Paris and Brussels

Freshly back from the LONGEST travel week of my life. Note to self: Just because you have time for two trips to two countries during the same week does not mean that you should. Reason? I am EXHAUSTED~ hence the delayed blogging. Though I am sure you will all forgive me. Because, as you can imagine, the trips were both phenomenal.

Paris... where to begin? Should I tell you how much I love the city? The people? The atmosphere? Or maybe some anecdotal stories, like drinking wine from baby bottles, wading in the pool in downtown Paris, or sitting outside our bus because the driver left. There is so much to write, so here are the highlights.

Our trip started off much better travelling wise. With only one slight moment of panic, we all got on the bus, and we all made our overnight coach out of Victoria. Now it was time for an 8 hour bus ride. 8 hours. The exciting part? Halfway through the trip you get to cross the English Channel via Ferry Boat! Then into France, where you get new stamps on your passport!!!

So finally, we arrive at Paris. We get off the bus station, and into the metro. I have never smelled anything so awful in my life. I legitimately thought that I was going to vomit. As you can imagine, Paris, a huge city does not have the best smelling metro to begin with... and then add on the fact that it was summer. But, pretty soon the smell dissipated (or I became sensitized) and we were off the metro, on the way to our hotel. We got breakfast at an adorable cafe, and discovered the language barrier might be a little more difficult than we first anticipated. From here it was 2 straight days of go, go, go.

We did everything there is to do in Paris. Versailles, the louvre, tour Eiffel (night and day), Notre Dame, Moulin Rouge. It was all incredible. To spare you the reading of a enormous blog, I'll simply tell you about my favorite tourist attraction we saw:oh wait... I can't pick just one.

Versailles was beautiful. The palace is incredible, and thanks to Louis XIV for building it (even if his country was in complete revolution when he did). Keith and I toured the inside, while everyone else saw the inside and gardens. It was simply spectacular.


Next, on to the Eiffel Tower. We saw if by day, we saw it by night. AND, we went up inside of it!!! Which was really cool, and completely terrifying. If it weren't Paris, I probably would have kissed the ground I was so happy. The tower is beautiful as you can imagine (though more industrial looking than it looks from far away). It was absolutely stunning, and so gigantic. After we went up to the top, we waded through the wading pool nearby. A great relaxing experience for our very tired feet. Overall, the Tower was absolutely incredible. Seeing cities from the air provides an interesting view on society. You can see the beautiful Cathedrals (A sign of the Church's dominance in Europe throughout time) to mid evil and modern architecture, the suburbs, the slums, the posh neighborhoods. An aerial view provided me with an overwhelming feeling of just how blessed my life is, and just how small it is. Absolutely phenomenal.

Also: A note on the World Expo. I really want to go to one. Many of the structures that we see as tourists (the atomium I'll show below, the eiffel tower, the London Eye, the Seattle space needle). Anyway seeing them in their prime for what they were actually made for would be cool. World Fair is now added to the bucket list.

More of Paris. So we had to experience some true Parisian culture, right? Outside of tourism. So we headed down to Moulin Rouge (which is really cool and I now need to see the movie). And we went to a restaurant that Sally's sister recommended. This was perhaps the coolest eating experience of my life, and I suggest that anyone who goes to Paris goes to Chez Les Fondus. It's this tiny little whole in the wall restaurant that serves cheese and meat fondue. We chose "Le fromage." And it was delicious. Bread, cheese, what more could I want? Oh, that's right, wine!! Which is served out of... get this... Baby Bottles!!! Incredible. Hilarious. Delicious. I can't even put it into words.

                      

So after the wine and the fondue, we ended up going home to the hotel to get started for the next day early. It was a GREAT day. We started early, at the Louvre. It was beautiful. Paintings I've never thought of seeing I got to see! Beautiful, beautiful stuff. And some stautes, like the ones below of Aphrodite, Cupid and Psyche. I loved the Louvre. Then, we went to Notre Dame. I think it's the most beautiful Cathedral I have seen yet. The architecture was stunning, and so many people were there! They were also giving service, and hearing the priest speak was wonderful.


Overall, I loved Paris. I loved the food, I loved the culture, I loved the people. It was amazing. So my new goal, well at least one of them in my quest to become more cultured, is to learn fFrench. I love Spanish, but the thing about French is how elegant it is. It's absolutely beautiful, and I really really want to learn it.





Now, onto Brussels. I didn't have class this week, and so my friend Keith and I decided to go to Brussels, Belgium. We took another overnight bus, and got there by 8:30 in the morning. Brussels is a beautiful small city where they speak: Dutch, French, and (ready) English!! People asked us for directions like 11 times. Apparently we just look like locals wherever we go.

The people in Brussels are SO kind. And they have a lot of French fries. Main tourist attraction? The Mannekin Pis. It's a statue of a little boy peeing. The legend goes that the mayor of the city tried to blow it up. He lined the whole block with dynamite, and then it was supposed to, you know, go KABOOM. Well, the wind changed, and the Mannekin Pis statue peed on the gun powder, saving the city. So, there are magnets, snow globes, fake statues, all the you could want.

Also in Belgium: Belgian Waffles. Ice Cream. Chocolat. Basically, I was in food heaven. SO great!!! I think what I loved most about Belgium was just the small-town atmosphere, even though Brussels is actually a pretty big city. It's also the home to the European Parliament. Which is gorgeous. I have a newfound respect for the European Union because of my History course on Modern Europe. What most impresses me is that they were able to take a continent that has been fighting for centuries (particularly horribly during the first half of the 20th century) and the leaders have created a society where the countries have been living in relative peace for over 60 years. I think that was the higlight of the trip for me.

We also went up into the Atomium, which is a giant structure of the Iron molecule. Humongous. You can go up inside of it and see the whole city of Brussels, and further out into Belgium. So gorgeous. We also went and saw a statue of Winston Churchill (my homeboy/favorite history figure). And we ate at Chi-Chi's! The former American Tex/Mex restaurant. It was SO good!!!! Overall, a great trip. I would love to go back some time, just because the atmosphere and people were so great.

Which brings me to my last point, which is really an overall thinking about Europe. The atmosphere, culture, and people.


Taking things slow. Breathing in the atmosphere, the cool wind from outside my window. Taking time to read books, look at the River Cam, walk through centuries-old buildings. Taking time to feel blessed, to be where I am and who I am. Taking time to remember that experiences like these are once in a lifetime, my lifetime. Taking time to remember to bring this attitude home with me, and live the simplistic life of Cambridge, England, for the rest of my life.

More later, love for now, Tess.