Four Fabulous Days in Paris

December in Paris
I spent four amazing days in Paris with my friend Nikki. I think this has been my favorite trip this semester. We had such great time all weekend and met such amazing people in the city. It is hard to believe that I am writing this when just 24 hours ago I was looking at the Eiffel tower. Every trip I have been on inspires me to learn their language- first Italian, then Portuguese and now French. That seventh grade French class at Hillview really payed off I must say! I was remembering all sorts of phrases and teaching them to Nikki just as she did in Portugal. I was also remembering all the words in English that we use that are French like: façade, rounde voux, mezzanine, voila, deja voux, armoire, hor d’hourves, tête-à-tête etc. It is funny because in the French language they use English words like weekend and snack in their vocabulary, so my French friend, Anthony, living in Bilbao told me. The phrases, “je nu se pas” and “je m'appelle Devon” really came in handy! I would really love to learn French though. I just have to practice my Spanish and become more fluent then I can move on.
So we started our trip at the bus station in Bilbao Wednesday afternoon and took a bus to Hendaye, which is in the south of France right at the Spanish border. They literally dropped us off after two hours and we had to walk across the border to France to catch the train, however we had missed our train out since the bus was late taking us there. So Nikki and I were thinking, okay how much are we willing to pay for anther train ticket since they most likely won’t reimburse us. I was thinking like 80 euro or something (which is what we had originally paid for our train fare), we both really wanted to go to Paris but tha is harder on a student’s budget. So we get there and wait in line at the ticket counter at the train station and are like crap how are we going to communicate, and so we started in Spanish and the man understood us and we told him our predicament with worried faces about ready to start crying if that is what it took, he was like okay, hmmmmmm, well and a few minutes of suspense he goes that will be four euros each. WHAT! Sweet, so we payed and looked at our tickets when he was explaining we had three minutes to change trains in Bordeoux. So if a train was late or early or one can’t read French signs, they are out of luck! So we arrive trying to ask where to go and finally figure it out and hop on the train with one minute to spare! Then we get into Paris around 12pm and luckily we were staying in a great area with some hosts who were generous enough to let us stay with them. Apparently it is very hard to get good hostels or apartments to stay in right in downtown Paris so we were in a great area with a metro very close. When we arrived it wasn’t raining either, which was very convenient since we had luggage (although every trip I am traveling lighter and lighter since it is so easy to have nothing).
There is certain elegance about Paris that I felt. It is seen in the cursive names of stores on every corner or the beautiful window presentations, it is a great city for window shopping, the perpetual amazing fresh smell in the streets from the bakeries and the warmth seen inside stores and restaurants is so comforting. It is just so lively and warm with Christmas decorations and lights of all kinds in every part of the city. Although it rained and at times poured on us all weekend long, it was great overall. In fact I think the rain added to the ambiance of the city and it was exactly how I imagined it with misty skies and drizzling rain coming down on all the different colors of the umbrellas. This was the perfect time to come, we saw everything under the Christmas spirit and lights and general French cheer.
So we started out on Thursday just below the river Seine walking around the cute shopping areas (which are everywhere in Paris) and made our way up to the Notre Dam on a little island between the two sides of the river, and at this point it had started raining. Oh how we would learn to love that rain! So we were ohhhing and aweing in front of the river and the cathedral and went inside to see a humongous cathedral, it took us maybe twenty minutes to see all the parts and walk all the way around the inside. I saw this great big plastic clear box on one od the sides of the two hallways where people where writing on little peices of paper and putting them into the slots. The small quarter sheets read "Message of Peace" and in French. Nikki and I wrote messages of peace. Little things like that make me feel good that so many other people from other countries are thinking about peace and working towards it. There were also lot of stations to light candles, the big ones where you take the lid off and put it on an alter or the little cheap ones that last maybe a couple hours, but they are all nice. I lit a candle for my mom and a few friends. The lighting was spectacular inside with the great stain glass windows and the candles everywhere. It is nice, whenever I see a bunch of candles together like that, I think of my mom. So then back out into the blustery wind, we continued walking along the river and found ourselves on a little alleyway and walked past an old restaurant decorated with red velvet and old utensils from the 19th century. We walked a little further and went into an opening that lead to a building and saw the same decorations in a little room full of kitschy (a word I picked up on this trip)decorations and a man with his art on the walls. We kind of peeked in and he said oh come in come in French then in English. Maybe about 60, he began to explain he lives in the south of France. He painted beautiful green landscapes and blue skies. He talked so enthusiastically with his British accent about his family and his art. He was so kind and warm it was very contagious. We then just started asking questions and talking about life. He asked us what we were studying and Nikki said English and creative writing, but oh I don’t know what I am going to do or what I am really learning. He told us that going to the university is really about concentration, learning to concentrate in life. How profound and though provoking this man was. Then we asked about what we had to go see and he told us all about the Musee d’orsay and the Louvre and a room near the louver with all of Monet’s water lilies (of course all about art!) He gave us directions and sent us on our way back across the river to the Latin Quarter where everywhere you turn is a fondue restaurant or an outdoor market, my new heaven (and who knew we would find about 20 more little charming markets)!

We walked around quite and bit after meeting this man and went to the Musee d'Orsay right by the river. Then we walked more, a common theme, doing our best to find a good looking restaurant. We were very particular about where we ate since we had to have the best because we only had a couple days there. Plus, I baked some banana bread from home and brought oranges, crackers and cheese. We ended up at a little pizza retaurant, why not try the french italian way of cooking pizza. We had our own personalized pizza and a very nice waiter who spoke english. They say Paris is one of th most expensive places to eat in Europe or the world I suppose, but it seemed just the same as bilbao- although the same is said of Bilbao. On our walk back to the metro station, we saw a whole gang of men in blue suits, obviously government police or something, standing outside their huge dark blue swat looking van pulled over off to the corner of a street. They were all just chatting and seemed casual...how odd. I have noticed that in Italy and other places there are many types of policemen.

Friday, the next morning we started out at the Louvre and that whole surrounding area with all the beautiful historical buildings. The three or four glass window pyramids surrounded by three sides of the long museum with I think four floors. The opening leads to the park and champs de'lesey (sorry I need to work on spelling). We headed in that direction through the wind and drizzle and rows and rows of leafless trees. We came to a fountain and a ferris wheel where you can see the whole city from the top I am sure. After the ferris wheel is a huge round about with a tall statue at the top, and this is all right near the river, but then the champs starts to veer away from it. The street leading up to where all the shops and cafes are is like an extension of the park we walked through after the louvre. It lines the road with bare black tall trees. When we got to the main road there were indoor malls, typical European brand stores like Zara and Mango, it began to poor and with the combination of the wind we were getting soaked and my hands sans gloves holding up our umbrella were freezing so we stopped for a coffee which seemed to be a very regular thing to do at anytime of the day or year. We freshened up and were ready to face the cold again.
there is so much more I have to write...but need to find the time...

I read Madeline to one of the girls I babysat the other day and really enjoyed it for the first time in a long time (I really think a huge amount of kids toys and books and shows are mostly made for parents and adults since we have to sit through and deal with them) because I actually recognized the places in the book where the girls in 2 lines actually go. They go to the Notre Dam, across the river Seine and all the other famous places in Paris. The art is really great in that book and I was excited to read it, and he Madeline in London book, since I am very familiar and fond of London. It is nice coming back to the US since we have such a mix of cultures, unlike Northern Spain (through the country is changing everyday) where it is really just Spanish food and culture and people. Not including Pais Vasco, but Spain has the highest growth of immigration in the last 10 years- it is amazing.

P.S. I am sorry this is so long, it is also so I remember everything too...don't feel obliged to read every word