One Year!

My family left on Wednesday and then Thursday, Chris arrived! Talk about an exciting 10 days.

I met Chris at the airport on Thursday night, his flight didn't get in until pretty late, around 11pm, so we just headed to the hostel we were staying at for the night and planned to begin our Paris adventure on Friday.

Well, apparently when my family left they also brought the beautiful, sunny, 70 degree weather with them because it has been freezing in Paris ever since, especially during Chris' visit. On Friday, it was overcast and chilly as we headed to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. Despite the cold, the view from the top of Montmartre was still gorgeous, and it was nice that it was not nearly as crowded as it had been the weekend before when I was there with my family. As we walked into Sacre Coeur I quickly noticed a difference though, I think the overcast skies had a negative impact on how breathtaking the inside of the basilica is. Normally, when you walk in on a sunny day, the light comes through the dome and casts a halo like look over all of the people sitting in the church, without that light, the basilica did not have the same feel. Any other time I've stepped foot inside, my breath has been taken away in almost an eerie way, this time it just seemed like any other church. I was definitely a little disappointed, especially since I'd been talking so highly of Sacre Coeur to Chris and he didn't get the full effect when we went there. We wandered around Montmartre for a bit, looking at all the artists and cafes and we stopped and ate chocolate crepes. Yum!

After Montmartre, we made our way to Notre Dame. Apparently French architecture relies on the sunlight more than I realized because the Rose Window wasn't as impressive as usual. So not only did we have to deal with the crappy weather, but it was also having a negative impact on our sight seeing! Hopefully next time Chris is here it's nicer out, otherwise he is going to think I'm a crazy person for loving these places so much! After wandering around for a while, we decided we were going to see how long the line was to go up in the towers. As we rounded the corner we found out they were already closing them thanks to the strike... this strike is really getting in the way of showing all my visitors how awesome Paris is! So we gave up on that idea and headed over and grabbed some paninis from a take-away cafe. We wandered down by the Seine and ate our lunch while taking in the view of Paris and watching all the tour boats go by. It was such a relaxing, simple lunch, it was perfect!

I've had visiting the Musee Rodin on my to do list since before I left for study abroad. I knew I had to find the Thinker statue to get a picture, considering we have one at U of L too! So I figured there was no better weekend to visit the museum than when Chris was there so I could have another Louisvillian in my picture with me. We found the museum without a problem and got in for free with our student visas, that is by far one of the best perks about studying abroad, EU students get into most museums in Paris for free! We wandered around the gardens and found the Thinker (it would have been hard to find) and then went into the museum. The entire place was gorgeous, and I just might have to make a trip back there at some point.

After the museum, we decided to head back to Cergy to make dinner and hang out. It was about 6:20 on the train, and it was without a doubt rush hour in France. I have never been on such a crowded train in my life, there was barely even any room to stand, let alone sit, talk about zero personal space. As the ride went on I got hotter and hotter and started not to feel good when we were about 3 stops from Cergy. I turned to Chris to tell him we were going to get off the train at the next stop so I could get some air and suddenly everything went black. Apparently, as the train came to the stop that I said I needed to get off at, I passed out. I'm sure I scared the crap out of Chris as he pulled me off the train, leaving a trail of my scarf, jacket and backpack on the platform. Once I got some fresh air I came back to and felt fine, just needed a little air and a bottle of water. Thank god Chris was there though, I don't know what I would have done had I been alone with no one to take care of me. I definitely learned a valuable lesson that I should never get on a crowded train, especially if I don't have any water with me!

On Saturday, we made our way back into Paris and started our day at the Champs Elysses and the Arc de Triomphe. The effect the strike is having on the city was once again apparent with the upstairs of the Arc being closed to the public. As we headed down the Champs Elysses towards the Louvre we stopped for some lunch. I finally gave in and had McDonalds for the first time since I've been here, I'd say 2 months is a pretty good streak (how sad is that?!)

We wandered around the Louvre for a while, going to see the can't miss pieces like the Mona Lisa,  and then went to an area that I had never been to to see all the Egyptian art and a whole area filled with gorgeous sculptures. I think even if I went there every weekend during my time here, I still wouldn't see half of what is in the Louvre, it is just that big and amazing. After the Louvre we continued our adventure down the FREEZING Champs Elysses, going into the stores to find refuge from the cold.

By the time we made it back to the Arc de Triomph, it was time to head over to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It does not matter how many times I had seen it all lit up in the previous week, it's something that will never get old, it is that breathtaking. We found a little pizza place to have dinner and then headed back home.

Sunday was our actual 1 year anniversary, but the day pretty much just consisted of us making lunch before heading back to the airport. Lame, but it wasn't worth it to brave the cold in Paris when we only had a couple of hours to work with before Chris had to catch his flight.

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend, or really 10 days between my family's visit and Chris coming here. Just a few days of class stand between me and a 2 week long fall break!