After trying to squeeze on the metro (my friend has taught me that there's always room for one more person on the metro), we first went to Notre Dame. They had an ugly exhibit in front of it that was distracting from it's beauty, but it was celebrating it's 850th anniversary. We didn't go inside the chapel area, but we did climb the hundreds of stairs to the top of the towers. It was so amazing to feel the dips in each stair where millions of people have walked, and even more, of the original Parisians who lived there or rang the bells over 800 years ago. The view from up top is gorgeous. You can see the whole city, and get face to face with a gargoyle! Yes, the Disney movie contributed a lot to my excitement. I was so excited when I first saw it that I sort of ran through the street to get up close ;) You can see why:
Next thing after Notre Dame was a boat tour on the Seine. This was about 3:30 in the afternoon, and we didn't stop for lunch, so most of us were hot, tired, and hungry. Luckily, it's cooler on the water, and very relaxing. We all took pictures in the beginning, but by the end, there were too many things to photograph and it was much better to just enjoy the scenery:
Finally, around 4pm, we got lunch/dinner in the Latin Quarter. It's called that because way way back, the university students lived in this neighborhood and only spoke Latin. It was a touristy restaurant, but food was food. We were fancy and ordered a cheese plate!... et puis une omelette du fromage (et jambon)! Then it started to rain, so we jumped on the metro and headed home.
I'd like to pause here and describe the metro. It's like the subway, but the seats don't go against the wall, its like a bus, 2 by 2, so there isn't a lot of room to stand, and not many people feel like moving over. There's three bars in the middle to hold on to, and that's about it. It's hot and smelly. We have literally come out of a metro sweaty because we were squished like sardines. It's worse than a Rutgers bus, I promise. Sometimes it's not that bad, but during rush hour, it's a nightmare.
I was too full to eat dinner at 7ish, but my family was also making omelettes! Third night in a row that I (would have) had the same thing for lunch and dinner! It they make chicken salad tonight, that'll be four. Yes, I am eating a little bit of meat here, and I'll admit, it's good.
At night, I could see the Eiffel Tower sparkle from my window. It was lovely.Here's the view from my room at night:
Then, right before I was getting ready for bed, there was a HUGE spider in my room! I found the parents to kill it, after I fumbled to find the world for spider (araignee). The mother saw it and said, "merde!" The father just hit it with his sandal and said it must have come from Texas (that was a joke) and they said that's the first spider they've ever had in the apartment. The French leave their windows open a lot without any screens, and I literally have never see any bugs here except for last night.
This morning, the metro was crowded as ever. We waited for 5 trains until we could fit, and even then, my friend got on but there wasn't room for me! We got separated, and I waited for 3 more trains until I could get on. It was not ideal for 8:30am. I was 10 mins late to class too, but I think I made really good time besides that!
On my way home from class, we stopped in a bakery and I bought a large chocolate macaron. I can't even comprehend how good it tastes. I've had it out for an hour and half and only taken 6 bites. I'm afraid the next bite is not going to be as good as the last. It is so delicious :)
Other pictures I wanted to share were examples of French apartments, the famous bridge with the locks (When a couple first goes to Paris and walks across this bridge, they put a lock on it and throw the key in the river to symbolize their eternal love), and their coffee vending machines:
God is definitely teaching me patience with the metro and with everyone's slow pace of eating. Thank you for your prayers!
"Fear is useless, what is needed is trust."
Love,
Anna
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