Winding down...

A bit of a break since my last entry, as I've been busy. I'm exhausted so this one might not be as lengthy (or philosophical) as the last one, but more on why I'm tired later.

When I left you last, we had just returned from our successful voyage through Western Europe. When we got back, as I mentioned our Art History paper was moved back to the 11th because of the volcano situation. I intended to have it done before our trip to Paris, however, so I could study for my exam also taking place on the 11th. Well... it was tough to get back into work mode. While Jillian studied I did very little other than sleep, catch up on the world (mainly sports), and waste time in various ways. Eventually I got going a bit, but I only finished about half of it before our voyage to France.

Other highlights in our ten days in London between trips were a fun night each with George and Rosie and Lauren and Michael (capped off with a bus driver refusing to let us off of the bus for a few stops... interesting story). Lauren had also set up a tour of Parliament for her, Mike (changing it up from Michael, just for you), and her parents - apparently the tours are available to anyone, but in order to get one you have to contact your local Parliament representative... very strange. Anyway, she had a four person tour set up, and her parents ended up not being able to make it to London, so she generously invited Jillian and me instead. We were a bit late because Jillian was making her third appearance at a London eye doctor (a new one this time, who seems to better know what he is doing), but we arrived without really having missed much. I must admit, I was a bit skeptical of the tour beforehand, but it ended up being pretty incredible. It wasn't terribly long (about 45 minutes, which was perfect in my mind), but they literally took us everywhere: the Queen's dressing room, the Commons Chamber, the Lords Chamber, Westminster Hall, etc. Sheri, you would have loved it. Definitely a memorable experience, so thanks for the invitation, Lauren!

So back to the paper. As has now happened three times this semester (my initial departure from Philly, leaving for the spring break trip, and now Paris), I left for an airport/train station on 0 hours of sleep. At least this time it was a train instead of a flight. It was very convenient just walking to the train station and hopping a train (while also having very little luggage). The train was easy enough, and we arrived in Paris on Tuesday the 4th.

This was my third time in Paris, but there has been a significant amount of time between each visit: the first was in 1997 with Mom and Dad, the second was in 2003 with Ben and Mom, and now here in 2010. Some of it looked familiar (the endless little salesmen selling stuff out of dumpster-looking things along the Seine) and some things I know I've been to didn't (Musee D'Orsay). We had most of Tuesday, all of Wednesday and Thursday, and a bit of Friday in the city. So a good length of time.

After we arrived, we checked into our very nice Marriott hotel (special online deal, of course) and both napped briefly since we were exhausted. We woke up and headed out to meet up with friends (the first of many rendezvouses with friends/family... yes, I figured I'd throw in one of the few token French words I know). We met up with my friend Ibby from Country Day and Jillian's camp friend Ashley at the Arc de Triomphe. We checked it out and strolled down Champs de Elysee all the way to the Louvre. We attempted to go to a couple museums (closed) and ended up just wandering along the river and sampling some delicious French pastry (Jillian was a big fan of the macaroons and later got some mini ones to bring back to London). We parted ways with Ibby and Ashley and grabbed dinner at a cafe. We ordered cheese fondue as an appetizer, but it wasn't fondue as we expected; instead, the waiter brought us a salad with a big slice of warm cheese on it with a side of bread. It was absolutely incredible. After dinner, we went up the Eiffel Tower for a great view of the city. We did a quick lap around the outdoor part, but it was very cold and so windy it was hard to walk. So we mostly stuck to the indoor section. After descending, we watched it sparkle on the hour, which was very cool. Much prettier all lit up at night, I think.

On Wednesday we took a nice walk along a typical French street up from our hotel to Notre Dame. We also passed it later, and I think it, like the Eiffel Tower, was much prettier at night. A nice church, but we both agreed we had seen others throughout the semester that impressed us more. Next up was another church, Sainte Chapelle, which was small, but very pretty with huge stained glass windows. Unfortunately the altar was being renovated, but it was still impressive. We visited the Louvre next, and saw all of the noteworthy pieces, including the Mona Lisa. I liked the glass pyramid, too. After that we met up with Ibby again, along with Lee, my other friend studying in Paris from high school. We had dinner at a nice French restaurant (although all of us ordered bacon cheeseburgers... but Jillian and I did have some delicious French onion soup), and caught up.

I'm running out of steam so these daily recaps are getting shorter. Thursday was a long day: we started with the Musee D'Orsay, which was nice, but we're a bit museum-ed out at this point. The building itself was very cool. After that was the Rodin Museum with Ibby (with the Thinker), followed by the Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb. Kind of strange that he's not buried underground, and also a bit amusing that he's inside 5 coffins within an enormous sarcophagus, yet was such an itty-bitty little man. The building looked like a palace, with a huge gold dome. It was nice getting into most of the museums for free as EU students (although at first we were going to have to pay for the Musee D'Orsay, but decided to return the next day with our passports to show proof of our visas). After the army museum we met up with my cousin Deborah - I don't know what number cousin she qualifies as, but I believe 2nd? She's Dad's first cousin. Anyway, we met up briefly after a bit of a miscommunication (she was waiting for us outside of our meeting spot, while we were inside), and had a nice time sitting outside at a table (it was a bit warmer on Thursday, but still a bit chilly. Disappointing considering that we had waited until May to ensure the weather would be warm). After she left, we met Ibby again for dinner at an American style diner appropriately named Breakfast in America. Very good, and nice to have a milkshake for the first time in a while. It did feel like the States in there, with American food and American waiters - we got a bit nostalgic for home. We'll be back soon enough, though. After dinner we walked around town a bit and met up with some of Ibby's friends from her program at a gelato place, before heading back and calling it a night.

Friday Jillian and I walked around some more, picked up some souvenirs, and enjoyed our last few hours in the city. In the afternoon, we hopped on the train and, voila, 2.5 hours later were back in our flat. By the way, I forgot that people in France say voila in casual conversation. The first time I heard it I half-expected a paper bouquet flowers to appear out of the woman's sleeve. Overall, we both really enjoyed the city. It has good sights, is pretty, and has great food. The French were friendlier than I remembered (no incidents of empty restaurants telling us they were full when they heard our American accents), but the language barrier was definitely tougher there than anywhere else we'd been. It helped having Ibby around a lot though, since she speaks French pretty well. We tried plenty of traditional French foods: French onion soup, baguette with cheese, paninis, crepes, creme brulee, croissants, etc. Didn't get around to a quiche, though. It ranks up there with Rome and Prague for me, as my favorite cities of the semester. Jillian said it might have been her #1, but perhaps she discussed that in her blog, which I have yet to read.

Once we got to London on Friday, I spent the night finishing up my paper. Then, starting on Saturday, it was my turn to be holed up in my room for three days studying for an exam. It was developmental psychology, and I took it today. Very glad to be done - I didn't enjoy the material particularly, but the class counts toward both of my majors which is nice. As a post-exam celebration today, Jillian and I had a gourmet dining experience at the brand new Chipotle in London, the first international branch to have opened. It was a bit different - the rice was different, and some of the ingredients such as the fajita peppers and onions looked different but tasted the same. And of course, the portions were smaller. But, it was close enough. Yum. I still plan to have it in Philly for lunch the day after my return (a true Chipotle meal, if you will).

We leave to return home two weeks from today. On the one hand it seems like it flew by, but on the other looking back on the day of our arrival seems like ancient history. That seems to be a common theme these days, about college as a whole with senior year coming up. But, more nostalgia and philosophizing about that to come. For now, I'm exhausted from late nights of studying and early wake up today to finish, and we have a day trip tomorrow with Rosie and George to Bath. And then Thursday is a recently planned and booked trip to a beach town in Croatia because RyanAir had a sale and flights were £16 round trip (although the weather report says it will rain both days we're there... figures). We decided it'd been nice to go somewhere warm and just relax, rather than constantly sightsee as we've done. We were ambivalent about going, thinking it might be too much traveling here at the end, but we said: "hey, we're here. let's do it." So we are. After that, we still are going to Edinburgh, but we are flying up very early and then flying back at night - so just a quick trip, but another trip nonetheless. We're getting our money's worth here at the end! It was nice to be able to relax tonight a bit (although I can't really complain about work...), and Jillian and I watched some Arrested Development. We finished the Wire, which we were both sad to see end because it was so good. Perhaps we'll move onto the Sopranos this summer.

Anyway, other good news: Jillian and I received word that we were officially offered internships at a law firm in Cincinnati for the summer. So that's very good news - and Sheri, thanks for all of the help with that! So that about wraps this entry up... time for bed.


This week's last cultural difference:

Spanish people seem to struggle with the concepts of lines and personal space. Pretty much without fail, when we are traveling and someone tries to edge forward ahead of the line or we get jostled from behind, they proceed to speak Spanish. On the Eiffel Tower elevator someone literally pushed their way onto elevator so forcefully that I was lifted off of my feet. Ten cuidado, chico.