Study Abroad Fall 2013: Hakuna Matata and other anecdotes from Paris

November 14th
PARIS!!!! In a nutshell this trip was absolutely insane. We started by meeting up at the bus station around 6 to catch the bus to the airport. Things were mostly smooth until I had metal in my shoes and got the full pat down. Then we were through security! We got to the airport super early considering the gate for our flight wasn't posted until the boarding was supposed to have finished. So we ran over to our gate. Then Rachel had two bags instead of one and had to figure out how to combine the two. I think she tried three times before DJ ran out and let her put things into his bag. We had all made it to the gate! But the night's adventures were just beginning. When we were called to board the plane, we waited a few minutes and then got in the line. It was now that Rachel looked at her boarding pass and realized that her ticket was for the next day. They would not let her on the plane. Even with begging and pleading, Rachel would not be allowed on the plane and had to wait until her flight the next night. So DJ and I got on the plane alone and headed across Europe. Once we landed in Paris at 11pm, confusion really began. The floor was covered in white soap everyone at the airport. Why? No one knows. Generally there would be someone cleaning the floor, but this was not to be! Then we went to the ticket booth to find you could only buy a three day pass at the ticket selling area with people selling them. It was conveniently closed. So we bought a ticket from the machine. It was the wrong ticket.... So we returned to the machine and purchased the correct (more expensive) ticket. Then we were finally able to begin our long journey into Paris. We took three different trains and then emerged out of Nation station. During our journey the email with all the information we needed to find the apartment and get the key for it was accidentally moved into my spam. And we had to wifi to retrieve it. This began a walk of guessing and hoping and praying with the little information we had left that I had screen shotted that we would be able to find the apartment. We managed to get the key. Then we went to the building we were the be staying in. There were two sides of stairs to walk up unbeknownst to us. We chose one and went up to the 4th floor the one I remembered the apartment was to be on. We hoped to connect to the wifi network that I had the password to in another email. We chose the wrong staircase...So we went back down unsure of what floor we actually needed to be on. It was at this point that we decided to read the mailboxes and realize there was another side. So by 2 am we managed to find our way to the apartment and connect to wifi to figure out which door we had to unlock. All the while we had been using the light of an iPod because the light switches looked like doorbell buttons and we didn't want to wake anyone up. It was after we started to unpack that I opened up my purse and found the directions we had needed the entire night already printed out... This was absolutely devastating. I think I laughed for a solid five minutes all the way to tears. On the plus side we got to meet the adorable cat of the apartment owner. We went straight to bed after checking in with Rachel who as you recall was still in Prague about when she was going to be able to make it. Learned that she had to take the flight she had booked the next day and moved our schedule around a wee bit so we could all see more of the city.
November 15th
The fun continues! DJ and I woke up at 7 am to catch a train to Versailles! Overall it was a beautiful place. Unfortunately most of the things in the gardens were closed up, but I got to see so many famous paintings of Louis XIV and Napoleon that are hanging in it. We also got to see the door that Marie Antoinette used to escape when the people came to the palace angry about the regime. We stood where the Versailles Treaty was signed and overall had a wonderful time exploring and staring at all of the art work and immersing in Louis XIV's obsession with Apollo. We then returned to Paris and headed over to the catacombs. Before entering we stopped for some lunch. DJ and I found this adorable side street with tons of food options on it. We headed into this adorable little cafe and somehow managed to order successfully with the three words we know in French!!! Then we headed down into the catacombs. They were so extensive and were so cool. There was an ossuary deep underground that holds God knows how many bones from what used to be a cemetery that had flooded and started spilling into the water supply. On our way back from the catacombs, we accidentally found Notre Dame! So we took a couple pictures of it. Then we went up to the area by Sacre Coeur. Which considering the size took us an awful long while to locate. Typical tourists. On our way up a bunch of men from Senegal were grabbing people and forcing them to stand there while they put bracelets on them and wouldn't let them go in the end asking for money. The whole time they keep asking you questions and when you ask them any they just respond with "Hakuna Matata." If you guessed this happened to us, you got it! We were some of these people. I've still got the bracelet on the prove it! (my Paris souvenir...) Then we found our way to Moulin Rouge and took some pictures of it and in in front of it before making our way to the Arc de Triomphe. It was really cool to see and was much larger than I had originally imagined it would be! Afterwards we strolled down the main shopping street of Paris, Avenue des Champs Elysées. Along the way we found the Disney store and so we just HAD to go inside!!! Afterwards we continued along the street and it was then that I saw the most amazing advertisement! The Christmas Market had opened that night and it was just ahead on the street!!! So we meandered through that until we made it to Place de la Concorde which has the large Ferris Wheel that was lit up beautifully. We passed this and continued up the road until we finally reached the Louvre. Fortunately being EU students we were able to secure free entry! So we spent several hours there seeing the Mona Lisa, and the Venus de Milo as well as many other gorgeous works of art occasionally analyzing them before moving along through the massive museum. Afterwards we made our way to the metro and had a lovely dinner at the circle around Nation that our host had suggested to us. It was called Chez Prosper and it was delicious. Our inability to speak French was a wee bit in the way that night. Fortunately our waiter was extremely kind and helped us to the best of his ability. We went back to the apartment to rest before Rachel arrived! Once she did we filled her in on all of our adventures up to that point and then fell asleep once more so we could be ready for Saturday.
November 16th
We woke up nice and early now the three of us together once again and set off for the Eiffel tower! Sadly it was super foggy and we chose not to go to the top of it because all we would have seen was fog. After taking some photos by it we meandered over to the Musee d'Orsay, an impressionist gallery in Prague. It was really nice one because I love impressionism and two because they had an amazing special exhibit called Men and Masculinity that showed the portrayal of males over time in art. I learned there that it was not until 2012 that such an exhibit even existed. It was incredible to watch the works develop from the greek statues all the way to today's videos and photos. Then we went over to Le Marais to a cafe that DJ had found. When we arrived they told us we had to wait an hour so we could leave our names and then come back. We ran over to Notre Dame to see it with Rachel this time and took some pictures before returning and having an amazing lunch of crepes. Then we walked back over to Notre Dame and as we crossed the bridge there was a man playing a song that I do not know the name of, but that is always in Paris movies! Then we walked up to get pictures by the Louvre during the day time. Afterwards we headed back towards the apartment to meet our host for the first time. Along the way we stopped at the Bastille and took some pictures of the monument that is now erected there. After meeting Dou (aka the sweetest host ever) we went out to really explore the Christmas market. We strolled up and down the streets looking at nearly every single vendor and sampling some local fare along the way! We enjoyed a dinner of hot wine and kebab. Right after dinner however, I passed this incredible looking waffle with nutella and strawberries on it so although I was not hungry I just had to try it! I was right. It was possible life changing! Then we walked back up to the arc and then over to the eiffel tower to see it at night. It sparkled for us twice while we were there. We found a really nice spot up a bit from it with a beautiful view and waited with people before it sparkled. It was nearly silent when the clock struck 10 because as soon as it started to sparkle you could clearly hear the gasp of everyone around. After enjoying that and taking what could be considered an unhealthy amount of photos of the eiffel tower we walked over towards Notre Dame. While there it turned midnight and I rang in my 21st birthday! Then we headed home and got some rest.
November 17th (21st!!!)
Although many are likely expecting some crazy birthday story I am sorry to say this will not be so. On Sunday morning we got up and went to Hillsong Paris for a church service. It was really cool. The service was in english with a French translation and the songs were in both languages with the subtitles of both. During the sermon the woman spoke about friendship and how to create positive friendships. It was really nice to listen to something about relationships that wasn't directly romantic. Afterwards we flew home and got back to Prague in time for dinner. So I made myself a bit of an interesting stir fry with what we had left in the fridge before calling it a night. Overall it was a really nice weekend and Paris truly captivated my heart. The city had so many beautiful places. I hope to return one day to see it in the spring when all of the gardens are in full bloom! But until then it is back to work in Prague! The semester is rapidly coming to an end and I can not believe how much there is left to do in such little time!

Versailles!