Paris
Paris!
Its been said before that a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is true, then what is a camera worth? A million? A gagoogleplex?
After exiting the train from Frankfurt, I stupidly left my camera, a water bottle, and my train ticket in what I thought was a convenient pouch in the back of the seat before me. It was only half way through my taxi ride to the hostel, just as the Eiffel Tower came in view, that I realized it instantaneously.
Sorry Mom and Dad for misplacing a supremely great Christmas gift. It will be sorely missed by no one more than I.
That said, after walking around the epic city of Paris for a day and a half, I have yet to find a camera store. In Manhattan, electronic stores are found one every corner, just across from the Starbuck's. But not so here.
My five hostel roommates are young world travelers, similar to myself. The two girls are American students abroad in Florence and three Canadian guys are using up their two month Eurorail tickets. We visited the Eiffel Tower last night as its golden shine lit up the night around it, surpassed only when, on the hour, it sparkled bright white lights all over. A giant spinning lighthouse-like light kept planes away but beckoned tourists.
Unlike Prague and slightly more like Madrid, Paris is bigger in life than on the map. The hostel I'm staying at was one of the closest cheap ones to the E Tower but even then it was a good walk at night. And Paris is not 'alive at night' at least from what we saw. It is probably in certain areas but we only saw traffic and homeless people.
The next day-- aka today-- we went to the Lourve museum but did not stay as long as I would have liked. I would have stayed myself but they were fun people and I was hungry myself after two hours of walking to there and in there. But even in those two hours, I saw the Mona Lisa (which was smaller than I imagined), Coldplay's Viva la Vida album's background, the Venus de Milo (the famous Greek statue that is missing its arms as seen in Disney's Hercules), some crown jewels, and the Wedding Feast at Cana (a giant painting that filled a wall). Even the Louvre palace itself was a work of art with grand halls with grander painted ceilings. The outside was majestic on its own, surrounded by statues that were never duplicates, each one individualistic. In-between the two sweeping arms of the building that formed a giant courtyard, was the glass pyramid. This was the entrance to the museum and you could look up through it and see the beautiful architecture of the palace building from below. Standing before the pyramid you could turn around and see down way past the green fields and turquoise pools an obelisk and even far past that was the Arch de Triumph... or however you spell it in French.
After the Louvre, we wanted food. The girls wanted a cute cafe to eat outside in under the sun while us guys wanted cheap and hearty. So the girls decided to go find what they wanted and we got subs from a street vendor. Well, not subs. Baguettes cut in half filled with meat, lettuce, and tomato for 3 euro. While we ate on the side of the road, a drunk French lady spat at someone passing by. Later, a man walked past us and meowed at me.
We four guys went to Notre Dame and heard the bells chime. Quasimodo says hello. We went in and although it was beautiful in there, the Spanish cathedrals were bigger. Every sanctuary I have been too has been intrinsically designed but the ones in Spain were just bigger. But Notre Dame has the best stained glass windows. Not just one big one like St Vitus in Prague or in Segovia. But all over! On this end, on that end, on the sides, on the walls, in the chapels, in the nave, all over.
The long walk back from there to our hostel was put on hold as we took a break in the Luxemburg palace garden. The Eiffel Tower – of all things- towered in the background as this giant Victorian palace stared blankly as us from across a large pond with a small fountain. Once rested, we continued on our way and found our hostel safe and sound.
Tonight, we plan on going up the Eiffel Tower after dinner. And one of the guys has agreed to give me some of his pictures. So you faithful readers will be able to see the grandeur that my humble words have not been able describe.
Its been said before that a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is true, then what is a camera worth? A million? A gagoogleplex?
After exiting the train from Frankfurt, I stupidly left my camera, a water bottle, and my train ticket in what I thought was a convenient pouch in the back of the seat before me. It was only half way through my taxi ride to the hostel, just as the Eiffel Tower came in view, that I realized it instantaneously.
Sorry Mom and Dad for misplacing a supremely great Christmas gift. It will be sorely missed by no one more than I.
That said, after walking around the epic city of Paris for a day and a half, I have yet to find a camera store. In Manhattan, electronic stores are found one every corner, just across from the Starbuck's. But not so here.
My five hostel roommates are young world travelers, similar to myself. The two girls are American students abroad in Florence and three Canadian guys are using up their two month Eurorail tickets. We visited the Eiffel Tower last night as its golden shine lit up the night around it, surpassed only when, on the hour, it sparkled bright white lights all over. A giant spinning lighthouse-like light kept planes away but beckoned tourists.
Unlike Prague and slightly more like Madrid, Paris is bigger in life than on the map. The hostel I'm staying at was one of the closest cheap ones to the E Tower but even then it was a good walk at night. And Paris is not 'alive at night' at least from what we saw. It is probably in certain areas but we only saw traffic and homeless people.
The next day-- aka today-- we went to the Lourve museum but did not stay as long as I would have liked. I would have stayed myself but they were fun people and I was hungry myself after two hours of walking to there and in there. But even in those two hours, I saw the Mona Lisa (which was smaller than I imagined), Coldplay's Viva la Vida album's background, the Venus de Milo (the famous Greek statue that is missing its arms as seen in Disney's Hercules), some crown jewels, and the Wedding Feast at Cana (a giant painting that filled a wall). Even the Louvre palace itself was a work of art with grand halls with grander painted ceilings. The outside was majestic on its own, surrounded by statues that were never duplicates, each one individualistic. In-between the two sweeping arms of the building that formed a giant courtyard, was the glass pyramid. This was the entrance to the museum and you could look up through it and see the beautiful architecture of the palace building from below. Standing before the pyramid you could turn around and see down way past the green fields and turquoise pools an obelisk and even far past that was the Arch de Triumph... or however you spell it in French.
After the Louvre, we wanted food. The girls wanted a cute cafe to eat outside in under the sun while us guys wanted cheap and hearty. So the girls decided to go find what they wanted and we got subs from a street vendor. Well, not subs. Baguettes cut in half filled with meat, lettuce, and tomato for 3 euro. While we ate on the side of the road, a drunk French lady spat at someone passing by. Later, a man walked past us and meowed at me.
We four guys went to Notre Dame and heard the bells chime. Quasimodo says hello. We went in and although it was beautiful in there, the Spanish cathedrals were bigger. Every sanctuary I have been too has been intrinsically designed but the ones in Spain were just bigger. But Notre Dame has the best stained glass windows. Not just one big one like St Vitus in Prague or in Segovia. But all over! On this end, on that end, on the sides, on the walls, in the chapels, in the nave, all over.
The long walk back from there to our hostel was put on hold as we took a break in the Luxemburg palace garden. The Eiffel Tower – of all things- towered in the background as this giant Victorian palace stared blankly as us from across a large pond with a small fountain. Once rested, we continued on our way and found our hostel safe and sound.
Tonight, we plan on going up the Eiffel Tower after dinner. And one of the guys has agreed to give me some of his pictures. So you faithful readers will be able to see the grandeur that my humble words have not been able describe.
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