Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Paris Day III et finale!

Another grand day in the city of Paris and another long update on here. Unfortunately, the trip is coming to end and that means this is the last update I will be doing.
All good things have to come to end, right?
Yesterday Dan and I took the metro line no. 7 to line no. 2 and got off in the Montmartre district.
This part of town was far different than any of the other parts of Paris we saw. Different architecture, that is all I know that is different. Obviously I am no history buff.
Eventually we made our way over to the base of the Cathedrale Sacre Couer, or the Sacred Heart. The view to the top was amazing. To get to the entrance, you had to walk up these steps that were like grand staircases, just outside! The only problem was there was many illegal merchants everywhere trying to sell you stuff. Some of them were more persistent than others.
Going up the first flight of stairs, Dan and I were approached by two men demanding that we give them our fingers so they could wrap string around it. Being used to this in Rome, we simply said 'Not interested' and tried to keep walking. Except they blocked our paths and wouldn't let us path. I tried to push him out of the way but he grabbed my hand and wouldn't let me go.
I am a nice guy, but sometimes people like that are so persisent you have to be mean.
Making our way up the stairs, we took a bunch of pictures.
Then we got almost to the top and there was this harp player playing the song from the titanic, by Celine Dione. Dan and I stopped and listened to him play for a while.
Then we enterred the church and stayed here for a minute. After this, we climbed to the top of the church and enjoyed the views from the top.
At about 12, we found a pizza-icecream shop and took refuge there as it began to rain heavily.
After this we went back to the hostel because the weather was horrible.
At about 6PM, Dan and I took the metro over to the eiffel tower to do this Nightbiketour of Paris. Even though it was raining, we still decided to do it. We met about 20 other people and all got our california cruisers and started biking the streets of Paris at 8PM. This was so much fun! We biked all the way to Notre Dame and learned some fun history over there. Then we ate icecream at an all natural ingrediant icecream place. I forget the name, but apparently it is very famous. And it was delicious. Later we biked through the courtyards of the Louvre. After some fun there, we all got to take an hour long boat ride down the River Siene and everybody got some french wine. I had some, but it wasn't to tasty. I stick to Sprite next time.
Through the rain for 5 hours, Dan and I turned in our bikes at midnight and ran over to the metro because they close at 12:30. We took two trains and made the last one by ten minutes. If we missed it, Dan and I figured we would have to walked 6 miles through town.
We made it safely back to the hostel and then took hot showers and called it a night.
So today (Tuesday) is our last full day in Paris.
We headed out and went to the Catacombs of Paris, which were very creepy. You take 170 eerie steps down to the undergrounds of Paris and walk through these darkly light passageways. It was very interesting. Then we walked into the room and the only word we could understand was 'morte' which means 'death'. Not knowing what to expect, I walk into a room full of skulls and bones. All of the bones were stacked neatly. It gave me the creeps. We must have walked through 20 minutes of nothing but skulls and bones all over the place. But it didn't smell to bad.
Once outside again, we realized all the bones downstairs gave us a huge appetite (ha, how gross right?)
So we went to the market and ate barbecue chips and soda. Talk about a nutritious diet.
Pretty exhausted and tired, Dan and I jumped on the Juisee train station and headed back to the hostel. Before we got back to the hostel I stopped at a Boulangerie, which is a bakery. I spend so much money in these things. They are sooo good.
So tomorrow at 1:50 we leave the Paris airport and we arrive in Philadelphia at 7:30 your time. Now til then is just packing bags and relaxation.
I am going to try and add pictures on here in a few days for everybody to look at.
End note,
Tyler
time:3:15

2 comments:

  1. Tip, you have had quite a journey haven't you? Metros, catacombs, late nght bike rides in the rain on Cruisers, pastry shops, and junque food...the only thing that will make this better is getting home to your family. The front row has been a bit empty...and all of the ladies will be so happy to see you both. OMgoodness, I am fighting panic attacks and anxiety...so call me from the Paris airport...the London airport...my cell is now with me at all times. many kisses...Joms

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  2. Tip & Dan - It is 8:00 PM here in St Louis which means that it is about 4:00 AM where you are - so I don't expect you to read my comments until you get home. So, have a safe trip home where you need to relax and reflect on your trip. You have been exposed to so many new concepts and ideas that will need to be absorbed and evaluated - over the years. I only hope that you don't charge ahead without any reflection on what you were exposed to. Most people never get that chance.

    Welcome back!

    Pop Pop & Betsy

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