Paris Day 7

Today Mom, Dad, and Elise abandoned us. It was tragic. No, not really, we knew they were leaving without us. We packed up and finished off the cheese in some eggs in the morning, then went to the train station. There, we separated, Julia and I to the Oops! Youth Hostel and everyone else to the airport.

We found the Youth Hostel pretty easily, but we couldn't check in yet. They did let us leave our suitcases there, though, so we left with only our backpacks and purses. We took the Metro to the Pompidou. It's a very cool museum. The escalators are on the outside in big see-through plastic tubes, so you can look out over Paris as you go up. Julia's camera broke on the way up. We're looking into fixing it, but it's possible that this is the end of Paris photos. I guess I'll just have to keep up my thousand words, huh?

We started at the top floor. There were two galleries we couldn't visit because they cost extra money we didn't feel like paying, but there was also a restaurant we couldn't afford. More important than the restaurant was the restaurant's host, our very own Laura Jude. We said hello and chatted for a bit, then agreed to meet up another day.

We went down to the Museum proper. The art in it was very cool and modern, and occasionally creepy. There were a lot of naked women who seemed rather uncomfortable, like the one on video using a hula hoop of barbed wire, or the one holding a headless chicken as it wriggled. Our favorite parts were the fractal images, a giant, green plexiglass oval with the "sortie" symbol, a pile of rubble with a hole in the ceiling that suggested parts had fallen out, and then there was our favorite exhibit.

It was called "Night During the Day" or something, and when we went in the screen was black. It was all dark except for a bit of light illuminating the seats, and the faint glow of the black screen. There were bird noises all around. We sat down to look at it and see if anything would happen other than the screen being blank. It seemed like the screen was moving away from us, but we weren't sure if it was just our imagination or not. We sat there for a long time, staring at the blank screen and thinking about what it was. Then a bunch of loud people came in and we left. On the wall we saw something about a film schedule and realized that maybe we hadn't been actually looking at a work of art, it was... just a blank screen. I'm pretty sure that's not true, but the fact remains that the exhibit we liked best, that we thought about most, was a freaking blank screen. I find it hilarious.

Then it was lunch place. We stopped at a little crepe and sandwich stand. I got a sandwich, Julia got a crepe. The server was so creepy. He kept asking us how long we were in Paris, and when we said only a few days, he went, "Oh, that is not enough time for us to date, how will I make you love me?" It was very sketchy. We decided to take our food elsewhere to actually eat it. He also spent forever making Julia's crepe, even after he finished cooking another, similar crepe he'd started at the same time. Still, we both loved our food. I need to have more savory crepes in my life.

We walked around for a little bit searching for either a movie theater or a place for Julia to get a cute little notebook. We found neither and decided to head back to the Youth Hostel neighborhood. We wanted to watch Iron Man or Robin Hood, but neither was showing at a good time. So we kept walking. We couldn't find ice cream, which was too bad because I really wanted some. We did find a nice patisserie where we bought a mini croissant and a mini pain au chocolat.

When four o'clock struck, we went back to the Hostel for check-in. The stairway and downstairs are nice enough, but the room is not very nice. I suppose it is what it is. Cheap student housing. Still, I plan to sleep in my clothes and not use the blanket. It hits my texture squick hard.

We hung out in our room a while, then went to see Robin Hood. They only had Iron Man dubbed, and that's no good. Robin Hood had subtitles, so the only problem was when people spoke French and the normal, English subtitles they had were gone. Luckily, I know enough French that I could follow along, and Julia had already seen it. Good movie, though I could only enjoy it the same way I enjoy TV shows like Merlin and Smallville. Fun, good story, pay no attention to the legendary inaccuracies behind the curtain. But I did like it.

It ended around nine o'clock, or in other words, dinner time. There was a cute pizza store a few blocks down, so we went in. The waiters here were sort of creepy too. They kept making French jokes I barely understood. The pizza was very good, though. Julia had delicious chocolate cake for desert, and I had decent chocolate mousse. I liked hers better. They brought us free drinks with the checks and tucked a sparkly stick thing into Julia's hair. Like I said, they were creepy. The drinks were good, though. They looked like tequila sunrises, but they had no alcohol in them. I guess that's the mixed blessing of being young, attractive American girls in Paris. Creepy waiters flirt with you, but they also bring you free drinks.

Then we went back to the hostel and rented towels. There were two Argentinian men in the room who are staying in the bunk across from ours. They're backpacking across Europe, apparently. One is very tall and plays basketball. The other doesn't want to get addicted to computers. We chatted for a while, then they left for a club. Which brings us to now.

And the new Scott Pilgrim trailer looks awesome. I cannot wait for that movie.

Paris Day 4

Today was Versailles Day! First we ate breakfast at a cute little boulangerie patisserie. Delicious croissants for all! Plus, I had some fantastic hot chocolate. They really do chocolate well here.

Then we headed down to the RER (after some arguments about how to pronounce R-E-R and for the record, I was right), and went to Versailles. Apparently Mom read some facts at my sisters and dad about the palace, but I don't know what since at the time I was asleep.

The view walking up to the palace was breathtaking. There's so much gold! And the sun was behind us so it sparkled. The gate was entirely gold and simply fantastic.

Less fantastic were the lines. Even with our museum passes we had to wait for a very long time. And once we were in there was a line for the bathroom. I decided to hold it. That was a horrible, horrible mistake.

I quickly grew sick of the crowds. We had originally planned to get there earlier, and maybe it would have helped. But as it was, the place was so packed it was hard to get a good look at anything. And most of the palace was cordoned off. Sure, some of it probably needs restoration or whatever, but some of it, like the chapel, seemed to be cordoned off just to control traffic. It bothered me. I hate being told where to go.

The rooms and paintings were pretty, but the crush of people was so unpleasant that I had trouble enjoying it. All right, I kind of hated it. I did find things to admire, like the beautiful architecture and some styles of paintings I recognized from Roman studies. The art itself wasn't Roman, but the style was similar enough for me to recognize it. I skipped out before the Dauphin's rooms. The completionist in me wanted to go on, but my bladder said screw that. Plus, I was not enjoying myself. I left to find the bathroom.

There was a very, very long line. No problem, there'd be other toilettes. No such luck. Well, some such luck. But the line for that one was long too. Reluctantly, I got in line. Luckily, I had Harry Dresden to keep me company.

A few chapters in, my parents found me. At this point I was very cranky, but my mother claimed to have a better, cleaner, less line-filled bathroom. We moved. There was still a line. I read more. I peed. That made it lunch time.

I managed to snag the last tomato/basil/mozzarella sandwich, which was great for me, less good for the rest of everyone. Still, it was delicious, though we later saw a dozen other places that would have been better.

After lunch, it was time to look at the gardens. The first side was very pretty, if not as exciting as we hoped. Then we turned the corner.

They stretched out as far as we could see. Further, possibly. These gorgeous hedge mazes and lakes and statues poking out around the bushes. We had to look closer.

We wandered through the hedges, turning at random and enjoying the pretty statues and topiary and down to the big lake in the middle. We sat down and admired the ducks and the terrifyingly huge fish. FISH SHOULD NOT GET THAT LARGE, OKAY? IT ISN'T RIGHT. I lay down and started reading because I love reading outside in the grass. I should really do it more often. Then my parents and sisters decided to go check out the boat-rentage deal. It turned out they could rent a boat, but only four people were allowed. Me being the martyr I am, I volunteered to sit it out. I read a little, but mostly ended up taking a nap in the sun. This was very fun and good, except now I have a very mild sunburn on my cheeks. Oh well. I regret nothing.

Then it was time to head on home. We stepped into another hedgemaze, managed to get lost between paths, had an exciting time with a bathroom sans toilet paper, and saw another statue of a woman with a snake biting her nipple. Now we know it's Cleopatra. I don't remember the snake biting her nipple. I think people made that part of the story up.

We eventually found ourselves again and boarded the RER. Our stop was right by the Eiffel Tower. I shun touristy things when I can (see: my attitude towards Versailles), and I've been up the Eiffel Tower on both previous trips, so I was more than willing to skip the lines and hassle of going up. My sisters and parents did want to go, though. But first we stopped for tea and crepes. The crepes were very mediocre. They also gave us croissants we thought were free but they made us pay for. Which sucked because they were crappy croissants and we didn't order them.

I split off after that. From what I heard, my dad and Elise climbed the tower while Julia and my mom watched skateboarders trying to jump off the tower. There's some record they're trying to break. I don't know, I was busy losing my way.

Which I did, of course. Strange city? No map? Limited sense of direction? I got lost. Luckily, I knew my way from the apartment to my metro station. After crossing the bridge accidentally, finding a 50¢ piece, looking at a map on the side of a metro station, and recrossing, I eventually oriented myself and reached the apartment. I had my chocolate truffle from the french store to celebrate. It was utterly divine. I'm having a taste flashback now. Oh, man, was it good.

Then the rest of the family came home with bread, cheese, and wine. We ate it. Unsurprisingly, it too was delicious. Some of the best brie, goat cheese, and other cheese that certainly is called something I've ever had. Good wine, too. I was sad when we finished it.

None of us were ready for dinner, so I retreated to my room for Buffy time while the parents and sisters finished the movie they'd started when I was writing my essay. I'd seen it before and had no interest. They enjoyed it, though. And I enjoyed Buffy.

We went across the street for dinner at an Italian place. I had a wonderful pasta dish with tomatoes, almonds, and salad all mixed in. It was a little spicy, but I loved it.

The we went home. They watched the movie's sequel and I, of course, watched more Buffy. Elise watched the end of the episode where Xander falls for the praying mantis woman before she went to bed. I read in the room with her for a while when my Dad stole the computer. It was nice.