Well, I just got back a few days ago from Paris. The city was really pretty. Definitely a city everyone needs to see at least once in their life. but i have to admit, Paris wasnt really my style. for one, it's so busy, all hte time, everywhere. it's also really expensive. seriously, a sandwich there costs around 8-18 euros. that's just a crime! and paris has a very international feeling. i was constantly surrounded by so many different languages (and that's not just because i was with exchange students :)) but even though everyone was speaking every language but french, all signs, menus, cashiers, and whatnot were all completely in french. i thought it was kinda strange since paris felt so international.
so i left konigs wusterhausen at about 12.30 on saturday. i took the train to berlin and met the other exchangers at the tration at 1. basically we stood around for an hour and a half before we left at 2.30. we walked to the bus which was parked down the street, loaded up our stuff, and got on. then we began the long drive towards paris. we we started driving, we were told hte rules of the bus: seat belt on, no getting out of your seat, no using the bathroom. oh, and no eating cookies or chocolate. which was of course pretty much the only thing i brought to snack on. just my luck. :) basically most of the ride was spent talking, watching movies, eating smuggled cookies and chocolate, and waiting for the next "pause" when we'd stop at a rest stop and stretch our legs or buy food or use the bathroom. we stopped somewhere in the very west part of germany at around 9ish and picked up about 10 exchangers from district 1900. then we made our way into belgium (HATE BELGIUM ;) just kidding, i couldnt hate belgium [regardless whether or not htey started the first world war] their waffless are just too good! adn i'd know, i had one there. :)) then we finally made it to france and before we knew it we were in paris. so at 7.00am we went to our hotel. there were only 2 of our rooms available right then (which is really crazy considering we probably had over 25 rooms) so all the girls put their stuff in one of the rooms and the boys put their stuff in the other. then we went to breakfast. Croissants! after that we got ready, headed to the metro, and went out to see the city.
our first stop was at the rectange building with a smaller rectange cut out of it. it has a name, but it's french and i dont remember. from this building we could see the arc de triomphe and eiffel tower in the distance, which was incredibly exciting at the time. then we got back on the metro and went to see the arc de triomphe up close. it's so big, and really pretty. and it's on like an island in the middle of a giant roundablout. so the road is super dangerous to cross. luckily there was an underground tunnel that led right to the arc. OH! and you can go on top of the arc, which is pretty cool. it was packed with people (i didnt go up, but i could still see the people even when i was really far away) after the arc we had freetime, so we wnt walking down the streets, went into a few stores (louis vuitton!) and basically just hung out. AND WE GOT CREPES! i love crepes. :) when we met up with everyone again we took the metro to the eiffel tower. i was crazy expensive to go up, so i, being the cheapsake i am, didnt go up. instead i stayed underneath the eiffel tower and got annoyed by the guys selling mini eiffel towers. ugh. :) after the eiffel tower we ate, and had some freetime, which we spent eating some more crepes and souvenior shopping. then we went to bed.
and now i'm getting sick of typing. so i'm just going to type the brief version. if you want more, tell me and i'll come in and edit this later and include more details.
day 2: we got up, ate. then we headed to the louvre, saw the mona lisa and stuff. we went walking, saw where princess diana was staying right before she died. we had some freetime, ate, and then went on a ferry ride. it was really cool because it was at night and the eiffel tower was lit up. and every now and then it would sparkle. then we headed back to the hotel, walked through moulin rouge in the processs, did some souvenior shopping, ate some more crepes and then went to bed.
day 3: we got up, ate. got on a train headed in the direction of notre dame. we saw notre dame, had some crepes and some freetime (more souvenior shopping!) then we got on a train to versailles. we walked around versailles. it was crazy crowded. stand room only. literally. then we went to mcdonalds where we ordered soooooo much food. then got on hte bus at 7pm and headed back to germany. we were back in berlin by 10.30 or so the next morning. from there i caught my train back to konigs wusterhausen (making 4 euros in the process. the machine wouldnt take my money, but it did give me some. :)) and that was it. that was paris. pretty cool, but i have to admit that i like berlin better. :)
pictures will come in the next post because it's easier that way. :)
Bis Bald,
Kaite
moulin rouge
before the ferry ride. our usa picture.
cookies! (i honestly have no clue) :)
in the louvre
louvre
versailles
crepes=amazingness. :)
eiffel tower
bear and the eiffel tower while on the ferry ride. :)
rectangle building.
