The last week of my spring break was spent back in Paris with my dad and sister! Dad and Andrea got into Paris Saturday morning and I went and met them at the airport. I was so excited to see them; I definitely miss them being all of the way over here.
Surprise, surprise I had an itinerary for the week already set. I wanted to make sure they got to see the most amount of stuff in the time that they had here and you can’t just wander around Paris. They stayed in a nice hotel that is just a few blocks from my apartment, which made meeting up with them really easy. Besides Saturday and Sunday morning, the weather was really, really nice for their visit and allowed us to see a lot of things. I even got to see a lot of things I hadn’t seen yet. And of course, I got to eat much better food than I normally get to :-) Oh the food… we walked and ate our way around Paris!
Again I’m going to explain the week in pictures… for longer entries this seems to work best!
Dad and Andrea on Saturday night at Le Flibustier, a great little crepe place in Montparnasse that my friend Lauren recommended. Saturday was pretty rainy, but we trudged through the rain. I took them down the Champs-Elysees so they could see the Arc de Triomphe. We ate at Laduree where we had macaroons for dessert. We also took a boat cruise on the Seine so they could see all of the big sites right away. At this creperie, we shared two galettes (savory crepes) and two dessert crepes. I have never heard my dad rave more about food than I did at this creperie. He was in love with the chocolate, banana, whipped cream crepe we ordered ;-)
On Sunday morning we braved the weather and headed out to Versailles. Versailles is about a thirty minute ride on the RER from Paris. I wanted to go on a weekend because that is when they turn the fountains on in the gardens and have classical music playing. We got there just in time to sign up for an English speaking private tour which allowed us to skip some of the lines.
Of course we saw the famous Hall of Mirrors. We ran through it at first on our way to our tour but got to go back up just before they closed the palace. There were way less people then and we could take our time enjoying this incredible room. Louis XIV was the king who decided to move out of Paris, out of the Louvre, into this chateau. He was the main designer of the chateau we see today but Louis XV and Louis XVI both lived here during its heyday.
Some say he designed this room because he liked to look at himself while he walked down the hallway. But this was really an impressive room during his time because mirrors were expensive and hard to come by.
Some say he designed this room because he liked to look at himself while he walked down the hallway. But this was really an impressive room during his time because mirrors were expensive and hard to come by.
My dad got a kick out of this... the royal throne.
It started to clear up just as we went to the gardens. This was Louis XIV orange tree garden. I'm not really sure where the orange trees went but it's still a beautiful part of the garden.
The back of the chateau from the gardens.
They turn the fountains on and play classical music at certain times of day during the weekends. At the very end of the day they have a fountain show in Neptune's fountain. It wasn't a Disney spectacular but it was still really neat to watch.
I convinced Dad and Andrea to take a jumping picture at Versailles :-)
Before going to dinner we stopped by the Eiffel Tower so they could see it during the day. Sadly, it was my first time being there as well.
We spent Monday in the Latin Quarter and the two big Cathedrals in Paris, Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. This is Sainte Chapelle with some of the most impressive stained glass of any cathedral. It was built by Saint Louis, Louis IX and tells the entire story of the bible in the stained glass that wraps around the chapel.
My dad "enlightened" by Sainte Chapelle.
On Monday we also went to La Grande Epecerie, really big and really cool grocery store, and bought stuff for a French picnic. We had bread, cheese, fruit, a couple different salads, orangina and finished with a nutella crepe. We ate our picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens, one of my favorite places in Paris. I also was able to show them where I have class and the outside of the main Sorbonne building. From the park we went to the Pfizer office of Paris. My dad works with one of the woman at the office on a few projects so he wanted to meet her in person. The office is located in the south of Paris, almost in a suburb.
From there we rushed back to my apartment where my host parents had invited us over for an aperatif so they could meet my family. It was really nice of them and I was glad everyone could meet. It was weird for me because I'm not used to speaking that much English with my host parents. My host dad spent most of the time talking to my dad about American movies; he loves older American pop culture.
On Monday we also went to La Grande Epecerie, really big and really cool grocery store, and bought stuff for a French picnic. We had bread, cheese, fruit, a couple different salads, orangina and finished with a nutella crepe. We ate our picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens, one of my favorite places in Paris. I also was able to show them where I have class and the outside of the main Sorbonne building. From the park we went to the Pfizer office of Paris. My dad works with one of the woman at the office on a few projects so he wanted to meet her in person. The office is located in the south of Paris, almost in a suburb.
From there we rushed back to my apartment where my host parents had invited us over for an aperatif so they could meet my family. It was really nice of them and I was glad everyone could meet. It was weird for me because I'm not used to speaking that much English with my host parents. My host dad spent most of the time talking to my dad about American movies; he loves older American pop culture.
Tuesday morning we got up and took the two hour train ride to Bayeux, a small town in Normandy. This is the chateau (!!!) we got to stay at. It was such a cool place to stay. We used Bayeux as our base for seeing the Normandy beaches. We had Tuesday to explore the town, which really doesn't have much. We saw Europe's most famous tapestry which is 500m long and tells the story of the Battle of Hastings. It is kept in such good shape because it was only hung in the Cathedral during special occassions.
We also saw this massive Cathedral.
The rest of the day we spent some time relaxing. We bought a pack of cheesy touristy cards and played rummy and relaxed at the chateau. This is me and my dad in a park in town.
On Wednesday we got up early for a day long tour of the American side of the Normandy beaches. The tour was nice because there were only 7 of us. Our guide drove a small van and was very personable. We had an older French couple on our tour, unusual according to the guide who said most people who take the tour are American or British, so he had his work cut out for him translating everything he said. Our first stop was the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. This was the sight of one of the first operations on the morning of D-Day. Paratroopers landed here to try and destroy a couple key bridges. One of the paratroopers, John Steele, is infamous for landing on the steeple of this Cathedral and playing dead because there were German snipers in the tower. They have a replica/memorial of it now on the steeple.
The church has a unique piece of stained glass with Saint Mary and three paratroopers, commemorating D-Day.
There are five D-Day beaches: Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword. We visited the two American beaches: Utah and Omaha. I found it a little weird that people use it today like a normal beach for sunbathing, etc. Each beach has some sort of memorial to the fallen soldiers there and some of the German bunkers that remain.
The largest German cemetery in Normandy. The black crosses are typical of German cemeteries. There are 21,000 Germans burried here. Many of the headstones just say "A German Soldier" because the body is unknown. It was definitely a contrast to the American cemetery, which we saw later on in the day.
We then drove to Pointe du Hoc. The Germans had 6 large cannons (that could shoot 10 miles each!) installed on this point. One of the missions on the morning of D-Day was for the marines to come in and take out the cannons. Oddly enough, when they finally made it up the cliff, the cannons were gone. The Germans had attempted to hide them a few miles away from the point. This is one of the bunkers that the Germans used. Forty men slept in each bunker and it had running water and an impressive air ventilation system.
I believe it was something like 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped on this point in the few months before D-Day. That is why you can see all of the valleys in the ground.
The point at Pointe du Hoc. The soldiers spent months learning how to scale up these cliffs and were able to do it in 30 minutes on D-Day with German soldiers shooting at them.
A neat picture from the American Cemetery. It is the most visited American cemetery outside of the U.S. and actually sits on U.S. territory that France gave to the U.S. So it was the first time I've been in the U.S. since January! The cemetery reminds me a lot of Arlington because all of the crosses are the same and sit at the same height. The only difference are the three medal of honor winners who have their names engraved in gold, including Teddy Roosevelt Jr.
Our last stop was at these German pillboxes with giant cannons. There were four of these that sat back from the side of a cliff. On D-Day they shot 575 times all together and didn't hit a single target. When the British troops arrived here the Germans simply surrendered. The guide liked to finish the tour here because there was no blood shed here.
All in all the tour was incredible and I'm glad it was something we were able to do. I learned so much about D-Day itself and got a glimpse of some important moments in America's history. The older French in this area are forever grateful to Americans because they liberated them and liberated France.
All in all the tour was incredible and I'm glad it was something we were able to do. I learned so much about D-Day itself and got a glimpse of some important moments in America's history. The older French in this area are forever grateful to Americans because they liberated them and liberated France.
On Thursday I took Dad and Andrea to Montmartre in the morning. I don't have any pictures because I've been there several times before. We walked around the little streets, saw Sacre Couer basilica and bought some artwork from the local artists. Then we ate lunch at Mariage Freres, my favorite tea place in Paris! It was fancier than I thought it would be for some reason but also ridiculously good. This was my veggie lunch :-)
The three of us on the top of the Musee D'Orsay with Montmatre and Sacre Couer in the background.
Thursday night we went to hear the Orchestre National de France. The first two pieces they played were.. well, interesting. But they finished with a Brahams piano concerto that was out of this world. We were so close to the Eiffel Tower afterward that we decided to head over there. Since the millinieum, the Eiffel Tower sparkles on the hour and half hour at night. My dad was somewhat able to capture the sparkle in this picture!
Me and Andrea on our way to the Eiffel Tower.
Sorry for all of the Eiffel Tower pictures but I know some friends and family out there want to see pictures of the family!
So again, I was pretty nervous to ride all of the way to the top. But we got up there and the views were so cool that I forgot how nervous I was. You can't see behind me but I'm pointing in the direction of my apartment building!
The Seine and Paris by night.
Friday I kept up the theme of walking and we strolled around the neighborhood of the Marais. I showed them where Accent is and we got the best falafel in the world.
We spent the afternoon lounging in the Tuileries gardens before doing a grand tour of the Louvre. I had to put this picture up to prove that I finally saw the Mona Lisa after three months of being in Paris. However, I like a lot of other artwork in the Louvre WAY more than this little portrait.
Friday night we had one last great French dinner, complete with creme brulee :-)
It was two of the most exhausting weeks I've ever had but Spring Break was incredible this year. I'm already missing my family and Grete. I think we planned break perfectly and I got to see some really incredible things. My break from sightseeing is short... my best friend Emma is coming in from Sevilla and my good friend from Germany, Anne, are coming on Wednesday for a long weekend!!!! I haven't seen Anne in almost two years and I'm dying for some Emma time; it should be another really great weekend.
Tomorrow, I have to get up at 6AM once again for French class, but there are only 3.5 weeks left of class before finals... yikes.
Tomorrow, I have to get up at 6AM once again for French class, but there are only 3.5 weeks left of class before finals... yikes.
