Paris!

I'm incredibly glad I did not skip Paris!  I was unsure initially whether to go there or head north from Belgium to see Holland, but Paris is on the way to Barcelona, another stop I did not want to miss.  Added bonus: a friend from America was there, as well as two Brits and one French friend I had met in Peru!  Seeing everybody I've missed has been the best part of my trip.

The very first thing I did in Paris was meet my couch-surfing host, who wanted to see the Vienna State Ballet practice at the Châtelet Theatre.  It was open to the public for cheap and I am so glad I watched!  At first it was drills and stretching and a bit boring, but by the end they were basically showing off.  The crowd was hollering in applause; it was incredible to see what these dancers can do!  No wonder they're considered some of the best in the world.  I'd love to see a real ballet now, something I never really thought about.

Then, I was lucky enough that my host had a scooter and we went on a little tour of Paris before he had to work (as a voice actor, dubbing over English for ads and tv shows like House!)  On the way to pick up a map of Paris, he showed me this incredibly fancy bank and its huge vault door (actually, one of three doors - you can see another if you look inside).

A detail of the vault's door handle

Inside the Galleries Lafayette (beautiful 7-story shopping center)

Looking up from within the Galleries Lafayette you can see a most amazing stained glass domed ceiling!  When we walked in, I was following close behind in a crowd, weaving through perfume counters and trying to keep up.  Then my host turned around and pointed up and I saw this.  I had to catch my breath!  It was so beautiful!

Climb through all the people on the escalators and you can get up to a great roof terrace and check out the Eiffel Tower from the Galleries Lafayette.

Another view from up on the terrace.

On the scooter ride later that night, we went past the Eiffel Tower, and I didn't realize that it sparkles with bright lights for 5 minutes every hour.  So beautiful!

I don't think I could get sick of the pretty metro stops, silly as it sounds!

In the morning of my second day in Paris, I got to see my friends Monkey and Richie, a couple of British guys I met in Peru.  They road-tripped all the way to Croatia and were on their way back.  Wish I had more time with them - they are hilarious!  When I was in Peru, traveling around with Ross, we kept accidentally running into these two and hanging out and partying together.  They definitely don't stop laughing, ever!

After seeing my friends and realizing I was close by, I walked over to a gigantic old cemetery, the Père Lachaise. Many famous people are buried there, including Chopin, Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, and Oscar Wilde. It's so big I got lost in it and had to find one of the maps. The maps show where the famous folks are.

Inside is like a tiny church, complete with stained glass windows, as you can see through this door.

How did this happen?

Okay this one is basically a church.  How interesting that we spend so much time and money to burying the dead, who might not even see this.  What if your loved ones honored you like this while you were alive?

It's like a little old village, with cobblestone streets and  stone buildings.

The grave of Edith Piaf.

Oscar Wilde

Click on the picture to make it bigger, then notice the kiss marks all over the glass.  The stone used to be exposed and people kissed it with lipstick until it was just covered.  But it was eroding the stone, so they had to restore it and block it off with glass.  So the fans now kiss the glass and throw in notes and flowers.

The least extravagant grave, but maybe the most popular, is of Jim Morrison of The Doors.  His first two grave markers were stolen, and now there is a fence around it.  Yet people find ways to toss in flowers and things.  There's even an American flag draped over the headstone.

After a couple of days, I met up with Adam, an acquaintance I met in Arizona (someone I'd made a custom hitch for, but never really hung out with).  He was in Paris before heading to Toulouse for a week-long juggling convention called EJC.  I made the hitch for him so that he could get a small trailer to haul his 36" diameter plastic ball that he balances on in performances while he juggles.  It doesn't really fit in his car  =D

We met at the Arc De Triomphe.  You have to go underground to get to it, as it's surrounded by a round-about with TWELVE roads leading in and out of it.  I have no idea how that many cars navigate it, especially at rush hour.  Insanity!

There is a large area for people to walk around under it, but it was basically too large to get fully in my camera.  It is just huge and has arches going left/right and front to back, so you see an arch through it either way you look at it.

It's covered in amazing sculptures.

This is where the lights are housed in the sidewalk around the arc.  Full of plants for some reason!

We walked around on the busy Champs Élysées to get food, then down to the Luxor Obelisk, a gift to France given nearly 200 years ago.  I'm not sure how I feel about things like this being moved, but it was neat to see.

In the park leading up to the Louvre, we found out how they can afford to cut all that grass.

The Louvre - one of the largest museums in the world.  I visited later (and did not see all of it).

I saw this crazy ride earlier in the week and wanted to try it out.  Adam is very much afraid of heights, but he cares a lot about overcoming his fears, so he went with me.  It was actually VERY scary and went extremely fast! I think the sign said it goes 120km per hour, which is 75mph. Everyone was screaming and laughing and it really felt like flying. That was so much fun!

Another couchsurfing host of mine, a journalist named Lea, had this amazing coffee table.  Her grandfather collected all of these insects in the south of France about 50 years ago.  The big moth you see here is about the size of a hummingbird.  Funny enough, the table scares her a little bit.  I couldn't get enough of it!  It even has a praying mantis.  Lea and I had aperitifs (wine, bread, and camembert) at this table before heading out for a night of partying.

One day I spent a couple of hours at the Eiffel Tower.  It's not nearly as beautiful from far away as it is up close.  I loved it!  I chilled out on a bench and drew it in my diary.

My tower.  Perfect place for it too, because on the previous page I'd been writing about how excited I was arriving in Paris and seeing the train station I knew from the movie Amelie.  It took one glance to know just where I was, and I walked around and saw the other places I recognized.  It was really cool, but it made me realize I've seen that movie way too many times!

And the tower later that night, sparkling with lights!  No wonder they call this city romantic, it is!

This is the Sacré Cœur Basilica, a relatively new basilica on top of the hill Montmarte, which used to be an artsy area (now rather touristic).  Some incredible artists worked around there, like Monet, Dali, Picasso, and van Gogh.  

We walked around the area, where artists can draw your face for a small price or you can eat at a fancy cafe.  We saw the Two Windmills Cafe (also from the movie Amelie) and Moulin Rouge there.  My host told me that seeing a show at the Moulin Rouge might cost around 200 euros.

On my last day in Paris, I took a couple of hours to go sketch the Notre Dame (didn't go in because the line of tourists was wrapped around the building), and then get over to the Louvre.  This photo shows the crowd you have to muscle through to get a glimpse of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa.  I didn't even really try, I was more amused by the crowds, which filled the large room.

But there are so many more beautiful works to be seen there!  Like this, a woman behind stung by a scorpion.  I loved it, especially in the window with sunlight on it.

I was so sad to leave Paris and the longing to stay may have tainted my first few days in Barcelona, my next stop.  It was beautiful, the people were helpful and friendly (even if they knew very little English), the food was good, there was a lot to see and do... much I missed too.  Can't wait to go back, and maybe I'll learn some French in the meantime!