long Paris blog

Getting there (July 31):
right after Ann's class Tiffanie, Kathie and I all hustled to the Brighton station, i needed to buy a ticket to get into the station and get the tickets from the machine. i didn't buy a ticket on the train but i was buying it at the station, the guy still yelled at me. at least i paid for it. so we missed our train to london because the stupid ticket machines took too long or didn't work. we waited 20mins for the next train, wasn't too bad. we got to London and had to take the tube but Kathie and Ann had to top up their oyster cards because they didn't have enough money to go through. whatever i had allowed extra time just in case of this. we had to run to the office/ticket place and Ann hurt her knee doing that. we get to the eurostar with like 10min before the train departs, but we were supposed to be there 30min before departure. so we missed our train, some guy signed our tickets and told us to get another ticket for the next paris train. we get the the service place and the lady tells me that i have to pay an extra 50 pounds, i was shocked, i didn't see the others bust out their credit cards so i asked them, the manager just told the lady to waive it because we were technically early. we are lucky the manager was at bay. we got a different ticket and waited for it.

got on the train and i tried to sleep for a little bit, i was sleeping on my fist and woke up with drool on it, gross, hahhaha! but what woke me up was the rain slapping across the train, the train was going so fast the rain sounded like loud rice crispies. i should have taken dramamine, i got a bit nausious. finally got to paris! had to get a taxi to our hotel, we got into a mercedes taxi, but we got totally ripped off. freaking 24 euros, i know the cab driver took the long way to the hotel and he knew we were tourists. finally got to the hotel and checked in, the room was so tiny. yeah we got three beds but one of them was a bunk bed. it was just so tiny i laughed. at least we could see the Eiffle Tower if we leaned out the window a bit. man was i tired.

Paris binge (August 1):
i really wanted to go to the Louvre in the morning so we got up early and went straight to the Louvre. we were super hungry so we tried to look for food but everything in the Louvre, food-wise, was closed. went outside and found small place. i got a mushroom quiche, a raspberry tart and a drink. they were both good and filling, but the tart was amazing! we ate across the street from the Louvre. nice view and weather. it wasn't a free day so we payed like 9 euros to get in. i walked it all in 1.5 hours, my feet hurt at this time, but i decided to get to those smaller rooms so i walked some more. after this we headed to the Notre Dame, on the way i got a nutella crepe, it was really good but they put way too much nutella. walked through the Notre Dame then off to the river cruise. it was really nice if i had a sweater but i didn't bring it. but i got to see a bunch of sights from the river.

needed a break so we went back to the hotel to rest a bit. on the way i talked to some cute guys from manchester. too bad i didn't catch their names but we got to our hotel and looked for some place to eat. we found a chinese food place, it was really good but they charged per 100g no wonder they were packing on the food. really good and full.

went to the arch de triomphe and climbed a million stairs, but it was worth the view. we went around sunset and saw the Eiffle Tower light up in front of our eyes. it was beautiful and bright. basically got kicked out and wandered on to Champ Elysees the shopping street of paris. lots of brand stores and car stores. tried to find the Eiffle tower but didn't make it just chilled at a cafe. i got a diablo and tasting it was like a shirley temple. yum still. drinks are so expensive in paris.

went home at 1am, but the buses stopped running at 10pm, so we had to hail a taxi but waiting for one to come by was scarrrry! the taxi was a lot but at least we knew why we were charged the amount. so at this time we knew we had a curfew to make. on the way home i saw a prostitute, and it was a man dressed as a woman.

i was tired as hell when we got to the hotel so when some french guy said "ni hao" to me i just told him to "shut up". racism is not my friend. tiffanie was sooo angry about it but she didn't hear it when that guy said it.

The real france? (august 2):
t was raining when we went out and sorta depressing. i was super hungry again so i just got a crepe with sugar, it was freaking amazing. i liked it with sugar more than nutella. nutella is just a bit too much for a crepe. we ate at a cafe on a side street, they spoke no english but helped us out a bit. i got an apple tart with ice cream. the ice cream was awesome but the tart was bland. we then went to sacre coeur which is a big church on a hiljj. we found a bunch of cute eateries around this area. i got a crepe and some fries, really good stuff. at one place i got a pink macaroon filled with delicious jelly. we headed to the hotel to get ready for our french dinner. we ate at the cheapest place to save money we all got the duck magret with peach which came with pasta that tasted weird. it just took fucking forever to get the check and we had to make our curfew. barely made it to the bus to go home. in the hotel we watched some weird french challenge show, it was good. then we watched some story of a asian lady maid who wanted to work for a family but she changed her mind and it was just weird. tiffanie was angry at the depiction of the chinese lady and was yelling at the tv. tired as fuck after this day.

Goodbye france (august 3):
woke up early but i was the last to rise. quickly checked out and went to the Eiffle Tower. you could walk up or take the elevator. the others took the elevator but i walked up it. it was difficult but i made it. freaking 700 stairs! i felt accomplished and really good about myself. of course this is with all my stuff i brought to france. i felt like a backpacker which i think is cool. the view was amazing and i did write my name on the effile tower, too bad i put the wrong date, oh well, hahaha. i also ate a crossiant on the eiffle tower, how french. lots of people started coming so i went back down. very long queues for the elevator.

Ann and i headed to the Orsay museum it was a free day so i thought i'd check it out. on the way we found a cute cafe and got a savory crepe. it was basically a crepe with pepperoni, chirizo, cheese, and other stuff piled on. it was reallly good and at the end i got a tuna sandwich and eclair to go. the orsay had the longest line ever, i wasn't going to stand in that. instead we went to another church we were both tired as hell so we stopped at a park and chilled. we just sat around and ate the tuna sandwich, it was really good and on a baguette. the eclair was amazing as well.

went back to champs elysees and met up with tiffianie and kathie. me and ann just watched people while waiting. lots of people had really nice shoes. actually ate at mcdonald's and got a happy meal. came with a yogurt drink yum. more people watching but on the less classy side of the street. hahahha! finally went back for one last sugar crepee to eat. then off to the eurostar. we went outside and drank some drinks at a cafe, a classical french experience. once on the train i knocked out! and just slept in an awkward position.

tired as hell but it was worth it. yay!