PARIS!!!
Finally...INTERNET! haha. I finally have access to a computer that works so I figured it was about time to update you all on my adventures. I've been in Paris since Tuesday and it has been amazing! We took the train here from London so I got a chance to see the beautiful English and French countrysides (when I wasn't nodding off...) which are gorgeous as you might imagine (or know). Our hotel here is in the heart of St. Germain, a very central and ritzy district of Paris. Because the streets here are so small, our bus from the train station had to drop us a few blocks away so we all struggled down the cobblestoned streets (we must have looked hilarious) only to find that there is no elevator to our rooms! Ah! Needless to say it was quite a feat lugging my enormous suitcase and dufflebag up four flights of tiny stairs to our room. But we made it! Haha.
Being in France has been a little frustrating because I really don't speak the language at all. Thank god I have Kelsey, one of my roommates from London who studied all last semester here in Paris. She has been our navigator and translator everywhere we go! I do try to speak a little although I must sound like a complete idiot because normally people let me struggle for a while and then just give in and start speaking English. :-) I've been trying to take in as much of Paris as I can because we're only here for a week...so I've been pretty busy with venue visits and touristy stuff. Our first venue visit (Wednesday) was to the International Herald Tribune, an English language international newspaper that is headquartered in France. We spoke with one of their editors about the responsibilities of an international paper and the changing newspaper industry. I think it was my favorite venue visit so far because it really seemed like something I may want to do later in life so I plan to keep in touch with the woman we spoke with in case I ever feel like applying for a job overseas :-) While we've been here we also visited L'Oreal and spoke with their Director of Philanthropy which while not something I'm interested in doing as a career, was still an interesting presentation (and we got gift bags full of samples!!). We also met with the O.E.C.D which is an international organization that helps countries throughout the world determine governing and economic policies. It was very tight security and fun to be hearing such "classified" information about the relationships between different countries.
So when not traveling to and from venue visits, I've been busy taking in the city of Paris. I was here about five years ago so I've seen many of the super touristy things before but I think the city is so beautiful that I really haven't minded seeing many of the sights again. The first day we were here we walked all around our neighborhood, had a crepe (sooo good!) and walked over to Notre Dame. We happened to walk in during an afternoon church service and it was beautiful to see the magnificant building while the choir was singing. However, my only complaint about Notre Dame is that the plaza outside the church is FILLED with pigeons and some people on this trip think my dislike of the birds is funny so they insisted on scaring them into flight right in front of me. It was terrifying (I know Lisa will understand...) Haha. It was raining earlier in the week so on Wednesday evening we decided to see the Da Vinci Code (mostly because most of it is set in Paris) which I liked a lot. It was fun to see it and know that I was just at St. Sulpice (the church where Silas meets the nun) earlier in the day. Friday was full of museums. In the morning, I went to the Louvre. We didn't wait in line at all! Last time I was here, we didn't end up going to the Louvre because the wait was something insanely long and so because it was a Friday I was picturing a crazy line like in Eurotrip haha but amazing there was NO line. We walked right in! So we spent a couple hours wandering the museum, saw the Mona Lisa and other Da Vinci works and countless other amazing pieces of art. The building in itself is a work of art and I was continuously amazed by the gold columns and painted ceilings. Friday afternoon we went to the L'Orangerie which was by far my favorite museum so far. The museum just reopened a few weeks ago after being closed for about 5 years. It houses many of Monet's waterlillies. The paintings are in circular rooms so you sit in the middle and are just surrounded by his huge paintings. It was absolutely beautiful...we spent a lonnnng time in there just sitting and admiring the colors.
Yesterday we woke up and saw that it was gorgeous outside (finally!!) so we went and bought baguettes, cheese and some meat and headed out for a picnic at the Eifel Tower. There is a huge lawn in front of the Tower where we sat and ate our food and just layed in the sun for a couple hours. It was completely surreal to just be lying out in the sun tanning and look up and see the Eifel Tower just a few feet away. Amazing! There were tons of people out enjoying the sunshine and it was cool to hear so many different languages being spoken. This may be a little difficult to explain, but for some reason, yesterday was just a little off. No matter where we went we kept running into the weirdest things. For example, while we were lying in the sun on the grass a guy dressed in a full-body pink bunny suit came up to us and just sat there. It was the most ridiculous thing! Then later, we went shopping on the Champs Elyesses (sp?) and there were all these people in crazy outfits singing. Hard to explain, but for some reason, all the weirdos of Paris decided to come out yesterday haha. Anyway shopping was fun and then we went to Montemarte (an artsy section of Paris up on the hill) for dinner and then back to the Champs for ice cream :-)
Today I am just getting some errands done like mailing postcards, etc and then later I think we're going to walk around for a bit and see what we bump into. Monday we're going as a whole group on a river cruise on the Seine and then having dinner by the Eifel Tower. Then we leave for Prague on Tuesday which I am SO excited for!
Hopefully I will get to blog again soon although I'm really not sure what my internet situation will be for the rest of the time here in Paris or in Prague. Sorry that this post was ridiculously long...I just realized how much I wrote. Anyway I miss you all! Hope things are great in the States!
Being in France has been a little frustrating because I really don't speak the language at all. Thank god I have Kelsey, one of my roommates from London who studied all last semester here in Paris. She has been our navigator and translator everywhere we go! I do try to speak a little although I must sound like a complete idiot because normally people let me struggle for a while and then just give in and start speaking English. :-) I've been trying to take in as much of Paris as I can because we're only here for a week...so I've been pretty busy with venue visits and touristy stuff. Our first venue visit (Wednesday) was to the International Herald Tribune, an English language international newspaper that is headquartered in France. We spoke with one of their editors about the responsibilities of an international paper and the changing newspaper industry. I think it was my favorite venue visit so far because it really seemed like something I may want to do later in life so I plan to keep in touch with the woman we spoke with in case I ever feel like applying for a job overseas :-) While we've been here we also visited L'Oreal and spoke with their Director of Philanthropy which while not something I'm interested in doing as a career, was still an interesting presentation (and we got gift bags full of samples!!). We also met with the O.E.C.D which is an international organization that helps countries throughout the world determine governing and economic policies. It was very tight security and fun to be hearing such "classified" information about the relationships between different countries.
So when not traveling to and from venue visits, I've been busy taking in the city of Paris. I was here about five years ago so I've seen many of the super touristy things before but I think the city is so beautiful that I really haven't minded seeing many of the sights again. The first day we were here we walked all around our neighborhood, had a crepe (sooo good!) and walked over to Notre Dame. We happened to walk in during an afternoon church service and it was beautiful to see the magnificant building while the choir was singing. However, my only complaint about Notre Dame is that the plaza outside the church is FILLED with pigeons and some people on this trip think my dislike of the birds is funny so they insisted on scaring them into flight right in front of me. It was terrifying (I know Lisa will understand...) Haha. It was raining earlier in the week so on Wednesday evening we decided to see the Da Vinci Code (mostly because most of it is set in Paris) which I liked a lot. It was fun to see it and know that I was just at St. Sulpice (the church where Silas meets the nun) earlier in the day. Friday was full of museums. In the morning, I went to the Louvre. We didn't wait in line at all! Last time I was here, we didn't end up going to the Louvre because the wait was something insanely long and so because it was a Friday I was picturing a crazy line like in Eurotrip haha but amazing there was NO line. We walked right in! So we spent a couple hours wandering the museum, saw the Mona Lisa and other Da Vinci works and countless other amazing pieces of art. The building in itself is a work of art and I was continuously amazed by the gold columns and painted ceilings. Friday afternoon we went to the L'Orangerie which was by far my favorite museum so far. The museum just reopened a few weeks ago after being closed for about 5 years. It houses many of Monet's waterlillies. The paintings are in circular rooms so you sit in the middle and are just surrounded by his huge paintings. It was absolutely beautiful...we spent a lonnnng time in there just sitting and admiring the colors.
Yesterday we woke up and saw that it was gorgeous outside (finally!!) so we went and bought baguettes, cheese and some meat and headed out for a picnic at the Eifel Tower. There is a huge lawn in front of the Tower where we sat and ate our food and just layed in the sun for a couple hours. It was completely surreal to just be lying out in the sun tanning and look up and see the Eifel Tower just a few feet away. Amazing! There were tons of people out enjoying the sunshine and it was cool to hear so many different languages being spoken. This may be a little difficult to explain, but for some reason, yesterday was just a little off. No matter where we went we kept running into the weirdest things. For example, while we were lying in the sun on the grass a guy dressed in a full-body pink bunny suit came up to us and just sat there. It was the most ridiculous thing! Then later, we went shopping on the Champs Elyesses (sp?) and there were all these people in crazy outfits singing. Hard to explain, but for some reason, all the weirdos of Paris decided to come out yesterday haha. Anyway shopping was fun and then we went to Montemarte (an artsy section of Paris up on the hill) for dinner and then back to the Champs for ice cream :-)
Today I am just getting some errands done like mailing postcards, etc and then later I think we're going to walk around for a bit and see what we bump into. Monday we're going as a whole group on a river cruise on the Seine and then having dinner by the Eifel Tower. Then we leave for Prague on Tuesday which I am SO excited for!
Hopefully I will get to blog again soon although I'm really not sure what my internet situation will be for the rest of the time here in Paris or in Prague. Sorry that this post was ridiculously long...I just realized how much I wrote. Anyway I miss you all! Hope things are great in the States!
posted by Carly at 3:42 AM
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