PARIS AND GALICIA!!!
About two weeks ago now we left and went to PARIS! Monica, Dane and I took our stuff to school and left to go to the train station right after class. You can take the train or the metro to get to the airport, but the bus is definitely easier. Anyways, we got to the airport, checked in, etc. and waited around for our flight. We got into Orly airport in Paris, and after we got our stuff went to go get a metro ticket to get to the Hammond’s house, which would be my first test in French. I got up to the counter and tried to ask the lady in French, but it came out as a disastrous mixture of all three, French, Spanish, and then some English. It was pretty funny (I didn’t think so at the time!) but we eventually got what we needed. We finally got to Pont de Neuilly, where the Hammond’s live, and waited for Chad to come get us. I was just so happy to be there, it was a little weird since I hadn’t been back in so long, but it was so nice. Chad got there and took us to their house, which was really nice and great location. Cort and Connor, the boys, have definitely grown up! The last time I saw those kids I was babysitting them! But anyways, they had beef bourguignon for us, which was really good and then we just sat and chatted for a long time and figured out where all we wanted to go.
On Thursday, we got up, Lisa and Chad had made us breakfast (which was so good!) and then we headed out to conquer the city. We each got a carnet of 10 metro tickets (I didn’t need one since my mom had given me one from awhile ago…my tickets were green because they were old ones, apparently the tickets are purple now) and got on the train towards Trocadero, for the Eiffel Tower. I saw it and I think it almost took my breath away. Of course it looked exactly the same as 6 or 10 years ago, but it was just like “I’m finally here!”. We took some pictures around Trocadero and stuff, and then went over to the Eiffel Tower to go up in it. We had decided to go up that day since the weather was decent and we weren’t sure if we would have another good day. Good decision, because the rest of the time it rained on and off. We thought about taking the elevator up, but decided to climb the stairs up to the second floor since it was a lot faster and cheaper too (I know, I know Mom, haha). There were 668 steps up to the second floor but we decided that we were glad that we did the steps. We could stop whenever we wanted and took tons and tons of pictures. By 12:30 that day I had already taken over 100 pictures, haha. We took the elevator all the way to the top, which was fun too, but we actually had better views from the second floor because it started to get hazy. We ended up spending a good couple of hours at the Eiffel Tower, and so by the time we came down, it was time to eat something. We went by Pont d’Alma (where Princess Diana died) and then ate at a café on Avenue Marceau, which was really good. Mmmm French food! Then we walked down Avenue Marceau to the Arc de Triomphe. We went over to it, and when we came up from the pedestrian underpass we discovered that there were some protesters there. There have been riots all over France, particularly Paris recently in regards to a new law that says that anyone under 26 can be fired without reason from their job within the first 2 years instead of 2 months. All of a sudden we heard a gunshot-like sound (it wasn’t though), but then the protesters moved on, down Avenue Marceau where we had just come from actually. Then we walked down the Champs-Elysees, and had lots of flashbacks. Café Vesuvio was still there, we went into Sephora, etc. Around Clemenceau, we went over by the Grand and Petit Palais. We were going to try to cross the Pont Alexandre III but it was blocked by police. So we went down to the next bridge, I think the Pont d’Invalides and crossed there. Police had set up barricades on the other side though…We realized that there were a bunch of people there, and while they weren’t protesting or anything, we decided to try to get away from there. We were going to try to get away down a side street, but they were all completely blocked by the police in their riot gear, complete with shields and everything. Almost every street was blocked, and we saw some cars and bus stops where the windows had been shattered. We had to go way down past Invalides and that metro stop was even closed. We finally were able to get out of that area though and ended up by the Assemble Nationale, where there were a lot of police too. I don’t think I have ever seen so many police in my entire life, especially in such a concentrated area. It was kind of ridiculous. I had planned on maybe seeing my music teacher from 5th grade, but that didn’t happen, because I found out later that he was sick, but that was fine because we kept plenty busy and it might have been a hassle trying to get out to St. Cloud. After that we looked around Concorde a little bit, got back on the metro and went to Pont de Neuilly. Then we decided to go to La Defense, which wasn’t all that far. We walked there and then stopped to eat at a Chinese restaurant which was delicious. We got back, and then talked to Chad and Lisa for a long time before going to bed, it was really nice catching up with them!
On Friday, after breakfast we headed towards Notre Dame. It is such beautiful cathedral. We got off the metro at Hotel de Ville and then walked over to Notre Dame. On the way, we saw the Conciergerie, which made me think of middle school when I had to go on a class fieldtrip there. We did a little bit of trinket shopping, and took a bunch of pictures around that area. We were going to go to the Veneration of the Relics at 3, so we ate before going in. The food was good and then we went inside and looked around Notre Dame before the service started. Every Friday during Lent and I think once a month, they show the relics, which are a piece of the cross, a nail, and the crown of thorns. We sat and watched most of the service, and we were really lucky because we got to go up pretty quickly and didn’t have to wait in huge lines like I remember doing from a couple years ago. It was neat though, and I know Monica enjoyed it. Anyways, afterwards, we went to Opera, and to Galeries Lafayette. Lisa had reminded me of the balcony thing on top of Galeries, so we went and we were going to try to do that, but that didn’t work because we couldn’t find it and when I tried to ask the person didn’t understand. So we went to Rue de Rivoli and the Louvre, which was free on Fridays. Luckily we didn’t have to wait very long to get into the Louvre either, and didn’t have to pay for it! We saw most of the major things, the Mona Lisa, which had been moved since the last time I was there, the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory and some paintings. We also went into the Apollo Room, which I had never been in because it is fairly new or something, and that was pretty cool. It was raining and pretty gross outside, so we found a restaurant nearby, eat some dinner, ran back over toward Concorde and took some pictures at night, then headed home, and talked to Chad and Lisa again before going to sleep.
On Saturday, we went to Monmartre and Sacre Coeur because I really wanted to go there. I had forgotten about all the Algerians at the bottom of the hill (I don’t know how!), and they tried to put the little ribbon thingys on us, but we wouldn’t let them. We tried not to speak in English, but then Dane said something in Spanish and one of the guys responded in Spanish. Sacre Coeur was pretty though, too bad it was raining though so the views weren’t that great. It’s always been one of my favorite places in Paris. Then we went to the artist district and checked that out before getting some lunch. I had two crepes and they were delicious. Of course I couldn’t be in France and not eat some crepes! They were very good though. After that, we went down by all the Tati stores which I got a kick out of, and saw Moulin Rouge before heading to our next destination. We went back to Invalides since we didn’t really take pictures with the riots, and then went to Musée d’Orsay, partly to get out of the rain. I’m not going to lie, I like it a lot better than the Louvre though. I love most of the impressionist paintings, so that was fun. Afterwards, Dane and Monica wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, so we went over there, and then back towards Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower to get some good pictures at night. We got there at about 7, just as the shimmering lights were turning on. Since they put the shimmering lights on it for New Year’s 2000, the lights turn on for 10 minutes every hour, which is cool and pretty. We took a bunch of pictures, waited for it to get a little darker, and took some more. We got back on the metro and went to Les Halles to try to eat at a restaurant that Chad had recommended, but there was a wait, so we went next door to a pizzeria which was very good and reminded me of the Trateria in Croissy. We got home, talked to Chad and Lisa again, and went to bed.
On Sunday, unfortunately we had to leave. Chad and Lisa drove us to the airport which was really nice of them. I was really sad as they were leaving and I almost started to cry. It was a really fun trip though and it was so nice to see them and be back. (Hammond’s if you’re reading this, thanks for everything!!!!!!). The flight home was uneventful, and it was a gorgeous day back in Spain. Pretty much just hung out after that.
Last week wasn’t terribly exciting. On Monday, Rose and I got together to study for our lit. test on Tuesday in the Plaza because it was nice weather. Then on Tuesday afternoon we went into Madrid after classes with Beatriz to the Prado. It wasn’t terribly interesting, Monica, Nicole, Juanito and I had gone one day, and I don’t really like most of that kind of art. Then on Wednesday we saw Araceli real quick which was nice since I hadn’t seen her in awhile and then we had dance class and we started to learn the third Sevillana. Monica and I went to Foto Pedros to print some pictures for our scrapbooks and that was about it.
On Thursday, we didn’t have classes because we left to go on our third and final group trip. We went to Galicia, which is in northwestern Spain. We were on the bus for about 9 hours on Thursday, which was really long. We stopped for lunch in Astorga, but hardly anything was open so we just ate our bocadillos and walked around for a little bit and that was pretty much it. Then we got to Santiago Compostela that night where we were staying. A bunch of us went and got Chinese food, which was pretty good, even though the people that worked there didn’t really understand Spanish or English. Monica and I were really tired so we tried to watch two different movies but neither of them were very good and we fell asleep.
On Friday we went around Santiago Compostela and to the cathedral. A lot of pilgrims come to Santiago Compostela. They say that if you follow the route to Santiago Compostela (its like 152 km. at least) then you get your sins taken away. Legend has it that Saint James is buried there. The story is cool, I was actually a little disappointed with the church itself though. That afternoon, we went to another little town for lunch, but it was kind of a boring town and there wasn’t really anything there, and nothing was open because of siesta, as usual. We did find some interesting statues though and took random pictures of those. For dinner, Monica, Juanito, Dane and I had kebops which were sooo good!
On Saturday, we were back on the bus, but this time going to León. We stayed in a super nice hotel, one of the best, if not THE best hotel in Spain. It is a parador, which means that it is a historical building but not it is a hotel. It was really impressive though. We had some free time after we got there, so Monica and I got some lunch, and then we had a group tour around León. We went into a couple of museums, but they weren’t all that interesting. On Saturday night, we had our big formal dinner. We had to dress up and we ate in the hotel. It was kind of fun to see everyone all dressed up. We had a pretty nice dinner and then hung out and chatted for awhile before going to bed.
On Sunday, we just came back from León. We spent most of the day on the bus, and then after we got back to Alcalá just hung out and stuff like that. It was a pretty fun trip, and the nice thing was Bowling Green paid for it, but I think I liked the other two excursions better, which seems to be the general consensus. Yesterday, I went to school and worked on some homework with some friends, which was fun except the homework made our brains hurt. Today pretty much just had classes, talked to a few people, did some work, hung out outside in the plaza, etc. Today we just had class and then dance class. We learned the rest of the third Sevillana and it is hard!!!! It’s still fun though. We are leaving for Tunisia tomorrow and I’m so excited!! It should be a lot of fun and I’m just excited for Semana Santa!! Then we are going to Barcelona next week for Easter weekend. It should be cool!
On Thursday, we got up, Lisa and Chad had made us breakfast (which was so good!) and then we headed out to conquer the city. We each got a carnet of 10 metro tickets (I didn’t need one since my mom had given me one from awhile ago…my tickets were green because they were old ones, apparently the tickets are purple now) and got on the train towards Trocadero, for the Eiffel Tower. I saw it and I think it almost took my breath away. Of course it looked exactly the same as 6 or 10 years ago, but it was just like “I’m finally here!”. We took some pictures around Trocadero and stuff, and then went over to the Eiffel Tower to go up in it. We had decided to go up that day since the weather was decent and we weren’t sure if we would have another good day. Good decision, because the rest of the time it rained on and off. We thought about taking the elevator up, but decided to climb the stairs up to the second floor since it was a lot faster and cheaper too (I know, I know Mom, haha). There were 668 steps up to the second floor but we decided that we were glad that we did the steps. We could stop whenever we wanted and took tons and tons of pictures. By 12:30 that day I had already taken over 100 pictures, haha. We took the elevator all the way to the top, which was fun too, but we actually had better views from the second floor because it started to get hazy. We ended up spending a good couple of hours at the Eiffel Tower, and so by the time we came down, it was time to eat something. We went by Pont d’Alma (where Princess Diana died) and then ate at a café on Avenue Marceau, which was really good. Mmmm French food! Then we walked down Avenue Marceau to the Arc de Triomphe. We went over to it, and when we came up from the pedestrian underpass we discovered that there were some protesters there. There have been riots all over France, particularly Paris recently in regards to a new law that says that anyone under 26 can be fired without reason from their job within the first 2 years instead of 2 months. All of a sudden we heard a gunshot-like sound (it wasn’t though), but then the protesters moved on, down Avenue Marceau where we had just come from actually. Then we walked down the Champs-Elysees, and had lots of flashbacks. Café Vesuvio was still there, we went into Sephora, etc. Around Clemenceau, we went over by the Grand and Petit Palais. We were going to try to cross the Pont Alexandre III but it was blocked by police. So we went down to the next bridge, I think the Pont d’Invalides and crossed there. Police had set up barricades on the other side though…We realized that there were a bunch of people there, and while they weren’t protesting or anything, we decided to try to get away from there. We were going to try to get away down a side street, but they were all completely blocked by the police in their riot gear, complete with shields and everything. Almost every street was blocked, and we saw some cars and bus stops where the windows had been shattered. We had to go way down past Invalides and that metro stop was even closed. We finally were able to get out of that area though and ended up by the Assemble Nationale, where there were a lot of police too. I don’t think I have ever seen so many police in my entire life, especially in such a concentrated area. It was kind of ridiculous. I had planned on maybe seeing my music teacher from 5th grade, but that didn’t happen, because I found out later that he was sick, but that was fine because we kept plenty busy and it might have been a hassle trying to get out to St. Cloud. After that we looked around Concorde a little bit, got back on the metro and went to Pont de Neuilly. Then we decided to go to La Defense, which wasn’t all that far. We walked there and then stopped to eat at a Chinese restaurant which was delicious. We got back, and then talked to Chad and Lisa for a long time before going to bed, it was really nice catching up with them!
On Friday, after breakfast we headed towards Notre Dame. It is such beautiful cathedral. We got off the metro at Hotel de Ville and then walked over to Notre Dame. On the way, we saw the Conciergerie, which made me think of middle school when I had to go on a class fieldtrip there. We did a little bit of trinket shopping, and took a bunch of pictures around that area. We were going to go to the Veneration of the Relics at 3, so we ate before going in. The food was good and then we went inside and looked around Notre Dame before the service started. Every Friday during Lent and I think once a month, they show the relics, which are a piece of the cross, a nail, and the crown of thorns. We sat and watched most of the service, and we were really lucky because we got to go up pretty quickly and didn’t have to wait in huge lines like I remember doing from a couple years ago. It was neat though, and I know Monica enjoyed it. Anyways, afterwards, we went to Opera, and to Galeries Lafayette. Lisa had reminded me of the balcony thing on top of Galeries, so we went and we were going to try to do that, but that didn’t work because we couldn’t find it and when I tried to ask the person didn’t understand. So we went to Rue de Rivoli and the Louvre, which was free on Fridays. Luckily we didn’t have to wait very long to get into the Louvre either, and didn’t have to pay for it! We saw most of the major things, the Mona Lisa, which had been moved since the last time I was there, the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory and some paintings. We also went into the Apollo Room, which I had never been in because it is fairly new or something, and that was pretty cool. It was raining and pretty gross outside, so we found a restaurant nearby, eat some dinner, ran back over toward Concorde and took some pictures at night, then headed home, and talked to Chad and Lisa again before going to sleep.
On Saturday, we went to Monmartre and Sacre Coeur because I really wanted to go there. I had forgotten about all the Algerians at the bottom of the hill (I don’t know how!), and they tried to put the little ribbon thingys on us, but we wouldn’t let them. We tried not to speak in English, but then Dane said something in Spanish and one of the guys responded in Spanish. Sacre Coeur was pretty though, too bad it was raining though so the views weren’t that great. It’s always been one of my favorite places in Paris. Then we went to the artist district and checked that out before getting some lunch. I had two crepes and they were delicious. Of course I couldn’t be in France and not eat some crepes! They were very good though. After that, we went down by all the Tati stores which I got a kick out of, and saw Moulin Rouge before heading to our next destination. We went back to Invalides since we didn’t really take pictures with the riots, and then went to Musée d’Orsay, partly to get out of the rain. I’m not going to lie, I like it a lot better than the Louvre though. I love most of the impressionist paintings, so that was fun. Afterwards, Dane and Monica wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, so we went over there, and then back towards Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower to get some good pictures at night. We got there at about 7, just as the shimmering lights were turning on. Since they put the shimmering lights on it for New Year’s 2000, the lights turn on for 10 minutes every hour, which is cool and pretty. We took a bunch of pictures, waited for it to get a little darker, and took some more. We got back on the metro and went to Les Halles to try to eat at a restaurant that Chad had recommended, but there was a wait, so we went next door to a pizzeria which was very good and reminded me of the Trateria in Croissy. We got home, talked to Chad and Lisa again, and went to bed.
On Sunday, unfortunately we had to leave. Chad and Lisa drove us to the airport which was really nice of them. I was really sad as they were leaving and I almost started to cry. It was a really fun trip though and it was so nice to see them and be back. (Hammond’s if you’re reading this, thanks for everything!!!!!!). The flight home was uneventful, and it was a gorgeous day back in Spain. Pretty much just hung out after that.
Last week wasn’t terribly exciting. On Monday, Rose and I got together to study for our lit. test on Tuesday in the Plaza because it was nice weather. Then on Tuesday afternoon we went into Madrid after classes with Beatriz to the Prado. It wasn’t terribly interesting, Monica, Nicole, Juanito and I had gone one day, and I don’t really like most of that kind of art. Then on Wednesday we saw Araceli real quick which was nice since I hadn’t seen her in awhile and then we had dance class and we started to learn the third Sevillana. Monica and I went to Foto Pedros to print some pictures for our scrapbooks and that was about it.
On Thursday, we didn’t have classes because we left to go on our third and final group trip. We went to Galicia, which is in northwestern Spain. We were on the bus for about 9 hours on Thursday, which was really long. We stopped for lunch in Astorga, but hardly anything was open so we just ate our bocadillos and walked around for a little bit and that was pretty much it. Then we got to Santiago Compostela that night where we were staying. A bunch of us went and got Chinese food, which was pretty good, even though the people that worked there didn’t really understand Spanish or English. Monica and I were really tired so we tried to watch two different movies but neither of them were very good and we fell asleep.
On Friday we went around Santiago Compostela and to the cathedral. A lot of pilgrims come to Santiago Compostela. They say that if you follow the route to Santiago Compostela (its like 152 km. at least) then you get your sins taken away. Legend has it that Saint James is buried there. The story is cool, I was actually a little disappointed with the church itself though. That afternoon, we went to another little town for lunch, but it was kind of a boring town and there wasn’t really anything there, and nothing was open because of siesta, as usual. We did find some interesting statues though and took random pictures of those. For dinner, Monica, Juanito, Dane and I had kebops which were sooo good!
On Saturday, we were back on the bus, but this time going to León. We stayed in a super nice hotel, one of the best, if not THE best hotel in Spain. It is a parador, which means that it is a historical building but not it is a hotel. It was really impressive though. We had some free time after we got there, so Monica and I got some lunch, and then we had a group tour around León. We went into a couple of museums, but they weren’t all that interesting. On Saturday night, we had our big formal dinner. We had to dress up and we ate in the hotel. It was kind of fun to see everyone all dressed up. We had a pretty nice dinner and then hung out and chatted for awhile before going to bed.
On Sunday, we just came back from León. We spent most of the day on the bus, and then after we got back to Alcalá just hung out and stuff like that. It was a pretty fun trip, and the nice thing was Bowling Green paid for it, but I think I liked the other two excursions better, which seems to be the general consensus. Yesterday, I went to school and worked on some homework with some friends, which was fun except the homework made our brains hurt. Today pretty much just had classes, talked to a few people, did some work, hung out outside in the plaza, etc. Today we just had class and then dance class. We learned the rest of the third Sevillana and it is hard!!!! It’s still fun though. We are leaving for Tunisia tomorrow and I’m so excited!! It should be a lot of fun and I’m just excited for Semana Santa!! Then we are going to Barcelona next week for Easter weekend. It should be cool!
posted by steph at 4/06/2006 06:00:00 AM
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