the airport and he looked very parisien. It was great to see him. We left the airport and he got a taste of bringing his luggage through the airport. The whole time, like I did with Leanne, I was explaining the steps I had taken after getting off the plane and of course, I kept reminding him how I had twice as much luggage as he had in the metro.
He pretty much slept the whole day and we walked around Paris a bit. He was very jet legged because he had a really long flight with a layover in the states.
The next day, we went to the Arc de Triomphe were Napolean burried one dead soldier to represent all those who lost their lives in the war. There is a traffic circle around the arc de triomphe that is just nuts. There are no lines in the circle and there are about 6 different lanes of cars. Oh, and the cars also don't believe in signaling before switching "lanes." So, I thought it would be a great idea to try to cross this traffic circle instead of going underground like normal people. Paul (being somewhat of a grandpa) did not want to cross the circle. Naturally, I started going anyways and Paul had no choice but to follow me. We almost got killed. We then climbed to the top of the Arc where we had a great view of Paris. It was actually raining (surprise, surprise) so we didnt stay up there that long.
We then went over to the Canadian girls apartment because we were doing our secret santa exchange. We did our exchange and then we went out to the bar downtown. We took the last metro at 1am and went downtown and then stayed at the bar until about 3am. The girls went home and Paul and I stayed in a cafe and people watched until about 5:30am and then went home.
Paul's sleeping patterns were all messed up because he was travelling the day before and then slept for a long time and then stayed up all night and was sleeping during the day. It took a while for his sleeping patterns to straighten themselves out after staying up all night.
So, like I said last time, I picked Paul up at the airport and he looked very parisien. It was great to see him. We left the airport and he got a taste of bringing his luggage through the airport. The whole time, like I did with Leanne, I was explaining the steps I had taken after getting off the plane and of course, I kept reminding him how I had twice as much luggage as he had in the metro.
He pretty much slept the whole day and we walked around Paris a bit. He was very jet legged because he had a really long flight with a layover in the states.
The next day, we went to the Arc de Triomphe were Napolean burried one dead soldier to represent all those who lost their lives in the war. There is a traffic circle around the arc de triomphe that is just nuts. There are no lines in the circle and there are about 6 different lanes of cars. Oh, and the cars also don't believe in signaling before switching "lanes." So, I thought it would be a great idea to try to cross this traffic circle instead of going underground like normal people. Paul (being somewhat of a grandpa) did not want to cross the circle. Naturally, I started going anyways and Paul had no choice but to follow me. We almost got killed. We then climbed to the top of the Arc where we had a great view of Paris. It was actually raining (surprise, surprise) so we didnt stay up there that long.
We then went over to the Canadian girls apartment because we were doing our secret santa exchange. We did our exchange and then we went out to the bar downtown. We took the last metro at 1am and went downtown and then stayed at the bar until about 3am. The girls went home and Paul and I stayed in a cafe and people watched until about 5:30am and then went home.
Paul's sleeping patterns were all messed up because he was travelling the day before and then slept for a long time and then stayed up all night and was sleeping during the day. It took a while for his sleeping patterns to straighten themselves out after staying up all night.
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