It has been a while (again) since my last blog post!! Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles were amazing to visit. It was as if we were walking through a fairy tale. After we took a short ten minute bus to the castles we started off with a tour of Hohenschwangau castle then walked back down the hill through the forest back down to the main town. We ate our lunch by the lake (which took a bit longer than expected) so we had to practically run up the mountain to Neuschwanstein. We made it into the castle for our tour right as they were starting to walk in. Both castles were amazing to visit but Neuschwanstein was exceptionally stunning. The rooms are extravagant and unique. I think the enchantment of the castle was enhanced by the fact that it was never finished. King Ludwig II who commissioned the castle died before it was finished of mysterious circumstances and the castle was never completed. After the tour of the castle we walked to the bridge that Ludwig II built for his mother's birthday. There is a great view of the castle, forest and town in the background. After we hiked around the area some more then headed back down for dinner. I had bratwurst & Udara a pretzel. The only German food we ended up having throughout our week in Germany. Our budget is running thinner so we have been grocery shopping a lot ;)
The next day we left for Cologne, it was about a six hour train ride from Fussen. Our hostel in Cologne was nice, very close to the Cathedral and train station. Cologne was a beautiful city on the Rhine River, we enjoyed walking around the city and doing our usual wander-without-purpose-find-cool-stuff.
After Cologne we headed off to Amsterdam!!! Amsterdam is a great city. There is a lot to see and interesting people everywhere. On our only full day there we tried to go to the Anne Frank house, ended up going the wrong way and went to the Van Gogh Museum instead. I really love Van Gogh's art so the museum was really interesting to me...and surprisingly Udara liked it too. She's usually not too excited about the museums I drag her through. After we walked to the Anne Frank house but the line to get in was ridiculously long so we decided to attempt to come the next morning before we left. That night we walked through the Red Light District....damn. Next morning we went to the Anne Frank house again and the line wasn't too bad but we had to catch our train at 10:59 so we didn't have enough time to see it and make it to the train. I'm not too disappointed though....Amsterdam is definitely a city I would like to return to and finish exploring.
Now we are back in Paris and enjoying staying in one place for a while. It was an amazing month long journey with my Eurail pass and everything in my backpack. I'm excited for the next part of our trip, a few more days with Udara's cousins in Paris then back to Norway to go to Ina & Sondre's wedding :) Yesterday was Bastille Day - France's celebration of the storming of the Bastille on July 14th. We watched the parade on the TV and saw the fireworks under the Eiffel Tower at night! An amazing experience :)
Today we went to Oscar Wilde's tomb and after had lunch by the Seine. And everything in Paris is on summer sale, so of course we did some shopping too. When we were walking back from the Seine I heard someone call my name and turned to see my neighbors from home in Lake Forest!! Weird....haven't seen them in a while and then run into them in PARIS! So strange. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow.....we will see!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
July?!??
It is hard to believe that it is already July! We spent the whole month of June in EUROPE! It is unreal, we are in Germany already...haven't blogged since Italy...While staying in Rome, we took a day trip to the ruins of Pompeii in Naples. It was a very interesting day trip. It took us a three hour train ride and thirty minute metro ride to get to the ruins, but it was worth it! Because it took us so long to get there we didn't make it to the archaeological museum, but the ruins did have a few artifacts and preserved bodies in the excavation areas. It was a nice day roaming the ruins and imagining what it could have been like in its day.
After Rome, we headed off to Milan for a few days.
Our hostel started off quiet when we came in on Sunday afternoon but we ended up meeting some pretty awesome people and having a good time.
On Tuesday we took a train from Milan to Lucern, in Switzerland to stay with some of Udara's extended family for a few days. Our train ride took us through the Alps, a very scenic and beautiful train ride. It was nice having a "home base" and doing day trips while we were there. Our first day in Switzerland we went to Geneva and saw the United Nations building. We were going to go inside and tour but by the time we got there, they were at full capacity. As if they were Disneyland or somethin!
We headed to the city's botanical gardens instead and enjoyed our lunch there. The gardens were beautiful as well as the surrounding area. It was really nice to visit Geneva because it is part of the French speaking region of Switzerland. It was nice to put our French to use again! After exploring Lac Leman and the area around there, we headed to Bern for the evening. On our train ride from Milan to Lucern we met a Swiss guy who recommended we go to see this medieval capital city. It is a beautiful city! The views in Switzerland as a whole are amazing, but Bern has some exceptional lookout points.
Our second full day in Switzerland we headed to Valais, another part of French speaking Switzerland. On the way there Udara almost got on to a train to Basel instead of Bern, twice. First, we went to Le Lac Souterrain (the underground lake) in St. Leonard. We took a very small regional train to this station through the Alps, it was another beautiful train ride. When we got off at the station we were in the middle of nowhere, not sure what way to go. Udara looked at each other, said "Sooooo...." and started cracking up. Literally in the middle of nowhere in a one platform "train station." After a minute we found a sign pointing towards Lac Souterrain and had an enjoyable walk to the lake. Once there, we got our tickets for a boat tour. The tour was in French so we understood some of it, but I had to concentrate. It was a beautiful sight, cave filled with water & fish swimming below. Definitely a fun excursion!
After our tour of the lake, we headed a few stops away for Sion. In Sion, we visited the two medieval castles on the top of the hills in the distance. We could see them from the train station, we left the station intending to find a bus to the top...but instead managed to walk the whole way there. It wasn't that bad of a walk, but that's what we get for not planning ahead! We found out after that there is a bus/train that takes you most of the way to the top, but I'm glad we walked, we got to see more of the city! The castles were amazing, the views on the way up were beautiful as well. We had fun exploring and climbing...there was nobody there to tell us not to ;) Somehow during this adventure I managed to lose my camera case and chip the bottom of my camera when climbing down a hill. It's all good though, battlescars! My camera got it's first scratch in a medieval castle, how 'bout yours?! Anyway, it was overall a really fun day, it was nice not being in a city for once and enjoying more of the countryside. On the way home I was the one who almost took the wrong train. We were run/walking to the platform and I jumped on the train that was there, thinking it was ours. I got on to the train on the wrong side and looked back to see Udara cracking up. I got off the train just in time though. Good thing.
Today we planned on exploring Lucern before we left for Germany. That didn't work out so well because when we got to the train station to see when we should leave they told us the next convenient train to Fussen that wouldn't get us there too late was in a little over an hour. So, we took the bus back to where we were staying and rushed to get our things together and back to the bus station. We ended up not making that convenient train...soooo we ended up instead taking a route that included six different trains and seven and a quarter hours instead of four trains and five hours. Oh well! It was very scenic and relaxing. I much prefer train travel over plane, time goes by faster because there is more space to relax and move around. In our last train we had an entire car to ourselves.
We are now in Fussen, Germany. The hostel is right next to the train station so it is very conveniently located. We will be here for the next few days and I am looking forward to exploring the area. Tomorrow we are going to go see the Neuschwanstein castle which inspired Disney and the older Hohenschwangau castle. We are in a four bed dorm now, but it is just the two of us tonight. Pictures soon, hopefully!
After Rome, we headed off to Milan for a few days.
Our hostel started off quiet when we came in on Sunday afternoon but we ended up meeting some pretty awesome people and having a good time.
On Tuesday we took a train from Milan to Lucern, in Switzerland to stay with some of Udara's extended family for a few days. Our train ride took us through the Alps, a very scenic and beautiful train ride. It was nice having a "home base" and doing day trips while we were there. Our first day in Switzerland we went to Geneva and saw the United Nations building. We were going to go inside and tour but by the time we got there, they were at full capacity. As if they were Disneyland or somethin!
We headed to the city's botanical gardens instead and enjoyed our lunch there. The gardens were beautiful as well as the surrounding area. It was really nice to visit Geneva because it is part of the French speaking region of Switzerland. It was nice to put our French to use again! After exploring Lac Leman and the area around there, we headed to Bern for the evening. On our train ride from Milan to Lucern we met a Swiss guy who recommended we go to see this medieval capital city. It is a beautiful city! The views in Switzerland as a whole are amazing, but Bern has some exceptional lookout points.
Our second full day in Switzerland we headed to Valais, another part of French speaking Switzerland. On the way there Udara almost got on to a train to Basel instead of Bern, twice. First, we went to Le Lac Souterrain (the underground lake) in St. Leonard. We took a very small regional train to this station through the Alps, it was another beautiful train ride. When we got off at the station we were in the middle of nowhere, not sure what way to go. Udara looked at each other, said "Sooooo...." and started cracking up. Literally in the middle of nowhere in a one platform "train station." After a minute we found a sign pointing towards Lac Souterrain and had an enjoyable walk to the lake. Once there, we got our tickets for a boat tour. The tour was in French so we understood some of it, but I had to concentrate. It was a beautiful sight, cave filled with water & fish swimming below. Definitely a fun excursion!
After our tour of the lake, we headed a few stops away for Sion. In Sion, we visited the two medieval castles on the top of the hills in the distance. We could see them from the train station, we left the station intending to find a bus to the top...but instead managed to walk the whole way there. It wasn't that bad of a walk, but that's what we get for not planning ahead! We found out after that there is a bus/train that takes you most of the way to the top, but I'm glad we walked, we got to see more of the city! The castles were amazing, the views on the way up were beautiful as well. We had fun exploring and climbing...there was nobody there to tell us not to ;) Somehow during this adventure I managed to lose my camera case and chip the bottom of my camera when climbing down a hill. It's all good though, battlescars! My camera got it's first scratch in a medieval castle, how 'bout yours?! Anyway, it was overall a really fun day, it was nice not being in a city for once and enjoying more of the countryside. On the way home I was the one who almost took the wrong train. We were run/walking to the platform and I jumped on the train that was there, thinking it was ours. I got on to the train on the wrong side and looked back to see Udara cracking up. I got off the train just in time though. Good thing.
Today we planned on exploring Lucern before we left for Germany. That didn't work out so well because when we got to the train station to see when we should leave they told us the next convenient train to Fussen that wouldn't get us there too late was in a little over an hour. So, we took the bus back to where we were staying and rushed to get our things together and back to the bus station. We ended up not making that convenient train...soooo we ended up instead taking a route that included six different trains and seven and a quarter hours instead of four trains and five hours. Oh well! It was very scenic and relaxing. I much prefer train travel over plane, time goes by faster because there is more space to relax and move around. In our last train we had an entire car to ourselves.
We are now in Fussen, Germany. The hostel is right next to the train station so it is very conveniently located. We will be here for the next few days and I am looking forward to exploring the area. Tomorrow we are going to go see the Neuschwanstein castle which inspired Disney and the older Hohenschwangau castle. We are in a four bed dorm now, but it is just the two of us tonight. Pictures soon, hopefully!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Italia
After Nice we took a train to Pisa, Italy. We had two connecting trains so it was a bit of a long day, about six hours of travel. The cabins in the train were like the ones in Harry Potter, pretty cool. There was even a food trolley! Unfortunately, we didn't have a reservation and it was assigned seating so we were stuck sitting in the fold down chairs in the hallway with our backpacks under us. Every time somebody walked down the aisle (at almost every stop) we had to get up to let them by.
Once we got to Pisa we took a bus and then walked the rest of the way to our hostel. By that time we were pretty tired of carrying our backpacks around. Our hostel was right next to the Leaning Tower, it was a town house converted into a hostel with only three guest rooms. We were in a six bed mixed dorm. The next morning we went to see the tower and take some touristy pictures, after we headed to our next destination, Florence.
It was nice walking around the city, it is easy to get lost in Florence so we didn't make many plans (not that we would really anyway). Most places are closed on Mondays (which was our full day there) because of this we didn't hit the usual tourist spots and just walked around enjoying the city. We got some delicious pizza and went to see the duomo. Rain was in the forecast in the morning but we didn't really worry about it because our hostel isn't too far away and it was a warm afternoon. In the late afternoon when we had wandered about an hour away from our hostel the clouds above us started looking very nasty so we started to head home. I was thinking we may get caught in a light rain but I thought we would probably make it back in time to miss it. I was wrong on both accounts.
On our way back, when passing the Duomo, all of the sudden people started screaming and running away from the building. I had no idea what was going on, thinking maybe someone had gotten hurt or something really horrible had just happened. We waited a ways back to see what happened, then came the first raindrops where we were standing. Apparently rain had started by the Duomo first and so people started to scatter.
Udara & I continued on our way, disregarding the rain and hoping to make it back soon as we already couldn't remember which street we were supposed to turn on. Under every overhang people were huddled for shelter and we were two of the few walking through the weather. Then came the first flash of lightening. Lovely! Then came the true downpour. Relentless showers of rain poured and winds blew through the streets making it very difficult to look at our map. Finally the rain got so bad we found shelter under a closed store's overhang. When we were standing there people tried to sell us umbrellas about 15 times. As the thunder & lightening got closer the rain got much worse. Udara & I started to sing the thunder buddy song from Ted...it was pretty amusing.
The rain died down a little for a few minutes so we went on our way again, this time in the right direction. On our way we walked through a street which had a lot of vendor carts with cloth overhangs. These overhangs had been collecting water since the storm started (about 45 minutes before.) Riiiiiight exactly when I walked under one of them the cloth gave way and I got a waterfall on my head. Udara was thoroughly amused by this. Finally after about an hour being lost in the rain we made it back to our hostel, looking like drowned cats.
Today we checked out of our hostel in the morning and headed to the train station yet again to make our way to Rome. We are now in our HOTEL in Rome, it is very quiet compared to what we have been used to the past week. We went to check out the Roman ruins and Colosseum tonight. Had a good dinner four cheese gnocchi and tiramisu! We will be here the next few days then off to Venice (probably.)
Once we got to Pisa we took a bus and then walked the rest of the way to our hostel. By that time we were pretty tired of carrying our backpacks around. Our hostel was right next to the Leaning Tower, it was a town house converted into a hostel with only three guest rooms. We were in a six bed mixed dorm. The next morning we went to see the tower and take some touristy pictures, after we headed to our next destination, Florence.
It was nice walking around the city, it is easy to get lost in Florence so we didn't make many plans (not that we would really anyway). Most places are closed on Mondays (which was our full day there) because of this we didn't hit the usual tourist spots and just walked around enjoying the city. We got some delicious pizza and went to see the duomo. Rain was in the forecast in the morning but we didn't really worry about it because our hostel isn't too far away and it was a warm afternoon. In the late afternoon when we had wandered about an hour away from our hostel the clouds above us started looking very nasty so we started to head home. I was thinking we may get caught in a light rain but I thought we would probably make it back in time to miss it. I was wrong on both accounts.
On our way back, when passing the Duomo, all of the sudden people started screaming and running away from the building. I had no idea what was going on, thinking maybe someone had gotten hurt or something really horrible had just happened. We waited a ways back to see what happened, then came the first raindrops where we were standing. Apparently rain had started by the Duomo first and so people started to scatter.
Udara & I continued on our way, disregarding the rain and hoping to make it back soon as we already couldn't remember which street we were supposed to turn on. Under every overhang people were huddled for shelter and we were two of the few walking through the weather. Then came the first flash of lightening. Lovely! Then came the true downpour. Relentless showers of rain poured and winds blew through the streets making it very difficult to look at our map. Finally the rain got so bad we found shelter under a closed store's overhang. When we were standing there people tried to sell us umbrellas about 15 times. As the thunder & lightening got closer the rain got much worse. Udara & I started to sing the thunder buddy song from Ted...it was pretty amusing.
The rain died down a little for a few minutes so we went on our way again, this time in the right direction. On our way we walked through a street which had a lot of vendor carts with cloth overhangs. These overhangs had been collecting water since the storm started (about 45 minutes before.) Riiiiiight exactly when I walked under one of them the cloth gave way and I got a waterfall on my head. Udara was thoroughly amused by this. Finally after about an hour being lost in the rain we made it back to our hostel, looking like drowned cats.
Today we checked out of our hostel in the morning and headed to the train station yet again to make our way to Rome. We are now in our HOTEL in Rome, it is very quiet compared to what we have been used to the past week. We went to check out the Roman ruins and Colosseum tonight. Had a good dinner four cheese gnocchi and tiramisu! We will be here the next few days then off to Venice (probably.)
Nice; The French Riviera 6/19-6/22
tOn the 19th Udara & I arrived in Nice by train after an almost six hour ride from Paris on the TGV. It was our first use of our Eurail pass and it went very smoothly. In the afternoon we went to Old Town Nice and walked around the area for a while. My first views of the Mediterranean were breathtaking. The water is turquoise and turns to a beautiful dark blue in the distance. On our train ride to Nice we passed through other cities along France's Côte d'Azur, Cannes and Antibes. The red rock along the coast is a sharp contrast against the dark blue sea and it was the perfect first view of France's Mediterranean coastline.
Our hostel there, Villa St. Exupery Gardens is much more lively than our hostel in Bergen. The hostel has a huge common room which they call 'The Chapel' because the building was once a chapel. There is decorative stained glass on the wall and plenty of areas to sit. There are always people in the chapel and music is usually playing. This hostel also includes breakfast which is nice, one less thing to have to remember! There is a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes from the main city to the hostel which has been very convenient, the walk is very steep but a good workout!
Yesterday we bought a three day pass for the trolley which runs from old town area to the stop where the hostel shuttle picks us up. Yesterday we went down to the beach and relaxed while enjoying the ocean. I have missed the beach! Unlike back home though, the beaches here are rocks. Rock beaches are nice because sand doesn't get everywhere (no towel really necessary and eating on the beach doesn't mean a side of sand.) And surprisingly, it can be comfortable to lay on the rocky beach once you get settled. So comfortable in fact, that when we went back to the beach after our trip to the medieval fortress Udara fell asleep. Me being the great friend that I am, I built my own stone fortress while she slept....on her back. She had absolutely no idea until she woke up (a while after I was done with my masterpiece.)
In between our beach adventures we went to visit the medieval castle on top of one of the cliffs. It has amazing views of the city and the sea. We thought it was just one small look out area, but once we got up there we realized it was a much larger area with really cool ruins of the fortress, dungeons, and cemetery (which was more recent, but still had some tombs from the 1800s.)
The next day went to a different beach, I didn't get tooooo burnt, but it's inevitable being the first long beach excursion of the summer. While sand beaches may sometimes be a bummer when trying to eat, they are much better than rock beachs, more comfortable to sit on sand and you aren't beaten up when waves crash on the shore. Our last night in Nice was La Fete de la Musique, a celebration throughout France because it is the official first day of summer and the longest day of the year! It was an amazing experience and my favorite night/event of the trip so far. Every street had a different musician or band playing. It seemed as if every local and tourist was out in the city enjoying the warm night and the music. We found one DJ using two gameboys and a switchboard to make some cool sounding music. This was my favorite part, everyone was dancing in the streets having a good time. Some cars were attempting to drive through the crowds which was amusing to watch, if any happened to have their window open as they passed they were greeted by high fives from the crowds.
Our hostel there, Villa St. Exupery Gardens is much more lively than our hostel in Bergen. The hostel has a huge common room which they call 'The Chapel' because the building was once a chapel. There is decorative stained glass on the wall and plenty of areas to sit. There are always people in the chapel and music is usually playing. This hostel also includes breakfast which is nice, one less thing to have to remember! There is a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes from the main city to the hostel which has been very convenient, the walk is very steep but a good workout!
Yesterday we bought a three day pass for the trolley which runs from old town area to the stop where the hostel shuttle picks us up. Yesterday we went down to the beach and relaxed while enjoying the ocean. I have missed the beach! Unlike back home though, the beaches here are rocks. Rock beaches are nice because sand doesn't get everywhere (no towel really necessary and eating on the beach doesn't mean a side of sand.) And surprisingly, it can be comfortable to lay on the rocky beach once you get settled. So comfortable in fact, that when we went back to the beach after our trip to the medieval fortress Udara fell asleep. Me being the great friend that I am, I built my own stone fortress while she slept....on her back. She had absolutely no idea until she woke up (a while after I was done with my masterpiece.)
In between our beach adventures we went to visit the medieval castle on top of one of the cliffs. It has amazing views of the city and the sea. We thought it was just one small look out area, but once we got up there we realized it was a much larger area with really cool ruins of the fortress, dungeons, and cemetery (which was more recent, but still had some tombs from the 1800s.)
The next day went to a different beach, I didn't get tooooo burnt, but it's inevitable being the first long beach excursion of the summer. While sand beaches may sometimes be a bummer when trying to eat, they are much better than rock beachs, more comfortable to sit on sand and you aren't beaten up when waves crash on the shore. Our last night in Nice was La Fete de la Musique, a celebration throughout France because it is the official first day of summer and the longest day of the year! It was an amazing experience and my favorite night/event of the trip so far. Every street had a different musician or band playing. It seemed as if every local and tourist was out in the city enjoying the warm night and the music. We found one DJ using two gameboys and a switchboard to make some cool sounding music. This was my favorite part, everyone was dancing in the streets having a good time. Some cars were attempting to drive through the crowds which was amusing to watch, if any happened to have their window open as they passed they were greeted by high fives from the crowds.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
My feet hate me.
So the past three days have been pretty busy! (Especially the last two)
Friday we went to the spot where Udara took a picture as a child and took a picture of that picture in the exact spot. We ran into some pretty cool street performers, they were hip hop dancers. They got the crowd pretty involved & they are the first (and only so far) street performers I actually listened to enough to pay. We went to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a nice park and garden and area to sit and relax to enjoy the beautiful day. Friday night from 6-945 the Louvre is free for people under 25 so we went to the section of the Louvre where I have been before, Denon. We could have gone somewhere new, but I told Udara she needed to see the Mona Lisa. Also, it was interesting looking at the paintings again because I have since taken two art history classes.
Saturday we went to Giverny which was our second day trip out of the city (our first visiting family only a little out of the city.) We went to Claude Monet's home & gardens in Giverny and they were beautiful but I learned that I have some major pollen allergies. I have never sneezed so much in my life. When I woke up this morning my eyes were still puffy. We walked about five miles to get there from the train station in Vernon because instead of taking the bus we decided to walk. And of course we got lost first...went 30 minutes the wrong way, so we walked 30 more minutes back to where we started. We are pretty proud of walking though! And I guess i'm gonna need to get used to it being that I signed up for the Carlsbad half marathon in January.
Today(Sunday) we went to Le Chateau Versailles. Versailles is amazing! There is so much to see, we were there for seven hours and didn't see it all. And me not thinking about being in the sun for seven hours didn't bring sunscreen....I've got a niiiice sunburn now. We got a full 'passport' to see Marie Antoinette's Chateau which was formerly the family 'summer home', the palace, and we walked through the gardens for a while. In the late afternoon they turned on all of the fountains for a water show.
Overall i'm glad we got to go on these two day trips, we have gotten some good walking in and our feet are telling us. We were going to go to Mont St. Michel tomorrow but I can't even think about walking that much another day so we will probably end up doing that when we come back to Paris in July. We will be doing Disney Paris when we come back too!!! Can't wait for that :)
Friday we went to the spot where Udara took a picture as a child and took a picture of that picture in the exact spot. We ran into some pretty cool street performers, they were hip hop dancers. They got the crowd pretty involved & they are the first (and only so far) street performers I actually listened to enough to pay. We went to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a nice park and garden and area to sit and relax to enjoy the beautiful day. Friday night from 6-945 the Louvre is free for people under 25 so we went to the section of the Louvre where I have been before, Denon. We could have gone somewhere new, but I told Udara she needed to see the Mona Lisa. Also, it was interesting looking at the paintings again because I have since taken two art history classes.
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View of the Louvre from inside  |
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| Marie Antoinette's Gardens |
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| Chandelier in the Palace |
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Inside Marie Antoinette's Chateau |
Thursday, June 13, 2013
BANDU
Today we started out with the goal to put our lock on the bridge at Pont des Arts. We got off the metro and walked around the garden area right outside of the Louvre, Jardin Tuileries. This park reminded me of the Great Park in Orange County (a finished version.) There were a lot of cool statues, fountains and ponds. It rained today so the park was fairly empty. It was nice walking around in the not crowded post-rain park.
We walked up the street to the Opera and back down the street (got macaroons on the way), ending up at a bridge (not sure which is Pont des Arts) there are lots of bridges with locks on them. But we will know where the lock we left is; it is on the bridge right out of the Jardin Tuileries on the 13th panel, its 2013 after all! Udara took some cool pictures of the lock on the bridge.
So explination for what I carved into the lock:
1. BANDU= Bethany and Udara
2. Homance= Female equivalent of a bromance
Today there was also a second spider sighting. A few days ago I found a spider on the shower curtain and it got away....I was kind hearted enough not to tell Udara until after she showered. I spared her from the thoughts of a spidery death I had while I showered. Today Udara found the spider again...freaked out and came to get me to 'take care of it.' Couldn't find it again. Now she refuses to shower until we find it....she is truly embracing the French culture.
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| Couldn't get her shoe back on :( |
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| Dramatic umbrella photoshoot |
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Miam! Miam! |
1. BANDU= Bethany and Udara
2. Homance= Female equivalent of a bromance
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| BANDU |
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#homance |
Parfait (Perfect)
Tuesday Udara & I went back to the area where we went to Montmartre & Le mur des j'taimes. This time we walked up the hill to La Basilique du Sacre Coeur. First, we had lunch at the same cafe where we had quiche last time, it's so delicious and the people are so nice there! They are patient with our broken French.
We explored the square outside, there were artists all around the square. It was interesting looking at all of the art, many of them were of the same thing (Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, etc) but had their own twist so were all different. If they weren't so expensive I would have gotten one, they were awesome! I guess I'll have to stick with an attempt at a replica when we get home, new art project :)
Sacre Coeur itself is beautiful. The mosaic in the dome is a sight to see. Overall it was a good day walking around this area in and out of the cobblestone streets.
On our way back we got some nutella flavored gelatto (yummy!)
Tonight we went to Champs-Elysees for dinner. Udara's uncle is the chef at a Japanese Barbecue and we had a feast there! I have only had Japanese food a few times so it was a nice change. I love trying new foods. I ate raw fish for the first time, and personally dismembered my own shrimp. I'm forcing myself to do things I wouldn't at home...one of them trying lots of new foods I wouldn't necessarily choose. Overall the meal was delicious and it was fun barbecuing it ourselves.
When we went to the bathroom after the meal it had a (very) little room for waiting and then the separate male & female stall. We were in there by ourselves so we used both. A young boy came in after Nishadie came out of the men's stall, he looked at her really funny so it was pretty amusing. An older man pushed open the door and it hit me in the back, so he stopped. I moved & opened the door and he stared at me, dumbfounded. I told him in French it was for both..and he still stared for a second before he realized what I said. After Udara was fixing her hair in the mirror & the guy said (apparently very creepily) 'parfait.'
Yesterday we went shopping and to a place called La Defense, on the outskirts of Paris. It is the last stop on the 1 metro line. It was a little bit of an eerie place with a huge open area surrounded by tall buildings made of windows which were partially businesses, partially mall. Yesterday night we saw The Bling Ring with Emma Watson. I didn't think it was a very good movie, and it is yet another movie that makes American teenagers look horrible.
Not sure yet what we are doing today, maybe back to Pont des Arts to add our lock!
Tomorrow we are probably going to go to La Jardin du Luxembourg & the Louvre. The Louvre is free Fridays from 6-945 :)
We explored the square outside, there were artists all around the square. It was interesting looking at all of the art, many of them were of the same thing (Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, etc) but had their own twist so were all different. If they weren't so expensive I would have gotten one, they were awesome! I guess I'll have to stick with an attempt at a replica when we get home, new art project :)
Sacre Coeur itself is beautiful. The mosaic in the dome is a sight to see. Overall it was a good day walking around this area in and out of the cobblestone streets.
On our way back we got some nutella flavored gelatto (yummy!)
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| Sacre Coeur |
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Skyline of Paris....and a bunch of photobombers |
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| Miso soup, sushi, barbecued pork, fish & beef. |
When we went to the bathroom after the meal it had a (very) little room for waiting and then the separate male & female stall. We were in there by ourselves so we used both. A young boy came in after Nishadie came out of the men's stall, he looked at her really funny so it was pretty amusing. An older man pushed open the door and it hit me in the back, so he stopped. I moved & opened the door and he stared at me, dumbfounded. I told him in French it was for both..and he still stared for a second before he realized what I said. After Udara was fixing her hair in the mirror & the guy said (apparently very creepily) 'parfait.'
Udara, Nishu and I walked to l'arc de Triomphe. We had to walk underground because the arch is in the middle of a roundabout. We realized in the tunnel you had to pay to get up there so we skipped that and took pictures from the other street.
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L'arc de Triomphe |
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| Setting of a dystopian novel? |
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| thumb? |
Tomorrow we are probably going to go to La Jardin du Luxembourg & the Louvre. The Louvre is free Fridays from 6-945 :)
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