Bonjour & Au Revoir Paris

It's taken me long enough, I know. I've actually started to put off talking about Paris. I was dreading how long this post was going to be and how uninterested everyone would get after the first couple hundreds of words, but then I decided that I'd just go over the highlights. It's not like you need a play by play. If you want that, it's practically in my pictures. And If you don't know what the picture is of, there's usually a caption, or you could ask me. Easy peasy.

Things I discovered in Paris:
It stinks (especially in the Metro)
It's dirty (see above)
People are known to listen to Eminem really really loud (see above)
Doors on metro trains are user friendly and must be opened (meaning it is possible to open them before the train has made a complete stop)
They speak French. Go figure.
The street names and Metro stops seem to reflect a love of U.S. Presidents
The views are amazing from the top of Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe
The bread makes the same sound that it does in Ratatouille
Shopping on the Champs Elysees is over-rated
Euro-Disney is under-rated
Their traditional breakfast is better than the traditional British breakfast
The toilets flush funky in the Etap hotel (see photo from day five)
They love decorating for Christmas

Compared to London, Paris is:
dirtier (couldn't help it)
more of a vacation city
a way scarier place to drive or cross roads (see photos of roundabout from day two)
just as rainy (we experienced a monsoon-like storm)
full of friendly people, for the most part (unfortunately, if you're American, I think the politeness has something to do with Obama..)
a great place for exchange rate purposes
a night owl city (they don't have those in England)
Just as full of Starbucks Coffee Shops
has very...scandalous advertisements
full of great candy (it's just different than London's)
busier (streets, stores, more major museums and monuments, that sort of thing)
intimidating when you don't speak the language
a wonderful crepe and panini city. Yum.

Favorite museum:
Musee d'Orsay

Favorite monuments:
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower

Cool moments:
Going to Disneyland Paris! Call me crazy..I know you're just jealous
Seeing Lady Liberty (National Treasure 2 moment)
Being in the Eiffel Tower during a storm and feeling the needle sway beneath my feet
Walking through the Christmas market along the Champs Elysees
Staying up super late talking to Sabrina
Looking over the entire city from the Arc (see photos from day two)

We were ambushed by:
A man playing the accordion on the metro RIGHT in front of me
A woman carrying around her crying baby begging for money, on the metro
Black men selling Eiffel Tower key chains. Just walk away. Saying 'no' and 'go away' does absolutely nothing.
A lady in the park who asked us if we spoke English. Directions, you say? Nope! She whipped out her cardboard begging sign. We were relaxing on chairs, said we didn't have anything and she stood next to us just staring for minutes. Literally.

The over-rated AND under-rated:
Over-rated:
The Louvre (hate to say it)
The Mona Lisa (it's tiny and not that great)
Modern art (who said that a ribbon on a wall was art?)
The romance factor (not so great without the man)
Versailles (and its modern art. Boo.)

Under-rated:
The gelato
The portrayal of Paris in Passport to Paris
Disneyland Paris
The Arc de Triomphe
French men :) Ow ow!

Just right:
Crepes
The view of the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero (it's a distant view-but head on)
Sainte Chapelle
Boat trips on the Seine
The cotton candy at Disneyland (it's everything cotton candy SHOULD be!)

I hope that was a fun way for you to learn a little bit about Paris and my experiences there! I love you all and miss you! But I'll be home in a jiffy!! That is, if I live through the next couple weeks of finals. Wish me luck!

-T