Great. We went to a country where the main language is not English (and we all know how well I am with foreign languages!).
Were we a little screwed? Perhaps.
Were we able to succeed? Eh, I would say so.
Did we look like true college tourists the whole time? For sure.
Did we have a great time? Heck yes!
So the four of us left Wednesday night (November 5) for Paris by the Eurostar train (fun fact: this train goes under the English Channel). Who was this fourth person you are now meeting? Her name is Reveley and she is one of Kelsey and Adrienne's roommates. She's pretty cool so we let her come along with us (just kidding, we loved that she came with us!).
The fun began right away when we found out from the helpful train assistant that we were already supposed to be through security, our passports stamped, and on the train. Me being the Utech that I am got the "ants in your pants" syndrome and was worried we would miss our train. Something that didn't help the syndrome was the fact that we arrived at coach 4 when the coach we needed was 14. My determination walk kicked in and I was off with the other 3 trailing behind me. Reveley, unknown to my syndrome kept telling me to calm down and that I was acting like a crazy person. But in my head, I kept thinking of the doors closing and us on the wrong side of them. Kelsey and Adrienne who know of my syndrome were just laughing the whole time because they have gotten used too it and have accepted my syndrome. We made it, got in our seats, and I could finally relax.
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| The non-ginger is Reveley |
So after only an hour and a half on the train, we were in Paris (AHHHH)!!!! Holy Crap! We just casually left London and now we were in Paris! It's like something you can say casually without it being a big deal when really, it is!
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| The flippy board for departures in Paris |
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| The train station in Paris |
It was 8 p.m. when we got there (added an hour to our time since France is a timezone ahead). Through looking at maps and trying to decipher street signs, we were able to walk the 30 minutes to our place (again, thanks airbnb). We had a few struggles finding the place and getting in, but we finally conquered and got into our tiny flat.
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| Foreign language + security door with code = major struggle-bus moment |
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| Struggling again with the metal door |
Our apartment was literally a room with a bed, futon, tiny kitchen, and even tinier bathroom that was basically a shower with a sink and toilet in it because if anyone took a shower, the whole bathroom would get a wash down.
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| The tiniest bathroom ever! |
We freshened ourselves up and got in a cab to take us to the Eiffel Tower.
So the unique part about where we were staying was that it was by the Moulin Rouge. Now, it being the famous attraction it is, it also meant that the stores around it were of the same genera. I kid you not, every store on the right and left side of the cab was related to sex and porn (apart from the tiny local grocery store nestled in between...everyone gets the munchies).
Once we started seeing the Eiffel Tower from our cab, we all got pretty excited and once he dropped us off, we all squealed with the excitement we had been holding in in the cab. We literally jumped, skipped, and ran to the Eiffel Tower. It was such a wonderful moment in all of our lives and again, I realized how blessed I am and how great God is.
So we were in France, which meant that we had to do all the things Frenchy people do. So we started it off with having a glass of wine at Castel Café along with a crepe.
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| The yummy rose we got |
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| Super yummy crepe we devoured! |
It was super yummy, but the cafe was about to close, so what did we do? We just cafe hopped next door to Le Bailli de Suffren! At this Cafe, we got a cheese platter and French fries (yep, we are touristy like that, no shame)!
After finishing all of the food, we headed again back to the Eiffel Tower for one last look before jumping back in a cab. By the time we got back, it was almost 1 a.m. and we had a huge day in front of us.
So how do you see all of Paris in one day? Big Bus Tours I tell ya. Not only did it save us time and got in all the major sights we wanted to see, it also spared us the sore feet we would have endured the next morning. But before any of the sight seeing could happen, we needed breakfast and when you're in Paris, you have to have a croissant!
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| Fresh out of the oven! |
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| Croissant with chocolate in the middle = THE BEST |
So before we got on the bus, we first walked to Sacre-Coeur, which is a breathtaking basilica that is also at the highest point in Paris. We climbed up all 270 steps to the top and were rewarded with a breathtaking view of Paris in the morning sunshine.
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| One of many jumping shots I got in Paris |
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| The amazing view! |
We then walked to one of the Big Bus stops, bought tickets, and were off! Now, if you have ever seen the movie Phantom of the Opera, the opening scene is of the Palais Garnier and I saw that! That opera house is were the story started and me being the Phantom geek that I am was super excited! What's interesting about this building is that the road leading up to the opera house is bare of trees. This is because the builder didn't want trees to be in the way of his magnificent creation.
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| Flavors: Rose, Lemon, Salted Carmel, Blackcurrent Violet, and Pistachio |
We then hopped back on the bus and rode down the Champs Elysees to take us to the Arch de Triomphe! On the way we passed by Le Grand Palais which is a large historic site, exhibition hall, and museum. In total, the steel holding up all of the glass panes would weigh more than the Eiffel Tower!
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| No idea what the name of this building is...sorry. |
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| Le Grand Palais |
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| Le Grand Palais |
We finally made it to the Arch de Triomphe and holy cow is it big! I did not know it was that large and I was taken aback!
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| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
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| Jumping again! |
We then got back on to get to our final destination: The Eiffel Tower. While driving along, we passed by Les Invalides which has real gold on the roof along with the Flamme de la Liberté or "Liberty Flame" which was offered to the people of France by donors throughout the world as a symbol of Franco-American friendship. However, it has become an unofficial memorial for Princess Diana after her death in 1997 in the tunnel beneath Pont de l'Alma.
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| Les Invalides with real gold on the top |
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| Flame of Liberty (Flamme de la Liberté) |
At this point, it had also started to get really cold and Adrienne and I both tried to bundle up as best as we could. We got to the Eiffel Tower and got some photos (along with a jumping shot).
Now, me being the geek that I am, I will outrightly tell you that I did pack CUW (Concordia University Wisconsin) T-shirts to wear at the Eiffel Tower in hopes of getting in my colleges promotional pamphlets, posters, or even billboards! That's right! I thought that far ahead when I was packing for London and I have no shame! No shame I tell ya! So fingers crossed that I make it into something (Hint hint President Ferry)!
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| We were cold, can you tell? |
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| It was also really cold outside |
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| I'm weird and I have accepted it. |
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| The four of us! |
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| One of my favorite jumping shots! |
The final sight we saw for the day was one that I was adamant about from the beginning of planning our Paris trip and one I had to see. It was the Vel d'Hiv memorial site. Now, for those of you that read my first ever blog post, you know that my summer was lame and I got a lot of reading done. One of the books (also a movie) I read was called "Sarah's Key," which takes place in 1942 and tells the story of a ten-year-old Jewish girl named Sarah who is taken with her parents by the French police in the middle of the night. Desperate to save her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard—their secret hiding place—and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released. Sixty years later, Sarah’s story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup. In her research, Julia stumbles onto a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah, and to questions about her own future.
So what does it have to do with the Vel D'Hiv? Let me just give you a little background information on it:
At dawn on the 16th of July, 1942, some 4,500 French policemen began a mass arrest of foreign Jews living in Paris, at the behest of the German authorities. Over 11,000 Jews were arrested on the same day, and confined to the Winter Stadium, or Velodrome d’Hiver, known as the Vel’ d’Hiv, in Paris. The detainees were kept in extremely crowded conditions, almost without water, food and sanitary facilities. Within a week the number of Jews held in the Vel’ d’Hiv had reached 13,000, among them more than 4,000 children. Those who tried to escape were shot on the spot. Some took their own lives. After five days, the prisoners were taken to the internment camps of Drancy, Beaune-la-Rolande and Pithiviers, and later to extermination camps.
For decades the French government declined to apologize for the role of French policemen in the roundup or for any other state complicity. On 16 July 1995, the President, Jacques Chirac, ruled it was time that France faced up to its past and he acknowledged the role that the state had played in the persecution of Jews and other victims of the German occupation.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the roundup, President François Hollande gave a speech at a monument of the Vél d'Hiv roundup. The president recognized that this event was a crime committed "in France, by France," and emphasized that the deportations in which French police participated were offenses committed against French values, principles, and ideals.
This was a powerful, yet sad memorial to visit, but I'm glad I got the opportunity to see it and to leave my condolences.
It was then time to have dinner and we headed off to a cafe where we got escargot (snails)! I got spaghetti bolognese for my main course and then for dessert, we split profiteroles which are delicious pastries filled with ice cream with chocolate drizzled on top. They were fantastic and if anyone has a recipe on how to make these, or you would like to send me some, I would greatly appreciate it and would forever love you. Afterwards, my sweet tooth was still not satisfied, so I got a crepe filled with Nutella and that hit the spot!
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| Profiteroles! |
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| Me and my crepe! |
We passed the Eiffel Tower one more time to soak it in for the last time and to say goodbye since it was time to head back to London.
Paris in 24 hours can be done. Sure we were exhausted afterwards, but many laughs and memories were made.
Au Revoir!
-Claire
